Learning to Stick to What God Said First

What a powerful lesson on just sticking to what God said in the first place. Numbers 22:9-12: 9 Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?"

10 Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me,

11 'Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.'"

12 God said to Balaam, "Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed." In this instant, Balaam obeyed God.  But, Balak, the king did not accept a no answer.  Balak, sent another group to get Balaam to come to his country to curse the children of Israel. When the second delegation came, Baalam ask God if he should go.  God's response was one of those parent answers: sure, go ahead, although I already told you not to  go, you seem to want to go.  Go on down there, but don't forget you can only say what I tell you to say (Num. 22:19, and 22 shows Baalam's mindset and God's anger with him). God tells us what He wants us to do the first time.  Instead of possessing a Balaam mindset of seeing if God will change His mind and tell us something different (Num. 22:19), we need to ask God to help us grasp what He said the first time and get God's wisdom and strength to obey God.  Seeking God's permissive will, to do what we really want to do against what God clearly said, is a dangerous game (Num. 22:22-35). In Numbers 22:37-24:25, Balaam went through a lot of unnecessary stuff because he did not listen to what God said in the first place (not obeying an insecure king could have led to imprisonment and even execution). Christians, let us set our hearts on what God said the first time (Eph. 5:17). God Bless, Pastor Kennedy (MZO)