BrothersOfTheBook.com

Murder vs Killing

Numbers 34-36

I am always amazed at the widespread ignorance of the Bible.  I can’t tell you how many people who have never or at most rarely read the Bible have argued with me about what is in the Bible.  Now I am no Biblical scholar but I have read through the Bible from cover to cover a few times, I have studied the Bible, and I have taught the Bible.  Evidently, people who don’t read the Bible can know more about it than those who do.

A case in point, one day a fellow stated to me that there was never an excuse for killing.  He said this in context of condemning the death penalty.  He knew I was a Christian and I could tell he was daring me to disagree with him.  People of his world view tend to think that Christians are hypocrites for opposing abortion but defending the death penalty.  I’m pretty sure he didn’t see himself as a hypocrite for opposing the death penalty but defending abortion.

He attempted to corner me by saying that “even the Bible says ‘thou shall not kill’”.  I could not let the misstatement on the Word of God go unchallenged so I calmly replied that the Bible doesn’t actually say “thou shall not kill” though some translations have rendered the Hebrew word that way.  The Hebrew word used in this case actually is better translated “thou shall not murder” which clearly makes a distinction between the death of the guilty and the death of the innocent.

This fellow and another of his acquaintance were up in arms.  His acquaintance had actually had some seminary training and challenged me on this.  He said “Now wait a minute, you have access to the original Hebrew and can definitively say what the original word meant?”  He meant this as a way to shoot down what he viewed as arrogance on my part.  I’m afraid I have been accused of arrogance in my life.  I have no doubt that I can indeed be arrogant from time to time.  When I know something to be true the tone in which I respond to those who argue with me with out the facts can in fact be arrogant.  This is one of my many faults.  Of course, my debating partners seemed a bit arrogant to me as well.

The individual who was challenging me was pretty sure he had cornered me so it was almost comical to see his face when I responded “yes”.  The conversation quickly changed to the charge of hypocrisy for supporting the death penalty and apposing abortion; you see, I had facts and knowledge on my side and that can be very inconvenient for those who have chosen a position based simply on ideology and emotion.

From that point on I attempted to keep my responses limited and to guide the conversation in another direction.  It was clear that open minds were not present and there was nothing to be gained in a shouting match.  The Bible says something about not casting pearls before swine; though I can hardly consider my words to be pearls.  I later sent these two gentlemen an e-mail with an explanation of the murder vs kill position with the appropriate Hebrew words so they could see for themselves.  I never got a response to these e-mails.

In today’s reading we see that God is making a distinction between the intentional death of an innocent person and the accidental death of an innocent person.  He orders that there will be “sanctuary cities” to which a person who accidentally kills someone can run to avoid vengeance by the dead persons loved-ones.  They will still be judged by the congregation but they are free from immediate vengeance.  God has a perfect sense of justice.  Right is right and wrong is wrong.  Modern notions of compassion are rarely just or compassionate.  They usually lead to more injustice, pain, and suffering.

God is love.  Love is not found in the perversion of justice.  Choices, actions have consequences.  Forgiveness does not eliminate consequences.  I’m reminded of the story of the fellow who jumped off the roof of a skyscraper intent on ending his life.  As he is falling he realizes he’s made a mistake and he prays to God to forgive him and to save him.  SPLAT!  Upon reaching Heaven the guy meets God and he says “God, I prayed for forgiveness and that you would save me but I still died!”  To which God responded “I heard you my child and I forgave you and saved you, but you did jumped off a building.”

I’ll leave it at that today.  If you are interested in reading my treatise on murder vs kill I’ve pasted it below.  As far as being Godly men, I would like to suggest that we must guard against confusing compassion and justice.  Our families need us to be compassionate and fair but compassion does not mean there are not consequences.  If we allow our children to avoid responsibility for their actions there will be greater trouble in their lives as adults.  You may be showing a false compassion now but condemning them to a miserable life later.  Don’t let a perverse world define compassion for you.  God is our example.

