"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things offered unto idols, and to commit fornication." (Revelation 2:14)
"I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and their abominations were according as they loved." (Hosea 9:10)
Those who worshipped the Moabite idol known as "Baal-peor" (meaning "Lord of the Opening" - referring to bodily orifices) did so by performing obscene and unnatural sexual acts that were an absolute abomination to the God of Israel; and when Israel began to worship this idol, they also became an abomination in God's eyes just as the thing that they worshipped was also an abomination, thus the line in Hosea: "and their abominations were according as they loved" or, taken from another Biblical translation: "they became an abomination like the thing they loved."
What a terrible thing to be proclaimed over a people who had survived years in the wilderness by following God, and who were poised on the very edge of Canaan, ready to enter the Promised Land. They were so close!
And yet what perfect timing Satan has in his plans to devour those who belong to the Lord (such as the plan Satan had for King David who loved God...until the moment he was lured away from God.)
For the idolatry and harlotry in worship that many of the Israelites gave to this false god of the Moabites cost them more than that prized possession of the promise of God; it cost them their lives.
What caused them to trade in the imminent prize of abundant life for short-term gratification of the flesh....
....and DEATH?
The answer has to do with self-deception.
Granted, the Israelites did not just wake up one morning and say to themselves individually or in chorus: "I have an idea, I think I'll deceive myself today!" Self-deception always begins with temptation.
Self-deception is the heart's response to tempation, when that heart has turned away from God for just long enough to view the temptation (the object of our desire) instead of God, forgetting God altogether in the process:
"And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord." (Hosea 2:13)
Once God is forgotten, Satan's job is done; our own desires take over.
Then begins the long journey into the LIE, for which we have exchanged the TRUTH in order to have what we want (Romans 1:25: "who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.."); and as we take that first step, we hand over, as though it is the "ticket" into this terrible dream-world, the victory and abundant life that Jesus so dearly secured for us. All for instant gratification of that which we lust after; all the way from the delusions of grandeur that material wealth and position promise - to fleeting and unfulfilling sexual pleasures such as the Israelites gave in to - to the very simple desire of "being someone that everyone likes." Desires for things that mean more to us than God Himself.
Sometimes the temptation comes to us unaided by those around us; other times it comes to us by those who have already been deceived and led astray. The latter was the case for the Israelites. Their temptation to turn from God was facilitated by Balaam (whose name means "destroyer of the people"), son of Beor. The Bible describes Balaam as being a "soothsayer" (a diviner or fortune-teller) who became the biblical example of a false prophet and was destroyed, along with the Midianites, a people group from the land of Moab, when God exacted His vengeance upon those who had tempted Israel to worship Baal-peor.
Balaam was "hired" by Balak (or Balac), king of the Moabites, to pronounce a "curse" over the Israelites that the king believed would effectively disable them, allowing Balac to overcome them and drive them out of his land.
But, the biblical record of Balaam's infamy is too long to explore in this one posting; so it will be saved til next posting, when we will examine how self-deception (and the sin that follows it) was able to bring about the death of 24,000 Israelites.
Til then it might be useful to consider what role self-deception played in the recent shooting deaths of so many people by lone gunmen in several places throughout America. And then to remember that we all are susceptible to varying degrees of self-deception leading to a variety of sin...from secret personal sin to heinous public acts....all of which are varying forms of rebellion against our Creator God, first and foremost.
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves...lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God..." (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
There is much more to that scripture, yet the point is that self-deception begins with loving something, anything, even the most innocent of things, more than God....but in our self-deception, we will not see it as such.
More on self-deception (and Balaam) in next posting.
"I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baal-peor, and separated themselves unto that shame, and their abominations were according as they loved." (Hosea 9:10)
Those who worshipped the Moabite idol known as "Baal-peor" (meaning "Lord of the Opening" - referring to bodily orifices) did so by performing obscene and unnatural sexual acts that were an absolute abomination to the God of Israel; and when Israel began to worship this idol, they also became an abomination in God's eyes just as the thing that they worshipped was also an abomination, thus the line in Hosea: "and their abominations were according as they loved" or, taken from another Biblical translation: "they became an abomination like the thing they loved."
What a terrible thing to be proclaimed over a people who had survived years in the wilderness by following God, and who were poised on the very edge of Canaan, ready to enter the Promised Land. They were so close!
And yet what perfect timing Satan has in his plans to devour those who belong to the Lord (such as the plan Satan had for King David who loved God...until the moment he was lured away from God.)
For the idolatry and harlotry in worship that many of the Israelites gave to this false god of the Moabites cost them more than that prized possession of the promise of God; it cost them their lives.
What caused them to trade in the imminent prize of abundant life for short-term gratification of the flesh....
....and DEATH?
The answer has to do with self-deception.
Granted, the Israelites did not just wake up one morning and say to themselves individually or in chorus: "I have an idea, I think I'll deceive myself today!" Self-deception always begins with temptation.
Self-deception is the heart's response to tempation, when that heart has turned away from God for just long enough to view the temptation (the object of our desire) instead of God, forgetting God altogether in the process:
"And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the Lord." (Hosea 2:13)
Once God is forgotten, Satan's job is done; our own desires take over.
Then begins the long journey into the LIE, for which we have exchanged the TRUTH in order to have what we want (Romans 1:25: "who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.."); and as we take that first step, we hand over, as though it is the "ticket" into this terrible dream-world, the victory and abundant life that Jesus so dearly secured for us. All for instant gratification of that which we lust after; all the way from the delusions of grandeur that material wealth and position promise - to fleeting and unfulfilling sexual pleasures such as the Israelites gave in to - to the very simple desire of "being someone that everyone likes." Desires for things that mean more to us than God Himself.
Sometimes the temptation comes to us unaided by those around us; other times it comes to us by those who have already been deceived and led astray. The latter was the case for the Israelites. Their temptation to turn from God was facilitated by Balaam (whose name means "destroyer of the people"), son of Beor. The Bible describes Balaam as being a "soothsayer" (a diviner or fortune-teller) who became the biblical example of a false prophet and was destroyed, along with the Midianites, a people group from the land of Moab, when God exacted His vengeance upon those who had tempted Israel to worship Baal-peor.
Balaam was "hired" by Balak (or Balac), king of the Moabites, to pronounce a "curse" over the Israelites that the king believed would effectively disable them, allowing Balac to overcome them and drive them out of his land.
But, the biblical record of Balaam's infamy is too long to explore in this one posting; so it will be saved til next posting, when we will examine how self-deception (and the sin that follows it) was able to bring about the death of 24,000 Israelites.
Til then it might be useful to consider what role self-deception played in the recent shooting deaths of so many people by lone gunmen in several places throughout America. And then to remember that we all are susceptible to varying degrees of self-deception leading to a variety of sin...from secret personal sin to heinous public acts....all of which are varying forms of rebellion against our Creator God, first and foremost.
"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves...lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God..." (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
There is much more to that scripture, yet the point is that self-deception begins with loving something, anything, even the most innocent of things, more than God....but in our self-deception, we will not see it as such.
More on self-deception (and Balaam) in next posting.
1 comment:
very good we love sin and perversion
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