If you think about it, you know why.
We like to act like if God would just tell us clearly what to do, it would be easy.
That’s what makes the story of Balaam so uncomfortable.
Balak wants Israel cursed.
So he hires Balaam, a man who actually hears from God.
God tells Balaam the first time:
Do not go.
Do not curse them.
They are blessed.
Seems pretty straightforward, right?
Then Balak comes back with more money and more honor.
Balaam says the right words.
“I can only do what God tells me.”
And then he asks again.
He already knew the answer. He just wanted a different one.
God tells him to go ahead, but only say what He says.
So Balaam goes.
God’s anger burns against him on the way.
Because even while his feet were moving in “obedience,” his heart was chasing money and honor.
So God stands in the road against him.
Balaam doesn’t see it.
His donkey does.
Three times the donkey turns aside to avoid the angel with a drawn sword.
Three times Balaam beats the donkey.
The only thing keeping him alive is the thing he’s angry at.
God opens Balaam’s eyes and he finally sees what was right in front of him.
He was on a road God had already warned him not to go down.
But he kept asking until he got permission to go anyway.
And even then, God opposed him on that road.
That’s the lesson.
We like to think our problem is that we don’t know what God wants.
Most of the time, we do. (By most of the time, I mean pretty much all the time.)
We just don’t like the answer.
So we ask again.
We look for a loophole.
A technicality we can stand on.
We want God to bless what we’ve already decided to do.
Sometimes He gives us what we insisted on.
That is not a blessing.
That is judgment.
We get our way.
We get what we wanted.
And it costs more than we thought.
So what do you do with that?
You don’t need one more conversation.
You don’t need to “pray about it” again if God has already spoken clearly in His Word.
You need to decide whether you are going to obey what you already know.
Turn around while it’s still just a nudge.
It’s a lot better than having to be stopped by force later.
P.S. If you’d like to read through the Bible with us this year, you can join at His Word Together.
No commentary, no telling you what to think.
Nothing to pay for, nothing to buy.
Nothing fancy. Just steady time in the Word.
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