Buckle Up!
- Posted on JulpmMon, 25 Jul 2016 13:47:55 -05002016-07-25T13:47:55-05:0001 17, 2016
- in Balak, Bible, God, Hebrew, Messiah, Study, Torah, Yeshua
- by Hallelujah Girl
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist when the times are evil, and after you have done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm then! Buckle the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. Strap up your feet in readiness with the Good News of shalom. Above all, take up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:10-17
What is truth? In today’s world it seems harder and harder to discern truth in a world that is full of deception. “Truth”, the dictionary defines, is the true or actual state of a matter. Do you recognize truth?
The Torah Portion Balak, בלק, pronounced ‘baw-lawk’, uncovers some very important lessons about how the powers of darkness work. The Portion comes from the book of Numbers 22:2-25:9. Balak was the King of Moab and his name means devastator, to waste, or to lay waste. If you read last week’s portion, Chucat, you know that the Children of Israel defeated Sihon, the Amorite King, and Og, the King of Bashin. Now the children of Israel are right in Balak’s back yard. You could kind of see that he might have been a bit concerned that he was next. As the King, the next step might be to have some sort of military strategy. Instead Balak sends for Balaam to come and curse the Children of Israel.
“He sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, at Pethor near the River in his native land, saying to him, “Look now, a people has come out of Egypt. See now, they cover the surface of the earth and are settling beside me. Come now, curse this people for me, because they are too strong for me! Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them away from the country. I know that whoever you bless will be blessed and whoever you curse will be accursed!” ~Numbers 22:5-6.
Balaam, בלעם, pronounced ‘bil-awm’, was a sort of prophet but his name meant “not (of the) people”. Balak summons Balaam to curse the children of Israel. The word “curse” in verse 6 in the Hebrew text is arar, ארר. The first we see arar in scripture is in Genesis 3:14, Adonai Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you did this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and above every animal of the field. “On your belly will you go, and dust will you eat all the days of your life.”
When the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, in came sin and death. No longer would man walk in the Garden with the Holy One. The serpents plan was to drive man out of the Garden of Eden. Still today the serpent continues to drive out Israel from their land and to drive believers away from the Holy One.
Balak and Balaam are ancient enemies, but when Balaam is greeted by Balak’s delegates to come and curse the Israelites, Balaam seeks counsel from the Holy One and He answers, “Do not go with them.” So Balaam sends them on their way, but a short time later they return. Asking a second time, promising riches, anything he asks. Balaam must be hoping G~d will change His mind and give him permission to go. Sound familiar? When G~d says “NO” we must learn to heed His Word. In Genesis 3, the Holy One clearly says, “You shall not eat”:
“But the serpent was shrewder than any animal of the field that Adonai Elohim made. So it said to the woman, “Did G~d really say, ‘You must not eat from all the trees of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of the trees, we may eat. 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, G~d said, ‘You must not eat of it and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You most assuredly won’t die! For G~d knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like G~d, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3: 1-5
The Holy One gives Balaam his desire, so he saddles his donkey and went. Still this angered the Holy One. G~d knew Balaam’s heart was full of greed and was about to call him out! On his way the Angel, with a drawn sword stood in the path of Balaam and his donkey. Three times this happens, but only the donkey sees the Angel. The first time she veered off the path, the second time she crushed Balaams foot against the wall, and the third and final time she laid down. Each time she resisted she was beaten by Balaam.
Then Adonai opened the donkey’s mouth and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you’ve made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you now!”
The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey which you have ridden as always to this day? Have I ever been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. ~Numbers 22:28-30
Now Balaams eyes were opened and he realizes he has disobeyed the Holy One. There is a path that G~d has chosen for each one of us! and then there is a path of your own choosing. It is good to listen to the Holy One’s voice and He will lead us to the path and guide us as we travel on it. When we try to manipulate Him with our own selfishness, that’s when we miss the path. Putting on a “religious act” will guarantee a wrong turn! AND- If your donkey starts talking to you, pay attention. 🙂 Balaam now admits his sin and is now ready to walk in obedience~at least for the next two chapters.
When we come to chapter 25 of the Torah Portion, because Balaam would end up blessing the Children of Israel instead of cursing them, he now counsels the Moabites on how to defeat them. He advises them to seduce the Children of Israel:
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the people began to have immoral sexual relations with women from Moab. Then they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, so the people were eating, and bowing down before their gods. When Israel became bound to Baal of Peor, the anger of Adonai grew hot against Israel. ~ Numbers 25:1-3
This results in great judgement. That day 24,000 of the Children of Israel died. Balaam was a master of deception. He spoke the Word but failed to follow it. Messiah Yeshua warns the same in Matthew 7:15-23:
“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes aren’t gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree produces good fruit, but the rotten tree produces bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will recognize them by their fruit. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘L~rd, L~rd!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘L~rd, L~rd, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, and drive out demons in Your name, and perform many miracles in Your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Get away from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”
Wisdom from the Portion Balak: The Bridegroom will recognize his bride by her fruit. Pray today for discernment to recognize truth from lies. Learn to be obey the words of Torah and to be obedient without reservation. Remember that deviation from the Word leads to confusion. Hold fast to the truth and do not seek to add to it or change it. The enemy will always be waiting to attack, so remain faithful.
Shalom, Happy Day!
Hallelujah Girl
Tags: #ReadYourBible #ItsAllAboutYeshua #TorahIsTruth, Balak