Devotional - March 16, 2004

I find it especially interesting that God used a pagan prophet to bless God's people. Balaam wasn't a godly man, but God used him to bless the Israelites, confirm what He would do to their enemies and proclaim a coming Star out of Judah who would ultimately crush all His enemies. Balaam didn't know who Jesus was, but his words might as well have mentioned Him by Name and where you could find Him. (Num 24:17)

From the tribe of Judah, Messiah rose up out of Israel. In Matthew 2, a star led the Magi, also called "wise men," to find Him laying in a manger in Bethlehem. In Luke 2, the angel told the shepherds He was the Christ who would be born in the blood line of David.

Look again at the wording in Luke 2:10: Jesus is good news of great joy for ALL people. That implies benefit for everyone, not just Jewish people. Who better than Balaam to deliver such news. He started out helping an enemy of God's people but ended up recognizing what God was doing through them and blessed the people instead of his employer who sought to destroy them. (You can trace every nation that's tried to destroy Israel and find similar results.)

One might say that Balaam was the first person to be affected by his own prophecy. He was not a Jew, but instead in the ALL people-group, whom the Gospel of Jesus would profoundly bless.

Have you been blessed by the Gospel? You may not be a believer, but you are still blessed because of Jesus Christ. In America for example, we live in country bought with the blood of patriots, most of whom were Christians. Since, God has blessed many generations because of the faith of our godly founding fathers. We are a blessed nation because of Jesus, not any self-righteousness we claim to possess.

As benefactors of such great blessing, I hope we Americans don't succumb to becoming part of another prophecy: "See what they spew from their mouths - they spew out words from their lips and they say, 'Who can hear us?' But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you scoff at all those nations." Ps 59:7-8

It seems there are two sides to God's blessing. One receives the good news with a grateful and compliant heart while the other, through arrogance and insolence rejects it. One is blessed and the other is cursed - a joke to God.

How has the good news of Jesus Christ affected you?