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Friday, April 06, 2018

Cajoling God [With the Word Friday Issue]


Can you cajole God?
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?Numbers 23:19 [ESV]
Summarize in a Word: Cajoling God
Principle: God’s word is unchanging
Application: Do not try to tamper God’s word
Main point of the Passage: God will do exactly what He says whether we like it or not.
Illustration: One Hindu tricked his god. Christian marrying non-Christian
Exhortation: Would you please submit to God’s word and not tamper it?
Once I read a story of a sinful Hindu in front of Yama, the god of death. He took out letters from Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva (top three gods of Hindu) addressing Yama to treat him well. Months later Yama found out that the gods did not write those letters. He got furious and asked him why he tricked him. The man replied, “I never told you the gods wrote those letters. My children whose names are Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva wrote them.” No one can trick the God of the Bible, unlike this story.
This passage is not primarily about God’s faithfulness to bless us. It is about God’s unchanging nature that we can never trick or cajole God. The original audience is Balak who thought he could change the mind of God by his sacrifices to curse his enemies. In return, God blessed Balak’s enemies much more.
God does not work according to what you think He should do. Nor are His words according to what you think it should mean. You can neither improve it nor falsify it. However, many times, we try to tamper with God’s word. I know some people who marry non-Christians willfully, saying God will convert them. Yet the Scripture says, “to obey is better than sacrifices or kind intentions.” God is not a man to amend His laws.
I often hear people say, “I hope God understands.” In fact, they misunderstand God. God understands them as transgressors, not as acceptable. Like Balak, one should expect not comfort but chastisement in such. Would you please submit to God’s word and not tamper it? Blessing comes through Obedience, my friend!
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Thanks for the time of Reflection,
R. Solomon