Only a fool talks smack, or otherwise speaks negatively, about his neighbor. The sensible person keeps his mouth shut if and when he thinks such thoughts. There is nothing to be gained by criticizing your neighbor (and we know who Jesus tells us our neighbor is).
This psalm tells us that the majority of rulers, the majority of those who wield government authority, have no understanding of the meaning of the word justice. They have no interest in upholding it. Rather they plot injustice. They are the type of people we call congenital liars. It seems as if they have lied from birth and are incapable of telling the truth.
Despite this fact, God will sweep them aside causing the godly to rejoice. Everyone will see that God is indeed a God of justice and that He will bring just judgment upon the earth.
This passage just strengthens my belief that Luke’s source for this was primarily one or more disciples of John the Baptist. I was struggling with what to write about this passage. Then it hit me. Zechariah’s prophecy makes this a scene from a musical. Picture the scene: the people gathered around the mother, she is clearly a bit old to be a new mother. The man officiating says something along the lines of, “And his name is Zechariah,” as he begins the ritual. Elizabeth immediately shouts out, “No, his name shall be John.” At this a hubbub arises among all the people as they try to talk her out of it. Zechariah struggles to get everyone’s attention. Finally, they notice and bring him a tablet. Someone tells Elizabeth, “See, even he agrees that the boy should not be John.”
Zechariah writes on the tablet (something large enough for the audience to see). He holds it up to the audience who read out loud (perhaps there are a couple of plants in the audience to get people started), “His name is John!” Immediately following that Zechariah bursts forth in song”
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited and redeemed his people…
The stage goes black and the spotlight comes up on the adult John the Baptist in the wilderness.
God had told Balaam to go with the emissaries of Balak, yet He was angry with Balaam for doing so (I discussed the reasons for God’s anger yesterday). In light of that, what struck me in today’s passage was this:
“But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?”
This is a lesson for us, when something happens out of the ordinary (such as the donkey we have ridden our entire life refusing to obey commands in a way it never has before) we need to look for the hand of God in what is going on. I was looking for a way to express the idea more clearly, but, after thinking about it, I believe that most people can read this passage and understand the point I am trying to make.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. In order to make that possible I read the passages and write my thoughts a day, or more. in advance. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
We find it tempting to make fun of our neighbors and talk about how stupid their actions are. However, we would do better to keep our mouth’s shut and just listen because they may know something we don’t (or they might just be lucky enough to be right this time). The next proverb goes right along with that, telling us that a gossip betrays those who have confided in them. If you want people to trust you, don’t tell them the latest gossip (or any gossip).
When those who are in a position of authority no longer know the meaning of the word justice, violence spreads through the land. They are like deadly snakes spitting venom on everyone around. Such is the result of not teaching children to be truthful. However, it is only a matter of time until God will sweep them away. Injustice will be avenged and people will see that there is value in obeying God.
Zechariah was unable to speak for over nine months (from time he served in the Temple before Elizabeth was pregnant until she gave birth). Yet, when he got his voice back the first thing he did was praise God. He did not praise God for just a little bit, but to such a point that all of his neighbors began to wonder exactly what type of person John would turn out to be.
Yesterday we saw that rather than send the messengers from Balak on their way with what he knew to be God’s answer (“No”), Balaam had them stay the night and went to God once more. Today, God delayed Balaam’s trip to Balak so that He could make it clear to Balaam that he was not to curse the people of Israel. When Balaam got to Balak, Balak was angry that he had delayed in coming. Balaam replied that now he was there, but he would only be able to say what God told him to say. Balaam had Balak prepare sacrifices to God, then went and petitioned God for His message. When Balaam returned to Balak his message was essentially, “How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?” Let us remember that we are called to the same thing. We have been called to bless the people of this world, not curse them.
Balak was not happy with the message which Balaam gave him, so he took him to another place where he asked Balaam to curse just part of the people of Israel. Once more Balaam had Balak prepare sacrifices and then went off to petition God for an answer. When he returned, in some ways his message for Balak was worse. The message which God gave Balaam for Balak was that He does not change His mind. Balaam told Balak, “God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.” Despite Balaam telling him that he could not curse the people of Israel, Balak took Balaam to yet another place. God’s message to Balak this third time is in tomorrow’s passage.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them. I hope that the Spirit is moving in others through these posts as the Spirit has definitely been convicting me.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Jen Spillane (I hope you are reading this today)
The passage tells us that Balaam set out with the men from Balak, king of Moab. It also tells us that God was angry with Balaam for doing so. So angry that He sent an angel to intercept Balaam. It does not explain why God was angry, since God had told Balaam during the night to go with them. This leaves it to us to interpret. The best answer I have heard to this is the one my father gave me. My father suggested that nothing had changed from the first time to the second time that Balaam asked God what he should do, except that Balak was offering him more money. God had already given Balaam an answer to this question. Yet, here was Balaam asking again. So, God told him to go ahead and go, but sent an angel to give him a warning on the way.
