Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. Philippians 2:5-7.
Daniel was but a youth when carried away captive into Babylon. He was about fifteen or sixteen years old, for he is called a child, which means that he was in his youth. Why did Daniel refuse to eat at the king’s luxurious table? Why did he refuse the use of wine as his beverage, when it was at the king’s command that it was placed before him? He knew that by use wine would become to him a pleasant thing, and would be preferred before water.
Daniel could have argued that at the royal table and at the king’s command, there was no other course for him to pursue. But he and his fellows had a council together. They canvassed the entire subject as to how they would improve their physical and mental powers by the use of wine. They studied this subject most diligently. The wine of itself, they decided, was a snare. They were acquainted with the history of Nadab and Abihu, which had come to them in parchments. In these men the use of wine had encouraged their love for it. They drank wine before their sacred service in the sanctuary. Their senses were confused. They could not distinguish the difference between the sacred and the common fire. In their brain-benumbed state they did that which the Lord had charged all who served in holy office not to do. They put the common fire upon their censers, when they had been expressly charged to use only the sacred fire of the Lord’s own kindling, that never went out….
A second consideration of these youthful captives was that the king always asked a blessing before his meals, and addressed his idols as deity. He set apart a portion of his food, and also a portion of his wine to be presented to the idol gods whom he worshiped. This act, according to their religious instruction, consecrated the whole to the heathen god. To sit at the table where such idolatry was practiced, Daniel and his three brethren deemed, would be a dishonor to the God of heaven. These four children decided that they could not sit at the king’s table, to eat of the food placed there, or to partake of the wine, all of which had been dedicated to an idol god…. There was no presumption with these youth, but a firm love for truth and righteousness. They did not choose to be singular, but they must be, else they would corrupt their ways in the courts of Babylon.—Manuscript 122, March 10, 1897, “Daniel.”
The Upward Look p. 83
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Prayer Requests
—-Please, please say prayers for my dad. He was in a bad accident, t-boned, car totaled. Also I am struggling with my faith, having a real hard time with this all. My husband is a kidney failure patient, on dialysis for 5 yrs and its been one health issue after another. Now the drs are targeting his pancreas, test after test…I’m scared it could pancreatic cancer. Asking for prayers for both! Kimberly
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Dear Friends,
My grandparents never owned a car, so my grandfather walked to work each day. Much of the time, he had to work two jobs in order to meet expenses. During those times, he would come home very late. One night as he was walking home, he decided to take a shortcut through an alley. As he walked along, he began to wish that he had taken his regular way. He began to feel in danger. Every nerve and muscle was ready for action.
Suddenly he heard a car with its tires screeching driving close to him. He had come to a turn in the alley and as he turned, he saw that car driving straight at him. Closer and closer it came too quickly for him to get away. He realized that the men inside were going to pin him against the wall. He was not sure what they had planned next.
To the men’s surprise my grandfather, then in his fifties, jumped upon the hood of the car and faced them. He made himself look as mean as he could. My grandfather was not a tall man, only 5’9″, but he was stockily built and still had some of the toughness of his earlier years. These men now realized that they had picked on the wrong man.
We, too, have someone who is trying to “pin us to the wall.” We, too, have someone who is constantly on our track to do us harm. Peter warns us, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith.” 1 Pet 5:8,9 We must resist him just as my grandfather resisted his attackers.
From the time Lucifer first began to rebel against God until this present time, he and his angelic sympathizers have had one goal in mind: separating us from God. John tells us, “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” Rev 12:7-9
The evil one uses any means that he can to cause this separation. He might keep us so busy focusing on our troubles and trials, that we take our eyes off from our only Saviour. He uses sickness and injury to tempt others to doubt. For some, he uses pleasures, riches and fame. Jesus spoke of these as the thorny ground hearers, “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.” Matt 13:22 He told His disciples, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” Mark 10:25-27
Yet, it is not impossible. Look at Abraham, who was very rich. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Heb 11:8-10
James tells us, “Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23 Job, Jacob, Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Nehemiah, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathaea, the list goes on and on. Rich men, who did not count their riches as their goal. They looked to the One Who for our sake became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich. (2 Cor 8:9) Wonderful Saviour! Coming King!
