Jesus, the Reason for the Season

Christmas means a lot of different things to different people. For some, it’s about decorations and gifts, for others it’s about spending time with family, and for others it’s about extending goodwill toward mankind. Those things are all great in their proper place, but to focus on any of those things alone or together falls short of the true meaning of the holiday as it has been celebrated for centuries. I want to take the time in this post to write about the real reason we celebrate Christmas, and to do so, I want to begin in the book of John.

John begins his gospel by writing “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (Jn 1:1) Right away, he establishes that the Word (Jesus Christ) was in the beginning, before time began. The word beginning in the original language carries with it the idea of being an origin or an active cause. Next, we see that the Word was with God (the Father), and that the word was God. So, Jesus is the origin or active cause of creation, He was with God, and He was Himself God. John restates that He (Jesus) was in the beginning with God (V 2). These verses should immediately take us back to the very first verse of the first chapter of the Bible where it states, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen 1:1) For time’s sake, I won’t go into great detail, but the word for God here is in the plural, meaning three or more. So, the first time the word God appears in the Bible, we see reference to the trinity. We are all probably familiar with this passage that appears around Christmastime: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2) This word for everlasting means the days of eternity or beyond the vanishing point. Jesus was co-existent with the Father and the Holy Spirit from eternity past.

John continues, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (Jn 1:3) In other words, Jesus is the person of the godhead that is primarily responsible for creation. John is emphatic that Jesus created all things, and that without Him nothing was made that was made. This means everything, including the angels. So, this Jesus who we remember as coming as a babe in a manger at Christmas time is the God and creator of the entire universe and everything in it. This should fill us with awe and wonder.

Many of us know what happened next. Eve was deceived by the serpent into eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and then she gave some to her husband as well. This plunged the entire human race into sin. The Bible and the rest of history tell the story of the downfall and depravity of mankind as they have rejected God for their own selfish pleasures. All the horrible atrocities that have been committed throughout Antiquity, and even to the present, have been from Man’s rejecting God and His laws. However, God had a remedy from the foundation of the world, and it was about two thousand years ago that He put this plan into action.

The God and creator of the entire universe humbled Himself, stepped off His throne, left His glory behind, and took on human form. Not only this, He was born in the lowliest of conditions. He was born in a barn, wrapped in swaddling (grave) clothes, and laid in a feeding trough by His mother who was seen in the eyes of many as an adulteress or fornicator. John again writes, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (Jn 1:14) The word for dwelt is tabernacled, and speaks to Jesus’ earthly body that He took on. It’s important to note that Jesus did not give up His deity (godhood), but simply added humanity to it. The author of Hebrews writes, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Heb 1:1-3) Here, we see that Jesus radiates the glory of the Father, and is Himself the express image or exact imprint of the person of the Father. It is this divine essence which He shares with the Father that is the foundation or undergirding of His humanity. He is both fully God and fully man. It is through this God man whom the Father has seen fit to speak to us in these last days.

This begs the question, why did God do this? Why did Jesus leave His throne in Heaven to take on human form.  First, He wanted to show mankind who God is in a way we could relate. As we have already seen, Jesus is the exact imprint of His Father, inscribed with the very same nature and character as Him. While on earth, He told Philip and the other disciples, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (Jn 14:9) Back in chapter one, John tells us that Jesus came full of grace and truth. He is a perfectly loving and perfectly holy God. In our finite minds it is difficult at times to grasp this, but sinners liked being around Jesus. He showed them kindness and compassion, while still telling them the truth about their sin. In this He demonstrated the heart of His Father.

Second, He wanted to walk in our shoes. He lived a life facing all the same temptations and challenges that we do, yet He did it without sin. The author of Hebrews again writes, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb 4:15) In this, we have a compassionate High Priest who experienced firsthand what it is like to be a human being, and because of this, we can approach the throne of God with boldness to ask for grace to help in time of need.

Third and most importantly, he wanted to redeem us from our sins. The incarnation of Jesus Christ was truly an extraordinary miracle, but it was only a means to an even greater miracle, that is the cross. Because of His love for mankind, Jesus went to the cross to pay a debt that was never His, and He did so to save you and me. Both Father and the Holy Spirit are credited with raising Jesus from the Dead, but Jesus stated He had the power to raise Himself. He stated, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” (Jn 10:17-18) Jesus raised Himself from the dead, and He offers this same resurrection life to all who will believe on Him. This is the chief reason He came, to save sinners like you and me.

