Bottom line up front: Faithfulness when no one’s watching

Text: Numbers 22

Context: It is too long of a chapter for such a forum as a blog/email, so here’s the summary: God is faithful to his covenant promises. Israel was camping in the plains of Moab, just north of the Dead Sea. The people of Moab had heard of God’s mighty works for Israel. So, the enemies of God (personified in the Moabite king Balak) tried to bribe one of Israel’s leaders (Balaam) so that Balaam would curse his own people (Israel). Initially, Balaam resisted the temptation. But after Israel’s enemies upped their offer of remuneration, Balaam opened the door to the enemies of Israel. But he was very sneaky in the way he did it. He cloaked it in spiritual-sounding language: “So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me” (Numbers 22:19, ESV). But here’s the rub: God had already told him clearly not to go with Israel’s enemies, not to give the enemies a foothold, and not ever to curse what God has covenanted to bless: “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12, ESV).

Encouragement: Balaam was ultimately humiliated. Why? Because he gave in to temptation. He gave in to the lure of wealth. He gave in to his lust for his own comfort. He put himself (i.e., his own self-interest) before those he was to represent. Rather than being faithful when he thought no one was watching, he tried to minimize the fact that the Lord is always watching. The Lord does not sleep or slumber. He sees all. And so, we should labor to be faithful when we might be tempted to think that no one is watching. Why? Because we’re called to the highest standard of fidelity—God’s. In short, there was more than one ‘donkey’ in Numbers 22. There was the four-legged beast who was saddled with leather, but also the one who sat upon the leather saddle. Faithfulness is all.