Balaam
doesn’t seem surprised at a talking donkey, one he has had all its life! The Lord became angry with Balaam over going
with the men in spite of the fact that He told him to go. He knew something of what Balaam was going to
do, accept the bribe from the king to bless him when the Lord was not speaking
such a blessing at all. Balaam’s
intentions were not pure, he was not prepared to be obedient to the word of the
Lord. The animal is able to see what the
prophet is not, the presence of the angel of the Lord, and knows not to try and
go further. Balaam’s anger is kindled
against the donkey and the Lord allowed the donkey to speak on this one
occasion, since it had seen the angel.
Balaam will now heed the warning given to him concerning his prophecy,
he will be looking now for the Lord.
Jesus gave
no reference to the authority of his teaching.
Rabbis had authority to teach and do based on who their own rabbi was or
had been, their authority was handed down from one to another and Jesus had no
rabbi. His authority was that of the Son
of God. His question concerning John
causes the leaders a problem, they cannot deny John’s heavenly authority
because the people believed it to be heavenly, so they refuse to answer
Him. The parable proves they are able to
discern truth but their actions show that they don’t live in that truth. Believing is more than mental assent, it is
acting on truth.
Naturally,
what is prohibited we seek and what is commanded we fail to do. In the Spirit, we seek to do God’s will and
refrain from that which is sin.
Truthfully, we often fail to live by the Spirit, we try perhaps to live
disciplined lives but we cannot repress that inward thing that has disordered
desires. Coveting is a perfect example,
while I might not take that which is someone else’s property, that does not
mean I don’t want it and am willing to do what it takes to get it. Covetousness, desiring that which God has not
given you, leads to sinful behavior in order to get that which we covet. That sin might be ethical or moral compromise
or it might simply be idolatry, forsaking the pursuing of God in order to
pursue that thing. Our lives are
directed towards that which we covet whether that is favor or power or
something more tangible. Do our lives
reveal Him to be God or something else to be our god?
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