The Thoughts of Balaam, the Greedy Prophet

This is a most interesting story: Balak invited Balaam to curse Israel, and paid a price for it, using seven bulls, seven rams, and building an altar. However, instead of cursing Israel, God blessed them. No matter how hard Balak tried, God still blessed Israel.

Balaam is an interesting character. His perseverance was misplaced in his greed for wealth. You might ask: How do you know that? Balaam actually wanted to overturn this matter, harboring a僥倖 mentality, thinking that perhaps God could curse Israel, and then he would gain honor from Balak. Balaam had a rather 'peculiar' motivation, which is quite interesting:

Behold, I have received a command to bless: he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. (Numbers 23:20)

What he is saying can be extended slightly: I cannot reverse this matter, but I actually want to reverse it. From this, we can see a few thoughts of a greedy prophet.

And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. (Numbers 23:4)

God actually spoke so much to Balaam in such a scene. What is Balaam trying to express? Look, God, I have prepared excellent gifts for you, how can you not be pleased? But where did the bulls and rams come from? They were given to him by Balak. In the end, God did not respond to Balaam's seven bulls, seven rams, and altars.

And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. (Numbers 23:7)

What was Balaam's purpose in building altars and making sacrifices here? It was to overturn God's blessing on Israel. In fact, Balaam really wanted to curse Israel, but God would not listen to such words, so he had to do according to God's word. Perhaps God could curse Israel, then my work would be done, and the King of Moab would give me much honour and much money. Balaam thought that building altars, offering sacrifices, seven bulls, and seven rams could turn God's heart around, which is really laughable. Do you know what this is about?

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? (Numbers 23:19)

The Attribute of God: Not Subject to Bribery

Our God does not accept bribes! Our God has several attributes, first of all, He does not accept bribes. God will not change His mind because you offer many sacrifices; nor will He bless those who offer sacrifices or curse the Israelites because you offer good or bad sacrifices. The Israelites are chosen by God, and what God says and what God promises will surely be done, God's promises will never be abolished. God said to Balaam, God has not cursed, I cannot curse; the Lord has not reviled, neither can I defy. You say that Balaam knows very well that God is in control, doesn't he? But he still went around in circles and did so many things for so long. Was it useful? If it was not useful, why do these things?

Once a person is greedy for wealth, they become very foolish. So if there are some among us who want to ask God to do this or that for you through sacrifices or tithes. Do you think God works like that? If you want to bribe God with money, you might as well forget it!

If you do not understand God's attributes, you act according to your own will. You see, I have built seven altars, with a bull and a ram on each altar, God, are you pleased? Can you do it according to my will? No, God does not do things according to our will. That is to say, we can see that God's attribute is really too upright.

If you want to trust a God, trust a God who is not subject to bribery. If there is a God who accepts bribes, if a bank robber comes to worship, the bank robber will be able to succeed; and another group is the police, who also come to worship, wanting to catch the bank robber today, so that the police can catch the thief. What does this bribed God do? If God sees that the bank robber gives more and the police give less, then let the bank robber win. Can you trust such a God?

So we must know that if our God bestows heavenly Mingding Destiny, reveals His thinking logic system to us, we do what God says, and there is no way not to be blessed. Moreover, when I implement God's words, as far as my personal experience is concerned, God has never disappointed me, our God is really too faithful!

In other words, we must understand the attributes of God very well, He must reign among us, and what He has promised must be fulfilled. It does not matter if those people offer sacrifices or ask God for help, it is useless no matter what they do. Only one thing is useful: you must be like Jacob, like Israel. If you imitate Jacob, imitate Israel, and you have the image of Jacob and Israel on you, you are powerful. It is useless for a greedy prophet to have such thoughts, even if you are a prophet.

The Thoughts of Idol Worshippers

Then the thoughts of idol worship are even more laughable. Balak first offered seven bulls and seven rams, and then said to Balaam: What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them altogether. Now come, I will take you to another place.

And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. (Numbers 23:13)

And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. (Numbers 23:27)

Don't you think this person has a problem with his head, thinking that when he goes to another place, God will be a different God. Is it because he cannot clearly see the people on the border that God will curse them, and then build an altar and offer sacrifices in that place, and he can change God's will? No, so we must know that the thoughts of idol worshippers are very ridiculous.

There are many people in the church who have thoughts of idol worship. These Christians do not want to be Jacob, nor do they want to be Israel. They only want to get what they want for themselves. As for whether cursing Israel is another matter, but what is the use of asking for this?

Today, a Singaporean who had lunch with me, went from one church to another, and so far, he has not found an ideal church. I told him to build his own church! It is okay to build a church by yourself.

He thought that he ran around everywhere, and he did not enter and leave the business fellowship once, why did he torture himself back and forth? Because he always could not get what he wanted. Isn't this idol worship? If you worship the true God as an idol, what you will get is destruction. So today we must learn some lessons from Balaam and Balak.

Becoming Jacob is Key

Our God is not someone who changes His mind because of bribery. Do you know what Balaam and Balak did, and what effect this has? If you are not in accordance with God's will, don't you know? If you know, don't do it anymore.

