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I have to warn everybody, you know, so it'll be a slightly shorter Sunday school and Bruce
Burns is in the house.
So with that anything could happen.
Yeah.
But we do have a tendency when Rachel went when Bruce is around that we could end up off in the weeds
even faster than if I just do it myself, so.
Right.
Okay, that's right.
Okay.
So let me see here.
I think I got the everything good.
Let's pray and we'll get started Lord Jesus again as we open up your word and we consider what was
revealed to the Prophet Jeremiah and it's tie -ins with the the state of the church even today as
We are buffeted by the deceptions of the devil and those who follow after their own hearts.
We ask that you would fence us in with your word convict us of our sin our unbelief the
different ways in which we have participated and believed these false doctrines and Prophecies
and that we would bear fruit in keeping with repentance by seeking only your pure word.
We ask in Jesus name.
Amen.
Okay, so last time we were in the the book of Jeremiah I'm family
put this over on this part over here.
There we go, and I probably should have the participants just right over there.
I again I hate zooms free flowing Floating windows, it would be easier if everything
were connected and just like in a drawer you hit one button I would pop out that alas, you know, I will continue to
complain to no avail.
So when we last left off we looked at the very first portion of Jeremiah chapter 23 as it related
to God speaking against the
Things that you see in apostasy.
Jude has that same type of language when he talks about waterless rain clouds and
Fruitless trees in autumn.
What good is it?
What is it good as a fruit tree if it doesn't have fruit on it in autumn?
Right, you know waterless rain clouds fruitless trees in a you know, and so the shepherds who feed only themselves.
The.
False prophets and this still applies today.
What I find fascinating is that in my Public
salvos given and received by dr. Michael Brown Michael Brown
refuses to believe that.
Somehow passages like this in Ezekiel 13 and Deuteronomy 18 Have any
bearing on anybody who claims to be a prophet today?
So, you know the claim by the the current NAR Pentecostals and
charismatics is that That prophets are allowed to
make errors.
They are allowed to make errors and that and that in the New Testament.
The New Testament prophecy is not of the same quality as Old Testament prophecy and the
reason given specifically by Michael Brown is he says that the Survival of an of the
nation of Israel isn't dependent upon 100 accuracy anymore.
Therefore.
We don't need 100 % accurate prophecy.
And I would note this I have in my records.
And I've talked about it on my podcast in the past.
Noted that dr. Michael Brown himself has given false prophecies.
Prophecies that have not come true, especially as it relates to a group of people who are believers in
Israel.
And the prophecy that he gave was regarding somebody who had become deathly ill
and he prophesied that the person would recover from that illness and the fellow died and
The only thing he could say is that he misheard the Lord and and that he most likely mistook
His desires for the voice of God.
How does one do that?
How does one?
Mistake the voice of their there's their desires and their opinions for the voice of
God when God is talking.
You'll note that people normally pay very close attention and they know exactly who is talking to them
and so.
It's kind of a primer on this.
I.
One of my favorite stories along these lines is the story of Balaam.
Yeah, you guys familiar with Balaam.
All right.
This this is super helpful because one of the things we know about Balaam is that he
was he was a prophet for profit and Balaam was a guy
who lost a lot of money as a result of God the actual God
Connecting to him and talking to him and at no point.
Is this man a true believer in Yahweh?
In fact the aftermath of all of this is that he did ultimately get his revenge
on Yahweh and Helped these people get their
get their curse on Israel and we'll talk about how that happened.
So in Numbers chapter 22, let's take a look at that.
And you know, we'll note what's going on here and the reason for this is to demonstrate.
Nobody needs practice.
Balaam did not have a prophetic activation from Patricia King nor did he have a
prophetic activation from?
As they get.
So the people of Israel they set out Moab beyond the.
Jordan and Jericho Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the
Amorites and Moab was in great dread of the people because they they were many.
Moab was overcome with the 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 Baor at Peth -or Which is near the river in the land of
the people of Ammah.
To call him saying behold a people has come out of Egypt.
They cover the face of the earth and they are 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 Balaam has been summoned he will be offered money for the purpose of
cursing Israel.