Have a blessed day guys!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AND KILL VS MURDER

The 10 Commandments – “Thou shall not kill” – Does this mean you should kill nothing (no exceptions) or does it mean one shall not commit murder?

Murder is understood to mean the killing of an innocent individual.  For example, if someone attacks me with deadly force and in the process of defending myself I kill that individual I will not be found guilty of murder in our justice system.  If, however, that individual had not attacked me but I had killed them I would be guilty of murder.  In the first example the person killed is not innocent for he attacked me, in the second he is innocent as I had no justifiable cause to kill him.  Thus, our legal system differentiates between murder and killing.  The Bible does this as well.

Today in our society we sometimes use the English word kill where the word murder would be more appropriate.  For example many feel that O. J. Simpson killed his ex-wife.  If in fact he had, he would actually be guilty of murder, not simply killing.  A soldier, on the other hand, may kill an enemy combatant and yet he is not guilty of murder.  While we seem to use the word kill where murder would be more appropriate we all seem to understand the distinction.  This is true in the Bible as well.

The 10 Commandments actually appear in the Bible in a couple of places; Numbers and Deuteronomy.  Below I have shown the use of the word “KILL” in two different contexts.  The first is in the commandment in question; Deuteronomy 5:17 “Thou shalt not kill” and the second in Deuteronomy 13:9 “But thou shalt surely kill him;” where God is commanding the killing of anyone who violates the first commandment by enticing others to worship other gods.

These verses are taken from the King James Version of 1611.  Please feel free to grab your own translation and read these verses and those proceeding and following so as to have the context of each word and verse in mind as you consider the distinction.

It is important to know that other Bible translations like the New King James Version actually use the word murder in Deuteronomy 5:17.  These translations do not take the King James Version and change words arbitrarily to reflect a political outlook but go back to the original Hebrew and translate with more modern English usage for the sake of readability for a modern readership.  Thus words like “thou” and “shalt” in the King James are rendered “you” and “shall” in the New King James.

Below I show the two different verses along with the notation of its location in the “Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon” followed by the entry in the Lexicon (i.e. H7523).  The lexicon shows the original Hebrew word in Hebrew and then in the English rendering of that word.  It then goes on to show how many times the Hebrew word is used in different contexts within the Bible.

Below both examples is a list of more concise definitions of different words used in the Bible related to the word kill.  This list is taken from the “New Strong’s Guide to Bible Words”.  I have highlighted the words in question in yellow.

What you will see is the Hebrew word translated as kill in the King James Version of “Thou shalt not kill” is “ratsach” which is typically translated as “murder” where as the word “harag” which is used where God commands an individual to be put to death is typically translated “kill” or “slaughter”.

Deut 5:17

“Thou shalt not kill.” KJV

H7523

(From 10 Commandments)

7523 ????? [ratsach /raw·tsakh/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 2208; GK 8357; 47 occurrences; AV translates as “slayer” 16 times, “murderer” 14 times, “kill” five times, “murder” three times, “slain” three times, “manslayer” twice, “killing” once, “slayer + 310” once, “slayeth” once, and “death” once. 1 to murder, slay, kill. 1a (Qal) to murder, slay. 1a1 premeditated. 1a2 accidental. 1a3 as avenger. 1a4 slayer (intentional) (participle). 1b (Niphal) to be slain. 1c (Piel). 1c1 to murder, assassinate. 1c2 murderer, assassin (participle)(subst). 1d (Pual) to be killed.

Deut 13:9

“But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.” KJV

H2026

2026 ????? [harag /haw·rag/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 514; GK 2222; 167 occurrences; AB translates as “slay” 100 times, “kill” 24 times, “kill …” three times, “murderer” twice, “destroyed” once, “murder” once, “out of hand” once, “made” once, “put” once, “slain” 31 times, “slayer” once, and “surely” once. 1 to kill, slay, murder, destroy, murderer, slayer, out of hand. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to kill, slay. 1a2 to destroy, ruin. 1b (Niphal) to be killed. 1c (Pual) to be killed, be slain.

