15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
As Christians, we can look above all of the problems in this world. Yes, there are problems, many of which are huge. At the same time, we can look to God for comfort and help in every situation. Sometimes, He delivers out of the problem. Other times, He walks through it with us.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Jesus wants to be with us every day, watching over us and protecting us. In verse 7 here, we see Paul telling us about the peace of God that “surpasses all comprehension.” Life can be hard – very hard. Even in the midst of everything, God can give us peace that goes beyond all understanding.
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
Pride says, “I can do this on my own; I don’t need any help.” That only brings stress and anxiety. Humility says, “God, I need help. I will trust You with everything.” When we have this attitude, we can begin to see how much God has done for us. We truly have a lot to be thankful for.
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In Numbers, we see the time when the nation of Israel was just about to enter the promised land. They had defeated two other kings, and there was another king, Balak, who saw that the Israelite army was too strong for him. He formed a federation with the Midianites, but even that was not strong enough. He decided to seek supernatural help.
5 So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. 6 “Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
Balaam
Balaam was known as a prophet of the LORD, the true God, even though he was not part of the nation of Israel. King Balak was not a godly man, but he knew he needed help. It’s like some people today who never think about God until they face a crisis, then they ask everyone to pray for them.
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and repeated Balak’s words to him. 8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the LORD may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam.
First Visit
These elders had to travel over 400 miles to get to Balaam, bringing money and gifts for the prophet. Even though Balaam was a prophet, he also had a problem with greed, which we will see shortly. Balaam told the men to stay there that night, so he could have time to ask God what to do.
12 God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”
God told Balaam clearly that He did not want Balaam to go back with them. Even though Balaam really wanted the riches, he did what God told him to do. He told the elders to go back to Balak.
15 Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than the former. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me.”
King Balak knew that he didn’t have any choices; he had to try again. He sent even more important people, more of them, and even more money.
18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the LORD my God. 19 “Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the LORD will speak to me.”
Balaam told these elders that it didn’t matter how much money Balak gave him; he could only do what God told him to do. He still wanted the riches, though, so he told them to spend the night again, so he could ask God again. God had already told Balaam that the Israelites were blessed, and that he should not leave to curse them. The riches of this world can be very tempting.
20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.” 21 So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.
Right about now, Balaam was probably thinking that he was really special. He had actually convinced God to change His mind! God told him he could go, but that’s not really what God wanted him to do. Balaam still had a lot to learn.
22 But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.
It seems that it’s way too easy for us to convince ourselves that either our plans are God’s plans, or at the very least, God will bless our plans. Balaam is about to find out what happens when greed blinds a man of God.
23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way.
The “mighty prophet Balaam” could not see the angel of the LORD, but a dumb donkey could. Spiritually blind Balaam could not see what was right in front of him. Instead, he felt that he knew best, and he struck his donkey, to get her to go where he wanted.
24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again.
The donkey had saved his life, but Balaam was clueless. Now, she saves his life again, but Balaam is still completely clueless.
26 The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick.
For a third time, the donkey saves Balaam’s life, but he just gets angrier.
28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.”
The scripture doesn’t say, but it doesn’t seem like Balaam was all that surprised that his donkey was speaking. It could be that he was so angry with his donkey, that he just wanted to vent his anger, so he told her how he was feeling. Spiritual pride blinds us, just like any other type of pride.
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground.
Finally, Balaam sees what is happening. All of a sudden, he realizes what God really wants. He also realizes that the donkey that he was furious with had just saved his life three times. The prideful prophet came back down to earth.
32 The angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me. 33 “But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.”
God lays it all out for Balaam. Balaam’s donkey had more spiritual wisdom this day than Balaam, the “man of God.”
34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” 35 But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.
After they arrive, King Balak tries to get Balaam to curse the Israelites. Three times, Balaam had Balak set up seven altars and sacrifice seven bulls and seven rams. Each time, God tells Balak to bless Israel, not curse them. God even has Balaam prophesy something very profound – something we all need to remember.
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
God told Balaam not to go, but he wanted to anyway. This almost cost him his life. God is telling Balak that Israel is blessed, not cursed. Balak is not willing to accept that, though. This will end very badly for him and all those with him. When God says something, we need to accept it. God has promised good things for us. We simply need to accept what He has given us.
25 Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way.
It seems that Balaam went home.
The next chapter says that the Midianites and Moabites enticed the Israelites to come worship their false gods with them. Many Moabite women also came into the camp of Israe, tempting the men to sin with them sexually. God sent a plague among the people, and 24,000 of them died.
War
In chapter 31, God tells Moses to “Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites.” The Moabites and Midianites were actually attacking the Israelites by enticing them to sin. That’s why God told them to destroy the nation. The Israelites killed the men of Midian, but spared the women. This is not what God had said, though.
15 And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women? 16 “Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.
