Blessed, Not Cursed

The interaction between Balak king of Moab and Balaam the prophet is insightful, for it demonstrates the ones God has blessed cannot be cursed.  Balak bribed Balaam to curse Israel, but to Balak's dismay he blessed them again and again!  Balaam said in Numbers 23:19-20, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? ²⁰ Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it."  God previously made a covenant with Abraham, that through him and his descendants all the earth would be blessed.  Efforts to curse whom God had blessed would amount to nothing.

Balaam continued in Numbers 23:23:  "For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'Oh, what God has done!'"  God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and He would bring them into the land of promise.  It was God's doing and is marvelous to this day.  Balaam's prophecy reminds me of what Isaiah would proclaim in Isaiah 54:16-17:  "Behold, I have created the blacksmith who blows the coals in the fire, who brings forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the spoiler to destroy. ¹⁷ No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is from Me," says the LORD."  God's people could rest comfortably by faith in God who would protect them spiritually and physically from destruction.

This heritage of the servants of the LORD extends beyond the nation of Israel, for Jesus Christ is righteousness for all who trust in Him.  Through the Gospel, salvation has been provided through a new covenant in the blood of Jesus.  Paul spelled this out in Galatians 3:8-9:  "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham."  Jesus Who became a curse for us has redeemed us from the curse of the Law.  This is massive!  There are Christians who fear they are hopelessly subject to curses (generational or otherwise) in the Law when Christ has redeemed us from them.  The Law has been crucified to the cross and thus wields no power to curse those Christ has purchased.  We are not vulnerable to Satan, demons, witchcraft, spells or curses uttered by spirit or man, for no weapon formed against us shall prosper.  Rather than being puffed up with pride, we ought to be humbled and grateful by what Jesus has done for us.

God has created the spoiler to destroy, and there are times He allows Satan space and opportunity to afflict the people of God.  He allowed Satan to buffet Job to the end he, his friends and all who read the book of Job would know God is full of compassion and merciful (James 5:11).  God chose for Paul to suffer the effects of a "messenger of Satan" so he would not be proud by the spiritual revelations he received from God.  Instead of delivering Paul from this unholy messenger God spoke this message:  "My grace is sufficient for you.  My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:7-12).  In his weakness from spiritual assault, Paul discovered God's strength.  The best example is of Jesus Christ who was betrayed by Judas after Satan entered Jesus' disciple.  Satan intended to destroy Jesus by crucifying Him, but God flipped the script and spoiled the spoiler:  by Jesus death on the cross He provided atonement, forgiveness and eternal salvation for all who trust Him.  Through Christ's shed blood we have been purchased as His beloved inheritance, and our righteousness is from Him.

You are blessed, believer in Jesus Christ.  You may not feel blessed today, perhaps even cursed!  By faith in God and His word, choose what Jesus has accomplished to determine what is reality in your life more than by how you feel or what you see.  Jesus has destroyed the curse of the Law, and no one can reverse it.  No weapon fashioned against us shall prosper to accomplish evil intent,even if deadly blows are landed on us, for Jesus our Saviour is risen from the dead and reigns on high forever.  How blessed we are to look to Jesus today and always!

Rejoice and Be Glad Today

Psalm 118:24 was made into a song we used to sing at church often:  "This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  It is a song fitting for every day because it is true, yet the immediate context of verse 24 speaks of a very specific day--a momentous day in the history of the world when Jesus provided atonement for lost sinners on Calvary.  The psalmist sung of God's enduring mercy and waxed prophetic as the song advanced, each of the latter verses loaded with Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Jesus.

To those who are born again and know Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the allusions are difficult to miss.  The LORD is our strength and song, and Jesus has become our salvation   I encourage you to read the  entire song, but for the sake of providing the context of verse 24 consider Psalm 118 from verse 19 to the end:

¹⁹  Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD.

²⁰  This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter.

²¹  I will praise You, for You have answered me, and have become my salvation.

²²  The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

²³  This was the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴  This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵  Save now, I pray, O LORD; O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.

²⁶  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

²⁷  God is the LORD, and He has given us light; bind the sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

²⁸  You are my God, and I will praise You; You are my God, I will exalt You.

²⁹  Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.

Jesus revealed Himself to be the Door (John 10:7, 9), the only Way to God through whom sinners are made righteous by faith in Him.  Verse 21 connects with Psalm 22, a song Jesus uttered the opening line as He was crucified to reveal Himself as the suffering Saviour God heard and answered.  The apostle Peter identified Jesus as the stone which the builders rejected which God made the chief cornerstone, the anointed One sent by God to seek and save the lost.  When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey and fulfilled scripture, the people shouted:  "Hosanna!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!"  Jesus is the Light of the World provided by God as an acceptable sacrifice for sin and shed His own blood once and for all.  The day the LORD has made is one that provided salvation, forgiveness and eternal life for all who trust in Jesus by the Gospel.

This day the LORD planned from before the foundation of the earth was when the hour of Jesus on earth came, the moment atonement would be made to redeem and reconcile lost sinners to God.  For the joy that was set before Jesus He endured the cross, despised the shame and now sits alive and exalted in eternal glory.  Let us rejoice and be glad in our Saviour Jesus Christ and all He has accomplished, giving thanks to the LORD for He is good.  Today is the day of salvation; today is the day to rejoice and be glad with praise and thanksgiving to the KING OF KINGS, our righteous LORD.

