This will be the last post till 2/10
The 25th chapter of Numbers reveals to us a very sordid chapter in the history of Israel. The men of Israel are drawn into committing fornication with the women of Moab and are then enticed to worship and sacrifice to the their Gods. It is a picture of great numbers of the children of God giving themselves over to complete wickedness. Numbers 31:13-16 supports the premise that this was the result of Balaam advising Balak that this was the way to gain a victory over Israel even if it would only be for a short period of time. The doctrine of Balaam said, “Entice with the lust of the eyes and the lust of the flesh” and it worked. It is a doctrine founded on the desire to do whatever we want to do even when we know it is wrong and is forbidden by God.
My thoughts run in two directions as I think about this doctrine of Balaam. First, I think of this great nation in which we live. America seems bent on destruction at this hour. God and his word are being cast aside and he is no longer given the glory and honor that belongs to him. When I think about what took place with Israel in the long ago, I look at the America in which I live and I see her wallowing in a cesspool of sexual immorality. One in which homosexuality and lesbianism are being elevated to the level of absolute acceptance advancing to the point in which same sex marriage is being accepted (Rom. 1:22-32, 2 Tim. 3:1-5, Prov. 14:34). Sometimes I wonder, where will it all end? I think I know the answer as well as you. Secondly, my thoughts turn to the church and her members for you see the doctrine of Balaam is alive, well and thriving among us today. It says to us that God wants us to be happy so we can have Christ, we can be saved, we can inherit eternal life and at the same time engage ourselves in any activity we desire, the works of the flesh mean nothing (Gal. 5:19-21). We can gamble, dance, drink alcoholic beverages, enjoy all the worldly amusements and recreations we want to. We can engage in adultery, covetousness, all manner of lascivious living. We can bow down to the false God of our choosing be it homes, possessions, family, money, entertainment, recreation and the list goes on and on. After all, God does not mean what he says and he loves us too much to punish us (Rom. 11:22, 1 Cor. 10:6-12). My friends, I for one, do not believe that God has ever winked at any of this nor has he ever closed his eyes to it or looked the other way and I don’t believe he ever will.
We preachers love to preach on doctrine and that is needed but it is for the most part safe ground on which to tread. We so badly need preaching and teaching on purity of life, honesty, truthfulness, marriage, divorce, remarriage, abstaining from the appearance of evil and all those things it takes to be an example of the believer (1 Tim. 4:12). We need lots of teaching on those things that will help us to know how to behave ourselves in the house of God (1Tim. 3:15).
Charles Hicks