Balaam came back and told Balak there was only one way to defeat Israel. Balaam could not curse Israel, because God had blessed them. If Israel turned away from God, though, Balaam knew God would judge them. Because of his greed, Balaam sold out God’s people. Balaam chose riches in this life. Maybe he thought he could repent later. It looks like that didn’t happen, though.
7 So they made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
If we look back a few verses, we see what happened with Balaam. He chose to side with Midian, instead of God’s people, so he was also judged and killed along with the other enemies of God’s people. Many years later, God used this as an example of sin in the early Christian church.
They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, as they carouse with you, 14 having eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having a heart trained in greed, accursed children; 15 forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.
Yes, Balaam was a prophet, but he chose the way of sin. God will use whomever or whatever He chooses (even a donkey). That does not guarantee that someone is pleasing to God, though. Look at what Jesus said.
22 “Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles? 23 “And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.
God is looking at our hearts. It’s true that our deeds (our fruit) will show our hearts. It’s also true that people can do good things for bad reasons. Serving God is simple – we just need to love Him, spend time with Him, and do what He says, not what we say. We all make choices every day. The most important choice we can ever make is to serve God, not the fake riches of this world.
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27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
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Have you ever noticed how you purchase something, then they ask if you want the warranty to go with it? Maybe you buy a printer, and they ask if you also want to buy ink. You have the main purchase, and you “add on” the additional things. This is how some people treat their relationship with Jesus; it’s like an “add-on” to the rest of their lives. Jesus said that He was giving us a new life. This is a completely new life, not a little something to be added to our real lives. This is a new, exciting, never-existed-before life — your new life with Jesus!
17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
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God wants us to enter His rest for us, instead of struggling with living in our problems today. If we simply try to make our lives a little better by “cleaning up” a little and “being a nice person”, it might make you feel better now, but that won’t fix the real problem. That’s like treating the symptoms of a disease, instead of curing the disease. God has the cure for our disease. God is the cure for our disease. The disease is sin; the cure is God’s rest — living in obedience through faith in Christ.
17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
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12 At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico. 14 And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, 15 to such an extent that they even carried the sick out into the streets and laid them on cots and pallets, so that when Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on any one of them.
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20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the [life] which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
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1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
The Gospel
The Apostle Paul had brought the gospel message to these Christians in the Galatian region. Paul and many other new Christians had been persecuted horribly. Paul was even stoned, to the point where his attackers actually thought he was dead. Years later, some men had come into these churches and told them that Paul was wrong. These Gentiles (non-Jews) needed to still follow all of the Jewish regulations, and essentially convert to Judaism, if they wanted to truly follow God. Paul told them that they did not have to do this. They simply needed to follow Jesus, as he had taught them before.
Adding To
At the end of the book of Revelation, we have one of the clearest warnings about adding to or taking away from (changing) the words of God’s word, the Bible.
Revelation 22:18-19 (NASB)
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.
This is what the false teachers were doing with the Galatian people, and some of the people were believing them. They were adding to the simple message of salvation in Jesus. Jesus said that He came to fulfill the Old Testament Law. We no longer have to follow all of the ceremonial laws and regulations in the Old Testament. Of course, the moral laws, such as the Ten Commandments, still apply, as we see in many places in the New Testament.
Additions Today
Human nature hasn’t changed. For some reason, at times, we convince ourselves that we have to do more than what the Bible says. We have to “earn” our way into heaven by doing good works. The problem is that we can never be good enough.
Isaiah 64:6 (NASB)
6 For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
What we think are good deeds are usually “filthy garments.” Why? It’s probably because of our motives. Instead of doing what God clearly says, we say that we can do something else to earn God’s approval, so that He has no choice but to welcome us into His presence. It might also be so that we can show (to ourselves or others) how much better we are than other people — religious pride. Salvation is easy, but it is also the hardest thing you will ever do.
Romans 10:9-10 (NASB)
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Taking Words Away
Probably more common than adding words to what God says is taking words away. Our society says that there is nothing wrong with premarital sex. It also says that homosexuality is just as normal as heterosexuality. That is taking away from what God clearly says, though.
Romans 1:25-28 (NASB)
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
Some people would actually call this “hate speech”, but in reality, it is love speech. Real love is willing to tell someone else the truth, even if it costs them a friendship or jail time. Simply reading this passage, in a Christian church, in some countries would be considered a crime, at that person could go to jail. This is happening almost every day, and not just in communist countries; it’s happening in England, Canada, and many other Western countries. Many people will preach “tolerance”, but they themselves will only tolerate what they want to believe; in other words, a one-way tolerance.
Truth
Facts are not something that we have the right to vote on. A fact is either true or it’s false. If it’s false, it’s a lie. In a free country, people don’t have to be Christians. To call yourself a Christian, though, and not follow what the Bible says, is a lie.
1 John 1:6-7 (NASB)
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
Following Christ means that we actually follow Christ — what He said and did. We don’t have the right to change what God said, any more than we can say that 2 + 2 does not equal 4. Facts are facts, whether we choose to believe them or not.
