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Chukat “Statute”/Balak
Persistence
The story is told of a lady who never in her life was heard saying a harsh
word about anyone. Some folks became a bit tired of her continued positive
attitude and decided to trick her into saying something negative. Their plan
was to ask her what her thought were on satan, as they knew she could not
have a kind word for him. When asked though, she responded again in the positive
and stated, "he sure is persistent!"
While it is true that the enemy is very persistent, he is also very predictable.
For centuries he has never changed his tactics, maybe because he has never
had to. He has used one method against Elohim's people time and time again
and it has proved him successful. The reason he has been so successful is
because he has done such a good job of blinding people to his very basic
tactic. That day is changing though and his tactic is being revealed. The
exciting thing is that when we understand his tactic, he can be defeated
with ease.
Allow me to pose a question to you. The right answer will give us the key
to the enemy’s defeat every time. The question is, “What does
Balak in Numbers and the description of the anti-messiah in Thessalonians
have in common?” Think about it for a moment. The answer is really
very easy. Of course the answer is they both desire to destroy the Family
of Elohim and bring them into the bondage of the enemy. The more important
question to ask though is, “What tactic do we see in common between
the two?” The answer to this important question is found in 2 Thessalonians
2:5-8. The answer here, separation from Torah!
Why does the enemy fight so hard against Torah? The answer truly spans the
covers of Scripture for those who have eyes to see it. The enemy knows that
if he can keep us from Torah, he can keep us in a place of bondage. He understands
that without Torah, we will never be able to live a life of victory in Messiah.
We do see in this week's Torah an example of a man who understood the importance
of obedience. This man's name is Pinchas. He is a man who may have never
been in the limelight before, but when he saw the opportunity to take a stand,
he did. His actions to many then as well as now would be called a bit radical.
Radical as they may have been though, it is Pinchas who would receive a very
special gift as well as a promotion in The Kingdom, as we will see next week.
There is no doubt that as times continue to deteriorate, the enemy will try
his best to test our will to stand with the truth of Torah. In the end, we
will have to see who each of us will model our lives after. Will we go the
route of compromise and short term reward that Balaam did? Or will we take
the radical stand of Pinchas? It really will come down to a test of persistence
and whose persistence will go the long haul, ours or the enemies?
