Continuing thoughts on Balaam and Balak

Pondering Balaam and Balak

Earlier this week we talked about Balaam and Balak. What a tragic end Balaam comes to. He starts out appearing to be a man trying to follow the Lord and ends as a warning reminder of the Prophet of a man who not only fell away but led others astray.  What do we need to do in our own lives to prevent this? The Prophets give us the answer every time they speak, the answers are in the scriptures when we read. There is no great revelation here except to us when when realize what we have been putting above the Lord. Pray, study the scriptures, Keep the commandments and above all put the Lord first in your life. The answers don't change, what we do with them does. 

Walking the Fine Line ... and Falling off: Balak and Balaam

Walking away from Temptation

When we meet Balaam in the book of 22^nd Chapter of Numbers he is a man who knows the Lord and appears to be trying to follow Him. Balak, the King of the Mooabites, has seen the Children of Israel enter his lands and was afraid. There were a lot of them and he wanted Balaam to smite and curse them with the power of the Lord. When Balaam came before the Lord he had his answer, the Children are blessed and the Lord will not curse them. He gave this answer to Balak’s people who told him and sent higher ranking princes to ask the same. However, what Balaam didn’t do at that point was leave or refuse to take this any further.  The book of Numbers doesn’t say so in exact words but it appears that Balaam may have been enticed by the lifestyle or by what Balak could do for him.  At this point he was not a complete loss because he was still trying to walk the line between the Lord and Balak, telling them he could only do what the Lord said, the Lord said if they asked he could go with them, he went with them without them asking. The Lord sent an Angel to block him.

Many of us walk this same line today. We want both the Lord and the world. We want to serve him and have the good things that the world can offer. We must remember two things, we cannot serve two masters and the admonition to care not for what we will eat or wear. That last part is so hard for me. I like to plan everything out.

A few chapters later we find that Balaam is still with Balak who was able to provide alters and rams (the best sacrifices that a rich man could offer) in three different locations, yet none of this swayed the word of the Lord, Balaam knew this and still stayed with Balak. Balaam had been taken out of his world and was being shown the world of the King and it tempted him yet he did not want to disobey the Lord. He was still trying to walk the line between the two.

The last we hear of Balaam in the book of Number is Chapter 31 and it is that he was slain, he was guilty of causing the children of Israel to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor and Eleazar the priest was living with the Children of Israel. Balaam is remembered in by Peter in 2 Peter and John in Revelations as a man who led the Children of Israel astray by teaching them to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication.

It is obvious from this that Balaam lost his balancing act and fell away from the Lord and led others astray when he did so. Temptation gained the upper hand with him and led him to disaster.

Who Is Actually Blocking Our Way?

Who Is Blocking Our Way?

We are into the book of Numbers. I have never read this book before.

Numbers 22:23 

" And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way."

Many of us, myself included, immediately assume when we find our way is blocked that we are being blocked by the adversary. While this is undoubtedly true at times, we also need to consider that at times our way may be blocked by the Lord and His angels keeping us safe and on the right path.

When we find our way blocked we must pray, however often we pray to have the path unblocked, we must remember to pray to find out if we are on the right path.  

Thoughts on the Word of Wisdom

This week we talked about how the Lord restricted the Children of Israel from certain foods and if they came in contact with thoses food even the vessals that touched them could not be used. Those restrictions ended with Christs sacrifice  for us although some people still choose to follow them. In todays world Joseph Smith was given revelation about a new set of restrictions  which are over all easier to follow and understand. No alcohol, no tobacco, no hot drinks which is understood to mean no coffee or tea. Why does this end up in debate? Why do we end up in the spirit of the law vs the letter of the law? If we are to obey the Lord and his meaning is no coffee, then that means no hot coffee, no cold coffee, no coffee ice cream, no coffee candy, no coffee extract. We are capable of following Him in obedience. We can do this.

Leviticus and the Word of Wisdom

Leviticus and the Word of Wisdom

I apologize now this is going to be a bit long. 

I the book of Leviticus chapter 11 to be specific the Lord set forth to the Children of Israel what foods were "clean and unclean". This is the start of what most of us today understand to be the Kosher law for food if you are Jewish. I sorted it out into a table here to attempt to make sense of it and unlike what I normally prefer to do with the Scriptures this time I also took it out of King James English as I sorted out the meanings.

