The Sabbath-School by J. W. Scoles

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jun 10, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 22.

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The Sabbath-School.

By J. W. Scoles

Old Testament History.

THE WAGES OF UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.

(Lesson 25, June 22, 1889.)

1. How was Balak, king of the Moabites, affected by the success of the Israelites?

"And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho. And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time." Num. 22:1-4.

2. To whom did he send messengers?

"He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me." Verse 5.

3. What did he want Balaam to do?

"Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me; peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." Verse 6.

4. When the elders of Moab brought the rewards of divination to Balaam, what did he say?

"And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me; and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam." Verses 7, 8.

5. What did the Lord tell Balaam?

"And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed." Verse 12.

6. Did Balaam plainly understand that the Lord did not want him to go to curse Israel?

"And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you." Verse 13.

7. When Balak received Balaam's reply, what did he do?

"And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me; for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me; come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people." Verses 15-17.

8. What reply did Balaam give to the messengers?

"And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." Verse 18.

9. Nevertheless, how did he show that he greatly desired to go?

"Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more." Verse 19.

10. How much permission did God give him?

"And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do." Verse 20.

11. Did Balaam go on this permission?

"And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab." Verse 21.

12. Was God pleased with Balaam's course?

"And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him." Verse 22.

13. Relate what followed.

"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. But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; and he smote her again. And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me; I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee. And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay." Verses 23-30.

14. When Balaam's eyes were opened, what did he see?

"Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face." Verse 31.

15. What did the angel of the Lord say of Balaam's course?

"And the angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me." Verse 32.

16. What did he say would have been done to him if the ass had not turned aside?

"And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times; unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive." Verse 33.

17. How much more could the Lord have said and done to show that he did not want Balaam to go to Balak?

18. Notwithstanding this, what did Balaam say?

"And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me; now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again." Verse 34.

19. What did the angel of the Lord reply?

"And the angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak." Verse 35.

20. When people show a strong determination to have their own way, regardless of the expressed will of God, how does the Lord deal with them?

"But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust; and they walked in their own counsels." "They would none of my counsel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices." Ps. 81:11, 12; Prov. 1:30, 31.

21. What will be the final consequence to such?

"For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Prov. 1:32.

22. What was the fate of Balaam?

"And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword." Num. 31:6-8.

23. What was the secret of Balaam's intense desire to comply with Balak's request?

"Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness." 2 Peter 2:15.

24. What is said of those who will be rich?

"But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." 1 Tim. 6:9.

25. What of the love of money?

"For the love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Verse 10.

26. What is said of those in the church who, like Balaam, are greedy for gain?

"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. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear; clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." Jude 11-13.

27. What are the real wages of unrighteousness?

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23, first part.

28. And what is the gift of God?—Ib., last part.

29. What is indicated by this? Ans.—That while those who die as a punishment for their sins, get only what they lawfully deserve, eternal life cannot be earned, but is something infinitely beyond the power of any human being to earn. God does not pay us for what we do, for we cannot do anything that is worth paying for; at the best we are but unprofitable servants. But he gives us all that we have, and all that we can ever receive, because of his own wondrous love and mercy, and the merit of Jesus Christ in whom we live.

NOTES.

IT was customary in most Eastern countries, and the practice is still prevalent there, to never approach an individual of prominence or rank for the purpose of obtaining a favor without first bestowing some suitable present upon him. And while the custom was possibly innocent enough in some cases, as, for instance, in Gen. 32:13-20, and 43:11, it was liable to prove a snare. But it appears that on this occasion there were sent gifts of a different character in addition, viz., rewards of divination. Had Balaam been walking in the counsel of God, the fact of these rewards being offered him would, alone, have been sufficient evidence to have justified him in refusing to have anything to do with the messengers of Balak. Sorcery, divination, magic, necromancy, and all such things were expressly forbidden of the Lord, as coming from an evil source. We can, therefore, only draw the conclusion that it was the covetousness of Balaam which caused him to hearken to a proposition whose acceptance would render it necessary for him to walk in direct opposition to the people and work of God.

A PROPOSITION of somewhat similar character was made hundreds of years afterwards, by Simon Magus, who offered money to the apostles, in hopes that the power to work miracles would be given him in return for it; but Peter, indignant at the insult thus offered to God, said, "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." Acts 8:20. Had Balaam's heart been as consecrated as was Peter's, this would at once have been the feeling actuating him when the messengers made known their errand.

How often we see people to-day repeating Balaam's experiment, dallying with some sin which they know to be wrong, prompted by Satan to hope that in some way God will make it right for them to engage in it. And God does sometimes allow men, to-day, as he did Balaam of old, to walk in their own ways; but when this is the case, they find, as did the disobedient prophet, that the end thereof is death.

OCCASIONALLY we hear people express the idea that it was unjust in God to deal as he did with Balaam, inasmuch as Balaam had told the messengers the morning after their first visit that he could not go with them. In reply we will only say that the prophet was deserving of no credit for this, for every feature in the case points out the fact that Balaam was only hindered from going by the direct refusal of the Lord to permit it. His desire was to obtain the reward, unrighteous though he well knew it to be; and so great was this desire, that at the second visit of the princes of Balak, he went even beyond the permission God had already given him.

THE Lord had told Balaam upon the occasion of this second visit that if, in the morning, the men of Moab came to call him, he might go with them. They, however, were so disappointed and annoyed that they did not make any further request, doubtless expecting nothing but refusal. But Balaam, in his greed for gain, so far misapplied the words of the Lord, that, when the messengers did not call for him, he determined that he would overtake them and accompany them to their land. This action on his part, as we can readily see, deprives his previous deeds of any virtue. He might easily have avoided going with the messengers the second time, and would have obtained God's rich blessing by allowing them to return without accompanying them. It was this willful walking in the ways of temptation that caused the wrath of the Lord to be kindled against him.

MEN sometimes take great credit to themselves because they do not yield to temptation, when, if the truth were known, the only reason for their not yielding is the lack of opportunity to carry out their designs. There is no more virtue in such work as this than there was in Balaam's case. He did not join the forces of Balak at the first call because the Lord absolutely refused him permission. Men who are restrained from stealing the property of others simply because such property is placed beyond their reach, certainly need not pose as saints before their fellow-mortals. The man who reflects upon the possibilities of committing any sin, and yet does not engage in it only because a suitable opportunity fails to present itself, is as guilty in the sight of Heaven as though he had already actually performed it. And this principle is capable of being applied to all the surroundings and circumstances of our every-day lives. Such virtue as this never gained a victory over temptation, and never will.

FOR the sake of obtaining earthly treasure, Balaam forfeited the blessing of God, which would have been worth more to him than all the wealth of Moab. Not only this, but he at last forfeited his own life as the result of his covetousness. Truly "the love of money is the root of all evil." Yet we see men to-day who, rather than take the easy yoke of the meek and gentle Master upon themselves, and be at peace through the riches of his grace, are staggering along under their heavy burdens of selfishness and sin, in their insane thirst for the riches of this world. Will we be so foolish as to imitate their example? Shall we esteem the gold that perisheth to be of greater value than the unsearchable riches of Christ?

May God help us to be so faithful in the use of the unrighteous mammon which he gives us here that we may be found worthy at last to have the true riches committed to our trust hereafter. "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." Prov. 10:22.

J. W. SCOLES.