WHERE DO WE TURN IN TROUBLED TIMES?
Numbers 22
***This message tagteam preached with Doug (layperson in our church)
-In 2006 there were two movies made about the Battle of Iwo Jima. WW2
-Both movies were directed by Clint Eastwood.
-The first movie was called Flags of Our Fathers and was released in Oct 2006.
-The second movie was called Letters from Iwo Jima and was released in Dec 2006.
-So why did one director make two movies about the same historical event and release them two months apart?
-Flags of our Fathers was a movie which portrayed these events from the American perspective.
-Letters from Iwo Jima was a movie which portrayed these events from the Japanese perspective. No director, that I’m aware of, has ever done something like that before or since.
-But as we turn to Numbers chapter 22, we see that our author Moses has switched perspectives in the story of Israel for a couple of chapters.
-Chapters 1-21 tell the story of Israel’s journey from Israel’s perspective.
-We read about things happening in the community of God’s people.
-But in chap 22 - 23 the story of Israel is told from the perspective of the Moabite king Balak.
-The Moabites inhabited some of the land near the land God had promised Israel.
-If you’re a king, and a huge group of people is camped out on your border, you start to worry.
-You don’t wait to see if they are friendly, you assume they are not.
-He was king of his people, and the Moabites had fought to secure their own land just like every nation in that age.
-And now suddenly a massive force of Israelites begins edging into his territory.
-And Israel was huge and camped out on his border.
-If a country invades they usually send over the army and everyone else stays home.
-But Israel doesn’t have a home, so everyone is along for the ride.
-They were seemingly coming through Moab with men, women, children, goats, frying pans and the kitchen sink...an estimated 2 million people camped at the border.
-King Balak was thinking: Invasion! He was scared. He was worried for himself and his people.
-He was desperately asking questions and looking for answers to his “Israel problem”.
-In a way we can read this and feel sorry for the Moabites.
-We all know what it feels like when everything is going against us, or when an impossible obstacle comes our way.
-Even those of us who know God have things go against us.
-But Balak was a man who was going against God!
-He opposed God’s plans. He opposed God’s people. He opposed God’s laws. He opposed God.
-So in this two-sided conflict you’ve got the Israelites: the people who were trying, with varying degrees of success, to follow God and establish a nation with God at the center.
-And on the other side you have a godless king who is trying to prevent that from happening.
-And if you’ve been here for this Numbers series you’ll have noticed something about the will of God: He accomplishes what he intends to accomplish.
-Balak was godless man who was in a lot of trouble.
-He had a few ideas about what to do, and where to turn.
-But he had no idea who he was dealing with or what he faced as he tried to oppose God.
-Numbers 22 is a very inciteful passage, because it gives a glimpse of where people turn when they are in crisis.
-This story allows us to see the mentality of faithless people and how they deal with trouble.
-And while we’re looking at the godless king Balak we may just identify some of our own faithless tendencies.
-Where do we turn in troubled times?
(Doug)
-So, let’s take a look at chapter 22.
22 Then the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 2 Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites. 3 And when the people of Moab saw how many Israelites there were, they were terrified. 4 The king of Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass in the field!” So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers to call Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. 6 Please come and curse these people for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you curse.”
-(maybe move) Balak was concerned because he had seen what happened to the Amorites when they went up against the Israelites.
-The Amorite king was killed along with all of his people.
-I am sure Balak was more than a little nervous about the prospects of what might happen to him and to his kingdom.
-He was concerned about his people but also about self-preservation.
-His people were concerned for their lives but also because their resources could be taken up by the Israelites.
-So Balak decided to turn to a single man to help him defeat 2 million Israelites that were on his doorstep.
-Now, we don't know all that much about Balaam but Balak certainly knows his reputation.
-He is known as a mighty man in spiritual things; when he curses or blesses a man or a people, it comes to pass.
-As the account continues, it will be clear that Balaam has some knowledge of the true God, not of some vague spiritual connections. How he came to know the true God is unclear.
