Ezekiel 47:1-5 (New International Version)

Ezekiel 47:1-5 (New International Version)

1 The man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was flowing from the south side.

3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in—a river that no one could cross.

Used in message The Life and Work of Christ (Part One)

Numbers 22-24 story of Balaam

Numbers 22-24 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
[NIV at IBS] [International Bible Society] [NIV at Zondervan] [Zondervan]

Numbers 22
Balak Summons Balaam
1 Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, 3 and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Indeed, Moab was filled with dread because of the Israelites.

4 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, 5 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. 6 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."

7 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.

8 "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.

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

10 Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 11 '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.' "

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

13 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."

14 So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

15 Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. 16 They came to Balaam and said:
"This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, 17 because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me."

18 But Balaam answered them, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. 19 Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me."

20 That night God came to Balaam and said, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."
Balaam's Donkey
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.

26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey's mouth, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?"

29 Balaam answered the donkey, "You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now."

30 The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?"
"No," he said.

31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

32 The angel of the LORD asked him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her."

34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back."

35 The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. 37 Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn't you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?"

38 "Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied. "But can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."

39 Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him. 41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.
Numbers 23
Balaam's First Oracle
1 Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." 2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.

4 God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."

5 The LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."

6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab. 7 Then Balaam uttered his oracle:
"Balak brought me from Aram,
the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
'Come,' he said, 'curse Jacob for me;
come, denounce Israel.'

8 How can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I denounce
those whom the LORD has not denounced?

9 From the rocky peaks I see them,
from the heights I view them.
I see a people who live apart
and do not consider themselves one of the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob
or number the fourth part of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
and may my end be like theirs!"

11 Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"

12 He answered, "Must I not speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
Balaam's Second Oracle
13 Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me." 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

15 Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."

16 The LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."

17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, "What did the LORD say?"

18 Then he uttered his oracle:
"Arise, Balak, and listen;
hear me, son of Zippor.

19 God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?

20 I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

21 "No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them.

22 God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.

23 There is no sorcery against Jacob,
no divination against Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'

24 The people rise like a lioness;
they rouse themselves like a lion
that does not rest till he devours his prey
and drinks the blood of his victims."

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"

26 Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?"
Balaam's Third Oracle
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there." 28 And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland.

29 Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." 30 Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Numbers 24

1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert. 2 When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him 3 and he uttered his oracle:
"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,

4 the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

5 "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
your dwelling places, O Israel!

6 "Like valleys they spread out,
like gardens beside a river,
like aloes planted by the LORD,
like cedars beside the waters.

7 Water will flow from their buckets;
their seed will have abundant water.
"Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.

8 "God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox.
They devour hostile nations
and break their bones in pieces;
with their arrows they pierce them.

9 Like a lion they crouch and lie down,
like a lioness—who dares to rouse them?
"May those who bless you be blessed
and those who curse you be cursed!"

10 Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. 11 Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from being rewarded."

12 Balaam answered Balak, "Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, 13 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD -and I must say only what the LORD says'? 14 Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come."
Balaam's Fourth Oracle
15 Then he uttered his oracle:
"The oracle of Balaam son of Beor,
the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly,

16 the oracle of one who hears the words of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

17 "I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the sons of Sheth.

18 Edom will be conquered;
Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
but Israel will grow strong.

19 A ruler will come out of Jacob
and destroy the survivors of the city."
Balaam's Final Oracles
20 Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle:
"Amalek was first among the nations,
but he will come to ruin at last."

21 Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle:
"Your dwelling place is secure,
your nest is set in a rock;

22 yet you Kenites will be destroyed
when Asshur takes you captive."

23 Then he uttered his oracle:
"Ah, who can live when God does this?

24 Ships will come from the shores of Kittim;
they will subdue Asshur and Eber,
but they too will come to ruin."

25 Then Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.

Doing!

There is something profound about being a Christian... We are charged to carry out the will of God. What I am about to write may seem a bit harsh... I believe we will seek to do His will when we are born again. Now I am not trying to John 3:16 bash because I know every word is perfect, but I am advocating action in response to it. Are you ready for something to chew on? Let me lay it out for you.

