Dumb Donkey Spoke with a human voice

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 “When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.”  [Numbers 22:23]

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Dumb Donkey Spoke with a human voice 

Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials.  But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.

Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides.  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.

Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.  When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.  Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”

 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”    “No,” he said.

 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown.

In several ways, the false teachers resemble the prophet Balaam the son of Beor. They falsely pose as spokesmen of God. They induce others to sin. But the chief likeness is that they use the ministry as a means of financial enrichment. Balaam was a Midianite prophet hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel. His motive for doing this was money.

On one of his attempts to curse Israel, Balaam and his donkey met the angel of the Lord. The donkey repeatedly refused to go on. When Balaam whipped it, the donkey rebuked him in human language. This was an astonishing phenomenon-- a dumb donkey speaking with a human voice (and showing better sense than its master!). But the miracle did not shock Balaam out of his madness.

Balaam is a fearful example of a man, who was "a  prophet," whom God told what not to do, whom God hindered in his wrongdoing by even letting a dumb donkey speak to him, but who in spite of everything secretly clung to this love for what he thought he could get out of unrighteousness, and so perished."

 God does not rebuke by dumb animals today. But there is every reason to believe that in other ways He often rebukes, to turn to the right way, which is Christ.






Donkey Spoke

 “But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey--a beast without speech--who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.”  [2 Peter 2:16]

 



The Lord is coming - Believers will not be judged 

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 “Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.  ”  [Jude 1:11]

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Believers will not be judged 

For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.  [Jude 1]

Attacks were being made on the sacred deposit of Christian truth, and efforts were already launched to whittle away the great fundamental doctrines.  God's people must stand uncompromisingly for the inspiration, inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of God's Holy Word.

 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord at one time delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

 In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.

Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.

 These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.  They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.

  Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” These people are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.

The prophecy will have a preliminary and partial fulfillment when the Lord Jesus returns to earth after the Tribulation to destroy His forces and to reign as King. It will have its complete and final fulfillment at the end of the Millennium when the wicked dead are judged at the Great White Throne.

Christ comes to execute judgment on all. True believers will not be included. Through faith in Christ, they have been granted immunity from judgment, as promised in John 5:24: "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."




The Lord is coming

 “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones  to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”  [Jude 1:14]

 



 

Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

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 “Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD. ”  [Jeremiah 23:24]

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Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up before me."

But Jonah rose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went on board, to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of the LORD.

But Psalmist realized and said "Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?" Are you also fleeing from the presence of the Lord like Jonah?

But the LORD hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god. And they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. So the captain came and said to him, "What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish."

And they said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" And he said to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. He said to them, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you." Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. Therefore they called out to the LORD, "O LORD, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O LORD, have done as it pleased you." So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows.

 And the LORD appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

The LORD did not let Jonah die in the sea, He provide a way out for him. It is better to be in the will of God than to flee away from His presence.



Jonah Thrown Overboard

 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”  [Jonah 1:12]

 



Put your house in order, because you are going to die

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 “Isaiah answered, “This is the LORD’s sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?”   “It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,” said Hezekiah. “Rather, have it go back ten steps.” Then the prophet Isaiah called on the LORD, and the LORD made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz. ”  [2 Kings 20: 9-11 ]

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Put Your House in Order

Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.  He held fast to the LORD and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.  And the LORD was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,  “Remember, LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him:  “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the ruler of my people, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD. I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.’”

 Then Isaiah said, “Prepare a poultice of figs.” They did so and applied it to the boil, and he recovered.

God did this for one man.  Not for a nation as with Joshua. What we learn from this is that God can do anything he chooses for whoever or whatever reason he chooses. He has seen the tears of Hezekiah. He also did give a sign to Hezekiah that the shadow will go back ten steps. Praise God, He could do things against the nature. Remember, God created all these elements in the first place.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. How great is our God!



Hezekiah's Prayer Heard

 “This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the temple of the LORD”  [2 Kings 20:5]

 

 King Hezekiah



Weighed in the balances and found wanting...

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 “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.  His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.” 

[Daniel 5:5-6]

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Weighed in the balances and found wanting...

King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his nobles and drank wine with them. While Belshazzar was drinking his wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver goblets that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines might drink from them.  So they brought in the gold goblets that had been taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them. As they drank the wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.

Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus and the grandson of  Nebuchadnezzar("father" may also mean "grandfather"). He made a great feast, using the sacred gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had stolen from the temple in Jerusalem.

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.  His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

 The terrified king offered a purple robe, a chain of gold, and promotion to be one of three rulers, to anyone who could interpret the writing. Daniel was summoned to interpret the writing. Even after all these years and the changes in government, the excellent wisdom and spirituality of Daniel were remembered at least by someone. So Daniel was brought in before the king.

The writing was MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. Which means, God had numbered the Babylonian Empire and finished it. Belshazzar was weighed in the balances and found wanting. Belshazzar's kindom was divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. That same night, the Medo-Persian armies marched into Babylon, slew Belshazzar, and seized world dominion.

How are you, when God weighs you in His balances? 



MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN

 “But you, Belshazzar, his son, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this.  Instead, you have set yourself up against the Lord of heaven.”  [Daniel 5:22-23]

 

 King Belshazzar



Which side of the cross are you on?

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 “For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”  [Luke 23:31]

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Which side of the cross are you on?

Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then

   “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
   and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

 For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Jesus Himself was the green tree, and unbelieving Israel was the dry. If the Romans heaped such shame and suffering on the sinless, innocent Son of God, what dreadful punishment would fall on the guilty murderers of God's beloved Son?

 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.  When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar  and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The robbers reviled Jesus at the outset. If He was the Christ, why did He not save them all? But then one of them had a change of heart. Turning to his companion, he rebuked him for his irreverence. After all they were both suffering for crimes that they had committed. Their punishment was deserved. But this Man on the middle cross had done nothing wrong. Turning to Jesus, the thief asked the Lord to remember him when He came back and set up His kingdom on earth. Such faith was remarkable. The dying thief believed that Jesus would rise from the dead and would eventually reign over the world. Jesus rewarded his faith with the promise that that very day, they would be together in Paradise. Paradise is the same as the third heaven and means the dwelling place of God.

From Jesus Christ's side one thief got saved and the other did not. Which side of the cross are you on?  



Jesus, remember me!

 “But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  [Luke 23:42]

 



You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good

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 “So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.”  [Genesis 37:28]

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"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good"

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Now of course Joseph is a clear type of Christ. He goes down into the pit (which is Biblical imagery of death), his cloak is covered in blood, and yet he comes back from the death twice (firstly by being sold rather than killed, secondly by coming out of prison to become the second most powerful man in Egypt). Resurrection motifs if ever there were any, and add to that the fact that the “death” (in the pit and then selling him) that is meant to destroy Joseph actually becomes the means of salvation for the brothers when Joseph is in the exact right place to save them years later.


Joseph in Egypt

 “But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ”  [Genesis 50:19-20]

 

Joseph and his brothers