Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. – Num. 23:20 KJV
The Enemy is Not Involved 24072020
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King Balak, son of Zipor and the king of Moab had recruited Prophet Balaam, a prophet renowned for his spiritual ability to help him place a curse on the Israelites describing them as “a people that cover the face of the earth and abide against him”. He had heard what the Israelites did to the Amorites and together with his people were afraid that similar fate awaited them. With a promise to be rewarded bountifully, Balaam had set out on the mission to carry out the request of helping to place a curse on the Israelites in order to restrict them from getting to their God defined destination.
After two attempts (Num. 23: 1-12; 13-24) at carrying out his master’s bidding with each attempt resulting in failure, he concluded that it was going to be a mission impossible especially when by some unknown manner, he found himself doing the opposite of what he intended and was hired to do. The scripture today is his response to the angry reaction of his paymaster who noticed also that he was blessing the people instead of cursing them. It was clear to him that his ability to apply spiritual influence on a situation similar to the one he found himself in was dependent on approval and direction of God and this he made known to King Balak .
Balaam in that response revealed an information that should be a delight to any Christian which is that only the Almighty can grant permission for someone who is associated with Him to be cursed or blessed. Many Christians face situations that seems like they are under a curse or may even have confirmed that their situation is linked with the negative spiritual activity of someone or a group considered as an enemy or enemies. With that information, the Christian should not be spending valuable time in prayer attacking any confirmed or unconfirmed enemy. Such prayer sessions never really end as the victory over one enemy will immediately be followed by the appearance of another enemy until God’s intention is achieved which is to caution the person he loves from sin. It may even be the case of another enemy showing up while one is still battling one enemy and yet to conclude with that battle – 1Kgs. 11:9-25.
This is because these are not enemies that are operating in their own Will but enemies that God permitted to succeed in their operation. Indeed there may have been some events that will make some individuals target the Christian negatively in their spiritual activities like the case today but we are also able to see that God’s permission is still required for such a person or group to succeed in their evil plans. It should therefore be clear to the true Christian that time spent targeting individuals or groups who may be classified as enemies is a wasted time. Such prayer may be successful with regards to the individual or group but the success will open up the way for a new set of enemies as long as the reason for God granting permission persists.
Balaam told King Balak the following which also applies today to the Christian who remains in the Lord:
1. With all his spiritual ability, he can only curse those whom the Almighty God has allowed to be cursed – Num. 23:20.
2. God will only permit a curse if he has seen iniquity (an immoral or grossly unfair behaviour) in someone or a people who are associated with Him – Num. 20:21a.
3. God will also permit a curse if he has seen perverseness (an act against what is good or right or an act of wickedness) in someone or a people who are associated with Him – Num. 20:21b.
Although it is obvious that this is not God punishing the individual or group for transgressions, He will not stop the effect of the negative plans of the enemy no matter the relationship such a person or group may have with Him. Balaam revealed that there can be no success in any act of divination or sorcery targeted at one who is in a good relationship with God – Num. 23:23. The writer of the book of Proverbs align with this also when in Proverbs 26:2, he states clearly that no undeserved curse comes to rest.
Christians need to accept that the reason for their challenge is the likelihood of having become a victim of the trickery and deception of the enemy which subsequently leads to the loss of the protection of God similar to the advice Balaam gave after the failure of his third (Num. 23: 27-30) and fourth (Num. 24: 15-19) sacrifice of Balaam (Num. 31:16). In that advise, Balaam had made known to King Balak that unless the people were made to transgress the laws of their God, God will always turn every attempt to curse them into an opportunity for them to be blessed. Balak took to that advise and marshalled a plan that lead the Israelites into sexual immorality – Num. 25: 1-18. They subsequently lost the protection of their God albeit temporarily which gave enemies opportunity to defeat them in battle.
Are you presently going through discomfort proven to be the result of the acts of enemies? You are better off checking the state of your relationship with the Almighty God because you are most likely out of tune with Him rather than wasting resources on all those prayers that will yield no positive result. Do not wait until the challenge brings you down like the case of King Saul as it may then be too late – 1Sam. 28:6. As a Christian focus more on maintaining the integrity of your relationship with your God as that is your only insurance against negative acts of the enemy. May God help us in our quest to do that in Jesus name. Amen.