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom 8:35-39
May we keep our eyes focused upon our Great Redeemer. May we allow nothing to separate us from Him. May we “count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” is my prayer. (Phil 3:8)
Rose

We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12.
Our heavenly Father is presented to us in the character of Christ. In Him the veil is drawn aside which conceals the glory of God from our eyes. The Bible shows us God in His high and holy place, not in a state of inactivity, not in silence and solitude, but surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands of holy intelligences, every one waiting to do His bidding, and taking cognizance of every wrong action against those who are the property of God….
Let those who manifest so little unselfish interest in the purchase of the blood of Christ remember that the Lord will treat them as indifferently as they have treated their fellow men in their trouble. Every act of injustice and robbery and oppression is written in the books. Everyone who takes advantage of human beings formed in God’s image is cooperating with the great enemy of God and man and he shall receive at the hand of God double for all these works. The work of Satan is continually driven on with terrible vindictiveness, and men participate with evil angels in wounding and bruising the souls of God’s people. The Lord sees; the Lord hears the cries of His children.
The Lord has not concealed from His followers the plan of the battle. He has presented before His people the great conflict, and He has given them words of encouragement. He charges them not to enter into the battle without counting the cost, while He assures them that they do not fight alone, but that supernatural agencies will enable the weak, if they trust in Him, to become strong against the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against them. He points them to the universe of heaven, and assures them that holy beings are wrestling against principalities and powers and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The children of God are cooperating with all the invisible host of light. And more than angels are in their ranks; the Holy Spirit, the representative of the Captain of the Lord’s host, comes down to direct the battle. Our infirmities may be many, our mistakes and sins numerous, but forgiveness is for all who, with contrition of heart, will confess and forsake their sins. Angels of light are sent to render them all the help that is required.—Letter 102a, March 9, 1896, to O. A. Tait, at the time circulation manager of the Review and Herald.
The Upward Look p. 82
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray that God will take away D’s depression and other issues.
—–Please pray for my dear uncle. I just found out he could not be awakened by his caregiver at around 3 am this morning. Connie
—-Please pray for my son, he has been ill with a bacterial infection which starts to get well then comes right back. Becky
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Dear Friends,
Some years ago, we had gone another state to visit Esther where she was living at the time. As we were on the way back home, a winter storm hit the area. By the time we got to Colorado, we found that they were having an ice storm. It was like a skating rink. We stopped at a campground for the night (we were driving our camper) hoping that the next morning it would be better driving. It wasn’t.
As we drove along, we saw accident after accident (some of them severe). We were traveling between 25 and 45 miles per hour according to the road conditions. Cars would pass us like we were standing still. A few miles down the road, we would see some of those very cars in the ditch. It was interesting to watch the drivers around us as they also saw these accidents and mishaps. Many had been speeding from five to ten miles over what they should have been doing on the icy roads. After they would see an accident, they would slow down for awhile. After a few miles, however, their speed picked up once again and soon they, too, were in the ditch or upside-down in some field. It was as if they had forgotten what they had just seen a few minutes before. They did not heed the warning. They did not believe that it would happen to them.
God’s Holy Word contains warning after warning so that we do not have to end up in a spiritual ditch. Paul, speaking of the experience of the Children of Israel, declared, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” 1 Cor 10:11, 12 As we read the Bible stories and meditate upon them, they serve as a warning to us.
Yet, how often we think that it will not be that way for us. We know what is right, but we don’t do it. We feel that we can get by with it. We fail to realize that if we disobey we will get hurt and have to learn the hard way.
God gives us the same choice that He gave Israel so many years ago. “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God” Deut 11:26 Which will we choose today? God’s greatest desire is to bless us, but so often we turn away and want to do our own “thing”. How much grief that causes His great heart of love. His greatest desire is for us to love Him as He loves us
Jesus said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” John 14:15 John tells us, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:2-4
Our Loving Creator pleads with us, “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” Eze 33:11
May we “love the Lord (our)God with all (our) heart, and with all (our)soul, and with all (our) mind, and with all (our)strength: Mark 12:30 May we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Phil 3:14 May we, each day, have joy and fellowship with our Loving Saviour Who gave Himself for us that we may dwell with Him forevermore.
Rose

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2.