Leviticus Dietary Restrictions Leviticus 11:1-30
Clean	Unclean
Any beast with a divided (parted) hoof, and is cloven foot, and chews the cud is okay to eat.	The camel is unclean to eat because he chews the cud, but doesn’t have a divided hoof.
Whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers are ok to eat.	The coney (hyrax), because he chews the cud, but doesn’t have a divided hoof; he is unclean unto you.
You may eat of every flying creeping thing that goes upon all four, which have legs above their feet, to leap upon the earth; Even these you may eat; the locust after his kind, and the bald locust after his kind, and the beetle after his kind, and the grasshopper after his kind.	The hare, because he chews the cud, but doesn’t  have a divided hoof; he is unclean unto you.
.	The swine is unclean, though he  has a divided the hoof, and is cloven footed, yet he doesn’t chew the cud
	Anything in the waters, seas or rivers that have not fins and scales they shall be an abomination unto you:
	Among the fowls; these shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray, And the vulture, and the kite after his kind; Every raven after his kind; And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind, And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, And the swan, and the pelican, and the gier eagle, And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat.  All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you
	The carcasses of every beast which divides the hoof, and is not cloven footed, nor chews the cud, are unclean unto you: every one that touches them shall be unclean. And whatever goes upon his paws, among all manner of beasts that go on all four, those are unclean unto you: whoso touches their carcasses shall be unclean until the evening These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind, And the ferret, and the chameleon, and the lizard, and the snail, and the mole.
	Any of them, when they are dead it shall be unclean if they fall into any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack, whatever vessel it be, wherein any work is done, it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening And every earthen vessel, where into any of them falls, whatever is in it shall be unclean; and ye shall break it.  Of all meat which may be eaten, that on which such water comes shall be unclean: and all drink that may be drunk in every such vessel shall be unclean. And every thing whereupon any part of their carcasses falls shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.  Nevertheless a fountain or pit, wherein there is plenty of water, shall be clean: but that which touches their carcasses shall be unclean.  If any part of their carcasses fall upon any sowing seed which is to be sown, it shall be clean.  But if any water be put upon the seed, and any part of their carcasses fall thereon, it shall be unclean unto you.  If any beast, of which ye may eat, die; he that touches the carcasses thereof shall be unclean until the evening. He that eats of the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening: he also that bears the carcass of it shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
	Every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.  Whatever goes upon the belly, and whatever goes upon all four, or whatever has more feet among all creeping things that creep upon the earth, them you shall not eat; for they are an abomination

 

Looking at this list we can see immediately that the dietary code served two purposes. Many of the restrictions were for the health and well being of the Israelites, however some of them simply served as lessons in obedience and to set them apart as Gods faithful children. When you have to think about what you are eating and why everyday it serves as a reminder. Today we call rabbits coneys, but according to Google in Moses's time it was an animal called a hyrax which had paws. 

It is understood by most Christians that these particular restrictions ended when Christ sacrificed himself. Some choose to continue them voluntarily. When Joseph Smith restored the church he was given a revelation about a new set of restriction that are found in the Doctrine and Covenants. 

Word of Wisdom Doctrine and Covenants 89:5-17
For Use	Not For Use
Wholesome herbs	Wine or Strong Drink
Every herb and fruit in season	Tobacco
Flesh of beast, fowls of the air, sparingly	Hot Drinks (tea/coffee)
Grain

 I have to say that our list is much easier to follow.  Just as with the list given to the Children of Israel, we can make guesses about why some things are restricted but others may simply to teach obedience.

1 Cor 19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body,and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Pondering What is Important In Life

Pondering What Is Important In Life

This week we have discussed the 10 Commandments and how Jesus was able to refine those down to 2 guiding commandments.  We have discussed the Golden Calf and the Children of Israel. I confess I still don't understand the choices they made. The Children of Israel lived in a time when they didn't have to listen for a still small voice, the Lord would speak aloud to them.  Of course they didn't have the Atonement yet, and they didn't have the benefit of the the written word of the Lord being compiled into the Bible and Book of Mormon yet either. However I have gotten onto a tangent. 