Sounds like a real godly thing to do, right?
I'm speaking facetiously, right?
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination.
Our believers allowed to practice
divination.
This is strictly forbidden.
Deuteronomy 18 comes into play and you'll note, you know.
So sorcery divination talking to the dead fortune -telling all of this stuff is straight
out.
So we know from this guy's.
From his Vocation it's not even right.
That's a that's the wrong word.
We know from his job and what he's getting paid for.
This guy is as wicked as they get.
So they came to Balaam and gave him Balaam's message and he said to them watch.
And.
We know this from the ancient prophets these soothsayers of the past.
There was a lot of.
A lot of theatrics and so one has to wonder, you know.
Cuz did he really talk with different deities and stuff like this or did he you know?
Pick up the phone and pretend to talk, you know, it's like hey.
Yeah, this is Balaam.
How you doing, dude?
Yeah, it's been a while since we talked.
We'll have to wonder right.
By the way, this is not a phone.
It's a remote control.
I shouldn't be talking to this thing.
You guys gonna get me locked up for that.
So the princes of Moab.
And God came to Balaam and said so know what happens here.
When you hear in the prophets and.
The word of.
Yahweh the word of the Lord came to the Prophet Isaiah.
We know from John chapter 1 verse 1.
Jesus is the word so the the debar Elohim or the
debar Yahweh the Word of God when it shows up.
It doesn't show up in any Mistakable form you'll note.
He wasn't, you know sitting in the Lotus position trying to hear God.
God came to Balaam.
Came right to him and God said to him who are these men with you?
That's not a safe question.
God's in charge here.
Balaam is accountable to God and God makes that very clear from right out of the gate.
Who are these men with you and Balaam said to God?
Balak the son of Zippor the king of Moab has sent me saying behold the people has come out of Egypt.
It covers the face of the earth now come curse them for me.
Perhaps I'll be able to fight against them and drive them out.
God said to Balaam you shall not go with them.
You shall not curse the people.
They are blessed.
So.
Explanation that he gives to Balaam's entourage is that he's not
speaking the truth.
God.
Basically stated the blessing this blessed state of Israel.
And by the way, this applies to all of us who are in Israel.
You're a Christian who congratulated Israel.
We are blessed.
We are not cursed.
So he doesn't give a straight answer.
And and so the princes of Moab.
They rose and went to Balaam and said Balaam refuses to come with us.
So once again Balaam sent princes more in number and more honorable than these.
So Balaam at this point is interpreting.
Balaam's.
Behavior as he wasn't impressed with the entourage.
He wasn't impressed with the amount of money and that he's engaging in a negotiation tactic.
Have you noticed that people in the Middle East have this amazing ability to negotiate?
Okay, it's.
It's it is a sport in certain places, you know.
They say.
Couldn't even begin to part with this for less than 450 and the negotiations on.
So they think this is.
Balaam thinks that that's what's going on.
He wasn't impressed with the first group.
So let's let's up the kitty a little bit here.
So they came to Balaam and said thus is Balaam the son of Zipporah that nothing hindered you from coming to me.
I will surely do for you great up do you great honor and whatever you say to me?
I will do.
Come curse this people for me Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balaam though Balaam were to
give me his house full of silver and gold.
I could not go beyond the command of Yahweh my God to do less or to do more and
One has to wonder if he's saying this under duress.
This is.
Even the devil recognizes that Yahweh is his God.
He's lying.
He's already he's already denied that himself.
Yeah, that's he's posing in public like a Pharisee.
Far be it from me to do anything, but what the Lord commands to be more money.
So you too, please stay here tonight I may know what more Yahweh will say to me.
So God came to Balaam with that and said to him if the men have come to call you rise go with
them.
But only do what I tell you.
So Balaam rose in the morning saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
Now I'm going to note something here.
Is there any evidence of any true prophet of God a real believer in Yahweh?
Having to have this kind of fence put around put around them when they give a prophecy.
No.
Not at all.
True believers those who fear God When given a real prophecy by God never have to be
told.
Do not go beyond what I say.