And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. (Numbers 24:1)

Balaam thought that this would solve the problem, but this could not be changed. Suddenly the Spirit of God came upon him, and then he blessed Israel, and then he talked about how the country of Israel was like. The attributes of our God are really too wonderful. Don't think that the Spirit of God has come upon him, and he has said a few words from God, and then he will be okay, he is still the same. God will use whoever He wants to use. So our brothers and sisters, don't do this. As for a prophet like Balaam, would you say he is a greedy prophet? He is obviously a greedy prophet, so how did the Spirit of God come upon him? The Spirit of God comes upon whomever He wants to, it does not matter if that person is good or bad, God will use whoever He wants to use.

I encourage everyone not to pursue this or that, but to pursue only one thing: to be Jacob and Israel of this generation, that is, to imitate Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because our God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. If the Bible says that God is also the God of Balaam, then we will imitate Balaam, but later the Bible did not connect Balaam's name with God's name, Balaam is connected with greedy prophets. Did Balaam get what he wanted in the end? No. Really disappointed, he did a lot of things, he had such a good opportunity to make money, he had such a good opportunity to earn honour, it would be so good to get these things from King Balak, why can't you see it, God? I am praying so devoutly here, it did not work the first two times I sought magic, this time I face the wilderness.

And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. (Numbers 24:2)

Originally, he was still thinking about it, is this okay? I will not offer sacrifices? Many Christians are like this, offering sacrifices is useless, God still does according to His will, so this time I will change my method, I will face the wilderness, or face the wall at home. It is useless what you face. Do not have the thoughts of idol worshippers, nor have the thoughts of greedy prophets.

Over the past few years, I have met all kinds of people. Once, a person walked into my church. I wanted to give him my best, that is what I originally thought, because God really gave us many, many vivid revelations, such as the 1st chapter of Genesis. He came to Singapore to study theology, I gave him my best, wouldn't he want it? As a result, when I saw it, that person had no interest at all, I wanted to know what he was here for, then let's talk about something real, I asked: You come to Singapore to study theology, how much does it cost a year? He said: Two hundred thousand, I guess. Then I asked again: Then where did you get the two hundred thousand? He has no salary in China, he has nothing, so he came to study theology. He said: I live by faith.

Then I continued to talk to him, and talked about what I wanted to give him. However, he still had no interest. I knew what he was interested in, he was interested in money, he hoped that our church could subsidize him a little money, could I give it to him? I cannot give it to him. But my co-workers were watching from the side, thinking how much he loved God, and then after that person left, they asked me: What is going on? Can we give him some money? I said: What is this? Isn't this like a monk coming to alms? Later, another one came, the whole process was exactly the same as the previous one, this time my co-workers became smart, they knew it was originally an alms.

Brothers and sisters, we really have to be smart. First of all, I don't really agree with studying theology; and then I don't agree even more with spending so much money to study theology; spending so much money, and still relying on faith to go around everywhere to alms, see what places can give, oh my god, it's really awful.

Some time ago, two more theology students came, one of them was blind. I wanted to give him my best, and give him a few books, I originally wanted to let him pay a little price, but later when I saw how pitiful he was talking about, I didn't do it. I was very puzzled, there are a lot of theology students studying theology there, why don't they serve the blind well? I was very emotional.

Brothers and sisters must know for sure, what is the will of our God, what should we do? Do not think that there are many people who can imitate, in fact, what we can imitate is the Apostle Paul and Jesus Christ. In the depths of my soul, I know very well what kind of person is Balaam, what kind of person pays the price for the Lord, truly loves the Lord, and what kind of person can get the heart of God: that is, imitate Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham.

If we have the heart of Jacob and Israel in us, then these things I am going to tell you will be fulfilled on you. But if you do not want to be Jacob and Israel, you want to be Balaam, want to get honour everywhere, want to get benefits from God everywhere, you will not get anything.

Why are we called Chinese Mingding Destiny today, because Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham all have Mingding Destiny, because they desire to get God's Mingding Destiny, so they pay a very heavy price for their Mingding Destiny, including Joseph. Mingding Destiny lets us live for it and die for it. Today we must begin to desire to be like Jacob and Israel, there is nothing better than this. What honour, wealth, there is nothing that can replace the eternal way for which we are born, for which we live, and for which we die. This is what Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham believed in.

The Attributes of Israel

How many attributes of Israel are mentioned in the Bible?

For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; there! A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. (Numbers 23:9)

There are countless nations and peoples in this world, but this is a people dwelling alone. What does it mean to be a people dwelling alone? It means not reckoning itself among the nations. So where is it? It is not queuing up as the top one or two among the nations but is above all nations. Such people are formidable, always at the top, never at the bottom; always the head, never the tail.