My intent in writing this post is not to draw anyone with persuasive words of human wisdom, but that the Holy Spirit would demonstrate His power by drawing you to Jesus Christ if you are not a Christian. We have all sinned, and the only way to be right with a holy God is through faith in the Jesus Christ of the Bible for salvation. When the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas what they must do to be saved, they responded, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31) That’s it; it is really that simple! This belief is not a mere intellectual acknowledgement that Jesus exists, for even the demons believe that and tremble. It is a belief that places one’s complete trust and confidence in Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross to save them from their sins. If you have not done this, please do so today. The world is ripe for the judgment of God, and Jesus is the only way to escape this judgment. If you are a believer, draw near to the Lord during this Christmas season. If you have allowed sin into your life, confess it to him, for He is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. If you harbor bitterness toward someone for something they have done, forgive them as God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you. Remember, He is not a babe in the manger any longer, but is the God man who by Himself has purged our sins, and is now seated on the right hand of the Majesty on high. Thank Him for taking on human form, for walking in our shoes, and thank Him for going to the cross and rising again to save us from our sins.

 

The following is a story told by Paul Harvey, and helps to illustrate God’s desire to take on human form:

“The man to whom I’m going to introduce you was not a scrooge, he was a kind decent, mostly good man. Generous to his family, upright in his dealings with other men. But he just didn’t believe all that incarnation stuff which the churches proclaim at Christmas Time. It just didn’t make sense and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just couldn’t swallow the Jesus Story, about God coming to Earth as a man. “I’m truly sorry to distress you,” he told his wife, “but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve.” He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he’d much rather just stay at home, but that he would wait up for them. And so he stayed and they went to the midnight service. Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier and then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound…Then another, and then another. Sort of a thump or a thud…At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. But when he went to the front door to investigate he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They’d been caught in the storm and, in a desperate search for shelter, had tried to fly through his large landscape window. Well, he couldn’t let the poor creatures lie there and freeze, so he remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter, if he could direct the birds to it. Quickly he put on a coat, galoshes, tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the doors wide and turned on a light, but the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in. So he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow, making a trail to the yellow-lighted wide open doorway of the stable. But to his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them…He tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms…Instead, they scattered in every direction, except into the warm, lighted barn. And then, he realized that they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature. If only I could think of some way to let them know that they can trust me…That I am not trying to hurt them, but to help them. But how? Because any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. “If only I could be a bird,” he thought to himself, “and mingle with them and speak their language. Then I could tell them not to be afraid. Then I could show them the way to safe, warm…to the safe warm barn. But I would have to be one of them so they could see, and hear and understand.” At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sounds of the wind. And he stood there listening to the bells – Adeste Fidelis – listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. And he sank to his knees in the snow.”

1 Samuel 28 - Saul Visits a Medium

Previously in 1 Samuel, we saw David flee into Philistine country out of discouragement and doubt of the Lord’s plan for his life. While there, he began making some sinful choices in order to gain the favor of Achish, the king of Gath. David destroyed some of the cultures that God had previously told the children of Israel to wipe out, but he brought all the loot back to Achish and deceived him into believing he was attacking his own people. Achish was so pleased with this, that when it came time to go to war with Israel, he wanted David to go with him into battle. Surprisingly, David agrees to this. He was either planning on turning on Achish in battle, or, even worse, going to fight against his own people. Either way, he was in a predicament: Saul already wanted to kill him, and if he turned on Achish in battle, then the Philistines would want his head as well. David was in Philistine territory for 16 months, and this was probably one of the lowest times spiritually for him.

In light of this imminent war with the Philistines, the scene returns back to Saul. We are reminded that Samuel was dead, and that he had been buried in his own city of Ramah. We also are told that Saul had put all the mediums and spiritists out of the land (put them to death), a fact that will be relevant a bit later. This was in line with the Scriptures, but Saul had a tendency to be hard on everyone else’s sin except his own.

Then the Philistines gathered together, and encamped in Shunem, while Saul and all Israel encamped at Gilboa. Shunem was about 20 miles north of the northern most Philistine city of Aphek, and was in the valley of Jezreel. This gives us some indication of how far the Philistines had made an inroad into Israeli territory. Saul was being boxed in. Gilboa was just south of the sea of Galilee, and overlooked Shunem in the valley of Jezreel. So, Saul was able to look down and see the armies of the Philistines, and it states he was afraid, his heart greatly trembling. He sought counsel from the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him, neither by dreams, the priests, or the prophets. The Lord would not answer Saul, because Saul refused to get right with him. Saul was not looking to get right with the Lord, but a way to avoid being defeated by the Philistines.