-Balak wants Balaam to ‘curse this people for me’, that is, to cripple them spiritually so they can be defeated in battle. Balak seemed to know the strength of Israel was spiritual in its root, and had to be cut off from their source of power if they were to be conquered.
-None of his gods were powerful enough to provide protection for him and his people.
-So, he turned to a pagan witch doctor.
-We all have seen something bad on the horizon and weren't sure what to do. But...
DO WE TURN TO GODLESS PEOPLE?
-We run in to a problem and we often turn to someone to help us deal with it rather than first turning to God. Of course, there are many people in our world that are there to provide help. Seeking help from doctors, lawyers, financial consultants or therapists is not a bad thing. I mean, these are trained professionals. They spent years in school and have degrees that tell us they are the experts we should be turning to.
-But how often do we turn to them without including God in our situation?
-Sometimes when people are hurting they go to extremes to try and find comfort.
-Maybe they turn to a psychic or a palm reader to help reassure them that a loved one is in a better place or maybe to seek advice about problems they are facing
-Doesn't God already provide reassurance in His Word?
-There are also times we don't turn to a trained professional but to the people in our lives. We look to people who are convenient, and we share our problems with them.
-We often want people to enable us or to help us justify our actions and don't want someone there who will actually hold us accountable or make us stand up and do what is right.
-We often are looking for people who will tell us what we want to hear, but we aren’t always looking to hear the truth. King Balak certainly fits into that category.
-He didn’t want the truth, he wanted Balaam to take up his cause.
-Have you ever had that friend who was having marital troubles and they look for advice from the co-worker who has already been through 3 divorces?
-Or, someone is trying to decide about taking on some additional debt so they ask that friend who has all of his credit cards maxed out what to do.
-Some of you know the story of my brother-in-law Jeff Aiken. Jeff died in July of 2011 after suffering for many months with the effects of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease). You know, the whole ice bucket challenge thing that so many people did this past summer... Jeff first started showing symptoms late in 2010 and, of course, began seeing different doctors to try and find out what was happening. It took several months before the doctors essentially ruled out everything else and determined it was, in fact, ALS. Currently there is no known cure for ALS. The disease acts in slightly different ways for different people but in simple terms it cuts off the signals from the brain to various parts of the body that tell those parts what to do. So your brain is telling your legs to walk but they don't get the signal so they can't. Or the brain might tell the lungs to breath but, again, no signal so, no breathing. The muscles aren’t working and so they begin to die. Some can be diagnosed and live with ALS for several years but most people die within 1-3 years.
-Jeff was raised knowing God but spent much of his lifetime running away from God. He wanted to live life on his own terms, as many people do. When this diagnosis came through he had a lot of anger and frustration about his situation. Jeff placed some of his hope in different treatments and alternative medicines. There were suggestions from people on different natural remedies. For a time, Jeff worked with a naturopath doctor who made promises of cleansing solutions to remove the toxins from his body. I think when you are dealing with something so severe in nature the tendency is to explore every treatment option available. -That isn't necessarily a wrong thing to do but, in the end, Jeff’s true hope was his salvation in Christ. In his last few months, Jeff really turned to God. He was still angry and frustrated and he was scared. Jeff didn't want to die. But, Jeff accepted that God did not have a plan to heal him. Jeff turned to God and then began to tell everyone he talked to about God and that the only way he was getting through all of the pain and frustration was through God's strength. Jeff prayed...a lot...and encouraged everyone to follow the direction given in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 which says “Never stop praying.” In the end, Jeff found his peace by surrendering to God.
-With Jeff we explored every option. Got a lot of opinions and in the end...he still died. The one person we counted on was still there in the end. Christ.
-What about us? Where do we turn when trouble comes?
-Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take."
-The bible tells us to turn to God. Come to Him in prayer and read His word. When we are dealing with difficult situations try and consider how God might be using that situation to bring you closer to Him.
-Another passage that comes to mind is...
