A GOD LIKE NO OTHER

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

Now Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites. The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, "This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field."

So Balak, son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to summon Balaam, son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the River, in his native land.

Balak said: "A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

The elders of Moab and Midian left, taking with them the fee for divination. When they came to Balaam, they told him what Balak had said.

"Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I will bring you back the answer the Lord gives me." So the Moabite princes stayed with him.

God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"

Balaam said to God, "Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 'A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.'"

But God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."

The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you."

Numbers 22:1-13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

In chapter 21 of Numbers, we see the Israelites on the offensive and victorious during their wilderness travels. Their conquest began with Arad, followed by the Amorites and Bashan, and word quickly began to spread about them and how they weren’t gaining wins by their own power but the power of a mighty god who was with them and for them. We should note that this is exactly how the pagan nations perceived Israel’s God. They saw Him as just like any other gods that they worshipped and failed to understand that He wasn’t like any other deity they knew.

As chapter 22 opens, we see where the Israelites had advanced to "the plains of Moab", camping "along the Jordan across from Jericho". We read where this brought more than a little anxiety on the people of Moab who saw themselves as potentially the next victims of the Israel juggernaut. The scriptures tell us that the Moab ruler, "Balak son of Zippor” was fully aware of what “Israel had done to the Amorites” and he and the Moabite people were “filled with dread” and “terrified because there were so many people”.

What did Moab do to try and prevent being destroyed themselves?

Going back to our passage, we see where the Moabite people "said to the elders of Midian”:

"This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field."

And so to try and thwart Israel, we read where Balak, the king of Moab, “sent messengers to summon Balaam” who lived in “Pethor, near the river in his native land."

Now, Balaam was a renowned diviner who was believed to have the special gift of communicating with and manipulating the gods but what Balak didn’t grasp was that Israel’s God was no ordinary god but the one and only God (capital “G”).

And so Balak sent his messengers to Balaam with the following message:

"A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed."

With this guidance, the "elders of Moab and Midian” left and went to Balaam, carrying “the fee for divination" with them. After finding the diviner, they relayed what “Balak had said" and in response, Balaam asked them to "spend the night” as he would bring them “the answer the Lord” gave him.

Balaam then went before God saying:

"Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 'A people that has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.'"

After hearing this and knowing Balak’s request was not only useless but foolish as well, God gives the following command to Balaam:

"Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed."

Indeed, the Israelites were blessed because they had the real God on their side, the God who was like no other, having no equal or rival.

Well, after receiving the words from God, Balaam goes to Balak’s entourage men the next morning and tells them the following:

"Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you."

Balaam may have tried to communicate with many gods in his time but in this instance, he connected with the one and only real God, the holy God of Israel, a God that could not be manipulated by anyone. Of interest, we see here where Balaam fully chooses to obey God completely and follow His commands.

Friends, today we don’t serve a multitude of gods who specialize in different parts of our worldly existence. No, we serve one God, the Lord God Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and earth, the Master and Ruler over all created things. This God was the One who brought forth the heavens and earth, the sun and moon to separate days into morning and evening. He created the seas and the lands that divide the seas, and then created every living thing that lives in either which included mankind that was formed in His own image.

This God governs and reigns in utter sovereignty over everything and in one crowning moment of power, love, forgiveness, mercy, and grace, He sent His one and only Son from Heaven to earth to serve as a living sacrifice that would atone for the sins of anyone who would simply believe in Him as Savior. This blessed assurance of eternal life for all Christian believers guarantees that one day they will live with the one true God forever one day.

Brothers and sisters, indeed, there is only one God, a God like no other, a God who is with us and for us, a God through which all things are possible. Let us give Him all our honor, glory, praise, and thanks today and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.