Rather than humbling himself, Saul resorted to occultic practices to seek counsel of what to do. He told his servants to find him a medium that he could go and inquire of her. They replied that there was one in En Dor, a city that was nearby. The devil often has a trap or snare waiting nearby in case he can succeed in convincing us to take it. This woman was a necromancer, someone who claims to make contact with the dead. In reality, she was demon-possessed, and this demon would speak through her when she conducted the séance. These demons would often impersonate the dead person that the individual was wanting to call up.

So, Saul disguised himself, and he and two men went to her by night. He asked her to conduct a séance for him, and to call up whoever he names. The woman objected, saying that he knew what Saul had done in putting to death all the mediums in the land, so why was he laying a snare for her life? She was making sure this was not some sort of sting operation. Then Saul swore by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” Notice the confusion again in Saul: he’s visiting a medium, and then swearing by the Lord. Using the right spiritual jargon does not mean anything if it is not accompanied by obedience to the word of God. We may have seen some of these people on television: they praise Jesus, but then they fleece people for money. Well, the woman agreed to go ahead with the séance, and asked Saul who he wanted her to bring up? He told her to bring up Samuel for him. Saul is really desperate and confused here: God will not answer him, so he wants to call up Samuel, a prophet of the Lord, as if that would turn out better for him.

When the woman saw Samuel, she shrieked, which gives us an indication this wasn’t normal for her. It wasn’t common practice for her to actually call up someone from the dead, especially a believer. The most straight-forward interpretation is usually the correct one, and since the Bible states it was Samuel, I believe it was. God allowed it to take place in this instance as a witness against Saul. She also knew somehow that it was Saul. She asked him why he had deceived her, and he told her to not be afraid. He asked her what she saw? She said that she saw gods ascending out of the earth (probably her pagan way of describing what she saw). She told Saul that she saw an old man with a mantle. Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and stooped down with his face to the ground. It would appear that Saul could not see Samuel, but he would be able to hear him.

Samuel asked Saul why he had disturbed him by bringing him up? Samuel would have been in a place called Abraham’s bosom, a place of rest and comfort that believers went to before Jesus died on the cross. Both Abraham’s bosom and Hell were in a place called Sheol, and according to Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus, there was a great gulf between the two places. Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.” Samuel responded, “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

This was not the answer Saul was hoping for, but what could he expect? God had departed from Saul, but only because Saul had departed from him first. God was Saul’s enemy because Saul had made Him so by his own failure to repent from his sins. The Lord would later speak through Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.” (Isaiah 59:1-2) He reminded Saul that the Lord had fulfilled his word by taking the kingdom from him, and giving it to his neighbor, David. The identification of David was an addition to Samuel’s original prophecy, but it was a confirmation of what Saul already knew. The Lord did this because Saul had not obeyed His voice by executing His fierce wrath on Amalek. The Lord was taking Saul back to where his downfall began, that unrepentant sin that Saul had carried with him for the last 15 years or so, and that led to so many other sins. Samuel had told him then that rebellion was as the sin of witchcraft, and that stubbornness was as iniquity and idolatry. Oh, how true that was, for Saul was spending the last few hours of his life visiting a medium. As a result, Samuel told Saul that he and the rest of Israel would be delivered into the hands of the Philistines, and that the next day he and his sons would be with him (Samuel). Visiting a medium and other occultic practices are strictly forbidden by the Scriptures, and in doing so, Saul was inviting a curse on himself: “‘And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.’” (Leviticus 20:6)

So, did Saul go to Abraham’s Bosom or to Hell? Granted, Old Testament believers were not saved in the same way we are today, but Saul did seem to have somewhat of a conversion experience when the Lord gave him a new heart (1 Samuel 10:9). Some would argue that when Samuel told Saul he and his sons would be with him, Samuel was referring to the general place of Sheol, not the exact place that he was. However, given the fact that Abraham’s bosom and Hell were so drastically different and that there was a great gulf between the two, makes it seem more likely that Samuel was referring to Abraham’s bosom rather than referring to death and Sheol in a more general sense. You might ask, “how could a man like Saul, an angry violent man who committed horrible atrocities, go to Abraham’s Bosom which would later mean going to Heaven? This gets back to the question of whether or not we are saved by our faith or our works? If we can lose our salvation based off committing sin or a series of sins, then we would have had to gain it by not sinning. This contradicts numerous New Testament passages, Ephesians 2:8-9 for starters, which states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” In order for Saul to go to Abraham’s Bosom, his faith in the Lord must have remained intact, despite his sinful choices. This is why I believe we should be careful in judging definitively that a person is or is not saved based off their fruit or lack thereof. We can see the outward evidence that something is definitely wrong, and even question the authenticity of their conversion at times; however, the Lord is the only one who truly knows the heart.