-Jeremiah 17:5&7 This is what the Lord says: "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 17:7 "But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence."
DO WE TRUST IN MONEY AND RESOURCES? (Erik)
-There is an old saying “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
-Where do we turn when we are desperate?
-Many times we do exactly what Balak did. Our first turn is to some person that we think can help us or will know what to do.
-But another usual suspect is money. Resources, assets.
-When we are feeling very desperate, or even just a little desperate it’s easy to trust in money.
-if hang around some people who are close to retirement age and you’ll hear this a lot.
-They are obsessed with the 401k.
-They are counting on Social Security and Medicaid.
-They are riddled with the fear about being on a fixed income.
-Gotta save. Gotta pay off my house, gotta tighten the belt...because retirement is coming.
-Now all those things are reasonable, probably wise, probably necessary….and I’m not casting any stones because I know my turn is coming!
-But it’s somewhat surprising that we rarely hear people mention prayer as they plan for retirement.
-With all the financial planning we seldom hear any talk about relying on God for our provisions.
-And that’s not just for future and current retirees!
-Start talking about college, marriage, babies, buying a house...the discussion always turns to money first and seldom to faith. It happens to all us.
-And it happened to Balak in our story.
7 Balak’s messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s message to him.
-We don’t know a lot about Balaam but we know one important detail...he was a prophet for hire. This was not some new arrangement that Balak was proposing.
-This was a standard procedure for many ancient people.
-This was Balaam’s profession! He was a professional sorcerer for hire. The kind of guy you hope your daughter doesn’t bring home!
-This would be like people going to a tarot card reader, a palm reader, or a psychic.
-He was into witchcraft, sorcery, divination and all things demonic.
-As a rule of thumb, freelance prophets for hire should be avoided.
-I’m amazed when I hear Christian people talk about engaging in this kind of thing.
-Christian in crisis, not turning to Scripture, to church leaders, to prayer...but to witchdoctors!
-We would expect ancient pagan kings to pull stunts like that, but not God’s people.
-Notice what happened when Balak tried to purchase this man’s services:
8 “Stay here overnight,” Balaam said. “In the morning I will tell you whatever the Lord directs me to say.” So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.
-Here we have a delegation of people sent with money.
-Balak had a problem, but he also had cash...and cash can fix anything. (So he thought)
-So the official representatives show up, they flash some cash, and say how much will it cost for a curse on Israel?
-And Balaam, the sorcerer, says, “Ok, but I’m going to have to consult God first and see what he says about all this!”
-This is one of the most shocking things in the book of Numbers!
-How many times in the book of Numbers have we seen Israel blow it, by not consulting God first? And here we have a two-bit heathen diviner saying, “We should to talk to God first.”
-The commentators suggest that Balaam already knew the answer to the question, but was hoping God might give him the green light so he could make some cash.
-When trouble comes we check our savings account, check our insurance policies, call dad to see if he can float us a loan, but why don’t we turn to God?
-James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.”
-Don’t we know that God has the answers for whatever predicament we find ourselves in?
-Don’t we realize that the wisdom of God is superior to our own?
-Don’t we remember that God has always been there for us, and always provided?
-Don’t we understand that our God has infinite resources, more than the little bit of resources we are putting our trust in? Sometimes we do, sometimes we don’t.
-In your family...when trouble hits...try praying before you start panicking.
-Panic after you pray!
-When you’re facing illness, financial hardship, job loss, rebellious kids, college tuition, stress in your marriage, aging parents, newborn babies...turn to God for wisdom.
-James 1:5 is one of the few places in Scripture where we are told that we will get something when we ask for it. Guaranteed. If we ask in faith for God’s wisdom we will get it.
-And apparently Balaam knew that same trick. So he says to the delegation, “I’ll ask God.”
9 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”
-God didn’t ask this because he was unfamiliar with Balak and his people.
-God knew who they were, which puts a different spin on the question.
-Who are these men visiting you Balaam? Hmmm???
10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 ‘Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.’” 12 But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” 13 The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The Lord will not let me go with you.”
