The Lord's Honor

Based on Numbers 24-25, Psalm 35

"Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour. And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the Lord saith, that will I speak?"
Numbers 24:11‭-‬13.

Balaam realized that it's the honor & favor of The Lord which truly mattered! The honor of men cannot compare to what we can receive from God. As Balaam says, even if offered silver & gold, he cannot go beyond the commandment of The Lord-because upholding God's Word is of highest honor!

When we realize this Truth, then serving God becomes easier & more desirable with every new step we take on our walk with God! Nothing we can do and no one we can encounter will fulfill us like Jesus! That's what Balaam realized and even spoke about, way back here in the Old Testament:

"He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth." Numbers 24:16‭-‬17.

In the New Testament, the wise men followed the star to the "Star out of Jacob" in order to give Him the highest honor! When we honor God, He exalts us out of our lowest places. But when we honor the world over God, we find ourselves at our lowest. That's what the Israelites had to learn in this passage:

"And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel joined himself unto Baal–peor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel." Numbers 25:1-3.

God's people lowered their standards-so low that they found themselves serving multiple gods! They were serving their ENEMIES!

"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"
Romans 9:21.

...And they were sure acting dishonorably! And the reality of the situation was that they were able to pinpoint the people who did the most dishonorable action, and in their punishment, the plague of God's anger against the people was stayed. It was brought down to a man & woman:

"And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel."
Numbers 25:7‭-‬8.

Imagine being those two! While all the people were doing wrong, they let their dishonor get completely out of hand. Their dishonor led them straight into their own pit, straight to death! Also because it was a Midianite woman who was not concerned with honoring God!

In reality, that's where all of Israel was headed if God did not have mercy. Although many died in the plague, there were still survivors. God is always willing to raise up the willing back to honor! He made a peace covenant with Eleazar for fighting for The Lord & getting the Midianite infestation out of the camps of Israel!

"Let destruction come upon him at unawares; and let his net that he hath hid catch himself: into that very destruction let him fall."
Psalms 35:8

Destruction will most definitely come upon us unawares when we dishonor The Lord! Are we lifting up God above our circumstances? It's not because God wants to make everyone else look bad, but He wants us to realize that everything else will be bad for us if we become obsessed with it and worship it above Him! The creation can never be greater than the Creator! Creation can never love us like our Creator! Honor God & be lifted up too!