We are using a story from Numbers chapters 22 to 24; Balaam and his donkey. There is a well known saying, ‘Money can’t buy happiness. But money has a way of revealing what really matters.

Balak the chieftain King of the Moabites, was so fearful of the Israelites, twice offered a generous fee to Balaam, a reputed seer, if he would curse the people of God.;.

The first thing that Balaam did with the offer was to consult The Lord. After consulting Him, Balaam realized that he could not deliver the service to Balak.

The lure of money and new friends cause Balaam to waiver on his initial refusal. He tried to find a way to do business with Balak. As  a result of his departure from God’s direction, Balaam’s own donkey was used by the Lord to force him back off from Balak offer.

Balaam’s focus on monetary reward and influence made it hard to deter him from opposing God’s people. Balaam’s legacy will always be associated with greed and avarice. We can read references to Balaam in 2 Peter 2 verse 15 and Jude 11;

That is not much of a legacy, but can we sometimes feel tempted to compromise our integrity for financial gain.  Perhaps it is always good to have a spiritual checkup: Psalm 110 verse 23:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns”.

God Bless.

O F J