Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20120318.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Numbers: Lessons From Spiritual Casualties And Conquerors
Part XXXII: Trusting God's Oversight On National Conspiracy Issues
(Numbers 22:1-38)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    While we were on vacation in California, a longtime Christian told my wife and me that she believed a conspiracy exists at the highest levels of government to ruin our nation and our way of life. Along with this belief was her implied hope that the conspiracy be thwarted.

    Several members of our Church have voiced to me the same concern, and, from news reports, it is easy to think a conspiracy exists:

    (1) William McGurn's article, "Memo to GOP: Beat Obama," in The Wall Street Journal, February 28, 2012, p. A15 explained the "Health and Human Services secretary" has tried to decide "that church institutions must provide free birth control and sterilizations" and a "federal appeals court" has "overturned a state referendum and crafted an opinion cleverly designed to encourage Justice Anthony Kennedy to throw out a public referendum in California, thereby re-imposing same-sex marriage on a state whose people voted against it."

    (2) The March 9, 2012 editorial, "Independent Payment Advisory Revolt" in the same paper, p. A14, noted: "Public opposition to the Affordable Care Act ["Obamacare"] has grown . . . but few would have predicted . . . that so many Democrats would repudiate so many of President Obama's core promises . . ." Yet, "(T)he White House is expanding the government-run health care that it says the government can't be trusted to run by itself, even as its unaccountable, unelected board undermines democratic consent."

    (3) The March 5, 2012 editorial, "The 60th ObamaCare Vote" in the same paper, p. A14 told how "prosecutors" in "the U. S. Justice Department" had "trampled on" Alaska Republican U. S. Senator Ted Stevens' "rights" with the result that "Democratic challenger Mark Begich . . . went on to become, yes, one of the 60 Senate votes for ObamaCare in 2009. Within months of the election, as federal abuses came to light, Stevens' conviction was set aside. But the election result, highly influenced by the bogus conviction, never was . . . [so that] the Stevens loss tipped the balance of power in the United States Senate.' And in favor of ObamaCare."

    Though it is impossible for us "grassroots" level folk with our limited access to the facts to be sure such a conspiracy exists, we need to know how God wants us to act if it does! Thus, we ask, "If a conspiracy MAY exist at the top levels of government to ruin our nation and our way of life, what does God want me to do?"

    Need: "If a conspiracy MAY exist at the highest levels of government to ruin our nation and way of life, what does God want me to do?!"