You will do what I tell you to do.
You will say what I tell you to say.
Balaam is doing this.
Against his will he's being compelled.
You'll note that his free will doesn't seem to.
Be.
Be a be along for the ride willingly.
So God's anger was kindled because he went.
Yahweh took his stand in the way as his adversary.
Yes, sir.
Singular.
Jesus The angel of
the Lord he's got the title.
So he took a stand as his adversary he was riding on the donkey and Two servants were
with him and the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand.
Well, how there goes precious moments.
Jesus again, okay.
He's not even concealed carrying man.
He's.
This is open carry of a deadly weapon.
So the donkey turned aside out of the road went into the field.
Smart donkey.
Bailey Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the road.
Then the angel of Yahweh stood in a narrow path between the vineyards with the wall on either
side.
And when the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the
wall.
So he struck her again.
And stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right
or to the left.
When the donkey saw the angel of Yahweh She laid down under Balaam and Balaam's anger was kindled and he struck the
donkey with his staff.
Then Yahweh opened the mouth of the donkey and she said to Balaam What have I done to you that you've struck me these
three times?
What follows is one of the most bizarre things in all of the Bible.
He without even pausing he answered Because you made a fool of me
and I wish I had a sword in my hand for then I would kill you.
He still doesn't realize he's talking to a donkey.
The donkey said to Balaam, am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all of your life to this day?
Is it my habit to treat you this way?
And he said
So then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam.
He saw the angel of Yahweh standing in the way with a drawn sword in his hand and he bowed down
and fell on his face.
Okay, he didn't politely go.
Oh Lord, nice to see you.
He immediately.
On the ground, boom, face down.
He knows he's in trouble.
And the angel of Yahweh said to him.
Why have you struck the donkey these three times?
I've come out to oppose you.
Because your way is perverse before me.
Well that just hurt his self -esteem.
His fee -fees are hurt after this, right?
Believe me when I tell you he's going to bear a grudge for this.
He's not going to repent.
And he's not going to consider the kindness of God that Christ didn't strike him down on the spot.
His feelings are hurt.
He's going to feel like he's been outed a lot of money and honor.
And he's going to get his revenge.
Yes, I think some of the details are similar.
Although we don't know if Paul was actually riding a donkey.
Maybe not, it doesn't say.
Some people say God knocked him off his high horse and a horse is mentioned.
But you'll note that there is some parallel here.
The difference is that Paul is legitimately called to be an apostle of Christ.
And he's brought to repentance.
Balaam, no -uh.
I can point this out.
One of the things that you hear in the Pentecostal movement Is that Christians must
perform signs and wonders.
It is a necessary part of evangelism.
Because people need to see the power of God demonstrated.
And when they see the power of God demonstrated They will realize that there is a God in heaven.
And they'll come to believe in Jesus.
This is discounting God's actual example of his power Which when Moses asks to see his glory Takes him up the
mountain and says Here's my glory Punishing evildoers and forgiving sinners.
Not the glory that God chooses But the special effects budget that they want.
Right, exactly.
I would note that the people who talk this way about signs and wonders They're idolaters.
They're idolaters of God's power.
You guys remember Mickey Mouse and the Sorcerer's Apprentice?
There's a reason why that is a classic.
There's a reason why we can kind of actually resonate With the theme in that particular little short.
That was from the Pentation movie.
The original Pentation.
There's Mickey Mouse.
And he's the under -.
He's not even the under -.
He's the water boy.
Or a real wizard, right?
And he steals the guy's hat.
And then begins to operate in his power.
And everything goes bonkers.
But the reason why that is happening Is because within us There is an idolatry.
We desire to be God.
That was the original temptation of the devil.
When you eat of the fruit of the tree You will be like God Knowing good and evil.
And we want to have that The God's powers.
But we don't want God to be the one operating with them.
We want to kind of steal them.
That's kind of how Satan works In all of his evilness.
And so as a result of this.
You're going to note here.
God himself.
Jesus appeared to Balaam.
Did this guy repent.
Not on your life?
And here's the other bit.
You're going to see this in a minute.