KILL (From: “New Strong’s Guide to Bible Words”)

2026 haÆra (17), to kill, slaughter

2076 zaÆbac (3), to (sacrificially) slaughter

2491 chaÆlaÆ (2), pierced to death, one slain

2873 t\aÆba (1), to kill, butcher

4191 muÆwt (24), to die; to kill

5221 naÆkaÆ (4), to strike, kill

5362 naÆqap (1), to strike; to surround

7523 raÆtsac (4), to murder

7819 shaÆcha (22), to slaughter; butcher

337 anaireá (6), to abolish, murder

615 apoákteái (28), to kill outright; to destroy

1315 diacheáirizoám (1), to lay hands upon

2380 thuoµ (3), to kill; to butcher; to sacrifice

4969 sphazoµ (1), to slaughter or to maim

5407 phoáneá (8), to commit murder

It's time to man up!

Drive out the inhabitants

Numbers 32-33

Way back in Genesis God told Abram that He would give Canaan to his descendants but that they would first sojourn in Egypt until the fourth generation because “the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.” (Genesis 15:16)  The implication was that the Amorites were in for judgment, but God, in His mercy, was giving them time to either repent or reach complete debasement.  (No. Debasement isn’t the cold dark room under the house.)

Sodom and Gomorrah is illustrative of this process.  God didn’t destroy these two cities until their iniquity was complete.  Abraham didn’t quite understand this and so thought he had changed things up when God agreed that He wouldn’t destroy these cities if 10 righteous people could be found within them.  God already knew there were not 10 righteous people in these cities; their iniquity was complete.  Lot was saved because of his relationship with Abraham but his wife couldn’t leave the iniquity behind and his daughters had incestuous relations with their father.  The descendants of Lot and his oldest daughter became the people of Moab.

The term Amorite used in Genesis 15:16 covered all of the various people groups within the land referred to as Canaan.  The Moabites came under the umbrella of this term.  The iniquity of the descendants of Lot, the Moabites, was complete.  The iniquity of all of the peoples of Canaan was complete and the time had come for judgment in the form of an Israelite takeover of their land.

Just as God is about to bring them into the Promised Land, the Israelites are stumbling because of the sinful behavior and influence of the peoples around them.  I think the following excerpt from “Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee” sums this up pretty good:

“The Midianites, you recall, joined the Moabites in hiring Balaam to curse Israel and afterwards seduced the people to idolatry and licentiousness. The only woman named in this seduction was Cozbi, a Midianite (Num. 25:6–15). After this episode God commanded His people, “Vex the Midianites, and smite them: For they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the plague for Peor’s sake” (Num. 25:17–18).

Midian in the wilderness is a type of the world. For the child of God there is to be a spiritual separation from the world today.”

As I’ve said before, we are to be in the world not of the world.  When we allow the sinful behavior and influence of the world within our homes we will be seduced, and negative consequences will naturally follow.  Look at what God told the Israelites to do in our reading today as they began their campaign to take the Promised Land.

Numbers 33:55-56

“But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”

I’ve heard it said the Billy Graham was the font of the following quote: “If God doesn’t judge America He will owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology!”  Regardless of where the quote originated, it does resonate.  America, as I’ve said before has become a culturally toxic wasteland.  Self-centeredness, the germ of all sin, is worshipped in our society today.  Our movies, television, magazines, games, politics, and public discourse all revolve around the pursuit of gratuitous self-centeredness.

Men, we have to do our best to protect our families from the influence of a filthy society.  We have to drive out the sinful ways of our society so they are not barbs in our eyes and thorns in our sides and so they shall not trouble us in our homes where we dwell.  To allow that pernicious and insidious influence to continue in our homes is nothing but trouble and will lead to eternal harm.

It’s hard to be the spiritual leader of the home; so much and so many work against us fulfilling our God-given role.  No one said it would be easy.  It’s why God made you a man.  It’s time to man-up.

