Numbers 31:8
They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
Tag: Your Sins Will Find You Out!!
In the above passage, Moses, before his death, was charged with leading the Israelites on one last battle. The Midianites had done severe harm to the nation of Israel and God wanted them wiped out before Moses would die and Israel would take the promise land. The Midianites had tried to have Israel cursed by a prophet of the Lord. His name was Balaam, the son of Beor. Balaam had told the kings of Midian that he was not allowed to curse Israel. In fact, during the three times the five Kings of Midian hired him to curse Israel, instead, he blessed Israel. However, Balaam was greedy. The kings had a lot of money and, like most consultants, Balaam wasn’t going to leave any of it on the table. For a “small additional fee” Balaam told them how to defeat Israel. Balaam instructed the Midianites to not “fight” the Israelites, but rather to intermarry with time and cause them to follow Midian’s gods rather than the One True God, Yahweh. This would be the downfall of Israel. God would actually send a curse among Israel because of this intermarriage and worship of Midian’s gods. Balaam is mentioned over 50 times in the Bible in seven different books (two New Testament books). He is the icon of deception and false teaching and false worship. He showed the world (Midian) how to “compromise” Israel’s worldview. Later, in this same reading passage, Moses warns the tribes of Rueben and Gad about not “wholly” following the commandments of the Lord. He states to them that if they don’t, their sins will be found out:
Numbers 32:23
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.
In the above passage Balaam’s sin has finally found him out. He was a greedy false teacher who was only concerned about feeding his own belly and not the character of Yahweh. When we allow our greed to compromise our life and cause us to live with the world, like Balaam, we will die with the kings of the world.
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