Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”
Our Bible verse for today: “But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.” Numbers 22:18 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Great men and women of God are men and women of sincerity and integrity.”
I’ve always found the story of Balaam a little confusing. It’s found in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapters twenty-two and twenty-three. It took place during the Exodus while Moses was leading the nation of Israel through the wilderness towards the Promised Land. They needed to pass through the land of Midian but King Balak was afraid of them and would not grant them passage. He summoned the well-known Soothsayer Balaam to pronounce a curse upon the Israelites and hopefully turn them away.
What’s confusing in this story is that when the messengers of Balak presented the King’s request to Balaam he made a series of statements, like the one in Numbers 22:18 above, which give the impression of a godly man who was truly seeking guidance from the One True God. As the story unfolds we find Balaam praying, giving reports about what God had said to him in the times of prayer, and rejecting the request of the king to curse the Israelites – and doing it all in the name of God.
Any yet, we also find that God was unhappy with Balaam and He even sent an angel to confront him (22:33). Fortunately for Balaam he had a donkey that was smarter than he was and it was through the donkey that Balaam was saved.
By the time the story is over we realize that Balaam was not really a good and godly man, even though he did give the appearance of being one. So what was that all about? What was happening there and what should we learn from it?
The lesson is that Balaam lacked sincerity and integrity. His actions were mostly a religious show. He used a lot of God-talk, and he went through the motions of seeking God and professing to speak for Him, but it wasn’t real. Balaam was a poser. He was only pretending to be a man of God.
A man or women of integrity must actually be on the inside what they appear to be on the outside. Balaam was not. A person’s words must accurately represent their true character or else they’re just putting on a show. God-talk doesn’t make us godly and a religious show doesn’t mean we are acting for God.
A truly great man or woman of God has a heart that is genuinely and fully devoted to Him. When that is the case, then honesty, integrity, and sincerity will be natural outcomes and they won’t have to be faked.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 