Day 47, or February the 16th. Balaam or his donkey? You choose.
Our thoughts today are from Numbers chapter 24 verse 13.
Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of
my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the commands of the Lord, and I must say only
what the Lord says.
Now the big picture surrounding this verse.
Just imagine the scene. A whole nation turns up and lands on your doorstep. This is what
happened to Balak, king of Moab. He is extremely worried because he knows just how powerful
the God of these people has proved to be over recent years. He decides to fight fire with
fire, and recruit a prophet to curse them. He won't come cheap, but it will be worth
it. Sadly, the prophet won't obey the king, as he is answerable to a higher authority.
His donkey! Actually, God speaks through the donkey, and Balaam refuses to do the bidding
of the Moabites, and the Israelites remain on the east side of the Jordan River, all
ready to cross, when the time is right.
Now our action step for today. Money is not the root of all evil. Check 1 Timothy chapter
6 verse 10, and you will find that it says, For the love of money is the root of all kinds
of evil, and some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith, and pierced
themselves with many sorrows. No, money is not evil, but making it the basis of your
life is foolishness, because it can never deliver what you really need. Only God can
do that. In the account of Balaam, he declares clearly that a palace full of silver and gold
would not be enough to go against God. Having said that, Balaam really tried to avoid this
conclusion, and it was only when God intervened with a speaking donkey that Balaam finally
saw sense. Irrespective of how much wealth we have, we are merely stewards of it, and
when we leave earth, it remains here for the next steward. The more we invest in God's
kingdom, the more we may see the results. If we only leave it in our will, someone else
gets the thrill of seeing how it's used.