Belonging to God

Years ago I went to a conference at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside and pastor John MacArthur preached a sermon on the Greek word "doulos."  He noted the vast majority of times we read the word "servant" in the the New Testament, doulos is the word being translated--a word best translated as "slave."  MacArthur believed the word "slave" better connected with our modern understanding of English and thus was a better translation.  Having been purchased by the blood of Jesus and born again by faith in Him identifying as a slave emphasises we are not our own.

People can negatively colour their view of God as our Father because of a poor relationship with their own father, and a similar error can be made concerning the grave abuses associated with slavery.  In stark contrast to common examples of slavery that involve kidnapping or the forced sale of human beings (crimes punished by death under law), the Law of Moses outlined slavery for a set time as a provision to pay off debts.  Under Law it was not a master who decided if a slave could remain in the household permanently but the slave out of love for his master and family given him.  Exodus 21:5-6 reads, "But if the servant plainly says, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,' ⁶ then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever."  This choice to become a bondslave was the decision of the slave and this legal, binding union was publicly affirmed by the courts.

Many times in his letters Paul referred to himself as a willing bondslave of Jesus Christ, and this reality impacted the way he lived and spoke to others.  In the midst of a storm, Paul addressed the men aboard the ship in Acts 27:23-25:  "For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve, ²⁴ saying, 'Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.' ²⁵ Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me."  Being a slave of God, Paul knew he belonged to Him.  This meant he had been accepted, was cared for personally and would never be forgotten.  He was God's valued property, for God had purchased him body and soul.  Paul knew and served the LORD, and because he belonged to God was courageous to look death in the face without fear, and encouraged others to take heart.

The life of a Christian relates to God in other ways besides being a slave:  we are called the children of God, His inheritance and the sheep of His pasture.  We are like soldiers who have chosen to enlist to serve under His command, God's ambassadors who diffuse His fragrance of life to this world filled with death.  Christians are individual members of Body of Christ the church united in Jesus Who is our Head.  The church is compared to a bride that is betrothed to Christ.  John wrote in Revelation 1:5-6:  "...Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."  Because of faith in Jesus Christ we belong to God, are loved, washed from our sins and are made kings and priests unto Him.  Having received Him, we are willing slaves having been enraptured in God's love for us, confident all He has promised He is able to perform.

Beloved of the LORD

The word of God is full of guidance, warnings and exhortations concerning being prepared for the future.  I have observed many people who relish drawing attention to the opposition followers of Jesus will experience in the world, reminding us we will be hated for Christ's name sake.  It seems like some of these people enjoy a degree of shock value in saying this, even insinuating that if Christians are not aware of anyone who currently hates us or actively opposing us we are not following Jesus very closely.  Because we are in a spiritual battle, it seems some feel we should be confrontational, combative and adversarial against others.  To me, this emphasis can distract people from what will enable them to persevere through trials:  the gracious love of God toward us.

The way a person can joyfully endure being hated by people is knowing they are greatly loved by Jesus Christ, our risen Saviour and King.  In these last days we are in a spiritual battle, yet we can stand strong having found perfect peace and rest in the LORD Who rules and reigns over all.  Being rejected hurts deeply, but realising we have been accepted in the beloved by God's grace through the Gospel is the balm for our pains.  I do not believe it is possible to overemphasise the love, grace, justice and mercy of God.  In pushing back against "sloppy agape" emphasis can be focused on what we ought to be doing rather than what Jesus has done and is doing.  Some paint a grim, bleak picture of the future of Christianity on earth when Jesus is with us and the Holy Spirit guides and helps us every step of the way.  The New Testament warnings are not written so we would lose heart, but that we might look to the LORD in faith who is always good.

The apostle wrote in 1 Peter 4:12-13, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; ¹³ but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy."  Suffering is a part of the Christian life, and believers are not unique in this regard.  Everyone on earth suffers from the horrific, deadly affects of sin in this world.  People wallow in the inescapable consequences of their sin every day, while we Christians have a sure hope of forgiveness, comfort, redemption and restoration by God's grace.  Our rejoicing is not that others hate us and thus validates the assumption we "must be doing something right," but that when we suffer for Christ's sake it puts in mind there is future glory awaiting us--even as we are God's beloved right now.  The fruit of the Spirit is joy, and we have a joyful future no one can deny provided us by God's grace.

In His wisdom, God chooses to refine His beloved children and chastens them even as a father disciplines a son in whom he delights.  After the apostles were threatened and physically beaten for preaching Jesus Acts 5:41 says, "So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name."  It is only by the power of the resurrected Jesus Christ people who suffer shame and pain can rejoice for His sake.  Secure in the love of God and His sovereign calling, they celebrated God allowing them the privilege of suffering for Jesus.  Instead of suffering deterring them, they pressed on in Acts 5:42:  "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ."  We are not to boast in our suffering but in Jesus Christ who suffered for our sakes.  Opposition to the Gospel from demons and men is not what goads us to open our mouths for His glory, but the goodness of our LORD who daily gives us strength.