He legitimately gives a prophecy Regarding Christ.
In fact, that's kind of the undertone Of all the actual words That God gives him to speak.
It's really interesting.
Alright?
Alright.
It's reversed form.
The donkey saw me Turned aside before me.
These three times.
If she did not turn aside for me Surely just now I would have killed you.
And I would have let her live.
Your donkey is bullier than you are.
So Balaam said to the angel of God.
I've sinned.
I did not know that you stood there.
In the road against me.
Now therefore.
If it's evil in your sight.
I will turn back.
Notice he didn't ask for forgiveness.
So the angel of Yahweh said to Balaam.
Go with the men.
But speak only the word that I tell you.
So Balaam went with the princess of Balaam And Balaam heard that Balaam had come.
He went out to meet him At the city of Moab.
On the border formed by the Arnon.
At the extremity of the border.
And Balaam said to Balaam Did I not send to you to call you.
Why did you not come to me.
Am I not able to honor you.
Balaam said to Balaam Behold I have come to you I am now.
Have I not any power of my own To speak anything.
The word that God puts in my mouth That must I speak.
And Balaam went with Balaam.
And they came to Kiriath -Uzzah And Balaam sacrificed oxen And sheep he sent for Balaam.
And for the princess who were with him.
And in the morning Balaam took Balaam And brought him up to Baal
And from there he saw a fraction And Balaam said to
Balaam Build for me here.
Balaam did as Balaam had said And Balaam offered on each altar.
A bull and a ram.
And Balaam said to Balaam Stand beside me for an offering.
And I will go.
Perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me.
And whatever he shows me.
I will tell you.
And he went to a bare height.
And God met Balaam.
And Balaam said to him I have arranged the seven altars I have offered on each
altar.
And Yahweh put a word in Balaam's mouth And he said Return to Balak And thus you shall speak
And he returned to him And behold He and all the princes of Moab Were standing beside his burnt offering.
Balaam took up his discourse.
And he said.
From Moab Balak has brought me The king of Moab From the eastern mountains Come
curse Jacob for me And come denounce Israel.
So God not only gives him the word Gives it to him in Hebraic verse.
Sounds peculiar.
You know.
But how can I curse Whom God has not cursed.
How can I denounce Whom Yahweh has not denounced.
Far from the top of the crags.
I see him.
From the hills I behold him.
Who?
Who's him?
I'll give you one guess.
It's Jesus.
Right?
I behold him Behold a people dwelling alone Not counting itself among the nations Who can count the dust of Jacob
Or number the fourth part of Israel Let me die the death of the upright And let my end be like his.
And then Balak said What have you done to me?
I took you to curse my enemy.
And behold.
You have done nothing but bless them.
And he answered and said Must I not take care to speak What Yahweh puts in my mouth.
And Balaam here is saying this Legitimately under duress With the
edge of the sword Of the angel of the Lord Up against his neck.
Did he give a true prophecy here?
And you're gonna note something.
This is the interesting bit When you consider the end of Balaam And when you consider his
end The fact that the children of Israel Collected up these words.
Hang on a second here.
I just got kicked off.
So let me explain what happened.
We lost internet here at the Kongsvinger.
Let me.
There we go.
So I'm back.
And I'm on my cell phone's hotspot.
Cause we lost the internet here at Kongsvinger.
Let me share my screen.
We'll see how this rolls here.
So the point I was making Before we got so rudely interrupted By the internet crashing
Is that Balaam He dies A horrible death.
And the children of Israel Despite how wicked this man was They took They
got these words That Christ put into his mouth And they wrote them into
the scriptures The source was Yahweh The
instrument was somebody who was perverse But the words were true
And it was a true prophecy And it got written into scripture.
It's.
It's crazy when you think about it.
But if it worked that way Then God would be able to faithfully speak through.
Some misogynist like Paul.
And women couldn't be pastors.
Did y 'all hear him?
One more time.
But if it worked that way Then God would be able to speak through.
Some terrible misogynist like St. Paul.
Yeah I would invoke the 8th commandment In Paul's defense here.
