Day 86
Numbers 22:21-23:26, Luke 6:37-7:10, Psalm 37:32-40
A confusing episode with a donkey and a centurion with faith that could put some of the disciples to shame provide some good bookends for today's passages.
Balaam was an interesting character, not an Israelite but certainly had regard for God. Yesterdays reading with Balaam seems to indicate that he is quite close to God but it appears that he is a bit of a magician, and the fact that Balak is coming to him to curse a whole nation shows the kind of person he was. Although he seems to be trying to do what God wants, he was a bit of a shady character. And a bit of a donkey too, because even his trusty steed managed to see the angel, but Balaam didn't. To the extent that God talks through the donkey. God then goes on to work through Balaam and he ends up blessing the nation of Israel rather than the curse that Balak wants. even though Balaam was a bit of a donkey, God used him.
The passage about the centurion includes some wonderful words, that Jesus was amazed. Jesus is only amazed twice in the Bible. Once at someone's lack of faith (Mark 6:4-6) and then here at someone else's amazing faith. Jesus has called his twelve apostles, people have left their livelihoods to follow him just because he said so. This is the Son of God who has seen far more than we can imagine, who was there at the creation of the deepest parts of the universe, and yet he was amazed at the faith of the centurion. That's pretty amazing in itself. Oh to have the faith of that centurion.
I want us to skip back in the Gospel though to judging others. Here we are taken to the end of the sermon on the mount (see Matthew 5-7 for the fuller account of this). Jesus teaching on some practical rules of living such as love for enemies brings us to the passage about not judging others. In this I find myself guilty, having just called Balaam a donkey. But how often do we judge the living, how often do we think that some of the people around us are real donkeys, yet when we take the plank out of our own eyes, we might find that God is speaking through that particular donkey. When we stop for a moment we might find that the people we think are cursing us are actually blessing us.
Pause for a moment and remove the plank from your eye. See what God is seeing, see what God is saying and who he is saying it through. God even speaks to us through strangers in the street, so what is God saying to you today.
A confusing episode with a donkey and a centurion with faith that could put some of the disciples to shame provide some good bookends for today's passages.
Balaam was an interesting character, not an Israelite but certainly had regard for God. Yesterdays reading with Balaam seems to indicate that he is quite close to God but it appears that he is a bit of a magician, and the fact that Balak is coming to him to curse a whole nation shows the kind of person he was. Although he seems to be trying to do what God wants, he was a bit of a shady character. And a bit of a donkey too, because even his trusty steed managed to see the angel, but Balaam didn't. To the extent that God talks through the donkey. God then goes on to work through Balaam and he ends up blessing the nation of Israel rather than the curse that Balak wants. even though Balaam was a bit of a donkey, God used him.
The passage about the centurion includes some wonderful words, that Jesus was amazed. Jesus is only amazed twice in the Bible. Once at someone's lack of faith (Mark 6:4-6) and then here at someone else's amazing faith. Jesus has called his twelve apostles, people have left their livelihoods to follow him just because he said so. This is the Son of God who has seen far more than we can imagine, who was there at the creation of the deepest parts of the universe, and yet he was amazed at the faith of the centurion. That's pretty amazing in itself. Oh to have the faith of that centurion.
I want us to skip back in the Gospel though to judging others. Here we are taken to the end of the sermon on the mount (see Matthew 5-7 for the fuller account of this). Jesus teaching on some practical rules of living such as love for enemies brings us to the passage about not judging others. In this I find myself guilty, having just called Balaam a donkey. But how often do we judge the living, how often do we think that some of the people around us are real donkeys, yet when we take the plank out of our own eyes, we might find that God is speaking through that particular donkey. When we stop for a moment we might find that the people we think are cursing us are actually blessing us.
Pause for a moment and remove the plank from your eye. See what God is seeing, see what God is saying and who he is saying it through. God even speaks to us through strangers in the street, so what is God saying to you today.
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