In these last days, many scoffers will come. There will be many who appear as wolves in sheep's clothing who want to water down the message of the Good News and who want to destroy God's people. Parasha Balak is a prime example of some of the methodologies being used today to destroy God's people. Balaam plays the leading role in this parasha (commentary). He was a prophet for hire. He was a sorcerer. His name is mentioned 60 times in the Bible. That's more than any of the apostles. He was hired by Balak, the King of Midian, to curse the Israelites because they had just defeated the Amorites, and he feared the same fate.
As Balaam was traveling to Midian, he was unaware that the angel of the Lord was wielding a sword and blocking his path. Fortunately for Balaam, his donkey could see the angel and so he did not obey Balaam's leading in order to spare their lives. This happened on 3 occasions, and each time Balaam was infuriated and beat the donkey for his disobedience. Finally, in one of the strangest scenes in the Bible, the donkey starts speaking to Balaam. Apparently, the jackass had more wisdom than Balaam. God speaks through the mouth of many a jackass, even today. I praise God that our congregational leaders do not fit in that group.
When Balaam meets up with Balak, he tells him he can only speak the words that God gives him. So instead of cursing the Israelites, he blesses them on two occasions, and this greatly angered Balak.
Then Balaam offers a final prophecy as he departs, including a prophecy about the 1st and 2nd coming of the Messiah.
“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob, (Star of Bethlehem) He will be a Jew. (1st coming)
A scepter shall rise from Israel" (conquering king) King of kings and Lord of lords. (2nd coming)
Now if the story ended at this point, it would seem as if Balaam is a very righteous man. He hears from God. He prophesied with pinpoint accuracy. He even blessed Israel 3 times. But the story does not end here. We find out later in Numbers 31
Balaam said to Balak: “I cannot curse these people. But you can get them to curse themselves by enticing them to rebel against their God. Send your prettiest girls among them, and tell them to entice the men of Israel to immorality and idolatry.” And it worked. God, in His anger, sent a plague among the people. And as a result, 24,000 Israelites died.
Balaam, through his wicked counsel to Balak, got what he wanted - but he also ended up dead among the enemies of God (Numbers 31:7-8). He only enjoyed his money and his fame for a short time.
There are many Balaams in the world today, and they have swayed many people from the truth and caused many to perish. That's why there are tens of thousands of different religions, the majority of which believe in false gods. My people perish from a lack of knowledge.
In Matt 24, the apostles asked Yeshua, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Yeshua answered, "Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name, At that time many will turn away from the faith... and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."
"For false messiahs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand." (Matthew 24:24-25, NKJV)
Spiritual adultery is increasing in the body of believers. False prophets are flourishing as highly sought-after speakers. As believers accept more and more of these false teachings, many will fall away, believing in a watered-down "faith" and removing the power thereof. Instead of being separate from the world, these Balaams are drawing believers into the world.
The Lord has been impressing upon me the need to have a strong core belief system. A core belief is the essence of who you are, what you are, what you stand for, what you believe, why you do what you do, and how you relate to your God, your country, your family, your friends, your fellow congregants, your business, or whatever. If you don't have a strong core belief system, you are like a wave on the sea being blown and tossed by the wind. You have no idea where true north is. You have no idea if you're on the right path or not. You can be swayed by every false statement that may contain a small element of truth. We certainly see this truthiness portrayed throughout mainstream media.
My core belief is I succeed in everything that I do that's in accordance with God's will. This inspires me to stay in the Word and to stay close to Him so I can discern His good and perfect will. As I reflect back on my life, when I acted out of God's will, I failed miserably. But whenever I did things according to His will, I always succeeded.
I challenge you to discover your own core belief system. Once you set that standard, follow it and never deviate. Don't compromise. It could save your life.
The media is drowning in murders, lies, police villainization, human trafficking, drug smuggling, Covid-19, Marxist terrorists, and the list goes on and on. It's just a smokescreen. It's a cover-up for the greater battle that's being waged between your ears. It's the battle for your soul. Satan and his cohorts are pulling out all the stops because they know that their show is almost over. Satan's weapons are fear and lies. He is the father of all lies. These are the weapons he uses to divide and conquer the people of God. He creates terror in their hearts, so they will do anything to be protected, even give up their freedom, and some will even denounce their God. Just as King Balak wanted to engage in a spiritual battle to destroy the people of God before they entered the Promised Land, now, in these last days before the second coming of the Lord and before we enter the eternal Promised Land, satan wants to do spiritual battle again. War is spiritual. King Balak knew that all too well. Why engage in physical battle when you can inflict many more casualties through the spiritual realm? But we must resist the devil and he will flee!
I'd like to end with a prayer. "God, you are the personification of love and truth. May your perfect love cast out all fear and terror in this world. May You open our eyes to the truth of the supernatural and speak through us with all the humility of that donkey. Make us pure and clean vessels for you as we bind the spirit of Balaam. May You bless America, especially as the time of election draws near. And may you spare us from those with lying lips. We pray this in the name of Yeshua (Jesus).
Amen.