Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. No prophecy, whether past,
present, or future, in all of the Scriptures can be rightly
understood apart from the revelation of Christ Jesus as the Redeemer
King, who has shed his own blood for the remission of his people's
sin and triumphed over death. Worship God, for the testimony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. When Christ is revealed to the
awakened mind of the sons of God, the light shines in the
darkness, and the crooked ways are straightened. Blind eyes
are opened, and deliverance is wrought. The people that walked
in darkness have seen a great light. They that dwell in the
land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.
Paul spoke of the principle of perfection, displacing that which
is partial, when he wrote to the Corinthians of the superiority
of substance over shadow. But when that which is perfect
is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When
I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought
as a child. But when I became a man, I put
away childish things. The truth of God never changes,
but the unveiling of the gospel to the minds of those whom he
awakens is now most clearly made manifest in the testimony of
those who walk daily with him, even as they delivered them unto
us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers
of the word. Balaam is a mysterious figure
in the Old Testament. He is the only person that we
know of who has ever had a meaningful conversation with a donkey. Though
he was a false prophet of the highest order, yet he spoke much
truth concerning the Lord's blessing upon his elect children, even
expressing a desire to be like them in death. It is difficult
to ascertain what his error was by simply reading the narrative
concerning him in the book of Numbers, but it is plainly revealed
in Revelation 2.14. But I have a few things against
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the
children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to
commit fornication. Balaam is an example of a man
who is determined to find a way to overturn the will of God.
In his quest he is not unlike those who exalt the free will
of men, making men the sovereign rather than him who sits upon
the throne of the heavens. Balaam was so determined to collect
a reward from the king of Moab for cursing the children of Israel
that he would not stop his efforts to do so, in spite of the Lord's
constant reminder to him of the folly of his quest. He ultimately
failed to cause God to curse them by his divinations and even
wound up blessing them instead with his prophecy. Since he could
not place a curse upon the children of Israel, he ultimately convinced
the king, Balak, to send Moabite women to seduce them and bring
upon them the result of their own sin. In order to teach the
children of Israel of their own innate corruption and the terror
of the law, the Lord ordered this chain of events to occur.
Moralists of all sorts will gasp at the thought of such, but we
are certain that nothing can occur in the earth which is not
according to the good pleasure of the Lord. We're also equally
certain that all events occur to ultimately result in the blessing
of the Lord's people. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. The whole forty-year journey
of the nation of Israel in the wilderness was ordained by God
for the benefit of His people, even though it did not appear
so at the time. All of the activity of Balaam
and the results thereof, including the folly of Israel in worshiping
Baal at Peor, occurred for our learning. In these things we
are taught the natural propensity of every one of us to depart
from the way of the Lord if He does not restrain us. The most
eloquent of prophets or teachers may indeed be as Satan, who transformed
himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing
if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness,
whose end shall be according to their worst. Just as surely
as false prophets, apostles, and physicians of no value arise
in order to turn the eyes of the sons of God away from Christ
and Him crucified, the Lord will lift up a standard against them.
There is one who has pierced his own body on the tree of Calvary
in order to stop the plague of sin and deliver the house of
Israel. We speak of Him who is the subject
of all the scriptures from beginning to the end. He is the Savior
of sinners, whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through
faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission
of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God. To declare,
I say at this time, His righteousness, that He might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Do you believe on Him? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.