Have a blessed day men!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Let your light shine before men!

A man shall not break his word!

Numbers 30-31

Numbers 30:2

“If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word.  He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

I remember years ago sitting with the CEO of a company I worked for.  We were moving into new offices and he had been very involved in the design and construction of this new space.  He had struggled greatly with contractors and was relating all of the broken promises he had experienced with them; things as simple as when something would be delivered or agreeing to and then missing meetings.  The list of broken promises was long and his eyes were wide with disbelief as he shared this disheartening experience.

We too were in a service business and he had long ago established a list of values that every employee was expected to memorize and on which he would occasionally through us a pop quiz.  One value was simply stated as “We do what we say.”  He had explained that beyond the obvious meaning of always telling the truth, we were to keep all of our commitments no matter what they were not only to our clients but to each other.  If we promised someone something by a certain day and time we had to deliver.  If some unexpected challenge threatened to cause a delay we had to contact the person to whom we made the commitment, explain the difficulty and seek their permission to push the committed deadline back.

As he told me about the broken promises of a multitude of vendors he turned to me and said “I am absolutely convinced that if we just follow the “We do what we say” value we will rule our industry.  He meant that customers are all hungry for vendors who will keep their promises and if and when they find one they will be loyal and recommend the trustworthy vendor to others every chance they get.

Here’s a case in point.  Back in December my neighborhood was hit with some extremely strong winds.  My house, like many houses along my street, had large sections of shingles torn off the roof.  I called John Davet of Davet Roofing and he came out to the house when he said he would.  He got me covered as quickly as possible and gave me a rundown of how the process with the insurance companies usually worked.  In the course of our conversation I mentioned that a number of different men had come to my door offering to do repairs some of whom hinted that they might be able to get me a new roof.

John said a number of roofers will drive neighborhoods looking for opportunities to submit a claim.  If a claim is submitted and the insurance company agrees, the roofer makes some money.  If the claim is denied the roofer is out nothing but the home owner has a denied claim on their record and, evidently, those count too.  It was clear he didn’t care for the practice.  Don’t get me wrong, John never said a negative word about his competition but in a rather humble way he made it clear that he didn’t agree with the practice.

Once the insurance company determined that I needed a new roof John quickly responded to my request for a quote.  Once things were good to go he told me his guys would be at the house at 8am the following Monday and that the job would take two days.  Monday came and I noticed his guys sitting in their truck waiting to start at 7:30am.  It was a windy day with the temperature hovering around freezing.  I could have sworn I saw a few snowflakes floating past the window.  His men started on time and were clearly very good at what they did.  I’m afraid I must tell you at this point in the story that they didn’t exactly keep John’s word for him.  They actually finished by 4pm that afternoon; a full day earlier than promised.  They cleaned up every scrap of debris and left my home and yard looking like they had never been their; well, with the exception of a good looking, brand new roof.

John and his men were honest, prompt, courteous, professional, and timely; they always did what they said they would do.  Every phone call was returned within 24 hours and the price I paid was what he said it would be.  So why am I going on and on like this about John Davet and Davet Roofing?  “That’s the way it ought to be” you might say.  You would be right.  That is the way it ought to be but unfortunately my experience is that most vendors seem unable to operate that way.

Our society has become almost indifferent to casual promises.  We’ve all come to expect our politicians to break their word almost as quickly as their word leaves their mouth.  What I don’t think we realize is that we are often are guilty of the same behavior.  I wince as I recall the many times I have told my mother I would call her over the weekend or in a couple of nights only to realize a week later that I forgot to do so.  I can try to tell myself that it wasn’t exactly a promise but that’s just the politician coming out.  I said I would do something and I didn’t.

My problem is twofold; on the one hand as I made the commitment to call, I did not register it as a commitment; on the other hand having made the commitment I did not take any proactive steps to ensure that I would keep the commitment.  In other words, I was careless with my words.  Having done his more than once I realize that when I tell my mother that I will call her within a given time frame she more than likely does not believe I will do so.  Ouch!

