Serving with Integrity

Automated transcript of the sermon audio, generated with OpenAI Whisper (small.en). It has not been checked against the recording and may contain errors, especially in names and Scripture references.

But the reason we’ve gathered this morning is to corporately join ourselves in one heart and one voice to sing of our great God and be instructed and refreshed by his holy word. And as we do so, we remember that our help is in the name of the Lord. And our call to worship this morning comes from Psalm 24 verses 1 through 6. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The world and those who dwell therein for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place. He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul toward his faults and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. And Father as we gather here this morning we thank you that we can stand in your holy place because of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf.

We claim no righteousness of our own, for all of our righteousness is filthy rags. It is in Christ we receive our blessing and righteousness and we humbly come before you now to offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. May you find our worship this morning pleasing and acceptable in your sight. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen. We know that hypocrisy is no good. The Lord Jesus made this abundantly clear. Over and over again he called out the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy. He did so so much that the label even Pharisee has become synonymous with hypocrite. Jesus warned the people to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy. He compares it to leaven that spreads through the loaf.

Jesus presented hypocrisy as the sort of leaven that eventually does take over the entire loaf if it is not dealt with. So like a virus, hypocrisy contaminates, it infects, and it spreads through the entire organism. Tolerated hypocrisy does not just take down the perpetrator, it brings down those connected with him either by imitation or exasperation. So those close or connected with the hypocrite are taken down with him either by imitating him, stumbling alongside, or by exasperation. They stumble in reaction to what he is doing or saying. We see an example of this sort of hypocrisy with Peter when Paul rebuked him.

After Peter was playing the hypocrite, Paul says the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. Tolerated hypocrisy becomes total hypocrisy. And even the world knows that hypocrisy is bad. Maybe this is the accusation that unbelievers throw at Christians, right? You’re all just a bunch of hypocrites. They’ll disagree, the world, unbelievers will disagree on many other sins, on most all of them, but this one they like to keep in their back pocket, at least as a weapon, it’s not a mirror. Hypocrisy is so hated that it’s also the sin that is most often used as a scapegoat for why former churchgoers left the church.

We’ve heard this sort of phrase, I grew up Christian, but all the hypocrisy drove me away.” It’s sad that a lot of the time that statement is true. It’s revealing and pointing to something that is true. Although people are accountable for their own unbelief, God did instill causality into the created order. So our hypocrisy can and does drive others away from the gospel. what it means is saying one thing and doing another. We say one thing and we do something else or we act one way in public and in another way in private. So this is indeed a dangerous and wicked sin and it is a cause for stumble like I said in those who observe the hypocrite either through imitation or exasperation. So apart from the sin of hypocrisy, hypocrites are also condemned for leading others astray. The hypocrisy, for example, of parents that leads their children to reject the gospel is piling sin on top of sin. So we all know this.

We talk about this sort of thing a lot. We hear about this a lot. It’s talked about plenty of times and rightfully so. So it’s not hypocrisy that that I wanted to address in this exhortation. I’m sure we have all that under control. There’s a near cousin to hypocrisy that isn’t talked about as often, but one that is just as vile and wicked. Where hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another, its cousin, Guile, is saying one thing but thinking another. The sin of Guile, or what the some Bible translations called deceit, is to some degree more wicked than hypocrisy because it is intentionally misleading and misdirecting for the purpose of selfish gain. It’s like the addressed in Psalm 55 21 his speech was smooth as butter yet war was in his heart his words were softer than oil yet they were drawn swords guile is intentional deception rooted in selfish ambition it’s a bit more actively wicked than not living up to the moral standards that you’re promoting.

Guile is also, to some degree, more dangerous than hypocrisy because it’s more difficult to pinpoint, address, and then root out. Guile is rooted in our motives. It’s the disposition of our hearts. It’s where our thoughts are directed. We can be saying and doing good, and yet all for the sake of selfish ambition. It’s when we’re demonstrating Christian virtue, we’re serving and teaching others, but for the end of self-promotion and praise. Guile is rooted in selfish ambition, but it is watered and nurtured with bitter jealousy. We see the fruit of others, and our heart leads us towards envious competition. We want to showcase wisdom, knowledge, and good works so that others would notice and praise us.

This is saying and doing one thing, but thinking and feeling another. So after telling his audience that not many should become teachers because of the danger of the tongue, the Apostle James then contrasts worldly wisdom with heavenly wisdom in chapter 3. In verse 13, James asks, Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but as earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

James says that in grasping for that which is not given, through bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, a Christian lies, is false too, is deceptive against the truth. He is living a lie. This sort of grasping is not just evil, but it says is demonic. This is Satan’s attempted a serpation of God’s throne. This is the temptation that the serpent used to deceive Eve. And this leads to disorder and every vile practice, James says. There is a way to outdo one another in showing honor. The Bible does call us to do so. And there is also a good way to outdo one another with motives for praise and gain. The Bible also does draw us to that sort of motivation.