I still find my mind and heart occupied with the "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" and the golden calf.  One of my classmates did a topic on how we cannot serve two masters. That's what Aaron was trying to do with the children, please both them and the Lord. He called it a day of the Lord yet the calf was right there, two masters.

We must examine our life and make sure the Lord, Our Heavenly Father is first and foremost. He must be leading our lives - He isn't a follower.

Do You Have a Golden Calf?

Thoughts on the Golden Calf

Exodus 32:1-4 

1.And when the people saw that Moses ^adelayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us ^bgods, which shall ^cgo before us; for as forthis Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we^dwot not what is become of him.

 2 And Aaron said unto them, Break off the ^agolden earrings, which arein the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bringthem unto me.

 3 And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron.

 4 And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a ^amolten calf: and they said, ^bThese be thy^cgods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

 5 And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord.

 6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought ^apeace offerings; and the ^bpeople sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

It appears to me that Aaron thought he was directing them toward the Lord. They did the appropriate sacrifices, he named the day a day of Sacrifice to the Lord. However the words and actions did not match. The Golden Calf was still there.  We need to be careful that we don't have a golden calf in our life. The Old Testament Student Manuel discussion on the 10 Commandments warned of this also in that a worshiped graven image can take many forms. Cars, computers, education, tvs, phones, games ...is there an object in our life that we are putting before the Lord. Beware of the Golden Calf in your life. I know I will in mine.

The 10 Commandments and the 2 Great Commandmentss

The Greatest Commandments

The Lord called Moses up to the top of the mountain and gave him stone tablets with commandments engraved with the Lords finger. These are the what we now call the 10 Commandments,  They are found in the 20th Chapter of Exodus. When Jesus came to walk the Earth he told us that all of the commandments actually rest on two.  In Matthew 22:37 "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." and Matthew 22:39 "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

When we look at the commandments one by one we can see how each commandment relates to these two greatest commandments. 

Thou shalt have not other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is the earth  beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (Exodus 20:4)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain (Exodus 20:7)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and  with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee (Exodus 20:12)	Matthew 22:37 Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not kill (Exodus 20:13)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)	Matthew 22:39 Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

  

      It is important to remember that the great commandments do not invalidate the 10 commandments, they do give you a great way to evaluate your actions. If you love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind you will not have any other gods before him, you will not take his name in vain, and you will keep the Sabbath day holy because that is what you do for someone you love. You do what is important to them and you treat them with love and respect. 

     If you love your neighbor, and by neighbor we are are talking about any fellow human, being as much as you love yourself you will not kill them, steal from them, lie about them, commit adultery with or against them. If you love your neighbor you will rejoice in their good fortune instead of wishing it belonged to you.

    When you are following both of these commandments you are able to keep the commandment to Honor thy father and mother. It involves both because your parents are to be a stand in for our Heavenly Father here on the earth. They are to teach you what he would if he was here. In that regard you respect your parents as a stand in for Heavenly Father and love them as you love yourself.

There is allot of neglect of the Commandments happening these days and which ones are the most neglected can be a matter of opinion. In my opinion there are 3 of the 10 that if they were not would improve the world.

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass nor anything that is thy neighbour’s. (Exodus 20:17)

The tenth commandment is part of all the others. If you don't covet you won't have other gods and bow down to them, you won't take the name of God in vain. If you don't covert you have less chance of stealing or killing or lying about another. Imagine a world where people didn't want things that were not theirs. What if people were not consumed by the need to have what others possessed? Leaving your doors unlocked and nothing missing while you are gone, drop your wallet and its returned to you intact. No need to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on security systems because no one wants what you have.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:3)

         Jesus gave us a reminder of this verse in Matthew 6:33 ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God,and his righteousness.’ the Lord does not require our adoration, however when we put something else before Him we wander off the path. By keeping our eyes on Him we are focused on His goals for us and eternity. This is the foundation verse, even more that than not coveting, because if we were all focused on Him as the center of our lives with nothing before Him then it would be much harder to break the other laws..

