Being Summoned Part 2

    When God summons us, we do not need to feel resistant or rebellious.  When He summons us, it may be something we don't want to do.  It will take us out of our comfort zone.  However, it will be for the greater good for yourself or another person.  I know it is hard to accept that certain events may happen to you, so that another person may have a chance to be closer or meet God.  

    Balaam met God in a precarious way, but he paid attention.  The Israelites faced war, so that God could introduce Himself to people that did not know Him.  Balaam was one of those people.  He built seven altars and performed seven sacrifices.  God gave him a message for King Balak.  Israel was God's chosen people and no one should ever try to curse them.  This made the king unhappy, but it was worse when Balaam blessed the nation instead of cursing them. 

    The king took the oracle to the outskirts of the nation to give him a new perspective.  It did nothing to help.  God gave Balaam another message that basically repeated the first. God does not change His mind.  He is not whimsical.  He is constant and you know know once He says something, then that is how it will be.  That means He will never turn His back on His chosen people.  The king told Balaam if he would not curse them, then just don't bless them.  Balaam told him he had to do as God commanded and blessed them again.

    The king took Balaam to one more location to try to show him how dangerous these people were (the size of the nation).  The king was furious when he heard what God had to say.  I am sure that was a fairly new experience for him not to get his way  Three times he asked Balaam to curse the people and he blessed them three times.  

    The king summoned the oracle for selfish reason.  God used the summon as an opportunity to reach people.  God spoke to and through Balaam, but he was reaching out to the king and his people too.  It was not always about His chosen people.  We don't know what they were doing or thinking while all this was going one.  They must have been aware or it would never have made it into the Bible.

Numbers 23- 24:14