King Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel. Basically, he wanted to force God to repent of His blessing on Israel. As King, Balak was used to getting what he wanted. But God is a God that does not change. Malachi 3:6 says, “For I the Lord do not change.” He is also a God that does not lie (Titus 1:2). It doesn’t matter your rank, position, or wealth, there is no amount of human persuasion that can force God to undo His Word or break His promise. Balaam recognized that God had a protective hand over His chosen people and that God had blessed the nation. Nothing that Balaam could do could bring any harm to God’s people. We do know that eventually Israel did suffer harm and was conquered by the Babylonians and Persians. However, this occurred as God’s judgement on Israel because of the repetitive sin of worshiping false gods instead of obeying God’s commandments. It was not because someone tricked God into doing what they wanted Him to do. God can use people to bring about judgement but people can not use God to destroy or harm others.
Christians can certainly intercede in prayer on behalf of another person or even themselves and God can do many miraculous and wonderful things through intercessory prayer. Moses interceded on Israel’s behalf several times when God was ready to wipe them out and God chose to change His mind because He is also a God of compassion. But the promises of God are secure and that’s good news for us! When makes a promise, we can count on it. We can know that He will do what He says He will do. It means that His promise of eternal life when we place our faith and trust in Him cannot be rescinded. We can trust that Jesus’ finished work on the cross will one day bring us to spend eternity with Him. Once there, we will know all the promises God has spoken over our lives and see how each one came to fruition.
God, thank you that you are the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
God, Love and Marshmallow Wars: This book contains 365 daily challenges for couples to strengthen their relationships to each other and with God. Couples will complete activities such as Scripture memory, conversation starters, relationship builders, learning about Biblical marriage, romance builders, personal reflections, and date ideas. Click here to purchase your copy. (This link will open a new widow and take you to Westbow Press’ bookstore.) Also available on Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. It is also available at Christian Book Distributors, Amazon, and Barnes & Nobel
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