But the praise and gain that we are to seek through our good works is to be sought from God, now and in the life to come. It is not selfish gain rooted in bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. James calls this sort of approach that we are to pursue the meekness of wisdom. That’s how we are to pursue doing good works, not out of bitter jealousy or selfish ambition. It’s not just our works that matter, our motives and aims count too, and are eventually made manifest. Pretense and guile manifesting in a church community are killers of order and joy. But good conduct done in the meekness of wisdom is what promotes flourishing and peace.

In James chapter 3 verse 17 he continues and says, but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

If we lack a harvest of righteousness in any areas of our lives—family, work, church, perhaps it’s because we haven’t been sowing in peace but rather in strife and bitter jealousy. So if this brings to light sin that needs confessing or perhaps there are other sins that need to be dealt with now is a good time to confess those. So you’re invited if you desire and are able to kneel in humble confession before the Lord and then I’ll pray for us us corporately. Let’s pray. Father, we confess that we are a people with not only impure words and actions, but also impure thoughts and ambitions. Even in trying to demonstrate good works, we can do so with the desire for selfish gain.

Forgive us, Lord, for our bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. Forgive us for our falsehood to the truth. Lord, we live in a culture of deception, manipulation, and lies. We are surrounded with envious strife and bitter jealousy. They desire and do not have so they murder. They covet and cannot obtain so they fight and quarrel. We are not a trustworthy and honest people. Grant repentance and revival to our city, state, and nation. May they submit to you and pursue the wisdom that is from above with pure hearts and hands. May we see a harvest of righteousness that is sown in peace. In Jesus name we pray, amen. You’re invited to stand for the reminder of the assurance of your forgiveness. In our text today is from Hebrews chapter 4 verses 12 through 16. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked

and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. God doesn’t just see our actions and hear our words. His word discerns the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. When we consider our thoughts, when we think about our intentions, we can be tempted to hide. But we can’t hide from God. We are fully exposed before Him. And this This God who sees us and knows the intentions of our hearts tells us to draw near with confidence, believing that Jesus was also tempted to sin with His thoughts and His intentions and yet did not.

We hold fast this confession, and with faith in the righteousness of Christ, we believe in his sinless life and atoning work, and we are able to draw near to the throne of grace, to not only receive mercy, but find grace to help when we are being tempted to sin with our words, our deeds, and our motives. We can be wholly consecrated for righteousness, deeds, words, thoughts, and all. We must be. And it’s through Christ alone that we are. And that’s a reason for us to worship. So let’s worship. Our scripture reading for this morning comes from the book of Isaiah. I’ll be reading in verses, chapter 29, verses 13 through 24 from the ESV.

So Isaiah 29, 13 through 24. And the Lord said, because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men. Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder. And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden. Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel, whose deeds are in the dark, and who say, who sees us, who knows us, you turn things upside down. Shall the potter be regarded as the clay, that the thing made should say of its maker, he did not make me?

Or the thing formed, say of him who formed it, he has no understanding. Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest? In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see. The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel. For the ruthless shall come to nothing and the scoffer cease, and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off. Who by a word make a man out to be an offender, and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate, and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right?

Therefore thus says the Lord who redeemed Abraham concerning the house of Jacob Jacob shall no more be ashamed No more shall his face grow pale for when he sees his children the work of my hands in his midst They will sanctify my name They will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob and will stand in awe of the God of Israel and those who go astray and spirit Will come to understanding and those who murmur will accept instruction And father, that is our declaration that we will declare of your goodness as we open your word. Father, I pray that you would illuminate it by your spirit for us, that we will draw from it all that you have for us.

Help me, father, as I deliver the message not to mess it up, but we thank you, father, that this is about you and about what you have said. And may we be edified and blessed as we sit and consider what you have for us this morning. We pray in your son Jesus’ name. Amen. You may have noticed I’m not Shawn. Shawn and Mo are taking a well-earned vacation and getting away over to Moscow as their daughter attends a conference over there. So hopefully they’re getting refreshed after a whirlwind few weeks with a wedding and all. When the Bible mentions something once, it’s enough to warrant our attention. When it mentions it several times, we better pay close attention.