Those who claim that Paul was a misogynist They are breaking the 8th commandment And slandering him.
But you're right Even if he was a misogynist Which he wasn't That the Lord spoke faithfully
through him.
Note the faithfulness of God Is not dependent upon the faithfulness Of the person he chooses
to speak through.
And that's kind of the point.
This.
This stands out Because the words that Balaam spoke Were
put into the scripture Despite the unworthiness And the perversity of the person
giving the prophecy Important for us to keep that in mind.
So Balak said to him Please come with me to another place From which you may see them.
You shall see only a fraction of them And you shall not see them all Then curse them for me
For me from there.
This kind of reminds me of Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham.
Do you like green eggs and ham?
I do not like them Sam I am.
Would you eat them in a box?
Would you eat them with a fox?
Not in a box, not with a fox.
I will not eat them here or there.
I will not eat them anywhere.
That's kind of what's going on here.
He's asking you.
You won't curse him from there?
Let's go over here.
You can curse him from there.
So he took him to the field of Zophim To the top of Pisgah And built seven
altars Offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Balaam said to Balak Stand here beside your burnt offering While I meet with Yahweh over there.
And Yahweh met Balaam Put a word in his mouth And said return to Balak And thus
shall you speak.
And he came to him and behold He was standing beside his burnt offering And the princes of Moab with him.
And Balak said to him What has Yahweh spoken?
Rise Balak and hear.
Give ear to me O son of Zippor God is not a man that he should lie
Nor a son of man that he should change his mind.
Has he said and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken and he will not fulfill it?
Now note here That Yahweh is speaking directly to
Balak Through Balaam And letting him know who God
is And what he is like.
And you'll note If you ever hear somebody say Ask the question Can God lie?
Not on your life.
What's the biblical proof?
Oh well it says in Numbers.
In the book of Numbers In chapter 23 That God is not a man
that he should lie Or a son of man that he should change his mind.
Who was the person who spoke that prophecy?
Balaam.
And you'll note.
That's quoted in the New Testament.
It's quoted in the New Testament by the apostles.
God is not a man that he should lie Or a son of man that he should change his mind.
Has he spoken and will not fulfill it?
Behold I received a command to bless.
He has blessed I cannot revoke it.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob.
Nor has he seen trouble in Israel.
Yahweh their God is with them And the shout of a king is among them.
Who's that?
It's Jesus again.
Great messianic prophecy.
Beautiful description by the shout of a king.
So God brings them out of Egypt.
It is for them.
It is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
For there is no enchantment against Jacob No divination against Israel.
And this applies to all who are in Christ.
So when you hear somebody in the charismatic movement say You know we need to do some deliverance ministry over you.
Because we need to do some.
We need to break some generational curses and stuff.
If you're in Christ you are blessed.
You are not cursed.
Christ has broken every one of those curses.
You are in Israel.
And you are blessed.
There is no divination or sorcery that can work against Christ.
There is no enchantment against Jacob.
No divination against Israel.
Now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel What has God wrought?
Oh salvation by grace through faith is right there.
Behold a people As a lioness it rises up And as a lion it lifts itself.
It does not lie down until it has devoured the prey And drunk the blood of the slain.
Yeah Right?
So Balak Now he's a little agitated at this point.
Do not curse them at all.
Don't bless them at all.
It's not what I paid you for.
But Balaam answered Balak Did I not tell you all that Yahweh says That I must do.
And Balak said to Balaam Come now.
I will take you to another place.
Perhaps it will please God That you may curse them for me from there.
So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor Which overlooks the desert.
And Balaam said to Balaam Build for me here seven altars.
Prepare for me.
Seven bulls, seven rams.
And Balak did as Balaam had said Offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
And then when Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh To bless Israel He did not go, as to the other
times To look for omens.
But he 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.
Note, the Holy Spirit now inspires Balaam to prophesy
directly.
And you're going to note.
Watch what happens next.
Balaam did not say.
I feel the Lord is telling me for this season That he's going to raise up a bunch of suddenlies.
And that, you know.
No prophesy bingo buzzwords at all.