After Samuel was done speaking, Saul fell down on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid. He had no strength, for he had not eaten anything all day and all night. When the woman saw how troubled he was, she offered him food, but he refused it. Then she and his servants together urged him to eat, and he agreed. She killed a fatted calf, made unleavened bread, and they all ate before they left on their way. You may ask, “if what Saul did was so wrong, why did he get a steak dinner out of it? The devil may offer a lot of nice perks in exchange for getting us to commit sin, but what he has to offer is only for this life. Even at that, his perks are temporary and fleeting. I’m sure that steak dinner was of little consolation to Saul who was just told he would die in battle at the hands of the Philistines the next day.

Reader, are you desperate to hear from the Lord, and He is not answering? It could be that it goes back to some previous sin that you have not dealt with. The Lord may allow you to be in dire straits, like He did with Saul, in order to humble you to a place where you will repent. Remember, the Lord’s hand is not short that He cannot save, nor is His ear heavy that He cannot hear, but it is your iniquities and sins that have separated you from him that He will not answer. If this is you or me, we have a choice in that moment: we can take advantage of that opportunity the Lord has so graciously given us, and we can be restored to fellowship with Him through repentance. Alternatively, we can be like Saul by turning away from the Lord to even worse sins. This was it for Saul: yes, he could have repented even after visiting the medium, but I don’t know if it would have changed his outcome as predicted by Samuel. Unfortunately, he will not repent, even at his death. If this is us, let us go back to those sins we know we have committed, and take them to Jesus who is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It is then that we can count on the Lord’s saving hand and listening ear. In the next chapter, we will see the scene shift back to the Philistines who are preparing for war, and how they will deal with David and his men. 

1 Samuel 27 - David's Discouragement

Previously in 1 Samuel, we saw Saul pursue David once again while he was hiding in the hill of Hachilah. Saul and his men encamped overnight, and a deep sleep from the Lord fell on them. David and one of his men sneaked in and took Saul’s spear and jug of water, but they did not touch Saul. When Saul found out it was David, and that David did not take his life, he admitted his wrongdoing and went home. Again, he was showing outward signs of remorse, stating he had played the fool, and errored exceedingly.

We have repeatedly seen this behavior from Saul: he vacillated between being in his right mind and being mad with envy and paranoia. As I stated before, repentance is a choice, not a feeling. We choose to turn from our sin, and we choose to believe God that He forgives and restores, just as He says He will. We also must trust that He has won the victory for us, and by faith in Him, we can and will overcome. This is what Saul failed to do, and the evidence of this is seen in his downward spiral into sin. If he were truly repentant, he may have still struggled, but he would have gotten better as the Lord worked in him.

Thus far, David has behaved himself wisely for the most part, but he becomes discouraged over the relentless pursuit from Saul and began making some poor decisions. David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.” David was discouraged, and understandably so. However, he allowed his discouragement to turn into words of doubt. Believers should be careful with self-talk, because it is so easy to say things about themselves or their circumstances that are not true. If David were resting on the promises of God, he would have known that he would not perish by the hand of Saul, for God had promised him that he would be king one day.

This untrue self-talk led David to act on his doubts. He left his country and the inheritance of the Lord to go into Philistine country, Israel’s enemies. This is always the danger of speaking things that are not true: eventually a person may act on those thoughts. David was listening to his heart which the Bible refers to as deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer 17:19), rather than the truth. Samuel, Jonathan, Abigail, and even Saul had told him he will be king, but he is willing to forsake all of that to seek protection among the Philistines. He wanted to go speedily, but God is never in a hurry. David didn’t know it, but it was only about a year and a half from Saul’s death.