When it refers to it ten or more times in seven books of the Bible running from numbers all the way to revelation, that should really arouse our curiosity. The something I’m referring to is the story of Balaam, the seer, found in the Book of Numbers and the ensuing sin of Peor. In my regular read through the Bible, I have been struck how often Balaam and or the sin of Peor is mentioned. Evidently, this was something that lived on in infamy in the minds of the Jewish people.

ten times throughout the scriptures. This is brought back to remembrance. From the time when the event took place to when it is last mentioned in the book of Revelation, about 1,500 years have elapsed. That’s a long time for something to stay in the nation’s collective memory. Now, anybody who grew up in Children’s Sunday School knows the part Balaam’s talking donkey, but the real lesson is to be learned have often been overlooked. Balaam is not someone to emulate. One of the lessons learned from the story, besides paying attention when a donkey talks to you, is to examine our motives when we think we are following the Lord’s leading. We are going to dig into this interesting bit of Israel’s history and find out why Balaam’s actions were so grievous that it earned him a place in the Hall of Shame.

So let’s begin by setting the scene. Israel is nearing the end of 40 years of wandering in the desert for refusing to enter the Promised Land the first time God said enter. After going in circles for 40 years, Moses under God’s direction is now leading the people towards the Promised Land located west of the Jordan River. To get there, they have to cross the territories occupied by the Amorites ruled by King Sihon and the land of Baishon ruled by King Og. The Amorites were an ancient Semitic people descended from Noah’s son Ham. The land they occupied had once been occupied by the Moabites until they had lost it in a war.

And among the gods they worshiped were gods such as Martu, El, Baal, Azura, Ishtar, and Sin. So they had a plethora of gods they worshiped. And their religious practices included idolatry, divination, ritual sex, and both animal and human sacrifice. Their sin was such an abomination to God that he later ordered Israel to completely wipe them out. They are mentioned in the Bible as far back as Genesis 1516, where God tells Abraham that his descendants are going to spend 400 years in Egyptian captivity before they receive the promised land. He then says, and they, referring then, and they shall come back here in the fourth generation for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.

The back here refers to Canaan where Abraham is actually standing when God spoke to him, or was lying when God spoke to him in a dream. God’s comments on the Amorites shows that his sovereign plan extends over all nations, including evil ones. And he sometimes lets them go on for quite a while in their sin. This was hundreds of years they got allowed the Amorites to go on before he dealt with them. And his plans extend to all of them, even though they are ignorant of his purpose for them. The second region Israel had to pass was the land of Beshan, which was occupied by people known, among other things, for being giants.

Og was their king, and they were the last of a mysterious race known as the Refim. To emphasize their size, we are told in Deuteronomy 3.11 that Og’s bed was made of iron and was 13 ½ feet long. Beshon sat largely in what is called the Golan Heights today. It was a very lush area known for its strong cities and abundant livestock. We are not told much about their religious practices, but it was likely similar to the Amorites and other Canaanite cultures around them. In later times, Beshan became a symbol of excess and decadent living. The prophet Amos referred to it many years later when he was insulting the rich women of Samaria by calling them the cows of Beshan and rebuking them for being calloused to the suffering going on around them.

So even Bayshaun had a legacy in the people’s minds, as this opulent, rich place, and yet very decadent, very excessive in our living. Deuteronomy 9, four through five tells us that God drove these people out of the land because of their extreme wickedness. And elsewhere in Psalms it refers to the strong bulls of Bayshaun, we’re just saying that, as symbols of the people’s pride. Now Numbers 21 introduces the events leading up to Balaam and Baloch’s bargain. It tells the story of Moses requesting permission to pass through the Amorites territory only to be denied and then attacked by Sihan’s army who ends up being completely defeated.

And then following this defeat, King Og, who’s next in line, his forces preemptively attack Israel and they are also completely destroyed by Israel who then occupies the land and then later this land if as you read the scriptures we’ll learn this we’re still on the east side of the Jordan River but later that piece of land is going to be given to the half tribes of Manasseh as a part of their inheritance. Well this sets the stage for Balaam and Balak’s unholy alliance so and if you want to track along with me you can flip over numbers at 22.

starting there we read then the people of Israel sat out encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho and Balak the son of Zipper saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites and Moab was in great dread of the people because they were many Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel and Moab said to the elders of Midian this horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field. So Balak, the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the river in the land of the people of Amoth. And to call him saying, Behold, the people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and they’re dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed and he whom you curse is cursed.” So we’re now introduced to Balak, King of Moab. The

Moabites were descendants stemming from the incestuous relationship between Lot and his older daughter found over in Genesis 19 36 through 37. They too by now were a polytheistic religion with their primary God being Kimosh who is referred to in 1st Kings 11 7 as the abomination of Moab. Like the Amorites and the people of Beshan, their worship rites also involved idolatry, child sacrifice, and and ritual sex. Chemosh was considered a god of war. It was one of the gods Solomon later built a high place to when he is corrupted by his Moabite concubines. You can’t make this stuff up. The wisest man who ever lived builds an altar to a false god that was requiring child sacrifice.

