20060325 Bible Study for the Day: Numbers 23-24
    God warns us through the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:7a that He will not be mocked. This means that God’s good and gracious Will is always done, regardless of the wants of men. In the reading for today, we see the oracles of Balaam, given to him by God. The king of Edom summoned Balaam to curse the Israelites on his behalf, but God had other plans.
    Consider that the king of Edom knew little of the source of Balaam’s power. Indeed, Balaam himself appears to be a pagan, using the very sorcery and divination that God commanded the Israelites not to use. In that way, even Balaam did not understand the power of the God whose power he sought to use. Yet, God’s will was done anyway. It was not God or His power that were used, it was Balaam and the king of Edom that were used for God’s purpose, even though the king had summoned Balaam to do God’s people harm.
    Even today, while we think ourselves far removed from the events of the Book of Numbers, God still acts in the same way. Never once is God’s will thwarted by the will of men. We man rebel and act contrary to what God would have us do, but in the end, what God wants is what always happens. This is not to say that we do not have power to act against God. Our will is certainly free, but for all of our freedom, we will still must accept the consequences of whatever we have done, whether those actions are with God’s will or against it.
    The fact, however, that God’s will is always done should serve as an encouragement for us as Christians. It is because God’s will is done that we can rely on His promises to us, both those that have already been fulfilled and those that are yet to come. Because we know this to be true, we can look for God’s will in our own lives and seek how best to act upon that will, thereby bringing ourselves closer to our God and strengthening our faith.
DLH