Those who act a part in the work of God do good only because God is behind them, doing the work. Shall we then praise men, and give thanks to man, neglecting to recognize God? If we do, God will not cooperate with us. When man puts himself first and God second, he shows that he is losing his wisdom and righteousness. All that is ever done toward restoring the moral image of God in man is done because God is the efficiency of the worker. Christ declares in His prayer to His Father, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).
Let every steward understand that as he strives to advance the glory of God in our world, whether he stands before infidels or princes, he is to make God first and last and best in everything. The true Christian will realize that he has a right to his name only as he uplifts Christ with a steady, persevering, and ever-increasing force….
“It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). When we are faithful in making God known, our impulses will be under divine supervision, and we shall make steady growth, spiritually and intellectually. But when men enter into a confederacy to exalt men, and have little to say of God, they are weakness itself. God will leave those who do not recognize Him in every effort made to uplift humanity. It is Christ’s power alone that can restore broken-down human machinery. Everywhere and in every place let those around you see that you give God the glory. Let man be put in the shade, let God appear as the only hope of the human race. Every man must rivet his building to the eternal Rock, Christ Jesus; then it will stand amid storm and tempest.
God prepares the mind to recognize Him who alone can help the striving, struggling soul. He will educate all who stand under His banner to be faithful stewards of His grace. Man cannot show greater weakness than by thinking he will find more acceptance in the sight of men if he leaves God out of his assemblies. God must stand the highest. The wisdom of the greatest man is foolishness with Him.
God has given to man immortal principles, to which every human power must one day bow. We have truth that has been given us in trust. The precious beams of this light are not to be hid under a bushel, but are to give light to all that are in the house.—Manuscript 21, March 8, 1899, “Give Unto the Lord the Glory Due Unto His Name.”
The Upward Look p.81
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for my sister, Betty. J
—-Please pray for my daughter. She is halfway through chemo and collapsed. She is in a hospital on the other side of the country and is having testing. I haven’t been able to talk with her. Vicki
—-I’m asking for my mother. She is really sick which wat i think is pneumonia. She’s so sick. I’m trying to get her to let me call an ambulance and she wont. PLEASE will you pray for healing and comfort. Her name is Joyce. Heather
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Dear Friends,
The other day when they kept tipping back in their chairs, Eileen was telling Emma and Peter about a time when she was 7 and went to a one-room, multi-grade school in Alabama. She remembers how one of the older boys in the class always seemed to be in trouble. He was not a bad boy, he just liked to make the other students laugh. He also had the bad habit of tipping back on the back legs of his chair. No matter how many times the teacher told him to keep all four chair legs on the floor, he would always tip back on just two. She told him that someday he would fall backwards, but he did not take her warning. He thought he was well capable of keeping that chair balanced and that she was being mean to him.
There is an old saying that goes, “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.” So it was in that school. This boy’s influence was beginning to show in the way the other children obeyed the teacher as well. Day by day, they became more disobedient. Eileen’s poor teacher just didn’t know what more she could do to bring the class back into line.
One day, the boy learned a valuable lesson. Somehow he tipped back just a little too far and fell backwards with a thud. He hit the back of his head very hard, yet while he was falling, he somehow hit his chin on the desk and split it open. Hurt and humiliated, he was a little more subdued after that. Seeing that the teacher’s warning was valid, the rest of the class began to respect and obey their teacher as they should.
So it is that by our influence we can bring others to Chist or turn them away from Him. Paul says, “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” Gal 5:9 Again, he used this illustration in a situation that was happening in the Corinthian church. They had begun to believe through the influence of one of their members that an acceptance of and belief in Jesus as their saviour gave them the license to do disobey the Commandments. Shocked that they should get this idea, Paul wrote, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife. And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed, In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.” 1 Cor 5:1-13
May our influence always be on the side of right is my prayer.
Rose

And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Luke 6:12.