It’s just amazing when you read this, but I digress. back to the story. Balak, to say the least, is worried as he observes what Israel has done to Sihan and Ag. He knows Moab itself has been defeated in the past by these groups and he’s afraid that they’re no match for Israel. So he complains to his counsel, this horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field. And he decides to resort to supernatural means to try to fight them. He seeks to hire a local soothsayer named Balaam. Now ironically, the common Hebrew meaning for the name Balaam is swallower of the people. Balak tries to hire a guy whose name literally means the thing he’s worried that Israel’s going to do to him and his people.

He’s thinking these Israelites are going to lick us up like the ox, lick up the grass, so he hires a guy named Devourer of people. Perhaps God is showing a sense of humor here. It is normal for those cultures to place faith in divination and sorcery to accomplish their goals. There is some indication that demonic forces may have been at play here, for Balaam was well known and he was also for hire. He apparently was good at what he did because he was commonly sought out to pronounce blessings and curseings on individual groups and people. And I’m assuming he wouldn’t be hired so often if he didn’t actually have some effect.

So that’s why I speculate that perhaps demonic forces were at play. Some of what we know about Balaam comes from an archaeological discovery made in 1967 at Deir Allah in modern day Jordan. It is commonly called the Balaam inscription. And it begins with these words, warnings from the book of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who was seer of the gods. The inscription describes the visions of Balaam telling of the gods’ anger with men, an impending doom, and how Balaam in this dream pleads with them. It’s filled with descriptions of gods and goddesses, birds and omens. This tells us that Balaam wasn’t a man devoted to the true god, but counted him as just one more deity in a catalog of gods.

Who do you want me to beseech today? Just give me some money and we’ll talk to whoever you want me to talk to. In Numbers 22, 4 through 14, continuing on, we read that Balak’s first efforts to hire Balaam, where he sends a delegation with Divenor’s fees in hand. And Balaam tells them to spend the night while he waits for a word from the Lord. So starting in 22.9, we read, and God came to Balaam said, who are these men with you? And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zipper, son of Moab, he has sent to me saying, behold, the people has come out of Egypt and it covers the face of the earth. Now come curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.

But God said to Balaam, you shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people for they are blessed. So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balaak, go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” So the princes of Balaam rose and went to Balak and said, Balaam refuses to come with us. So far, so good, Balaam appears to be obeying God with the whole heart. Keep in mind now, Balaam is not a Jew and likely of Aramaic or Mesopotamian descent. And later in the book of Joshua, he is mentioned as the one who practiced divination or sorcery, which was something that God forbid Israel to practice. Well, Balak isn’t willing to take no for an answer, so he sends another envoy made up of higher ranking of individuals and he sweetens the offer with the equivalent of a blank check. He tells Balaam, I will surely do great honor and whatever you say to me I will do. And once again Balaam seeks a word from the Lord and again Balaik’s offer, and again the Lord rejects Balaik’s offer. Look at verses

18 through 21. And Balaam answered instead of the servant of Balaik. Though Balaik were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. So you too please stay here tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me. And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, if the men have come to you to come to call you rise, go with them, but only do what I tell you.” So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the Princess of Moab. Again, it appears Balaam is trying to do right by God, although we’ll see from some of the other biblical writers criticisms of him in a few minutes that his motives were not wholly pure. This is where the story is, it gets extra perplexing because as will see, God has told Balaam to go, but then in verse 22 we read, but God’s anger was kindled because he went and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way of as his adversary. Numbers 22, 23 through 35 goes on to describe how the

donkey kept stalling because he saw an angel of the Lord with a drawn sword, but Balaam didn’t see it. The donkey bears the brunt of Balaam’s wrath until the angel opens his eyes to see what is going on. And so picking up the story at verse 31 we read, then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand and he bowed down and fell on his face and the angel of the Lord said to him, why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside for me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live. Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have sinned for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore if it’s evil in your sight I will turn back. And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, go with the men but speak only the word that I

tell you. So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak. So what’s going on here? The Lord told Balaam in verse 20 he should go with Balak’s men, but in verse 32 the angel says, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. This is an example where God will permit something that differs from from his revealed will for the sake of exposing impure intentions or motives. As we’ll see, Balaam’s motives were not purely centered on what God wanted. Psalm 106, 9 through 15, as an aside, gives an example of this kind of permissive will of God as it recounts what happened during Israel’s exodus from Egypt.

The Psalmist writes, and kind of follow along here, it’s interesting, the progression. But the Psalmist writes, he rebuked the Red Sea and it became dry. And he led them through the deep as through a desert. So he saved them from the hand of the foe and redeemed them from the power of the enemy. And the waters covered their adversaries. Not one of them was left. Then they believed his words. They sang his praise. But they soon forgot his works. They did not wait for his counsel. But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness and put God to the test in the desert. He gave them what they asked, but sent a wasting disease among them.”