-Even though king Balak had money, his money couldn’t buy what he wanted.
-Even though Balaam the prophet wanted to make money, he didn’t take it because it was going against the Lord.
-Some of us have learned the exact same lessons, maybe more than once.
-Some bad thing comes our way and we say...I’ve got money in the bank I’m ok! And then that money is gone and we’re crushed.
-Trouble strikes, and I’ll just call my parents! They’ll bail me out...but this time there in no money.
-My insurance will pay it! My friends will help! I’ll go try my luck at the casino!
-Why do we put our trust in money? We have to know better.
1 Timothy 6:17 “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.”
-Transition?
(Doug)
14 So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.” 15 Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time. 16 They went to Balaam and delivered this message to him: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me. 17 I will pay you very well and do whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!”
-After turning to a godless prophet, trying to buy his way out of trouble with money, now he is turning to the powerful people of his country for aid.
-He was feeling really powerless, desperate, turning to everything and everyone except God.
-How about us?
DO WE TURN TO POWERFUL PEOPLE AND INSTITUTIONS?
-Almost 110 million Americans receive financial assistance from the government in one form or another. That is almost 1/3 of the population of the United States.
-This might get people thinking politically but stay with me. Many of those benefits are earned benefits. Veterans, social security, retirement benefits for government employees, etc.
-Some of those are social relief type benefits.
-But many people depend on those benefits to survive.
-But what would happen if those benefits dried up and went away? Where would these people then place their trust? Who would they turn to then?
-Less than 2 weeks ago a lot of people cast their ballots in the elections.
-Some of those people got fired up over their candidates and they just know that "their guy" is going to make all the difference.
-Or, since their guy lost, they are convinced that they are doomed!!!
-Some people turn to other types of organizations to help improve their lives; maybe a labor union at work, or a special interest group like the ACLU, NAACP, or even AARP (I always give my mother-in-law a hard time when she gets something in the mail from them).
-Again, there is nothing wrong with these types of organizations. They are supposed to be there to help right wrongs and to fight for the little guy.
-Sometimes people turn to support groups to help them out; just try Googling “Support Groups” and you will find a group for just about anything and everything. There are support groups for grief, for weight loss, depression, support groups for people with low self esteem and for people who are narcissists. I found a support group for spouses of law school students, for people with crazy ex-wives, even a support group for crazy football fans
-Again, many of these groups can be valuable and provide a terrific service but the majority of them do not include God in their “program”.
-A lot of people in this country place their hope and trust in the government or on their elected officials. They rely on special interest groups to help them out or for a support group to provide assistance.
-Balak did the same thing here; sent his trusted officials out to try and entice Balaam to help.
-When that didn't work he sent more officials and ones with even fancier titles.
-Balak was trying to impress Balaam and was playing to his ego here. These officials had the authority to cut a deal with Balaam; to make his life really good. Make him rich!
-Balak placed his reliance on his officials to get this deal done. To influence Balaam and get him to see things Balak’s way.
-These guys were probably ones who negotiated deals with neighboring tribes or helped Balak govern his little corner of the world.
-I am sure they were used to getting their way and rarely had people tell them “no”.