So, David, his two wives, and his 600 men went to live with Achish, king of Gath. If we recall, this was Goliath’s hometown. It is difficult to understand what David was thinking here, but when a person begins operating in discouragement and doubt, they may say and do things they would not otherwise do. Once Saul found out David was at Gath, he did not seek for him anymore. David accomplished his goal, but the seeds of sin that would be sowed here will not have made it worth it in the long run.

At a certain point, David asked Achish, that if he had found favor in his eyes, if he would give him a place in the country, rather than dwelling in the royal city? So, Achish gave him Ziklag, a city that belonged to the tribe of Judah that was under Philistine control at the time. Ziklag was a fortified city, probably giving David and his men a false sense of security. However, as one commentator put it, “You cannot judge by your circumstances as to whether or not you are in God’s will. You must know the Word of God.” David and his men will end up staying in Philistine territory for 16 months.

While there, David and his men raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. These were Philistine and Canaanite cultures in the southern part of the tribe of Judah that were there before Israel possessed the land. These would have been the nations that the Lord told the Israelites to wipe out completely. Then when Achish would ask him where he had made a raid, he would say, “Against the southern area of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against the southern area of the Kenites.” David was lying to make Achish think he was killing his own people, and he left no one alive to speak the truth. Achish believed David, and said, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my servant forever.”

So, on the one hand it appears that David was obeying the Lord by wiping out these cultures, but he was taking all the loot back to Achish and lying about what he was doing. This killing, looting, and lying to cover it up will unfortunately show up later in David’s life with much steeper consequences. He was doing all of this to gain the favor of a pagan king. This was clearly a low point in David’s life and in his walk with the Lord. He was, again, operating out of doubt, discouragement, and the fear of man. His sinful decisions made him more like the Philistines and like Saul than the man God had called him to be.

Are we like David, and are going through a time of discouragement? As another commentator said, “Victorious Christian living doesn’t mean that we won’t have struggles or that we will always feel like victorious believers. David is disheartened and discouraged. Discouragement is a part of our journey…sometimes God takes us there. We must be careful not to make disobedient decisions while discouraged.” The Lord will allow us to be discouraged at times in order to teach us to trust Him in a deeper way. We may have been in this season a long time and are tempted to act speedily or hastily, but that is often times when God’s deliverance is just around the corner. David was in his predicament for over 10 years, but his deliverance was coming soon. When we are in times of discouragement, it can be very easy to do what David did, and if we are honest, most of us have been there to one degree or another. However, instead let us hang onto Jesus and the promises of God’s word to see us through. And He will, for God always does what He says He will do. 

1 Samuel 26 - David's Last Encounter with Saul

Previously in 1 Samuel, we saw David and his men ask for provision from a man named Nabal, and how Nabal reviled him and refused to help them. David was ready to take vengeance on the house of Nabal, but Nabal’s wife, Abigail, was the voice of wisdom to talk him out of it. David humbled himself, accepted Abigail’s provision, and sent her home in peace. The Lord then struck Nabal, and he died. David made the wise choice to not take vengeance into his own hands, and the Lord took care of it for him. This is a good lesson for you and me as well.

After this, the Ziphites came to Saul to tell him that David was hiding in the hill of Hachilah. This was the second time that David’s family had betrayed him. So, Saul took 3,000 men, and pursued after David. If we recall, when Saul encountered David at En Geti, he showed remorse over how he had treated him. It could be he was genuinely repentant, or it could be he was merely moved with emotion in the moment. After the emotion of the moment was gone, Saul was ready to resume the pursuit again.

Now, David sent out spies to confirm that Saul was really there, and then arose and came to the camp where he was. It was night, and Saul and Abner, the commander of his army, were lying down with the men all around them.  David and his nephew, Abishai, snuck down into the camp, and Saul was sleeping with his spear in the ground. Abishai wanted to kill Saul, again, stating that the Lord had delivered him into David’s hand, but David would not allow him to do so. David stated, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” The Lord would strike him, he would die of natural causes, or he would die in battle, but God forbid that he should stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed. David had just learned from Nabal that the Lord is more than capable of taking care of his enemies, and he feared God enough to not interfere with the Lord’s anointing and calling on a person’s life. He told Abishai to take the spear and jug of water that were by Saul’s head, and to go. So, they took the spear and jug of water, and got away. No one saw them, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

After this, David went a good distance away, to a hill on the other side of the camp, and called out to the people and to Abner. He asked, “do you not answer, Abner,” (why are you not awake)? Abner replied that who was this that was calling out to the king? David chided him, saying, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not guarded your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy your lord the king. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.” Saul recognized David’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son David?” David answered, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” He asked Saul why he was pursuing him, for what had he done? If the Lord had stirred Saul up against him, let Him accept an offering, but if it was the children of men, let them be cursed before the Lord, for they had driven him out of the inheritance of the Lord to go serve other gods. Remember, their sacrifices and offerings had to be offered in the tabernacle or in a place prescribed by the priest, so David was being prevented from doing this. He continued that Saul should not allow his blood to fall to the ground before the Lord, for Saul was come out to seek a flee or to hunt a partridge in the mountains.