The psalmist is recounting the events found in Exodus 15 where God has just destroyed the Egyptian army at the Red Sea. The people celebrate by singing the song of Moses, and then the next thing we read is that they’re complaining because they’re thirsty. There are numerous places in scripture where God either orchestrates a situation else allows men to pursue their own desires to test the motives of their hearts. God allowing Israel to have a human king for example is another example. It appears allowing Balaam to meet Balak was another case of him letting a situation play out. God sometimes allows what he does not approve of for the sake of testing, teaching, or judging.

giving men over to their depravity in Romans 2 would be another example of the latter and so we have to be careful but one of the things we want to draw out of this lesson is we can often convince ourselves God’s given us the green light when in fact our motives are not pure and we’re starting to look for evidence is to support that we’re on God’s plan when in fact we’re far from it but God will for various purposes for judgment for teaching for whatever he’ll allow it to play out and we can take that as evidence that the gods are opening the doors when in fact our motives may not be what they ought to be. As the story of Balaam and Balak unfolds we see three attempts by Balak to get Balaam to curse Israel. On the first attempt he takes him to the top of Baymuth and Baal where he can see only a portion of Israel. There’s first location was a place where pagan worship regularly occurred. Its name means high places of Baal. I keep going back and forth Baal, all there’s different pronunciations. Evidently, Balak thought this would give the curse extra power

coming from such an important worship site to the Moabites. But God overrules and causes Balaam to give the first of three blessings. And this first blessing emphasizes Israel’s unique status before God. In Numbers, 3rd 23, 9 it says, For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him, behold a people dwelling alone and not counting itself among the nations. He goes on to affirm that God has not cursed Israel but in fact blessed it unlike any other nation. So, Beelac takes Beelam to the top of Pisgah where he could see more of the Israelites and Balak’s second attempt at a curse results in another blessing that explicitly says Israel will rise up like a lion and overcome its prey and again we see Balak’s anxiety increasing like well you didn’t see all of them so we’re gonna move over to this location where you can see more of them and by the way this is another mountain controlled by another God and we’re gonna get all the gods in play here we’re going to bring all the forces to bear. So starting in verse 21 we read,

The Lord their God is with them and the shout of a keen is among them. God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel. What has God wrought? Behold a people as a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself. It does not lie down until it is devoured the parade and drunk the blood of the slain. This blessing doubles down on the first and shows that Israel is not only God’s chosen people but that they would ultimately prevail over those who oppose them. As a side note this location is also very close to where God eventually would take Moses to overlook the promised land before he dies. But now Belech is more than by now he’s more than irritated and figures the third time is going to be the charm.

He takes Balaam to the top of Mount Peor which overlooks the desert and they can now see the entirety of the nation of Israel. This location is associated with a different god, the god Bael Peor. These polytheistic religions tended to believe that gods ruled over certain geographic locations so by moving around Balaam was trying to bring as many of the gods into play as he could to curse Israel. Once again Balaam has no choice but to bless Israel. Notice something different about this third blessing though starting in 24-1. When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel he did not go as the other times to look for omens but set his face toward the wilderness and Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe and the Spirit of God came upon him and he took up his discourse. Unlike the previous two blessings, Balaam did not resort to looking for omens before pronouncing a blessing. This time he was overcome by the Spirit of God as he spoke. This third blessing builds upon the first two and reiterates that Israel will become a

strong nation and it’s keen more exalted than the other nation’s kings. He says that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse it, which was obviously a pointed jab right at Balak. At this point, Balak is furious and tells Balaam the deals off. He can go home and not expect any payment for services rendered. And then Balaam then enters, utters his fourth and final blessing starting in verse 15 of chapter 24, which contains a future prophecy. He says, the Oracle of Balaam, the son of Beor, the Oracle of the man whose eyes is opened, the Oracle of him who hears the words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty falling down with his eyes uncovered. I see him but not now. I behold him but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob and a a scepter shall rise out of Israel.

It shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed. Seir also, his enemies shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities. Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction. And he looked on the Kenite and took up his discourse and said, enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set in the rock. Nevertheless, cane shall be burned when Azure takes you away captive. And he took up his discourse and said, alas, who shall live when God does this?

But ships shall come from Kiddom and shall afflict Azure and Eber, and he too shall come to utter destruction. So all of that for us who are ignorant of the geography and the allegories and the illusions that are weird like what’s he talking about we just know there’s a trouble for a bunch of people right but it’s really fascinating when you dig into what he’s actually prophesying. He’s prophesying that a future ruler or a rise who will have complete dominion and obviously referring to Christ. The persons and places mentioned refer to some of Israel’s nadir and present enemies like Moab, as well as to future kingdoms far and wide.