How about you?  Are you guilty of being careless with your words like I have been?  Do your family members, friends, or co-workers take what you have to say with “a grain of salt” as it were?  I don’t know about you but it kind of hurts a bit to think that they might have a little doubt about the veracity of the things I say.  This may seem like a small thing but it isn’t.

Here in this blog I have written a glowing review of John Davet and his company and I will highly recommend him to anyone willing to listen.  I am a proactive fan of John because he does “according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”  I have confidence in him because I have learned that I can trust what he says.  I’d like others to feel the same about me.  I bet you would too.

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.” He is the truth and if we are in him no lack of truth can remain in us.  Let’s each make a commitment to be more careful and intentional with our words.  Let us no longer make casual commitments that dent the veracity of our words.  Here is why:

John 3:16-21

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

If people know that our words can be counted on as truth we will indeed be living a life different and set-apart from most.  Like a moth to a flame others will be attracted to the light of Christ that shines through you.

Have a blessed day brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

P.S. Davet Roofing is a Nashville Tennessee area company that does both commercial and residential roofing.  Write this number down, (615) 889-2224, and call John if you ever need a roof repaired; you’ll be glad you did.  (No, John did not, nor will he, pay me for this recommendation!)

A very bad mentor!

He’s a mentor, I’m a mentor, wouldn’t you like to be a mentor too?

(Try singing that with the old Dr. Pepper jingle)

Numbers 27-29

I’ve said before that I intend for us to look for what God has to say about godly manhood as we read through the scriptures together.  With that said, the issue of mentoring comes up in Numbers 27:12-23.  In that passage God tells Moses that it is time for him to “be gathered to your people”.   Moses asks that the Lord appoint someone to replace him and God chooses Joshua the son of Nun, of course.

I say “of course” because Joshua has been prepared for this.  Moses had been mentoring Joshua since they left Egypt.  Moses had sent him out to fight against Amalek while he stood above the battle with the staff of God raised in his hands (Exodus 17:9).  Moses sent Joshua out to spy out Canaan and was one of only two that came back and urged that the Israelites trust in the Lord and take possession of the land (Numbers 14:6-9).   Joshua was the only one to go part of the way up the mountain with Moses when he went up Mount Sinai to meet with God (Exodus 24:13).  Moses had him with him on at least one occasion when he went into the tabernacle (Exodus 33:11).

What is important to note about the mentor relationship is while Joshua was being groomed for eventual leadership he was also supporting Moses.  In every great challenge Moses faced Joshua was faithfully nearby.  Too often I think we look at a mentoring relationship as a one way street.  Bing a mentor is a big responsibility.  It forces us to behave in a way worthy of emulation.  It requires that we observe the one being mentored and encouraging them, and at times perhaps forcing them, at the right moment in their development, to take the next step.

By the same token leadership can be a heavy burden and it is awfully nice to have someone to help shoulder the load and encourage you to keep on keeping on.

As men we have many opportunities to mentor and be mentored and I think we need to do both.  From the mentoring side we can mentor our children, our co-workers or subordinates, our friends, our family members, even the neighbor child who doesn’t have a dad.  We might even be able to mentor our spouse but I’d be careful here.  The marriage relationship is extremely important and different from all other human relationships.  Mentoring may be the wrong term and approach here.

By the same token, there is much each of us can learn from another godly man and we should look for the opportunity to grow as a Mentee (I think I just made up a word).  Please understand that we grow both as a mentor and as a mentee (I like this new word – remember you heard it here first folks).  Remember that you have been given a sacred trust to mentor your children, even if they don’t want to be mentored.  Beyond that you should look for opportunities to mentor others as the situation warrants.  Guys, be careful when mentoring individuals of the opposite sex.  You cannot allow yourself to be alone with a woman who is not your wife.  Such a mentoring relationship is too vulnerable to degenerating into something inappropriate.

