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Two of a Kind, April 18
Numbers 23
“Be on your guard against covetousness in any shape or form. For a
man’s real life in no way depends upon the number of his possessions.”
Luke 12:15
, Phillips.
The curse which Balaam had not been permitted to pronounce against God’s
people, he finally succeeded in bringing upon them by seducing them into sin
Balaam witnessed the success of his diabolical scheme. He saw the curse of
God visited upon His people, and thousands falling under His judgments; but the
divine justice that punished sin in Israel did not permit the tempters to escape.
In the war of Israel against the Midianites, Balaam was slain....
The fate of Balaam was similar to that of Judas, and their characters bear a
marked resemblance to each other. Both these men tried to unite the service of
God and mammon, and met with signal failure. Balaam acknowledged the true
God, and professed to serve Him; Judas believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and
united with His followers. But Balaam hoped to make the service of Jehovah the
steppingstone to the acquirement of riches and worldly honor; and failing in this
he stumbled and fell and was broken. Judas expected by his connection with
Christ to secure wealth and promotion in that worldly kingdom which, as he
believed, the Messiah was about to set up. The failure of his hopes drove him to
apostasy and ruin. Both Balaam and Judas had received great light and enjoyed
special privileges, but a single cherished sin poisoned the entire character and
caused their destruction....
One cherished sin will, little by little, debase the character, bringing all its
nobler powers into subjection to the evil desire. The removal of one safeguard
from the conscience, the indulgence of one evil habit, one neglect of the high
claims of duty, breaks down the defenses of the soul and opens the way for Satan
to come in and lead us astray. The only safe course is to let our prayers go forth
daily from a sincere heart, as did David, “Hold up my goings in thy paths, that
my footsteps slip not” (
Psalm 17:5
)
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23
The Great Controversy, 529, 530
.
24
Patriarchs and Prophets, 451, 452
.
117