Unforgettable of the by Dr. Lloyd T. Anderson Balaam
should be warned against the dan ger of divided loyalties between the secular and the sacred. Balaam was an hireling prophet who proves the illustration of Joshua 1:8, telling us that "a double minded man is unstable in all his ways." Here was one who at tempted to serve two masters. He desired wealth and honor from Balak, but at the same time he wanted the approval of the Lord. Such will never be achieved. He may have longed to "die the death of the righteous," but deep down in his own heart he sought after the wages of unrighteousness. He would not have been able to say with the Apostle Paul in the New Testament, "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel" (Acts 20:33). Balaam was a soothsayer from Mesopotamia near the River Eu phrates. It is where Iran and Iraq
God has given us messages con cerning various people in the Bible so that we might profit from their experiences. In the life of each one, whether good or evil, there are practical lessons for us to learn. Our first study centers on Numbers 22:1-30 concerning the case of Balak, king of the Moabites, and Balaam, a wayward prophet who sought to disobey God's will. Because of the victories God had given to the children of Israel, the heathen nations around them were afraid of the future. In desperation the wicked king of Moab wanted to get the Jews cursed by someone who might be in contact with the Lord. These important verses, which form the narrative, show that in Balaam's disobedience before the Lord he had to reap the conse quences of his covetousness. As Christians in this dispensation we
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