The oracle of Balaam, the son of Peor.
The oracle of a man whose eye is open.
The oracle of him who hears the words of God Who sees the vision of the Almighty Falling down with his
eyes uncovered.
How lovely are your tents, O Jacob.
Your encampments, O Israel.
Like palm groves that stretch afar Like gardens beside a river Like aloes that Yahweh has planted Like
cedar trees beside the waters.
Water shall flow from his buckets And his seed shall be in many waters.
His king shall be higher than Agag And his kingdom shall be exalted.
God brings him out of Egypt.
It is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
He shall eat up the nations, his adversaries.
He shall break their bones in pieces And pierce them through with his arrows.
He crouched, he lay down like a lion And like a lioness who will rouse him.
Blessed are those who bless you.
And cursed are those who cursed you.
Here we go again, another messianic prophecy.
And the implication is actually quite simple.
Not only is Israel blessed and cannot be cursed.
But even more than that They have one among them Who is the king of kings.
And nobody can conquer him.
And this is by virtue of the fact that.
Well, the lion of the tribe of Judah He's in the loins of the
successor To the messianic promise.
Now Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam.
He struck his hands together.
And Balak said to Balaam I called you to curse my enemies.
And bold you've blessed them these three times.
Therefore now flee to your own place.
I said I will certainly honor you.
But Yahweh has held you back from honor.
Those words will hit.
It's true.
Now prophets do you think that they are happy When their bottom line is impacted negatively?
And you'll see this in his actions that follow.
So Balaam said to Balak Did I tell your messengers whom you sent to me.
If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold I would not be able to go beyond the word of Yahweh
To do either good or bad of my own.
What Yahweh speaks that will I speak.
And now behold I am going to my people.
Come I will let you know what this people will do To your people in the latter days.
And then he took up his discourse and said The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor The oracle of the man whose eye 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 up out of Jacob.
A scepter shall rise out of Israel.
It shall crush the forehead of Moab.
Break down all the sons of Sheth.
Edom shall be dispossessed.
Seir also his enemies shall be dispossessed.
Israel is doing valiantly.
And the one from Jacob shall exercise dominion And destroy the survivors of cities.
And then he looked on Amalek And he took up his discourse and said Amalek was the first among the nations.
But its end is utter destruction.
And he looked at the Kenite And took up his discourse and said Enduring is your dwelling
place.
And your nest is set in the rock.
Nevertheless Cain shall be burned When Asher 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 Kittim And shall afflict Asher and Eber.
And he too shall come to utter destruction.
And I would note the ships of Kittim Are mentioned also in Daniel In reference to the Antichrist.
It's kind of an interesting thing.
A little eschatological thing there.
Then Balaam rose and went back to his place.
And Balak also went his way.
So what happens to Balaam?
Balaam immediately after this gets his revenge.
And this is the incident.
While Israel lived in Shittim.
The people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.
These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods.
And the peoples ate and bowed down to their gods.
So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor.
And the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel.
And Yahweh said to Moses Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them.
Bruce, was it you who described this As kind of like sexual warfare or something to that effect?
And if you're not sure how we get that Let me just do a quick word search.
So what happened is that immediately after this Moab sent all the hot chicks
Into the camp of Israel.
And they found the young single.
Or even the married guys.
And they went, hey there.
Hey there Mr. Israelite.
You're looking pretty cute there.
Would you like to come over to my place?
Know what I mean?
And we can have a little barbecue for Baal.
And maybe you and I can do some Netflix and chill.
That's what Baal worship was.
It wasn't a clothing optional church.
It was a clothing not allowed church.
Yeah, the worship of Baal Clothing not allowed.
Church.
Okay, I get what you're saying.
And here's the thing.
Where did they learn to do this?
Why all of a sudden is that the case?
And if you were to do a word search for Balaam In the Old Testament In fact, why don't I just
do.
Alt text.
So let me fast forward here.
Because in the later parts of Scripture It explains where Moab got this idea from.
Alright, let's see here.
23.
Pass this.
Okay, let's see.
Scroll in.
So here's the end of him by the way.