In Luke we read of Christ, “It came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (chap. 6:12). Men of the world often spend whole nights planning, in order to secure success; and Jesus spent many nights in prayer. He was alone with His Father, earnestly seeking the Lord with strong crying and tears. He seemed to be in an agony of distress. Why was this? He had come to His vineyard to claim His own, but He was rejected, abused. They [His enemies] were then laying plans to crucify Him. He was more and more … beset by satanic agencies. The resistance shown by the priests and rulers to His work corresponded to the convincing evidences of His divinity. They were jealous of Him because He possessed a power that drew the people to Him. His tongue was like the pen of a ready writer. He was the very treasure house of knowledge, and His parables and illustrations made the truth plain to the unlearned. Under His teaching those who could not learn the truth from books could learn it from nature.
But those who had been entrusted with the oracles of God, that they might be faithful expositors of the Scriptures, rejected and denied the Teacher sent from heaven. Christ saw that their spirit and principles were entirely contrary to the Scriptures. He saw that the Word of God was misinterpreted and misapplied. He saw how difficult it would be to instruct the people to read the Scriptures correctly, when their teachers read them in the light of their perverted judgment. What could He do to soften and subdue their hearts? This was the burden of His prayer.
The Jewish people might have repented, if they would, but they were clothed with the garments of their own self-righteousness. They claimed to be the descendants of Abraham, and looked upon every promise made to Israel as theirs. But the Israel of God are those who are converted, not those who are the lineal descendants of Abraham. “What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God” (Romans 3:1, 2). “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (chap. 2:28, 29).—Manuscript 31a, March 7, 1898, “His Own Received Him Not.”
The Upward Look p. 80
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for Kim and family. Her father has just been put on hospice. Rose
—-My sister has her first board exam in biomedicine this afternoon. Please pray that she will pass. Maria
—-Please pray for Al who had two small heart attacks.
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Dear Friends,
When I was three or four, my mother, who didn’t understand the dangers of Halloween, decided that I was old enough to enjoy trick-or-treating. She walked to Van Avery’s Drug Store and rummaged through the masks. Then she saw it—a very unflattering caricature of an American Indian. It was made of rubber and would fit the entire head. She bought it and took it home.
Being an artist, she made me an “authentic” costume complete with beadwork, fringe, and moccasins. It truly was a work of art when she was finished. I liked the clothes, but I wasn’t too sure about that mask. I was scared when my mother showed me my reflection. Finally, she convinced me that I should leave it on. As we went trick-or-treating house to house, people would comment about that mask. Oh, how that hurt my feelings. Pulling that ugly thing up, I would exclaim, “I’ve got another face under here, see?”
How often we live behind a “mask” of our own making. How many times we present to the world a “false face” that is the opposite of that Halloween mask. We want everyone to see us as we would like to be rather than our true selves with all of our faults and failings. We are as was Sardis of whom Jesus declared, ” I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” Rev 3:1
How often we are like the Pharisees of old, whom our Dear Saviour rebuked saying, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” Matt 23:25-27 Paul tells us, “unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” Titus 1:15,16
How much we need our Great Redeemer’s cleansing power! How much we need that new heart that only Christ can give! He has promised, ” I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.” “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Heb 10:16; Eze 36:26,27 Paul urges, “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Tim 2:19
May we allow the Holy Spirit to keep us from sin, to cleanse us completely both inside and out. May we pray as did David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” Ps 51:10-13 May we refrain from presenting to others a false face, but, instead, be so filled with the Spirit; that it can be said of us as it was said of Daniel, “he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.” Dan 6:4
Rose

The works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. John 5:36.
The signs of the times fulfilling all around us show us that the end of all things is at hand. Intense earnestness should take possession of us. Our slumbering energies should be aroused by persevering effort.
Consecrated workers should go forth into the field, and move understandingly forward, clearing the King’s highway, obtaining victories in new places. Let the Lord’s workers labor in faith and trust. Some for whom they work will listen to the message and accept the truth. Let them do what God has commanded them to do. Proportionate to their faith will be their success. The Scriptures declare: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord” (James 1:5-7).
How strange it is that those who have had the light of truth for so many years have not carried the torch of truth into the dark places of the earth. The whole world is astir. The Lord calls upon His people to awake out of sleep. My brethren and sisters, stop criticizing others, but criticize severely your own words and motives. We have no time to spend in using the enemy’s methods…. Envy, malice, hatred, unbelief, which have been growing into sturdy plants in the garden of the soul, are to be uprooted and cast out, and their place supplied by love, patience, forbearance, kindness, benevolence, tenderheartedness, meekness….