Saul replied, “I have sinned. Return, my son David. For I will harm you no more, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Indeed I have played the fool and erred exceedingly.” David told him he had his spear, and to have one of his men come get it. He continued that may the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and faithfulness, for the Lord had delivered him in to his hand, but he would not stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed. As Saul’s life was highly valued in his eyes, may his life be highly valued in the Lord’s eyes, and may the Lord deliver him out of all tribulation. Saul replied, “May you be blessed, my son David! You shall both do great things and also still prevail.” So, David left, and Saul returned home.

Reader, are you vacillating between true repentance and going back to your old ways? Repentance is not an emotional response to feeling guilt or shame, but a choice from the heart to do what is right. Repentance means to turn from our sins and go the other way. We may or may not have an emotional response, but it is merely a choice to agree with God and do what He says. Are others relentless in their attacks against us? This can become tiring, but again, let us resist the temptation to take matters into our own hands and let the Lord deal with them. The Lord may deal with them directly, or simply allow them to experience the natural consequences of their actions. Either way, they will get what is coming to them unless they repent. If they repent, then we should not expect anything less than the Lord to grant them the same grace and forgiveness He has given to us. We have all played the fool and errored exceedingly, and it is the Lord who has sought us out and offered us grace and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The end of this encounter between Saul and David was very similar to their last one, so understandably, David did not believe him. However, it will begin a series of some unwise choices by David. 

Israel's Trespass

In the last post, we saw Balaam make four different prophecies concerning the nation of Israel, and in each of them, there was a blessing pronounced on the Jewish people, much to Balaam’s dismay. In the fourth prophecy, we even saw  a prediction of the coming Messiah that would smite the enemies of Israel in the latter days. We left off with both Balaam and the king of Moab going back to their own places. This seems like the end of the story, but something happens in the next chapter that is relevant. In chapter 25 of Numbers, it states that the Israelites committed harlotry with the women of Moab. They made sacrifice to their gods, ate at their feasts, and bowed down to their idols. In many of the pagan religions, the sex acts were part of the worship of their idols. So, Israel got involved in the worship of Baal, the great Canaanite fertility god. This sin would be a continual stumbling block for them in years to come, and would eventually lead to their going into captivity. As a result, the Lord became angry with the people, and a plague broke out among them, killing 24,000 of them. What the king of Moab could not accomplish by paying Balaam, Israel brought on themselves with their own sin. Satan cannot take a believer’s salvation from them, but he can side-line them and make them ineffective or even harmful to the cause of Christ due to their own choice to walk in sin. As we learn later in Numbers, this was all due to the counsel of Balaam. This is how he ended up getting his money, by counseling the Moabite and Midianite women to entice Israel into idolatry and fornication. Well, the Lord told Israel to go to war with the Midianites for this, and among those killed was Balaam, the son of Beor.

So, Balaam was a man used by the Lord to speak the word of God powerfully, but he was not right with the Lord. One commentator stated the following: “Balaam is not a good prophet who went bad or a bad prophet trying to be good. He is altogether outside Israel’s prophetic tradition. He is a pagan, foreign national whose mantic acts center on animal divination, including the dissection of animal livers, the movement of animals, and the flight of birds. He believed that he had a way with the gods, a hold on them. To him Yahweh was not the Lord of heaven but just another deity whom he might manipulate.” This goes to show that the Lord can use whoever He wants to accomplish His will, but it is not necessarily His stamp of approval on that person. Balaam was a pagan man motivated by his own greed, to the point of wanting to curse the Lord’s people to enrich himself. He goes down in the Scriptures as a false prophet, as seen In 2 Peter 2, Jude, and Revelation 2.