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8)

This is a commandment that is nearly ignored in today's world. Sunday is not a day of rest to be sacred to the Lord anymore. It is a day of sporting events, shopping, work, and a day to pursue hobbies. It is no longer considered for what it is suppose to be, a day to grow closer to your Lord. A day to rest  from worldly work and focus on the sacred. A day of sacrament.

The ten commandments were the base of our legal system yet in many places people sue to keep them from being displayed. They are the foundation of civilized behavior yet many people not only ignore them but cannot tell you what they are. Is it any wonder the fabric of society is ripping apart when we ignore the basic laws?

Leadership and Responsiblity

Thoughts on Leadership and Responsibility

It is known that the Lord calls who He wants and needs.  We don't always agree with His choices, but He always knows who is best for the job. Often we learn much from what we are called to do. In some cases others learn just as much from watching our journey to live up to our callings. Moses did not see himself as a leader at all, yet he is remembered as a great leader. He argued with the Lord, he insisted that he could not do this and was granted Aaron to help him speak. Moses and Aaron leaned upon the Lord and through His power freed the children of Israel and led them for over 40 years. 

 

How many of us have said "I am not a leader." How many of us have said "I don't want that responsibility" I can't be just me right?  Well, how about we all start with this. Moses's journey started when he stopped an Egyptian from abusing a Hebrew slave.  Let's start by being responsible for ourselves - following the commandments and then lets take the next step being aware of those around us. Doing whatever small actions we can to make life better for those around us. By taking action to help others we are being leaders and obeying the commandment to serve others all at the same time.

Murmuring in the Wilderness

Murmuring in the Wilderness

For my in depth study of this week I chose Exodus 15:23-27, 16-17 on the topic of Murmuring in the Wilderness. I wanted to do this because I really didn’t understand it. I have never understood the constant murmuring of the Children. One thing is for sure the children of Israel did a lot of murmuring. Let’s starting with defining what murmuring is.  Freedictionary.com defines it as “An indistinct, whispered, or confidential complaint; a mutter.” Therefore, this means that the children were complaining and whispering among themselves but none of them were bringing any complaints up to the leadership. Moses, Aaron or from what we can tell praying to the Lord about it either. They were just griping (murmuring) among themselves.

Three days after celebrating the Lord for delivering them from Egypt and crossing the Red Sea, in Exodus 15:24 they are murmuring “What shall we drink?” another miracle was provided and then they came to Elim where there was plenty of water.

After leaving Elim, 2 months and 15 days into the journey we find the whole congregation of the children murmuring against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16:1-3) accusing that they were brought out of slavery only to be starved to death. The Lord provides another miracle, manna from Heaven with one stipulation every day it will rain the same amount, but on the 6^th day it will rain double for the children are to gather extra that day because nothing will fall on the seventh.  Moses warned them not to try to save any and to trust in the Lord and still they did not listen.

I think my favorite verse is Exodus 16:28 “And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?”

The Lord is providing bread (manna) from Heaven for the children and again when they arrive in Rephidim the children start murmuring again. In Exodus 17:3 “…Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” Moses immediately takes the problem to the Lord “What shall I do unto this people? They be almost ready to stone me.” In addition, there is the problem with murmuring. If the concern had been addressed earlier the emotion would not have built up, but can you imagine what it must have been like in that camp for Moses to say that to the Lord? The Lord saved them and brought forth water from a rock using Moses and his staff.

Nephi suggests in 1 Nephi 16:1-3 that people murmur against leaders when hard truths are spoken and difficult things are asked of them that they are not ready for, when truth cuts them to the core.  This suggests that many of the children of Israel were in a crisis of faith, not having enough faith in the Lord, Moses and Aaron to keep them safe.  If Moses and Aaron are not able to address and stop the murmuring then the children could fall away from the Lord as Lamen and Lemual did. Nephi suggests in 2 Nephi 27:35 that learning the doctrine is an antidote for murmuring. This is a great suggestion as learning and studying doctrine leads to understanding and increases faith. The children of Israel did not have faith in the Lord even after seeing miracles. Lack of faith and lack of gratitude for what had happened to them was a large part of their problem I believe.

Do not cease to give thanks for what you have. Do not forget to ask for what you need. The Lord will supply all our needs.