Sunday 1st September
Read Psalm 72
If you don’t have a bible at home you can find the readings on a website such as www.biblegateway.com or an app such as YouVersion
The title of this Psalm says “Of Solomon” and at the close of this series of Psalms it says “This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse”. The Psalm can be viewed as a prayer of David in passing on his Kingship to his son, Solomon, although it is much more extensive than that.
It is about the King and the King of Kings. Certainly it is a prayer that the leadership given to the people will be from a wise and godly King and the prayer to God is for him to endow such a King with all the necessary traits required for that role. It is a necessary prompt to Christian people to pray for their governments and not merely to join in the common complaints or criticisms that fly around. When the people of Israel were banished in exile to Babylon they wanted to get back to where they came from and were not interested in the Babylonian life that they found themselves in, yet God’s message to them was to “serve the King of Babylon and live” (Jeremiah 27:8-13). They were to pray for the wellbeing of where they were for by it they would benefit from its improvement. That remains true for us.
The Psalm also looks forward to the Messianic King Jesus, the King of Kings. “All nations will be blessed through him” says v18 and it is true that, as we pray for the spread of the gospel, peoples from every background and culture will be blessed. The kingdom in which we live has no boundaries but extends everywhere.
READINGS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday Numbers 21: 4-9
In this passage we see grumbling recurring again amongst the people. They are grumbling against “God and Moses” (v5) and the reason being that they were fed up with this desert pilgrimage, scarce of water, and living on the manna provided by God. They had been promised a destination of a land flowing with milk and honey and it was yet to appear and their patience had given up. Ah, none of us want heaven to wait, we want everything NOW. But the best things always come to those who wait and who wait patiently.
Their grumbling resulted in judgement from God in the way of venomous snakes which had the needed result of bringing them to repentance for their grumbling against God and Moses. We should note that God is strong enough to resist pity when we stray from him and end up in pain and difficulty.
The cure given was the bronze snake lifted up for them to look at. They had to lift their eyes and look at the judgement of God and they would be cured. This image is used by Jesus in John 3:14 about his crucifixion in that his death upon the cross was for us and to look to him would bring about our salvation. We see our judgement meted out on him.
These verses tell of the routes the Israelites took from the wilderness wanderings to the entrance to the promised land. With a map and some commentaries’ suggestions of where the named places were, it is possible to gain some idea of their travels. Does it have anything to say to us? Well, notice that it was important for the people to remember this when they were in the promised land and settled there. Among other things note that the bit where they came to a well was sung about in vs17-18, obviously an important memory. Just as Rivendell was an important place of rest for the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings so Beer was a great memory for the people of God.
There are times and situations in our lives which serve similar purposes and which we look back on and give thanks for. Think back in your own life and give thanks today.
The Israelites circled Moab but, coming to the lands East of the Jordan, they were met by Sihon, King of Heshbon who refused to let them pass through his territory on the way to the Jordan where they would eventually cross over into the promised land. He mustered his entire army to fight and stop them entering their land but he was defeated and his land became the Israelites in perpetuity. His land was bordered on the North by Og, King of Bashan, who also sought to defeat the Israelites but he too was defeated and thus all the land of the Amorites and Ammonites on the East side of the Jordan was defeated and in future would belong to the tribe of Gad and half of Ephraim.
All the land from the Arnon river to Mount Hermon came to be added to the lands West of the Jordan in the future settling of the land.
Christian people have to fight and struggle to bring the whole of their lives into the Kingdom of God. Remember Jesus said that his Kingdom was not of this world, else he would fight against the Jewish leaders with Pilate and his Roman troops, his kingdom was in the hearts of men and women of faith but they have to fight so that their lives, full of the forces and attitudes of this world are driven out.
Now starts a longer narrative about Balak, the king of Moab and Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet and diviner living in Mesopotamia who was summoned by Balak to come to his aid and pronounce a curse upon the people of Israel who were now encamped by the Jordan opposite Jericho which would become their first battle after crossing the Jordan. Balak of Moab was to the South of the territory of the two kings, Sihon and Og and was scared that he would be swallowed up like them. He felt unable to combat the people with armed forces and so aimed on spiritual power, albeit alien spiritual power to gain victory over this people.
Sometimes the ordinary worldly forces of human nature – lust, envy, selfishness, greed,etc – are not enough to bring us down but Satan has more subtle means of capturing and stopping us from gaining complete control of our lives, bringing them under the complete control of our Saviour.
Balaam is asked to come and curse the people but God tells him he must not. He refuses at first but with God’s permission is eventually persuaded to go with Balak’s messengers but then a tale is told about his donkey. It appears that although God told him to go he was only to say what God told him but in his heart of hearts he hadn’t completely agreed to that and so God stops him by means of this dumb animal who recognises what God wishes by means of seeing and halting before the Angel of God. God’s word is that he isn’t listening and paying attention. Perhaps there are ordinary circumstances in our lives which are guiding us in God’s way where we, in our ‘intelligence’, miss it.
Balak who was stopped by the Angel (or rather his donkey was stopped) was told by the messenger to go with the men to Balak but only to speak what God told him. Balak, on meeting him, reproves him for being tardy in coming and says, “Am I really not able to reward you?”. He wants this spiritual man to do what he called him for, namely, to curse the Israelites. What a warning to congregations who want the minister they call to do their bidding not God’s. A minister is called not to perform a service dictated by the people but to be God’s servant, ministering his Word to the people.
Balaam tells Balak that he must speak what God puts in his mouth and after this comes a preparation and offering of sacrifices at Bamoth Baal (the High place of Baal) after which Balaam goes on his own to see whether God will give him a message to tell Balak. Indeed hi does and when Balaam comes down the message he speaks is contained in vs 18-26 which tells that he cannot do what God has forbidden and spells out who this people are and that to curse them could not be done when God blesses them. This is a great message for all whom the Lord calls for it speals of the certain and sure protection we have under the hand of God.
Balak is furious that for all his gifts to Balaam he has not only not cursed the people but blessed them.
The story of Balaam is not finished though for Balak takes him to another place as though a curse on the people would be possible from there. The place he takes him was the top of Peor, a place significant in the worship of Baal, and once again a number of altars are built with bulls and rams offered on each altar. Balak is determined that evil should be done to this people by whatever means however this attempt only gives rise to the blessing of Israel in a long prophecy of Balaam in 24:3-9, the statement, “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed” is a word that rings down the ages about this people.
The People of Israel aren’t the picture of perfection or a company of godly people which can be seen down the ages from Old Testament times to the present day but they are a chosen and protected people by God who have a distinctive and special position in history and in the salvation of God, Balaam’s prophecy here says as much.
At this point Balak denounces Balaam and sends him off with angry recrimination at not having been given what he richly paid for, although the last verse seems to indicate that he managed to retain some of his money.
