Listening to God First and Foremost

Scripture: The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him. He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam. Numbers 22:7-8

Observation: There is a misunderstanding about the nature of Balaam, even at the beginning. Balak has sent men to Balaam to ask him to come curse the Israelites. Balak sent "fees for divination" and effectively want to hire him as a magician able to curse others at will. However, Balaam is a believer in Yahweh. He is in close communion with the Lord, to the point that he trusts God will reveal to him in one night what action to take ... and God does exactly that, appearing to him in a conversation that very night. Balaam will not take any action without God's approval.

Application: Balaam is a complicated person. He is part wild necromancer, part prophet, part hired gun. He speaks with God, but cannot see angels. He owns a talking donkey (well ... okay ... God communicates a lesson through the donkey). He will soon pronounce the mission of the Messiah as a blessing over Israel, despite himself being a descendent of some other middle eastern ethnicity (maybe a Moabite, maybe something else closer to the Chaldeans).

All that said, Balaam trusts in the Lord. He listens and obeys. This is an example to us all. We may have a lot of strange characteristics in our lives, and strange twists in our personal story, but the primary responsibility of any faithful person is to listen to God and obey his instructions. In doing so, we can play a part in God's great purpose and plan.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your word yesterday. It meant a great deal to others, but it meant a great deal to me to be used by you. Thank you for loving me enough to do so. May I listen to you more and more every day. Amen.