If the desire in our hearts is like that of Balaam, you will gain nothing. God might just play a joke on you. After God's jest, making him go around in circles, offering sacrifices and fussing about, God still speaks the words of His own heart to him. Then he faces the wilderness, and God's intention remains unchanged. When he finally returns to his own people, God still tells him about the future, leaving Balaam truly disappointed, as we see in the final verse:

So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way. (Numbers 24:25)

How do I know he was disappointed? Because Balaam returned halfway. He finally had an idea: to have Balak adopt Balaam's idea so that Balaam could gain honor and benefits from Balak. And yes, he did gain honor and benefits. Balak's scheme was indeed effective, leading the Israelites into sin, and then God's own hand struck down the people of Israel. This move was indeed very ruthless. Later, when Moses led the Israelites to defeat these Midianites, Balaam's body was found among them. What was Balaam doing? Balaam was enjoying honor and, before long, was killed by the Israelites.

A person who loves money will die for money. A prophet who loves money will also die for money. A Christian who loves money will die for money. You will die for what you live for. If you live for God, you will live forever. This is a remarkable thing. This is a people dwelling alone, not among the nations. God spoke through Balaam's mouth:

Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his! (Numbers 23:10)

That is to say, Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham are the most righteous among the righteous. What does it mean to be righteous? It means to trust in God.

I sincerely hope that our brothers and sisters would all say: Let me die the death of Jacob, and let my end be like his! There is nothing in this world to covet or to haggle over. I want to count everything as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. What is more precious than God? What is more precious than the destiny God has for us? Nothing. This is the attribute of Israel.

What other attributes does Israel have?

He has not observed iniquity in Jacob; nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. (Numbers 23:21)

Keeping and Obeying, Obtaining Destiny

If we are like Jacob, with no iniquity or wickedness within us, it is because we have destiny. The things of this world are not what we pursue. These things are definitely not what we live for or die for. We live for God and die for God, and as a result, God is with us.

Know that blessings and curses both come from God. We must begin to pay attention to whether we are Jacob, whether we are Israel. Who blesses us, who curses us, who prays for us—these are all unimportant things. What is important is whether you are Jacob, whether you are Israel. If you are Jacob, if you are Israel, then those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed.

He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you. (Numbers 24:9)

Jacob and Israel are so important. Encourage everyone to be the Jacob and Israel that are after God's heart. Some people will say, Pastor, why do you curse me and not pray for me? But I see you constantly eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. How can you not be cursed? I am just letting you know that you are now living under a curse.

One sister left the church, and she was very concerned about what I would say about her, but we really don't have time to talk about her. For those who leave us, I don't call them back. If they want to return, we have requirements. These people only care whether I will curse them after they leave. They don't care whether they are Israel, whether they are Jacob, whether they have destiny.

Why do we emphasize destiny so much? Because with destiny comes blessing. With destiny, you are Jacob Israel. With destiny, what can curse you?

How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. (Numbers 24:5-7)

How well this is said! Building a church with destiny, where all brothers and sisters have destiny, is key. A pastor once told me that if 20% of your church participates in prayer, it will be revived. Later, more than 50% of our church participated in prayer, but there was no revival. Then we emphasized destiny, and there was revival. Because what God wants is not 20% of the people but people with destiny. His kingdom will be exalted.

We must keep and obey God's word, act according to God's heart, and be Jacob Israel. This is God's heart. Understand how Jacob Israel aligns with God's heart. I often hear many people criticize Jacob and Joseph. Today, I heard someone criticize Joseph, saying that he was arrogant and dreamed as a child, and as a result, he was sold into Egypt by his brothers. I find it very strange because if God has a destiny for us, even if we are sold, nothing can take away the destiny God has for us. If you don't have the genes of Jacob and often eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that is a very troublesome thing. Even if I don't curse you, God's word will curse you. Do you want to have power and awakening, to have the image of a king, to want to win the battle? If you do, imitate Jacob, Israel, and Joseph.

A few days ago, someone came to me, and I prayed for him. In the prayer, I saw a colored dragon that was dealt with. This person is a new believer and doesn't know much about God but is very eager. The next day, he sent me a message saying that someone owed him hundreds of thousands of dollars, which he had not been able to recover, but now the person had money to pay him back. Since that prayer at Pastor Liu's, it has been especially good, with such good news. Later, I told him that he still needs to have destiny, win the battle, and remove the works of the devil.

God wants to prosper the church, a group of people with destiny, like Jacob and Joseph, paying the price for destiny, not the ideas of idolaters. What is destiny? Some people say that work is my destiny. Today, we only have one destiny, which is to build God's glorious church and be a blessing to all nations. If so, then surely:

Edom shall be a possession; Seir also shall be a possession for its enemies, while Israel does valiantly. (Numbers 24:18)

On this path of faith, I am proud to tell you that we see the light God reveals to us, the light of God's word, constantly revealed in this era, understanding God's heart, what path Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob have opened up for us. We have the image of kings, like male and female lions, never giving up until we get our prey. Our prey is the devil, just as the food of the white eagle is eating snakes. We heal, deliver, and cast out demons, and the kingdom of God comes among us. This is such a great thing.

For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’ (Numbers 23:23)

Brothers and sisters, begin to expect the great things God will do among us. Possess the attributes of Jacob Israel, completely strike down the devil and the enemy. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed. May God bless everyone!