Dear Disciple,
“Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.” Revelation 2:14
As you read the story of the Israelites’ encounter with Balaam (a Gentile prophet/seer) and Balak (the king of Moab) in Numbers 22-25, you see a powerful example of the danger that disciples of Jesus face today in our struggle against Satan and his many allies. Balak hired Balaam to put a curse on the people of Israel because he feared them and their God. God wouldn’t allow Balaam to curse His people, so Balaam spoke blessing over Israel multiple times instead.
You see, Israel enjoyed the protection of God Himself, so their enemy could not overcome them by force. Even on the spiritual plane, they could not be harmed by an outside force because their impenetrable shield was Almighty God Himself. Yet, Moab was able to strike a terrible blow to Israel another way. The Moabites simply had to tempt the Israelites to sin against God, and He would punish them. This is just what happened when the Israelites committed sexual and idolatrous immorality against YHWH. He punished them severely for their rebellion.
The parallel here is very important for us. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we enjoy His authoritative and powerful protection. He has filled us with His Spirit and His Word, and He has committed to dispatch His mighty angels to give us aid whenever we might need it. So then, is the Church of Jesus invulnerable to defeat? No, unfortunately, we have a very real vulnerability: unfaithfulness. Like Balaam and Balak against Israel, Satan and his allies cannot defeat the Church in a frontal attack. His clever approach, then, is to attempt to entice us to sin against our Master and so become ineffective and open to our Master’s discipline.
I certainly don’t mean to say that disciples cannot be harmed physically by God’s enemies. Countless disciples have suffered, and continue to suffer, physically at the hands of godless people throughout the Church’s history. But this is not defeat for us. Wonderfully, the kingdom of God has a breathtaking way of growing tremendously in the midst of the Church’s suffering. In fact, those who suffer or even die in their faithfulness to Christ are the truly victorious ones (see Revelation 2,3, and 20).
What I mean to say is that you can only truly face defeat as a disciple if you allow the Enemy to lead you into sin against our great Lord. Whether it’s sexual immorality, idolatry (such as greed), unforgiveness, or any other worldliness, persistent unfaithfulness toward the risen King carries with it real disciplinary consequences. And so, like Israel, we can be led to defeat ourselves through sin. May we stay ever vigilant in our war against sin and temptation, renewing our commitment each day to remain loyal to the One who is unfailing in His loyalty to us!
Abiding in the protective shadow of our King with you,
Ryan