In application, how are we like the characters in this account? Maybe you are like Balak who feels threatened by the Lord’s people. If so, the answer is not to result to worldly or pagan solutions to the problem, but to join the people of God. The old adage, “if you can’t, beat’m, join’m,” holds true here. You cannot curse whom God has blessed, and to do so will only end up in you being cursed for all eternity in the fires of Hell. Place your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, and become a child of God who is truly blessed with the riches of the kingdom of Heaven.

In what ways are we like Balaam? Greed does not necessarily have to be our primary driver to be like him. It’s really about wanting something so bad, that we are willing to do anything it takes to get it, no  matter if the thing we want is sinful, or if we cause others to sin in the process. Remember, God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. He means what He says, and says what He means. No amount of looking for a different answer will change what He has already plainly taught in His word. If this is you or me, we should not expect our end to be any less than Balaam’s. Especially when we step into the arena of deliberately trying to lead others into sin, this is when the Lord may intervene to stop us (see Acts 13:6-12 and Revelation 2:12-17). The good news is, that as long as we are alive, we have an opportunity to repent and get right with the Lord, something that Balaam failed to do. If we choose not to, then our day of reckoning will eventually come.

Hopefully we are like the children of Israel who are trusting in the Lord by faith and submitted to the word of God. If we are believers, we are truly blessed, for we have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God that has taken away our sins.  Because of the blood of Jesus, God does not observe iniquity or sin in us. Oh, what God has done for us! However, we do have an adversary like the children of Israel, , the devil, who goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He will try to allure us into sin, since that is his only avenue to get us out of fellowship with the Lord and into his arena, but the Scriptures state, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7) If we have sinned as Christians, even if it is as bad as the children of Israel, we simply need to repent and confess our sins before Him. He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There is no sin too big for the Lord’s grace. Then it can be said of us who are in Jesus, “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters.”

The Immutable God, the Star, and the Scepter

In the last post, we saw the king of Moab call for Balaam to come and curse the nation of Israel, and how the Lord told him not to go or curse the people, for they were blessed. After Balaam refused to go the first time, Balak sent more messengers promising more reward than the previous ones, and this time the Lord told him to go. However, as we saw, the Lord told him to go because He knew Balaam’s wicked heart, and that he was probably going to go anyway. We come to this conclusion because the Lord was upset with him for going. Furthermore, the angel of the Lord withstood him in the way, and the Lord used a talking donkey to rebuke him.

As we pick up in the next chapter, Balaam is in the high places of Baal in order to view the Israelites, and he tells the king of Moab to build for him seven altars, and to offer on them seven bulls and seven rams each. After they had offered their offerings, Balaam went to a separate high place to wait for a word from the Lord.

So, the Lord appeared to Balaam, and gave him a word to return and tell Balak: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? and how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; there! A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. “Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!” He asked how could he curse whom the Lord had not cursed? If God does not want someone to be cursed, they cannot be cursed. It’s as simple as that. Israel could not be cursed because they were God’s children; they had been redeemed out of Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb in place of the death of the firstborn. Believers today cannot be cursed because they have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus that has washed away their sins. Israel was not reckoned among the nations, for they were uniquely called and chosen by God. After almost 2,000 years of being dispersed, they still maintained their national identity. They were blessed in that they were too numerous to be counted.

Needless to say, this did not please the king of Moab. He asked Balaam to come to a different place where he could only see the outer part of them, and he could curse them from there. This demonstrates Balak’s lack of understanding of who the Lord is, and for that matter, Balaam’s understanding as well. They were operating under the pagan superstitions of the day that if they use the right formula of the right number of altars and sacrifices, and if they look at Israel from the right angle, then the Lord would be obligated to curse them. However, the Lord would speak to that next.

So, they went to the top of Pisgah in the field of Zophim, and made seven more altars with seven more bulls and rams offered on them. Then the Lord appeared to Balaam, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” Balaam said to the king of Moab and his princes, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.” This is so important, folks! God says what He means and means what He says. He does not change His mind on what is right and wrong due to time or circumstance. Both Balak and Balaam did not understand this. Again, they were hoping for a different answer. “Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” God always fulfils His word. “Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.” God’s word is final; there is no reversing or annulling it. “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.” This is interesting: as I previously mentioned, the book of numbers has been full of Israel’s failures, so how is it that God sees no iniquity or wickedness in Jacob? It was because they were trusting in God by faith that their sin was taken care of by the sacrificial system, and they were submitted to the word of the Lord. So too for believers, a believer submitted to the word of God has no sin for which the devil can accuse him. “The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. God brings them out of Egypt; he has strength like a wild ox.” Israel did not have a king at this time, for God was their king, and it was He that made them strong, giving them a distinct advantage over the other nations. “For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel.” Unless the devil gets permission from the Lord, such as in the case of Job, he cannot touch believers who are submitted to the word of God. “It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’” Israel was not there by their own strength or might, but because of what God had done for them.  So too, every believer has been saved from the depravity of sin and the punishment of hell, and it is all by the Lord’s doing.  “Look, a people rises like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion; it shall not lie down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.” After this, Balak told him to neither curse nor bless them (if you cannot say something bad, don’t say anything at all). Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?” Balaam at least seemed to have enough reverence for God that he wanted to faithfully declare His words.