As Balaam was riding along, his donkey saw the angel that God had sent standing in the road with drawn sword. The donkey left the road and went into the field. Balaam beat the donkey to get it back on the road. Once again the angel stood in the road in Balaam’s path, this time at a place where there were walls on either side of the road. The donkey went past the angel as close to one of the walls as it could manage (and thus as far from the angel as it could manage). This caused it to crush Balaam’s foot against the wall. Again Balaam beat the donkey. The angel moved further ahead of Balaam to a place where there was no room to get around it. This time the donkey laid down and refused to move. Once more Balaam beat his donkey. This time God gave the donkey the power of speech. The donkey asked Balaam why he was beating it. Balaam’s answer is interesting. He was not beating the donkey in order to train it. He was beating the donkey because it had made him look like a fool. The donkey asked Balaam a very basic question, had it ever behaved like this before?
At that moment, God allowed Balaam to see the angel with its sword. Balaam immediately realized that he had been in the wrong and prostrated himself. The angel told him that the Lord was angry with Balaam because he was following a path that was reckless relative to God’s will. The angel told Balaam that if the donkey had not turned aside, he would have killed him. Balaam acknowledged his sin and offered to turn back. The angel told him that he should continue on his way, but to be sure to say only that which God told him to say.
Balak, king of the Moabites, met Balaam as he arrived and asked why he did not come sooner. Balaam told him that he was there now, but that he could only say what God told him to say. Balak performed a sacrifice and threw a feast. In the morning, he took Balaam to where he could view the Israelite camp. Balaam told him to build seven altars and prepare sacrifices for each altar. Balak had the altars built and produced the sacrifices. Balaam performed the sacrifices and went aside to pray to God for His message about Israel. Balaam returns to Balak with a blessing for the Israelites. Balak is furious because he had requested a curse. Balaam tells him that he can only say what God has told him to say. Balak takes Balaam to another place where they can see a portion of the Israelite camp, hoping that Balaam can curse at least a portion of the Israelites. Once again Balaam offers the sacrifice that Balak produces and once again he goes aside to speak with God. And once again he returns with a blessing for the Israelites rather than a curse. The passage ends with Balak taking Balaam to yet a third location. Once more Balaam performs the sacrifice of Balak’s offering (we will have to wait until tomorrow for the results of this third attempt).
There are several points in this passage. One I have already touched on, God does not expect us to keep coming back to Him and asking Him, “Do you really mean that you don’t want me to do that?”
“How about now?”
“Now?”
There may be times when it is appropriate because something significant has changed. But some things never change. We should not go back to God to see if He has changed His mind just because we didn’t like His answer. The next point has to do with jumping to conclusions and getting angry because someone or something makes us look foolish. Balaam beat the donkey for saving his life. He didn’t know that it had saved his life. All he knew was that it had made him look foolish. Sometimes we need to be made look foolish for our own good. It has happened to me more than once. The only thing I hate worse than being made look foolish is learning that the reason that someone made me look foolish is because they were saving me from the consequences of being foolish.
The final point is that Balak thought that maybe if Balaam looked at Israel from a different perspective, God’s answer on whether or not he could curse them would be different. While it is often valuable for us to look at things from a different perspective, it doesn’t change God’s will. God’s will is that we bless those around us. It is never that we curse them.
When John was born and it was time to name him, Zechariah had been unable to talk for a quite a long period of time. People were getting used to the idea that he would never talk again. Those who had come to celebrate his birth and circumcision wanted to name him after his father, Zechariah. Elizabeth told them that “No, his name is John.” They were horrified at the thought of giving him a name that was not a family name. They turned to Zechariah to find out what he wanted to name his son. Zechariah signed that he wanted a writing tablet. When they gave it to him he wrote that his son’s name was John. At that moment Zechariah was able to speak again and immediately began praising the Lord. Zechariah and Elizabeth raised John in the wilderness.
The psalmist writes a condemnation of rulers who defend injustice and protect the wicked rather than support justice and prosecute the wicked. He tells us that God will sweep them aside and bring about their destruction and that of the wicked people they protect. It will happen swiftly and without warning.
Belittling and making fun of one’s neighbor is foolish, no good can ever come of it. Those with wisdom hold their tongue in such situations. Those who tell you other people’s secrets are likely to reveal yours. If you want to be trusted do not tell others all that you know.