While the men of the world are idolizing money, and making it their trust, the Lord in His providence has brought forth from His treasure house a precious treasure, and has placed it within the reach of all. He has given His people an opportunity to take to their friends and neighbors and to strangers a book [Christ’s Object Lessons] containing the precious lessons of Christ….
Christ has placed upon His church a sacred charge, the fulfilling of which calls for self-denial at every step. When those who believe in Him are seen lifting the cross and bearing it after Him in the path of self-denial, willingly doing all in their power to bring blessing to those for whom Christ died, witness will be borne to the power of Christianity, and in the hearts of many now unbelievers will spring up faith in Him who gave His life to save a guilty world from eternal ruin.—Letter 43, March 6, 1903, to Lucinda Hall, one of Ellen White’s closest friends.
The Upward Look p. 79
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Prayer Requests
—-Pray for reconciliation between my husband and I. Angela
—-Pray for my new grand baby I would appreciate it her name is Willow, also pray for the parents. BP
—-Please pray for my friend Pam. She has advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. John
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Dear Friends,
Although not an Israelite, Balaam was a worshipper of the true God. Even more than this, he was a prophet. All was going pretty well for him. He was recognized for his prophetic abilities and many people came to him for counsel.
One day princes of Balak, king of Moab, arrived at his door. They brought gifts that Balaam desired. He treated them with hospitality and told them “Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.” Num 22:8
That night, God told Balaam, “Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.”
Balaam thought of all of those riches he could have had and he was not happy to send the princes back to Balak, but he did it. In the morning he told them that the Lord refused to let him go with them. He did not explain that Israel had been especially favored and blessed by God. He was chafing under the prohibition.
Because he did not explain everything, the princes got the wrong signal. They told their king, “Balaam refuseth to come with us.” vs 14 Balak decided that he just had not honored the prophet enough and sent higher ranking officials with greater gifts.
When Balaam saw that Balak again sent more honorable princes and greater gifts, he coveted the gifts and the high honors he would receive if he cursed Israel. He pictured himself as a great man in their kingdom. He saw himself as sitting beside the king receiving kingly honors.
He should have told the men, “I’m sorry, but as I told you before, the Great God of the Universe, the only True God, Maker of Heaven and Earth has blessed these people. I cannot come with you to curse those whom the Lord has blessed.” This would have brought honor to God and Balak would have been afraid to proceed with his plans. Even more, Balaam had the opportunity to teach the king and his princes about the One Who had given them life, but instead he helped them in their rebellion.
Instead of shutting his mind to the temptation, Balaam toyed with sin. The more he toyed with it, the more he desired it. The more he desired it, the stronger became the temptation. He again went to God and begged to let him go to Balak. Finally God gave him a sign that if the princes called him in the morning, he could go Instead of waiting for that to happen, “Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.” vs. 21.
Sometimes if we persist in wanting our own way, God gives it to us, but there are grave consequences. We all know what happened next. As Peter said, “Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet.” 2 Peter 2:15,16 God taught Balaam a lesson that he should have been thankful for, but instead it brought forth a spring of rebellion.
Balak was happy to see the prophet and took him with great ceremony to the top of a hill where he could see Israel. Balaam explained that he could only say the words God gave him and blessed Israel three times. Moreover he prophesied Israel’s future victories.
The king chased Balaam from his sight. Balaam went back home, but that spring of rebellion that had taken root grew and grew. He murmured in his heart. Finally those honors and gifts meant more to Balaam than did his service to the only True God. He saddled his donkey and made the journey back to Moab. There he counselled Balak to send women into the camp of Israel and lure the men into sin. (Num 31:16)
This worked well. Because there was sin in the camp, God could not bless His people. Finally the sinners were purged from the camp and God directed Moses to fight against their enemies. Balaam never got to enjoy all of the riches and honors that he coveted. He was slain in the battle. As he was perishing, he must have wished that he had not toyed with sin. He must have wished that he had shut out the first temptation that had come into his mind.
Paul tells us, “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Cor 10:11
Let us be careful not to toy with sin. Let us shut out the first whispered temptations of the evil one. Let us keep our eyes upon our Dear Saviour, Who loves us so.
Rose