So, Balak asked him yet again to go to a different place to curse Israel. He took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooked the wasteland. Balaam instructed the king to make seven altars and to offer seven bulls and seven rams as in the previous times. Since Balaam had seen that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not use enchantments this time, but set his face toward the wilderness. As he lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel encamped by their tribes, and the Spirit of God came upon him. Before, he had used enchantments, but this time was different. He spoke as one whose spiritual eyes had been opened, he had heard the words of God, and seen the vision of the Almighty. So great was this revelation that he fell down under the weight of it. Balaam continued his parable: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. “God brings him out of Egypt; he has strength like a wild ox; he shall consume the nations, his enemies; he shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows. ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.” This is a proclamation of Israel’s deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt and a prediction of their dwelling in their land. It speaks to their peace, prosperity, and their military might. Lastly, it speaks to the outcome of nations based on their treatment of the nation of Israel: those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse them will be cursed. This is a repeat of the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:1-3. Throughout history it has been well documented what happens to nations based off their treatment of the Jewish people. For a look at how this has affected our own nation, I would encourage you to read “Eye to Eye - Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel,” by William Koenig. You can also subscribe to his Koenig's Eye View weekly report here. It is worth paying attention to how our nation treats Israel currently in their battle with Hamas and their surrounding enemies. We are a nation ripe for judgment, and any mistreatment of the Jewish people may be the final straw for our country. We need to intercede through prayer for Israel and our own nation, that our leaders will continue to support Israel. In many ways, the Muslim world is much like Balaam in their desire to curse the Jews.

After this, Balak became angry with Balaam, and told him to flee to his place (get out of here). He said that he had thought to promote Balaam to great honor, but the Lord had kept him back from that honor. Indeed, the Lord was withholding Balaam from the honor that Balak was promising, but when the Lord holds believers back from earthly blessing, there is always a reason. I have never looked back on something the Lord has withheld from me and regretted it. The wages of unrighteousness never pay off in the long-run. Balaam reminded the king of what he had told his messengers, that, even if he were to give him his house full of silver and gold, he could not go beyond the word of the Lord, good or bad. Balaam stated he was leaving, but before he did, he would show Balak what Israel would do to his people in the latter days. This fourth prophecy will be probably the most intriguing yet.

Balaam continued his prophecy: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and has the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city.” Like as before, Balaam did not receive this word as a result of some pagan enchantment, but as a direct revelation from God. There weren’t even any sacrifices offered for this one. I believe we see a dual prophecy in this passage. The star and scepter refer to a king and a kingdom who would conquer the Moabites, as well as Edom and Seir, the descendants of Esau. It was King David who conquered these nations (see 2 Samuel 8 and 1 chronicles 18). However, the passage appears to be primarily Messianic in nature. In fact, early Jewish writers, as well as early Christian writers see this as a reference to the Messiah. If we recall, a star in the East led the wise men to Bethlehem where Jesus was living with His parents Matthew 2:1-10) Jesus also said of Himself, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Rev 22:16) The scepter is also used to describe the rule of the Messiah (see Psalm 2:9, Hebrews 1:8, and Revelation 19:15). It is Jesus Christ, who came in the line of David, and will one day return again to smite these nations that surround Israel (see Isaiah 15, 63:1-6, and Obadiah). Previously Balaam spoke of Israel’s peace, prosperity, and strength, and it is through Jesus Christ that Israel will ultimately have these promises and many others.

Lastly, Balaam predicts the fall of two other people groups, the Amalekites and the Kenites. We know the Amalekites were hostile toward Israel, and afflicted them while they were in the wilderness wanderings. After this, Balaam returned home, and Balak did the same. We may think this is the end of the story, but the Bible tells us more about Balaam. I hope to cover this in the last post.