March 28, Day 87 – From Our Place of Dilemma to His Place of Safety
- Dr. Eric Stricker
- Mar 28
- 3 min read
Today in our readings we come to Numbers 22:21-23:26. In this chapter, we are introduced to Balak, the king of Moab, and to Balaam, a pagan prophet. Balak and his subjects, the Moabites, are “filled with dread because of the Israelites” (verse 3), so Balak summons Balaam to “put a curse” on the Israelites (verse 6). Balaam is an example of a false prophet who engages in divination, witchcraft, and occultic practices. He knows something about the will of God, but he refuses to follow God or worship Him. This is clear from the recorded dialogue between God and Balaam (verses 9-20, ff.). Balaam chose to disobey God’s first command not to go with the princes of Moab, but later, God permits him to go and to do only “what I tell you” (verse 20). What follows is the familiar account of Balaam and his donkey. To his own foolishness, Balaam could not see what his donkey could see – the Angel of the LORD. People often speak to their animals, but animals do not respond with human speech or language. Thus, Balaam’s donkey is a miraculous exception. Ironically, Balaam acts unsurprised – almost as if his donkey talks back to him all the time! The Angel of the LORD validates the donkey by repeating and emphasizing her questions to Balaam. Again, God restricts the prophet to “speak only what I tell you” (verse 35). Balaam presents four oracles – two in our readings for today – and two in tomorrow’s readings. Both times, Balak is furious with Balaam because Balaam cannot curse what God has blessed. This passage reveals the truth of our Psalm for today – that God protects the righteous from the destructive intents of the wicked.
In Psalm 37:32-40 we are reminded that our salvation “comes from the LORD Who helps, delivers, and saves us” because we “take refuge in Him” (verses 39-40). Our salvation is the product of God’s faithful love, mercy, and grace toward us, but taking “refuge in Him” is also His work – we have little to do with it other than to seek his love, mercy, and grace actively. In verse 33, David says “the LORD will not leave us in the power of the wicked,” indicating that He brings us to the place of refuge. We are powerless on our own to enter that refuge without His “help,” but our part in the transaction is not passive; we must exercise our wills by seeking to be protected.
We also see this same principle in Luke 6:37-7:10. It is not possible for the blind to “lead the blind” (6:39). In these verses, Jesus teaches practical biblical principles that we should follow. If we judge others, we will be judged by the standards we use to judge them. Unless we remove the plank from our own eye, we cannot help a brother remove the speck from his eye. In the same way that good fruit does not come from bad trees, we must be careful to be righteous and consistent in our hearts to store up and produce good things that proceed from there. This all begins with building on the right foundation – the Rock that is Jesus Christ. Otherwise, when the “torrents strike, our house will collapse and complete will be its destruction” (verse 49). In Luke 7:1-10, we see the faith of a Roman centurion – a Gentile and “a man under authority” (verse 8). “Hearing this [i.e., his testimony], Jesus was amazed” and healed his servant from a distance (verse 10). In all of our readings today, we see how much people need the loving guidance and the assistance of the One Who not only sees but also Who knows and is both qualified and capable to remove us from our place of dilemma or danger to His place of safety.
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