It predicts the future rise of Assyria, Kenites, Cain, Babylon, Azure, and other western powers, possibly Greece and Rome. All of these will be subject to the future star of Jacob. Well things didn’t go as Balak hoped for, and that brings us then to the end of chapter 24 of Numbers and the end of Balaam and Balak’s association. Or does it? We need to look briefly at one more event in Israel’s history and then we can begin to understand why so many biblical writers keep warning about not being like Balaam. The event I’m referring to picks up right away in the next chapter, chapter 25 of Numbers. It’s the story of Israel falling into Baal worship at Peor.

The story is relayed in just a few verses, but the impact it made in the minds of the future generations of Jews was huge. Starting in chapter 25 verse 1 we read while Israel lived in Shittim the people began to horror with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and the Lord said to Moses, take all the chiefs of the people and hein them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel. And Moses said to the judges of Israel, each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor. And behold one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family in the sight of Moses and the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel while they were weeping in the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. And when Phineas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron,

the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were 24,000.” In a few more verses. And the Lord said to Moses, Phineas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, behold, I give him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made a tomen for the people of Israel. Consider Israel’s timeline as a nation just before and after the story of Beelik’s attempt to curse them. They are just coming out of 40 years of wandering because of disobedience when God gives them a tremendous victory.

They are just coming out of the 40 years and God gives them this tremendous victory over King Sihan in Og. And then God uses Balaam to pronounce tremendous blessings upon them. And then the next thing we read is that they’re in the middle of Baal worship. And they’re whoring with the Moabite women who convinced them to worship the worship Baal. Hello? Who led you out of Egypt? Who captured Fedding Clothes for 40 years in the desert? Who just enabled you to clobber two powerful kings? Who just declared you his chosen people? Who will be greater than all the nations of the world? This timeline would be laughable if it wasn’t so unbelievably tragic.

It is no wonder that God’s judgment was so severe on Israel for their sin at Peor. They wouldn’t soon forget 24,000 of their friends and family dying. Now that we have all that history, we can begin to learn why Balaam isn’t quite what he seems to be from a simple reading of those passages. One of the clearest pieces of evidence is found in the book of Revelation where Jesus is speaking to the angel of the church in Pergamum. And starting in verse 12 he says, the words of him who has the sharp two edged sword, I know where you dwell where Satan’s throne is, yet you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness who was killed among you were Satan the Wells. But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel so that they might eat food, sacrifice to idols, and practice sexual immorality.

So then you have some who hold the teachings of Nicolaitians, therefore repent, if not I will come to you soon, and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” This clearly indicates that although Balaam did not curse Israel as Balak wanted, he still found a way to undermine Israel’s relationship with God. He gave Balak suggestions on how to corrupt Israel. This has corroborated in Numbers 31 where we read about God directing Moses to make war on the Midianites who were complicit in drawing Israel into the Sennepiore. They were constructed to destroy everything, but upon returning from battle, Moses learned that they had taken captive some of the women and the livestock and other goods.

It was also during this campaign that Balaam was killed. So I’m flipping back and forth trying to again show the history and why people had such a abhorrence for Balaam. You understand what’s going on with the Moabites and the Sin of Peor. With the Midianites, also a people group had also been involved in that sin. And so part of God’s judgment later on, he says, hey, go in and wipe out the Midianites. So he sends off the Israelites to go take them out, scorched earth, nothing left. They disobey, they come back with some of the Midianite women, some of the livestock, and the other goods. And Moses is, let’s just say, not happy.

So in chapter 31, verse 14, Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands, and the commanders of hundreds who had come from service in the war. And Moses said to them, have you let all the women live? Behold, these on Balaam’s advice caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor. And so the plague came upon the congregation of the Lord. He’s like, what on earth are you doing? These are the people that caused us that big sin. Don’t you remember 24,000 people that died? What’s wrong with you? You can just hear Moses’ frustration. Moses indicts Balaam as the instigator of the Sennepior that led to 24,000 Israelites dying by plague.

In addition, several other passages revealed that Balaam’s motives were not pure, even as he blesses Israel. In Deuteronomy, we read God’s instruction about who is to be excluded from the assembly of the Lord. And in Deuteronomy 23, three through six, it says, no Ammonite or Moabite may enter the assembly of the Lord, even to the 10th generation. None of them may enter the assembly of the Lord forever, because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way when you came out of Egypt.