  1. Numbers 22:1-38 records a conspiracy at the highest international levels of government to destroy the nation Israel, Numbers 22:1-6:
    1. After Israel defeated kings Sihon and Og, the nearby Moabites who knew of it and saw Israel's large camp were terrified, Num. 22:1-3.
    2. Thus, Moab formed a ruinous international conspiracy against Israel:
      1. Moab sought help from the Midianites to oppose Israel in battle (Num. 22:4; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Num. 22:4).
      2. Moab's king Balak then tried to hire pagan diviner Balaam to put a curse Israel to defeat her, Num. 22:5-6; Ibid., ftn. to Num. 22:6-7.
  2. However, God effectively countered this conspiracy, Num. 22:8-38:
    1. When the Moab and Midian elders came to Balaam to offer a reward for cursing Israel, he invited them to stay overnight while he sought God's help, Num. 22:7-8. Balaam as a pagan magician thought the way to curse a people was to get on good terms with their deity, so he wanted God's help to make the curse, Bib. Kno. Com., O. T., p. 241.
    2. The Lord graciously came to Balaam, asking about his visitors (Num. 22:9), and, when Balaam explained they wanted to hire him to curse Israel (Num. 22:10-11), God prohibited Balaam from cursing Israel or even going with the men, for Israel was already blessed of Him [by way of the Abrahamic Covenant]! (Numbers 22:12; Genesis 12:1-3)
    3. Balaam thus declined to go with the men, so they returned to Balak and he sent more numerous and more honorable leaders to Balaam, promising greater rewards if he cursed Israel, Numbers 22:13-17 NIV.
    4. In reply, Balaam said he could not violate God's will for all the riches in Balak's house, but he invited Balak's men to stay overnight, hoping God might change His mind and let him curse Israel, Num. 22:18-19.
    5. God then told Balaam to go with Balak's delegation, but only to say what God wanted Balaam to pronounce, Numbers 22:20! We know from events in Numbers 23-24 that God would MAKE Balaam pronounce MORE BLESSINGS for Israel in THWARTING Balak's international conspiracy, so He let Balaam go to Balak!
    6. Balaam saddled his donkey to go with the men, but with the intent of gaining rewards by cursing Israel (Ibid., ftn. to Num. 22:9-20). God saw this, so His angel came to oppose him in the way, Num. 22:21-22.
    7. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a sword in hand, so she turned off the road into a field, Num. 22:23a.
    8. Balaam beat the donkey, so the angel moved to a narrow path between two vineyards with rock walls on either side, Num. 22:23b-24. The terrified donkey pressed close to one of the walls, crushing Balaam's foot, so he beat her again, and the angel moved on ahead to a narrow place with no room for the donkey to turn, Numbers 22:25-26 NIV.
    9. When the donkey saw the angel there, she lay down, so Balaam beat her not just with a whip, but with his staff, Numbers 22:27 NIV!
    10. God miraculously enabled the donkey to ask Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Num. 22:28 NIV Balaam as a pagan diviner likely had seen animals speak via demonic power (Ibid., p. 242), so he answered his beast in blind lust for Balak's rewards, claiming she had made a fool of him, and that if he had a sword in his hand, he would kill her, Numbers 22:29 NIV.
    11. The donkey defended herself, claiming to Balaam's acknowledgment that she had never before disobeyed him this way, Num. 22:30 NIV.
    12. God then opened Balaam's eyes so he could see the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn, and Balaam bowed low and fell face down before the angel of the Lord, Numbers 22:31 NIV.
    13. The angel of the Lord asked Balaam what his donkey had asked, why he had beat her three times (Numbers 22:32), for He was opposing Balaam who had recklessly gone with Balak's men, noting that if the donkey had not turned away, He would have slain Balaam and spared her, Numbers 22:33! [This angel said Balaam's act was " reckless . . . before Me" (Num. 22:32 NIV), so the angel was the Preincarnate Christ! (John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, 1974, p. 52-54)]
    14. Balaam confessed his sin, and offered to return home, Numbers 22:34.
    15. God renewed His order to Balaam, that he go with Balak's men, but that he say only what GOD wanted him to say , Numbers 22:35a!
    16. Balaam went with the men, and when he met Balak, he explained that he could say only what God wanted him to say, Numbers 22:35b-38.
Application: (1) May we trust in Christ as Savior to become a child of God, put in His eternal plan, John 1:11-12; Romans 8:28-29. (2) May we trust God with what conspiracies may exist against us, knowing no one can thwart God's plans for us. (3) Indeed, may we trust that if God lets destructive conspiracies exist against us, He plans to use them to make His blessings for us all the more secure!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 God applied this sermon lesson all during our vacation:

(1) In our flight out to Oakland, California to visit family, my wife, Nadine and I, much like Balaam on his trip, ran into numerous obstacles with our itinerary, boarding passes, luggage destination, etc.!

(2) We even drove to the Oakland airport the day before we were scheduled to fly back to Hartford to solve a boarding pass issue, and the airline agents finally assured us all was set for our return trip.

(3) Yet, when my brother left us at the airport the next day, we learned our flight to Los Angeles to catch a plane to Atlanta and from there to fly back to Hartford had been postponed, so we were put on an Alaska Airlines plane north to Portland, Oregon! In Portland we were to get boarding passes to fly to Atlanta to catch our plane to Hartford!

(4) As we took off from Oakland, Nadine asked me, "What is God telling us in all of this?" I replied that it made me recall Michelle Slate's words. She had told me her last trip to South Africa, her native land, was filled with problems, God's way of saying her home was no longer South Africa, but Connecticut. I told Nadine that God was thus showing that where California had once been home, the San Francisco Bay Area being where we had met, it was now Connecticut, period!

(5) Then, to my amazement, (a) I later looked out my window and spotted Lake Shasta, Northern California where our Church young people used to water ski during my high school days. It brought back memories of conversations on the value of serving God I had with Ernie Norby, a truck driver who taught all us church kids to ski!

(b) Then, as we began our descent into Portland, I showed my wife the area of town in which is located the Bible school I attended where God began to direct me into the pastorate! It was as if the Lord was saying, "Don, this whole trip, this diversion to Portland, was My doing! I want you to recall all I have invested in your life so you will see how important it is to Me that you fulfill My calling at Nepaug!"

(6) As God so sovereignly directed us like He did Balaam, the events of our trip being stunning just to review, and as He so pointedly signaled what I was to do and say especially relative to this sermon, God is very motivated that we as a body heed this sermon's message: namely, we are not to fear man's conspiracies, but trust our Lord's wonderful, sovereign oversight that every event around us is simply falling in line with His vast, very involved and very good plan for us!