Daily Life
It might not seem like it, but these are very basic things. If we are going to live godly lives, we need to follow God. Following God needs to be a daily way of life, not something that we do once a week or when we are around certain people. It’s also not about “big” sins. It can simply be not taking the time to listen to God, to find out what He wants us to do. There is an old parable about putting a frog in cold water, then gradually heating it up, and the frog doesn’t even notice it until it’s too late.
1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)
33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Galatians 2:20 (NASB)
20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
Little Changes
As we said, living a godly life is a daily thing, a way of life. When a person gives their life to Christ, they become a new creation. A butterfly can’t crawl around on the ground anymore. It now has to fly and live a new life. God has called us to live new lives, not being swayed by so-called “popular opinion.” When we start to say to ourselves that something is “not that bad”, we are in danger of compromising God’s holiness in our lives. We should always strive for His righteousness, not our own. The only way to do that is to walk by and live in the Spirit, not in the flesh.
Galatians 3:1-3 (NASB)
1 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? 2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
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Some people think that they would have to give up so much to live a godly life. There are so many beautiful and enjoyable things in this world. That’s actually why God created them — to be enjoyed. In the same way that a young child might think that a hot stove looks interesting, and they get upset when their parent stops them from touching it, God knows and is looking out for our best interests. God created us and this life. When we, in our arrogance, decide to go our own way instead of God’s, we are actually saying that we know more than God. That’s more than just arrogant; it’s dumb!
Life
In Luke chapter 16, Jesus told a story of a rich man and a poor man who lived very different lives.
Luke 16:19-21 (NASB)
19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 “And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores.”
We can’t say for sure, but it seems this rich man was very greedy. He was living an extravagant life, but he wouldn’t even help a desperately poor man just outside the gate to his property. What was driving this man to be so callous to the basic needs of someone that he saw every day? He obviously cared about what other people thought of him — that’s why he dressed in very expensive clothes every day. Maybe he was so concerned about himself that he didn’t even think about the needs of others. It could be that he didn’t want any of his rich friends to see him stooping to the level of this poor man, Lazarus. For his part, Lazarus had very little money and poor health. It says that he was longing “to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table.” Lazarus was in a desperate situation. He could have waited until the rich man was asleep, then gone into his property and stolen enough to eat and live well, but he didn’t. He could have convinced himself that he was entitled to these things just as much as the rich man was, but he didn’t. Lazarus maintained his integrity and godliness, no matter how desperate things got.
Death
Eventually, both men die.
Luke 16:22 (NASB)
22 “Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.”
Look at the language that Jesus used. The poor man was “carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom.” This was a common term that was used for the upper part of Hades, where the spirits of the righteous people would go. Abraham was there, along with many others. The lower part of Hades was a place of torment. It was reserved for dead people who had been unrighteous in their lives. It appears that is where the rich man went. Notice it does not say that the angels carried him away to somewhere great. Next, we see what Hades was like.
Hades
Look at what happened to the rich man.
Luke 16:23 (NASB)
23 “In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.”
From what we can see in the Bible, it seems that Jesus brought all of the righteous people out of the upper part of Hades and took them to heaven with Him, after He was raised from the dead. At this time, though, there were still two parts of Hades, and we get a glimpse of what it was like. The lower part of Hades was a place of torment; the bosom of Abraham was not. The rich man was “in torment.”
Luke 16:24 (NASB)
24 “And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.
The rich man was looking for any type of comfort, no matter how small. He was suffering horrible, painful torture. At that time, people in both parts of Hades could see each other, so he asked Abraham to send Lazarus with just a drop or two of water on his finger, so that he could put it on his burning tongue.
Punishment
To some people, the punishment of the rich man might seem extreme. Father Abraham puts this into perspective, though.
Luke 16:25 (NASB)
25 “But Abraham said, Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony.
We could also say that how Lazarus was treated by the rich man during their lives was not fair. Lazarus deserved much better treatment. I don’t think that anyone truly understands real holiness and just how horrible and disgusting sin is in the eyes of God. If we did, we would all live much better lives.
No Choice
It turns out that no matter what Abraham or Lazarus wanted to do, they were not able to help the rich man. His fate was sealed, and there would be no more comfort.
Luke 16:26 (NASB)
26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.
Choices
In this life, we have choices. We can choose to live godly lives or greedy lives. We need to realize, though, what we do now will affect where and how we live for all eternity. When it comes to FOMO, my greatest fear would be missing out on spending eternity with Jesus. How about you? Are you willing to set aside what might seem like fun now, so that you can enjoy the rest of this life, as well as the next life, in the presence of God?
Proverbs 22:2 (NASB)
2 The rich and the poor have a common bond, The LORD is the maker of them all.
Proverbs 28:6 (NASB)
6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity Than he who is crooked though he be rich.