Balaam His demise is listed in Numbers 31.
Let's talk about his death real quick.
They killed the kings of Midian With the rest of their slain Ive, Rechem, Zer, Hur, Reba The
five kings of Midian They also killed Balaam the son of Beor with a sword.
So he was killed later by the Israelites.
And Joshua mentions him.
It also says Balaam the son of Beor The one who practiced divination Was killed with a sword.
But we also learned that.
Let's see here.
He was the one who taught Israel.
Where does it say he taught Israel to do that?
I'm looking off the top of my head.
That's the New Testament.
Is it really in the New Testament?
Yeah, the epistles.
Yeah, here it is.
Yeah, it's Jesus in Revelation 2.
Here it is.
So Christ is having a letter sent to one of the churches.
To the church at Pergamum.
The angel of the church at Pergamum.
That's your pastor.
The words of him who has the sharp two -edged sword.
That's kind of appropriate.
The sword that he was holding involves.
Balaam's neck.
So you're going to tell what I tell you to do.
You're going to say what I want you to say.
You and my sword have a little conversation.
So Christ says I know where you dwell Where Satan's throne is Yet you hold fast to my
name.
And you did not deny my faith Even in the days of Antipas My faithful witness Who was killed among you Where
Satan dwells.
But I have a few things against you.
You have some there Who hold to the teachings of Balaam Who taught Balak to put a stumbling block Before
the sons of Israel So that they might eat food sacrificed to idols And practice sexual immorality.
There's the rest of the story.
So Balaam gets his revenge.
And it happens the exact next chapter In come the weaponized hot chicks.
For the purpose of sexual immorality.
The fembots.
The fembot army of Moab comes in.
Well I was not expecting you to say Yeah.
That might be a little too far.
I have to work on my metaphors.
But they come in And they sacrifice to Baal.
They have sex with these women.
And a whole lot of them were killed that day.
In other words Balaam basically said There's no way you're going to get God to curse them.
You're going to have to cause them to stumble And to break his commandments.
And so that whole thing was his doing.
But all of this to say.
And this is a little bit of ground work.
For the next section in chapter 23.
The words of the false prophets of Jeremiah's time With just a tiny
few exceptions.
None of them get recorded in scripture.
The ones that do get recorded in scripture They get contradicted by God.
And the person who gave those false prophecies They were punished severely.
And the justice that God meted out Against those false prophets Often times was directly
related To the false prophecy that they gave.
One false prophet said God says we will not go into captivity.
Nebuchadnezzar will turn away.
God basically says to that false prophet You're going into captivity.
You're going to be led there By a hook in your nose.
A little tangent But Balak in this passage.
So in the Exodus Which has recently happened Yahweh
waffle stomps his way Up the Egyptian pantheon.
And this happens again here Because the Baals were regional deities.
And so they're not just random mountains.
They're not just places with a view.
These are the high places of Baal.
High places of specific Baalim.
It was not just a Baal There was a Baal for this hill And a Baal for this hill
Everywhere they would get a rise And it ends with Baal Peor
Who is a thorn in Israel's foot For almost a
thousand years after this.
So he's like the top of the Baals in the region.
So Balak keeps trying to level up the Baal Which Baal he can attack with power
and curse.
Absolutely.
And so I think that's one reason for the repetition.
God doesn't change.
He waffle stomps his way through the Palestinian.
Or through the Canaanite pantheon too.
Yeah, that's a good point.
God always demonstrates that he exists And he answers prayer And he's the one who has power.
And these other deities, they don't even exist.
So there's a little bit of legwork Before we get into Jeremiah 23 About the false prophets
next week.
But the idea here is that Note that the children of Israel Despite the fact they killed Balaam Rightly
so And he's the one who taught Balak To put a stumbling block before them at Baal Peor
Eating food sacrifice to idols And practicing sexual immorality.
Yet Balaam's words that God gave him Were collected up and put into the book of Numbers And they are
true.
So consider that as we get to next week.
Alright, peace to you brothers and sisters.
Lord willing, we will see you next time.
Hopefully our internet will be more stable next week too.