I think I am going to expand on this topic for the next few days because there are about fifty sermons here. I will begin with the very popular yet at times abused verse John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life." I would like to point out one very important word - BELIEVES. What is it about this word that perpetuates emphasis, isn't it an easy word. I look at the Greek for this word here and I get pisteuō {pist-yoo'-o} to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), that is, credit; by implication to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well being to Christ): - believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.) I love this because as mentioned in yesterdays message "do we believe in God like we believe in Santa Clause?" You see the word used here is different from that type of belief. The word used here is saying we must fully trust Jesus with our well being and commit to Him; accepting His existence is not enough, even the demons believe in Him and know what he did, but that does not save them.

The word "believe" is a verb... how about that, this means it perpetuates action. Jesus laid out an outline for us to follow, these are the fundamentals of Christianity: Matt. 22:36-40 36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." The first and most important thing we should do in reaction is truly love God and seek a relationship with Him. and second we should love our neighbor as yourself.

A commitment to another is considered a relationship. In the definition given for the original "believe" we saw the word "commit," and to commit requires effort.... this means we have got to do something. James said "faith without works is dead." I would like to bring this into a new light, James 2:22-23 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his(Abraham's) works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God." The way I see it is works will be in response to faith, and faith is made perfect by works. For this reason it was written "faith without works is dead" for works are a response and perfecting tool of faith. Ultimately if you really love God and have faith there will be works... there will be good fruit.

Remember; however, it is not works that saves us but we are "saved by Gods Grace through faith." This is where the relationship comes in, He exchanges grace for relationship because relationship is fulfilling the greatest commandment " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." In Matthew chapter 7 we see a scenario of judgment and how works alone don't do the trick. "21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" It starts with the a relationship with Him, how else can we know His will.

Well I think that is just about enough rambling for the day. I look forward to writing tomorrows message. God Bless you and go do something.

Contemplation "The reward for serving God is the service itself."

From the mind of Anthony Flanigan

Today I received something rather refreshing. As a waiter I get to plant seeds in the lives of those I serve. It is rare a seed is sown in me by one whom I serve at work. The seed came in the form of an article from the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle; Torah Portion. The name of this man handing me an article unfortunately has not stuck in my mind, however I may refer to him as Mr. egg beaters, fruit and dry wheat toast.

If I were a completely oblivious and pompous-holier than thou type Christian I would have disregarded this article at its' origin. What "Christian" wants to read Jewish expository? This Christian! Why wouldn't I! Unfortunately there is a severe lack of maturity and wisdom in a vast majority of "Christians" today, (an observation of fruits, not a judgment.) Christians should develop a hunger for Gods word, as well as effective understanding of other religions, for the purpose of effective ministry and proper representation of God. The Jewish religion concentrates on the Law of God, thus I want the understanding and convictions contained in Gods law. We are told in Romans that knowledge of God's Law is knowledge of sin. How can one stop sinning if they are not convicted.

The article began with a quote from President John Kennedy, "ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The article concentrated on the life of Abraham; most importantly, his obedience to God even when told to sacrifice His only son Isaac. Abraham's obedience to God is a model to all people of all faiths. I am reminded of the Abrahamic Covenant and its terms and context. When a covenant was made in those times, an animal was to be slaughtered, cut in half and each member of the covenant was to walk through the middle of the sacrifice stating loyalty to the covenant. "If I don't hold up my end of the covenant, you may do to me as we did to this animal." One thing making the Abrahamic Covenant special is God did not allow Abraham to go through the sacrifice. God shows His abundant grace and mercy by stating He will hold up his end whether Abraham is faithful to his end or not. God was determined to bless Abraham.

Why does this four thousand year old covenant matter to Christians today? It is the fulfillment of this covenant which blesses us with salvation. There is a reason why St. Matthew began his gospel with the lineage of Christ. He was showing us how Jesus Christ is a descendant of Abraham. Abraham was told in the covenant the nations would be blessed through him. Jesus, being a super-great grandson of Abraham harnesses blessings available to all, Jew and Gentile.

Ultimately this article's aim made me want to ask this convicting question, "Do we believe in God like a child believes in Santa Claus, or do we believe for His Sacrifice and Greatness." Being able to have a personal relationship with God of the universe is honor and reward enough to die to ourselves and give it all to him. We should be reminded, we are all covered in sin and don't deserve grace, let alone any other blessings given. We need to get out of our self absolved mindsets, realize our sin and thank God with all we have, we don't deserve what we have, we don't deserve more and if we have less we should bless Him still. Remember Job? We need to press on to glorify God. God doesn't exist to bless us, we exist to bring Him glory and honor.