Many voices are speaking curses today upon Christians around the world for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only way to eternal life. I have been called many names for my strong faith in the Lord, some by those who profess to love me. Zealot, fanatic, bigot, hypocrite, homophobic, old-fashioned, antiquated, are just a few words that are used to describe Christians who refuse to compromise the teachings of the Bible.
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:9-10)
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.” (Proverbs 18:21)
Balaam was sent by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse Israel. The Moabites couldn’t stand Israel, and they were a threat to their national security. Balak offered to pay Balaam money to curse Israel.
Balak said, “I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed.”
When Balaam sought Jehovah God for direction, God replied,
“Don’t curse these people, because they are blessed.”
Whom God blesses, no one can curse; not even the devil!
Balak increased Balaam’s paycheck, so Balaam sought God again. God gave Balaam permission to go with Balak, but he was only allowed to say what God told him to say.
As Balaam traveled to meet Balak, his donkey turned aside when it saw the angel of God standing in its path. Balaam couldn’t see the angel, so he beat the donkey. The donkey sees the angel again and leans up against a wall of stone, crushing Balaam’s foot. Again Balaam beats the donkey. The third time the donkey sees the angel, it just lies down under Balaam, while Balaam beats it once again.
The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth allowing it to speak, “What have I done to make you beat me these three times?”
Balaam argues with the beast, until God opened his eyes to see the angel standing before him on the path. The angel scolded Balaam and ordered him once more to speak only what God told him to speak. (When a man argues with a beast, which one is the real donkey? Makes you wonder if animals will be used to repeat our words in judgment….)
Balaam was obeying God in his actions, but he was disobeying God in his heart. He knew all along that he was going to take the wages being offered to him by Balak. Numbers 31:16 shows what was really in Balaam’s heart as he enticed the Children of Israel to worship Baal and idols.
No matter how hard he tried, Balaam could not curse what God had blest. Every word of cursing came out as words of blessing.
Every word spoken against Christians today will one day be turned into words of blessing. Every word spoken against Christ today will be used to bring people to their knees at His Judgment. If God is able to cause rocks and donkeys to speak his praises, then He will cause every knee to bow before Him and every tongue to confess Him as the only way of Salvation for mankind!
A story is told of a little burro which was harnessed to a wild steed.
Bucking and raging, the wild horse tried its best to get rid of the little burro. It raced all over the place, even out into the desolation of the desert to be free of its burden. It bucked, it raged, and it convulsed like a drunken sailor, all to no avail.
They disappeared over the horizon for days, and eventually returned; still yoked together. Only this time the burro was leading the wild stead. Somewhere out there on the rim of the world, that steed became exhausted from trying to get rid of the burro. In that moment, the burro took mastery of the steed and became its leader.
Your conscience is your burro and will stay connected to your soul no matter what curse words you throw at Christ and His followers. Your donkey is your conscience, resisting your justifications to curse. Your conscience will never curse God’s Blessings! (God’s angels see and hear it all.)
No matter how many times you run, buck and thrash as a wild steed, your words will haunt you and disturb your peace. Eventually, one day in your exhaustion, either before you die, or afterwards, your burro, your wild steed, your conscience, will lead you back to stand before your Creator, and cause your eyes to be opened, and your mouth to open in blessing and praise to the only one who can forgive you and save you!
Just like Balaam, you can beat your poor old donkey all you want, and you can seek the pay of this world as you purpose to be your own god, but one day your curse words will become words of blessing for all that God has blest.
If you fail to confess Christ as your Lord and God, your words will become your own curse for eternity. God doesn’t send anyone to hell. Your very words and deeds will send yourself to hell. You can beat your conscience into silence for years, but one day, even if it is Judgment Day, your conscience will find its voice and speak God’s Blessings!