{"id":1306,"date":"2021-08-29T14:17:14","date_gmt":"2021-08-29T19:17:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1306"},"modified":"2021-08-29T14:17:14","modified_gmt":"2021-08-29T19:17:14","slug":"do-you-love-the-wages-of-unrighteousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/29\/do-you-love-the-wages-of-unrighteousness\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Love the Wages of Unrighteousness?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\u201cFor where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.<\/strong>\u201d
Matthew 6:21 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Have you ever encountered one\ncalled a Christian, who chooses the ways and riches of this present world\ninstead of walking a Christ-like life? This brings to mind a very real man named\nBalaam from the book of Numbers in the Old Testament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balak, king of Moab, (along with all of the Moabites) were afraid of the\nIsraelites, God\u2019s people. Balak sent for Balaam. He wanted Balaam to curse\nGod\u2019s people. Balak had heard that whomever Balaam cursed was cursed, and\nwhomever he blessed was blessed. Balak sent money with men to give Balaam as\npayment to come to him and curse the Israelites. God spoke to Balaam and told\nhim not<\/em><\/strong> to go with the men and not <\/em><\/strong>to curse God\u2019s\npeople, for they were a blessed people. Balaam told the princes of Balak to go\nhome. God would not allow him to go with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balak sent more men to tell\nhim not to let anything keep him from coming to him \u2013 even giving promises of\ngreat honor. \u201cAnd Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would\ngive me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the\nLORD my God, to do less or more<\/strong>\u201d\n(Numbers 22:18). Yet Balaam told the men to stay the night, and wait to see\nwhat God would tell him that night. \u201cAnd God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto\nhim, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and<\/em> go with them; but yet\nthe word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do<\/strong>\u201d (Numbers 22:20). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God had already told Balaam\nnot to go. God\u2019s people were only to be blessed, for they were a blessed\npeople. Yet when Balaam was offered honor, a house full of silver and gold, he\ntold the men to wait. Why is that? Do you think he was hoping God would let him\ngo so he could have all of that honor and gold? That night, God told him to go.\nDo you think that maybe this could have been a test to see what was in Balaam\u2019s\nheart? Balaam went. \u201cAnd God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD\nstood in the way for an adversary against him \u2026<\/strong>\u201d (Numbers 22:22a). Balaam heard<\/em><\/strong> what\nGod said, but he was not listening<\/em><\/strong> to what God had told him. God\nwas angry with him for going. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Balaam rode his donkey,\nheading to see Balak, king of Moab. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the\nway, but Balaam did not. The donkey understood that he was not to continue\nforward. Balaam was angry at his donkey, and began to hit the donkey when it\nsat down (Numbers 22:23).\nThe donkey was trying to save his master\u2019s life. God opened the mouth of that\ndonkey, and he spoke to Balaam. And Balaam answered the donkey. He told the\ndonkey that if he had a sword in his hand, he would kill him. \u201cThen the LORD opened the\neyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his\nsword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face<\/strong>\u201d (Numbers 22:31). The angel told Balaam that if it\nhadn\u2019t been for the donkey, he would have been killed. Why? \u201c\u2026<\/strong>behold, I went out to\nwithstand thee, because thy<\/em> way is perverse before me<\/strong>\u201d (Numbers 22: 32b). Balaam was not <\/em><\/strong>supposed\nto go to speak with King Balak. The angel of the Lord told Balaam to go on to\nsee King Balak, but only speak the words God gave him to speak. Balaam went,\ntold King Balak God\u2019s Words, and blessed God\u2019s people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the events ended here, it\nmight have seemed good. Nevertheless, at some point, Balaam gave King Balak\ncounsel of the way to cause the Israelites to trespass against the Lord (Numbers\n31:16). Balaam had not obeyed God. He was to have only spoken the words God\ngave him to King Balak. He chose to do disobey God, apparently greedy for\nreward and wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the insight about the\nlife of Balaam in the New Testament: \u201c15. Which have forsaken the right way, and are\ngone astray, following the way of Balaam the son<\/em> of Bosor, who loved the\nwages of unrighteousness; 16. But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb\nass speaking with man’s voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17. <\/strong>\u2026<\/strong> to whom the mist of darkness is reserved\nfor ever. 18. For when they speak great swelling words<\/em> of vanity,\nthey allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much<\/em> wantonness <\/strong>\u2026 <\/strong>19. While they promise them liberty, they\nthemselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of\nthe same is he brought in bondage<\/strong>\u201d (2\nPeter 2:15-19). He loved the wages of unrighteousness, and people like him\nallure through the lusts of the flesh, wantonness, promising liberty, but they\nare servants of corruption. They end up in bondage.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another insight we read in the New Testament about Balaam: \u201c10. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.\u00a011. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.\u00a012. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are<\/em> without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots<\/strong>\u201d (Jude 1:10-12). It declares that Balaam was in error and went after reward. His end was described as \u201ctwice dead, plucked up by the roots.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would you want to be remembered as one who loved the wages of unrighteousness, ending up twice dead?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How to be Saved<\/a><\/blockquote>