-When I was 17 and a senior in highschool, we had, like every other high school in the country, recruiters that came by and spoke to us about their particular branch of the military. Growing up I had a neighbor that served in the Navy during World War 2. I heard lots of great stories from him about the Navy and it sounded kind of cool. I ended up sitting down with the Navy recruiter and he convinced me it would be a great idea for me to join the Navy Reserve. I was kind of a naïve young man and didn't realize those guys have quotas to achieve and that he really didn't have a lot of personal interest in me. One of my concerns that I raised to him was that I didn't know how to swim and would that be an issue? He assured me that it wouldn't be a problem at all. Again, this is the NAVY. You know, the guys with the big gray boats that go all over the world. Boats, water…don't know how to swim. So, during boot camp you have various drills and exercises and you have to pass them in order to move on. Things like fitness tests, marching drills, a few minutes in the gas chamber with tear gas, and, yes, a swim test. For the swim test they have you go up on a platform that feels like it is about 100 feet above the pool. In reality it is probably 10 feet up. They have 4 guys go up at a time. When they say the command you step off the platform, hit the water below, and then swim to the other end of the pool and back. If you do that, you pass. Simple, right? Well, I climbed that ladder to the platform with no idea what I was going to do when I got to the top. I stood on the edge of the platform and they gave the command to jump; I froze. They ordered me again to jump and nothing. So, the petty officer (a Navy SEAL) conducting the drill ordered me to climb down the platform. When I got down they sent over a more senior petty officer (also a SEAL) who proceeded to tell me (actually yell at me) that he was giving me a direct order to climb up on that platform and to jump off. If I refused to follow this direct order I would be subject to a possible court martial and could end up in the brig (Navy jail). He didn't give me much of an option. I later realized some of this was for the benefit of others that might not want to follow that order as well.
-I will let you in on how this story ends...by the time it was done there were 8 or 9 of us that didn't do the initial jump so they had us each go up there individually and jump off one at a time. They had a Navy SEAL in the water at that point and as I stood there he very calmly assured me that he would not let me drown. I jumped and he caught me, literally before my hair could even get wet. I failed the swim test and later had to spend several days at the pool where they helped teach me to swim.
-I was in what felt like a very desperate situation. If I had any other options I would have used them.
-I was truly afraid of drowning which I didn’t want to do. I was afraid of the Navy Seals breaking me into kindling. I was also afraid of being sent to the brig! I felt like I had no options, but there was one person who kept saying “trust me, trust me, I won’t let you drown.” I’d like to say that was Jesus but it was the Navy Seals!!!
-Isn’t that what God does for us? We’re looking for a way out.
-In our desperation we’re turning to godless people.
-We’re trusting in money and resources that we have.
-We’re trusting in programs, politicians, and powerful institutions.
-But when we’re in trouble….
-And the whole time God is saying, “I won’t let you drown. I’ll catch you.”
-Here is what the bible tell us about relying on authorities or groups.
-Psalms 146:3-4 "Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them."
(Erik)
WHEN TROUBLE STRIKES...
-We all know what it’s like to have trouble strike.
-We’ve all done what King Balak did in this story: turn the wrong way in our time of trouble.
-Here’s the crazy surprise ending to our story with King Balak.
-The Israelites weren’t planning to attack them. Ever.
-God had told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 2:9 not to mess with Moab.
-They had no intention of going into Moab, they weren’t coming to attack.
-They were just passing by.
-Balak is scrambling and trying all these things, without even realizing his trouble...isn’t really trouble at all.
-And we’ve probably all pulled that trick too. Assume the worst. Leap into action. Call in favors. Check our bank account...only to realize it was a false alarm.
18 But Balaam responded to Balak’s messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God.
...RELY ON GOD’S POWER.
-Balaam was not a follower of Jehovah God. But he knew that his power was no match for the power of God. And so he admitted something that all of are reluctant to admit.
-That in many of life’s circumstances we are completely powerless.
-Powerless over our illnesses, our addictions, over things that come our way.
-But the sooner we admit that the sooner we can tap into our real source of power; God.
...SEEK THE WILL OF THE LORD.
-Notice that Balaam talks about God’s will. While the Israelites knew God’s will, and often times didn’t seem to care...Balaam realized that God’s will...will always prevail.
-In any given situation, especially tough situations, we should be asking...what is God’s will for me in this time of trouble?
-Instead of fighting for our will, and trying to push our agenda...we should first stop and consider the will of God.
19 But stay here one more night, and I will see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.” 20 That night God came to Balaam and told him, “Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”
...LISTEN TO WHAT GOD IS SAYING.
Often times when trouble strikes God is already present, already speaking, leading, guiding, and the question for us is not just “what is God saying”, but “am I listening to what God is saying.”