And because they hired against you, Balaam, son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia to curse you. But the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam. Instead the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you. Because the Lord your God loves you. You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever. And again you can just see and understand how ingrained in the Israeli mind this occasion was, this sin, and they keep referring back to it. This reference makes it sound like Balaam was more than willing to curse Israel, but God prevented him from doing so. And see also to back that up Joshua 24 9 and Nehemiah 13 2. I’m not going to go there. Joshua 13 22 mentions Balaam’s death and describes him as someone who practiced divination, which again I mentioned earlier was something God had forbidden by, who had been forbidden by God. The memory of the sin of Peora comes into play in Joshua 22 when we read about the tribes that were given an inheritance on the east side

of the Jordan. And if you remember that story, so now they’re beginning to enter into the Promised Land and some of the tribes have Tribe of Manasseh and I, a couple others, said, hey this land here on the east side of the Jordan looks good to us. Do you mind if we get if we inherit this and they finally bargain and Moses says well as long as you promise that you can put leave the kid the wife and the kids here but you guys better cross over and help us do business on the west side and they said we promise we’ll do that and so it’s agreed to give them that land. Well after all the conquest have gone on and they’ve now starting to settle on that east side of the Jordan they actually begin to erect an altar.

And word gets out to the rest of the tribes that have crossed the Jordan. Hey, our other tribes, they’re building an altar. They’re setting up false worship. And they actually pick up arms. They’re getting ready to go over there and do some serious business. And they’re very concerned. And they come over ready for war. And they go, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, time out, time out. We’re not setting up worship here. We’re setting this up because we live a long ways from wherever that recommended, or where God’s going to say worship should occur. We’re going to be a long ways away from it. So we want to set up an altar here as a memorial so we can point our kids to it and say, hey, remember the God we serve, but we’re not going to do worship here.

We’ll do worship where God tells us to do worship, which then gets everybody to calm down and they’re okay at it. But in that whole argument that goes on, it was wrongly assumed by the other tribes that they were about to repeat the sin at Pior by setting up false worship. So again, they bring up that remembrance of, you’re about to do the exact same thing that got us in trouble. They said, no, no, no, no, we’re not doing that. And then in the book of Micah, the prophet rebukes Israel for turning away from the Lord and reminds them of the incident with Balaam. In chapter six of verse five, he says, oh, my people, remember what Balaam, king of Moab, devised and what Balaam, the son of Bior, answered him.

and what happened from Shidom to Gilgal that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord. And it’s not just the Old Testament that keeps making reference. We can go, I already took you to Revelation, but let’s look at a few more real quickly in the New Testament. Several writers state that prophet was Balaam’s motivation. In chapter two of Peter’s second epistle, he’s blasting false teachers. And in verse 15 and 16, he says of them, forsaking the right way they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression. A speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

And in Jude 1.4, Jude writes, for certain people have crept in on notice who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only master and Lord Jesus Christ. And he goes on in verse 11 to include Balaam in a list of examples of certain people he had his warning about. Woe to them for they walked in the ways of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. So again, I said Balaam made it into the Hall of Shame and I would think being counted among those people certainly counts. Various theologians have variously categorized Balaam’s sin as greed, deception, compromise, and double-mindedness.

The biblical text makes it clear that he was a man who appeared outwardly compliant in his actions, but inwardly corrupt in his motivations. The story serves as a cautionary tale for us today about letting anything other than simple faith and obedience motivate what we do to our service to God. Many Christian endeavors throughout history have ended up in disaster because of motives that weren’t pure. It is possible to convince ourselves that our motives are true when they aren’t. Proverbs 16 too tells us, all the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the Spirit. There are times we know our motives aren’t right, like in James 4.3.

You ask what you but you do not receive, because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passion. Or in Philippians 1.15 through 17, some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel, the former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. And then also in Isaiah 29, 13, this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips while their hearts are far from me. And then lastly, Matthew 6, 1, beware of practicing your righteousness before other men in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

So lots of scriptural evidence here of the possibilities of us doing good things, right things, for wrong reasons. Sadly, the Balaam problem isn’t a rare one off. Consider all the modern day pastors who have caused harm to the gospel witness with therapy, apparent financial motivations, or the slate of well-known pastors who’ve lived a double life in sexual sin while preaching against it. It seems like I don’t think I can get three days in a row without hearing about some other pastor that’s fallen. In contrast to this, I glossed over Phineas, the grandson of Aaron, who God commends for taking bold action and stemming the plague that was killing the Israelites.

As soon as he learned of the sexual immorality by a fellow Israelite, that a fellow Israelite was involved in with a Midianite woman, he took a spear and killed them both. In Numbers 25, 11, and we saw, I think, already, God said, Phineas, the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them. The fact that Phineas was jealous with God’s jealousy suggests that the sin wasn’t a simple case of fornication, but was likely part of a Midianite religious sexual rights. So when that guy took the woman and they went off, probably there was more involved than just, you know, again, fornication, but again, provoking God’s wrath.

And Phineas stepped up. Who knows how many more would have died in the plague if Phineas had not stepped up when he did? This is as pure a motive as it gets. He was consumed with a passion to obey and honor God. And because of his zeal for the Lord, God made a covenant to him in verse 12. And behold, I will give to him a covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel. His deed earned him a special mention in Psalm 106, Word says, then they yoked themselves to the bale of Peor, and eight sacrifices offered to the dead.

They provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them. Then Phineas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation. Where else in the Bible we’ve heard the phrase, that was counted to him as righteousness. An interesting aside here is that one of Phineas’s descendants named Zadok who served as the first high priest in the temple that Solomon built. So God honored that promise to Phineas and I think it was the eighth generation Zadok. The first Zadok shows up and he becomes the first high priest in the temple that Solomon builds. And then there’s another reference to Zadok or sons of Zadok in Ezekiel 44 where it’s discussing a future temple and it says God calls Zadok sons to serve as the inner temple priests.

What to make of that depends on whether you see the future temple as a literal or some type but nevertheless it’s interesting to see Phineas’s lying continues to be honored that God is even referring to Zadok hence Phineas’s descendants as somehow being noteworthy in this in some future. So in summary So there you have the story of Balaam and Balak. On first glance it appears that Balaam is trying to do the right thing, but then we learn that he did not have the jealousy of the Lord like Phineas did. It’s a cautionary tale preserved in scriptures for us to learn from so that we might not deceive ourselves by looking good on the outside when our motive is not solely what pleases God. This kind of godly jealousy is not automatic because of our fleshly desires. Those desires must be constantly put to death and the right motives of love and pleasing him need to be cultivated by our ongoing repentance and delighting ourselves in him as evidenced by our obedience to him. We don’t have to only look to the past to find examples of saints who led

zealous lives for the Lord. I think this morning it’s appropriate to recognize John MacArthur, who for 56 years defended the faith with a Phineas-like zeal. He was just a man, but a man who from all appearances served God with pure motives. He’s a modern-day example of the kind of unyielding zeal that we should all pursue. So a good place to start the quest to purify our motives then would perhaps to be pray as David did in Psalm 51 where he prays, created me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit. And let’s pray.

Well, Father, as we’ve taken a whirlwind look at this curious story in your word, we see from the testimony of the New Testament and other writers that Balaam was not as straightforward as the story seems to indicate. And Father, we must confess that there are too many times that we ourselves find our motives are not where they ought to be, perhaps out of habits, perhaps duty or other forces are at work on us. And it’s not a pure jealousy for your jealousy. Father, we want to be a people who have the right motivations, who have the right heart for doing what we do. For we know when we don’t have those motivations, whatever we do is of the flesh, and it will have no lasting fruit, of any fruit at all.

So please, Father, as David prayed, create in us clean hearts that we might serve you in a way that is pleasing and acceptable and holy in your sight, that your goodness would be upon us and operating through us, and that we might bear good and righteous fruit. We pray this all in your son, Jesus’ name. As we come to the communion table this morning, we remember Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was before him, set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. That sounds like a verse it is. Hebrews 12 too. John 3 16 tells us that love for his elect was the motive driving the father’s decision to send his son to die on the cross. Those verses and many more explain why we are associating here this morning shoulder to shoulder and taking communion together. There are a lot of questionable motives people can have for associating with others, the craving for acceptance, the hope of personal gain, to avoid being pestered for not associating, to curry attention

or favor from others, guilt, coercion, and more. Why are you here this morning? Hopefully not for those reasons I just listed. Good reasons This would include a longing for the Word of God, a love of being with other brothers and sisters, a delight in setting off smartwatch volume alarms as we lift our voices and song, an opportunity to bless and be blessed, or a refreshing spiritual drink for a parched and world-weary soul. The rhythms of the Christian life can easily become, wrote, mundane and exhausting when our motives are amiss, and they too often are. So when we find our external Sunday habits no longer align with our internal heart motives, what should we do? Remember. Remember Jesus, the beginner and the finisher of our faith. He who died for us is calling us to enter into communion with Him so that we might share in His joy. He is the fountain of living water, the one who calls the weary and heavy laden so that he may give them rest.

Come to this table with gladness and thanksgiving and delight in the one who died so that we might live. And let’s set off someone’s smart watch as we sing. Staying motivated to do the good works we were created for mentioned in Ephesians 2 can be challenging. Maintaining the right motives as we do those works is equally difficult, especially when those efforts aren’t recognized by others and the fruit from those works seems so little and Philip kind of touched on that. Sometimes our motives can be for that. Paul understood the slog it can feel like at times and so he encourages the saints at Colossae with this charge found in Colossians 3, 23 through 24.

Whatever you do, work heartily. As for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. The Lord sees your labors and you will receive your inheritance. Stand firm abounding in faith as you do your work. And for the benediction this morning it comes from Philippians 1 9 through 11 and it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment so that you may approve what is excellent and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God and you’re dismissed have a blessed week.