You should also look for an opportunity to be mentored.  We always have something we can learn and, as I’ve said before, I’ve learned from others with less formal education and with fewer years on this earth than me.  You are not alone and were not intended to be alone.  Your wife should be your closes support relationship but after that is in appropriate working order find a male shoulder you can lean on.  Don’t worry; I’m sure John Wayne would approve.

Have a blessed day guys!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

The Zeal of Phinehas

Numbers 25-26

The Israelites have been wandering in the wilderness for forty years and most of those that were 20 or older when Israel left Egypt are now dead.  As they have wandered they have gripped and rebelled and been punished a number of times.  Now, as the Lord prepares to take them into the Promised Land we see that they have begun to have promiscuous sex with the people of Moab and to bow down to their gods.  You don’t have to be a genius to see where this is headed.

God instructs Moses to “hang” all the chiefs of Israel so His “fierce anger” will turn away from Israel.  Moses tells his “judges”, his troop of faithful men, to go through the camp and kill those “who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor”.

God is holding the leadership of Israel responsible for the perversion of their relationship with Him.  Men, you and I are the spiritual leaders in our homes and God holds us responsible for any perversion of our family’s relationship with Him.  Our response to spiritual “whoring” around and degenerate behavior should be as one “jealous” for the Lord.

Zimri, the son of a clan chief, felt he didn’t have to obey God or repent of the very behavior that lead to the death of so many.  As the rest of the congregation were grieving over their loss and their rebellious behavior, Zimri took a Midianite woman, Cozbi,  into his tent for immoral purposes.  He did this right before the eyes of Moses and the entire congregation of Israel while they were on their knees before the Lord in an attitude of repentance.  Zimri clearly didn’t think the rules applied to him.  His attitude and behavior jeopardized the well being of the entire congregation.

Phinehas, enraged at the blatant disrespect for God and the congregation, immediately put an end to the affront.  God made it clear that Phinehas saved the congregation from further discipline.  As the spiritual leaders in our house I would hope that we wouldn’t allow our families to get so far out of alignment that drastic measures we be required.  Today, we don’t kill people that violate God’s commandments nor should we.  We should not abuse those under our charge for their rebellion against God either.  But we should establish an understanding within our homes that rebellion against God will not be tolerated.

Of course, in order to hold our household to a “no rebellion” standard means we are going to have to start with ourselves.  We cannot lead our homes toward godly behavior if we ourselves are violating godly behavior.  We must first take the plank out of our own eye.  That doesn’t mean we don’t establish a godly standard in our home until we are perfect; to do so would be to wait until Christ’s return which is a little too late.  No, since we too are sinners, we have to start with ourselves; set the example and through the struggle toward righteousness learn the humility necessary to lead others to similar behavior.

If you repent of your sins and attempt to restore yourself to godly behavior, your family we see the change that takes place in you, you will understand how difficult it is to return to right relationship with God, and be able to lead your family back to Him with the love and humility necessary to do so effectively.  If, however, there is blatant, unrepentant rebellion among your family you must stand up, in love, and insist that it stop.  This kind of thing is a cancer and it cannot be allowed to continue for it will lead to spiritual death.

It’s hard to know how and when to respond to rebellion in our family.  The key is to lead by example and confront sin in love not anger.  For us guys anger tends to be about us and our feelings rather than about God and the well being of those under our authority.  There is such a thing as righteous anger but I would suggest that you let the anger cool before tackling the behavior that ignited the anger.

Finally, I’d like to share a chart that compares the census from the beginning of Numbers with the census that we read about in today’s passage.  Most of those tribes that saw a decrease in population were instigators or participants in the many rebellions that took place over the previous 40 years.  This is significant because the allotment of territory each tribe would receive in the Promised Land would be based on this census; more people means more territory.

Since the Promised Land is also a metaphor for Heaven it might be interesting to contemplate the connection between rebellion and our inheritance in eternity.

Have a great day guys!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!

Blessed are those who bless you!

Numbers 22-24

Now I know the talking donkey in Numbers 22:22-35 is pretty interesting but I really want to talk about the 3^rd oracle of Balaam.  In Genesis God told Abram that He would bless those that bless him and curse those that curse him and that through him all the “families” of the earth would be blessed.  Isaac, when He mistakenly gives Esau’s blessing to Jacob says the same thing.  These verses are below:

Genesis 12:3

“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

Genesis 27:29

Let peoples serve you,

and nations bow down to you.

Be lord over your brothers,

and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.

Cursed be everyone who curses you,

and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”

Now, here in Numbers, Balaam repeats this blessing which is the exact opposite of what his employer Balak had hired him to do.

Numbers 24:9 b

“Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”

Balaam’s response to his employers anger is instructive:

Numbers 24:12-13

“And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’?”

Balaam wanted to curse Israel if he could since this would be a very lucrative deal for him.  In reading about Balaam you initially get a feeling that Balaam is a godly man since he inquires of the Lord what he is to do.  But if Balaam is obeying God why is the angel trying to kill him for going to Balak after God told him he was to go?

When God finally gave His approval to Balaam to go with the princes of Moab, it was with a very specific command; “but only do what I tell you.”  We don’t know exactly what it is that Balaam did that went against this specific order but God does tell us this much:

Numbers 24:32 b

“Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.”

The sense I get here is that Balaam had it in his heart to curse Israel so as to gain the riches promised by Balak.  Do you remember the deposition a few years back by then sitting President Bill Clinton wherein he testified that he had not had sexual relations with a certain woman?  During questioning he said what has become and infamous line; “It depends on what your definition of is is.”  Old Bill knew the letter of the law and he was attempting to find a legal way to lie his way out of the nasty situation in which he had brought himself.  He was looking for a loop-hole that would allow him to get away with something.  He knew what the questioner was asking and he didn’t want to tell the truth so he decided that he would change his personal definition of what sexual relations were so as to deny having had them.

Through all the political sword play that followed, it has been little noted that he was, in fact, found guilty of committing perjury.  He did not get away with his little legalistic game.  I think Balaam was trying to get away with something and the Lord was having none of it.  Balaam’s way was perverse before the Lord and the penalty for that is death.

As we saw in Numbers 24:12-13 above, Balaam could not go beyond the word of the Lord.  He had discovered that trying to trick God or to play some legalistic mind game wasn’t going to wash.  He had no choice but to bless Israel even though a rich reward was his if he could only curse them.  I’ve been guilty of this childish attempt to legalistically justify some disobedient behavior.  It has never ended well and I have since learned that doing so comes with a heavy price.

Today we Christians view the promise made to Abram as a promise for us as the spiritual descendents of Abram through our Lord Jesus Christ.  I’ve heard many learned Christians state that the “I will bless those that bless you and curse those that curse you” promise is now ours and not the modern state of Israel.  I agree with the idea that we, as Christians are inheritors of this promise.  I believe scripture truly supports this claim.  I have seen no evidence in scripture, however, that the promise has somehow been removed from the physical descendents of Abram.

I think many people today look at recent history in the Middle East and lay the blame for conflict there on the modern state of Israel.  I find this to be a very selective view of history.  But I find all of this beside the point.  God did promise the land of Canaan to Abram’s physical and spiritual children.  Even though we are now on the Messiah side of history, I see nothing in scripture that says the promise has been removed physically even now that the spiritual promise finds itself in ascendency.

Horrific behavior can be found on both sides of this conflict but many who take the side of individuals of Arab descent seem to condemn Israel disproportionately and justify their “cursing” of Israel by saying that the physical blessing has been removed.  I find this to be a bit of Balaam in action; legalistic dissembling.  It didn’t work out well for Balaam and I’m not willing to take the chance on it now.

Be wary of “cursing” the spiritual and physical descendents of Israel.  As for me, I am not “able to go beyond the word of the Lord”.

Blessing brothers!

Your brother and servant in Christ,

Bill

Dying to self, living to serve!