We read in Numbers 22:12, And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. (KJV)
God told Balaam that he was not to accompany the men of Moab who had approached him, and he was not to curse the people of Israel because they were a people blessed by God. As we compared this incident to the church today we understood that firstly, the church is a people called out, and separated for the Lord. Secondly, the church is not built up by the strength or wisdom of any man, but is built on the foundation of God’s word. Since God is the builder, no powers of darkness that rise up against the church can prevail against it. Thirdly, the church is blessed by God.
Balaam’s life was destroyed, simply because he entertained those whom God did not approve of and associated himself with them. So also, if we are not cautious about whom we are associated with our spiritual life and growth will also get hampered.
Blessings by many in this world are defined as having a good family, a great job, lots of money and all other worldly possessions. True blessings are words that are being spoken on us and so are curses. The first thing that God did when He created Adam and Eve was that He blessed them. However, when Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled against God, they became recipients of God’s curse on them. Blessings are the words spoken by God or by those who have been endowed with the authority from God.
Obedience brings blessings
As we study further about the blessings of God, we read in Deuteronomy 28:2, “Obey the Lord your God and all these blessings will be yours.” (GNB)
We also read in Deuteronomy 28:3-5, “The LORD will bless your towns and your fields. “The LORD will bless you with many children, with abundant crops, and with many cattle and sheep. “The LORD will bless your grain crops and the food you prepare from them. (GNB)
When God blesses all that we have will be blessed, and all of this will happen when we walk in obedience to God. Only when we walk in obedience to the Lord are we assured of His blessings on our lives. Disobedience to God, and His word will only make us forfeit His blessings.
In Deuteronomy 28:15, we read, "But if you disobey the LORD your God and do not faithfully keep all his commands and laws that I am giving you today, all these evil things will happen to you”(GNB)
It is made clear that if we want the blessings of God to be bestowed on us we have to walk in obedience to the Lord, and when we choose to disobey God, then we become subjects of His curses. There are many people who will listen to good counsel, but will go away and do exactly as they want to. Such an attitude will not bring the blessings of God into our lives.
Some may think that such blessing and curses are only mentioned in the Old Testament, and not applicable to the believers of the new covenant.
Let us look at an incident from the New Testament.
We read in Acts 5:1-3, But there was a man named Ananias, who with his wife Sapphira sold some property that belonged to them. But with his wife's agreement he kept part of the money for himself and turned the rest over to the apostles. Peter said to him, "Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property? (GNB)
There is a record about a couple named Ananias and Sapphira who were members of the early church. If we read the last part of Acts Chapter 4 it is recorded that the believers sold all their property and lands and placed them at the feet of the Apostles. When Ananias and Sapphira watched this they too had a desire to do the same. We must note that there was no instruction or compulsion for the early church believers to do what they did. Each one decided to do it of their own accord.
Now notice that the believers who joined the early church had to leave the traditional Jewish worship at the Jerusalem temple, and became members of the early church who believed in Jesus. Jesus had told them that He would build the church, and that the gates of hell could never prevail against it. This meant that the members of the early church were a blessed people, built by the Lord Jesus with no room for Satan to overcome them.
As part of this blessed church, Ananias and Sapphira of their own free will decided to sell their lands, and place them at the Apostle’s feet. They had planned to give all of it to the Apostles, but it seemed that they both discussed, and had an after-thought to keep back part of this for themselves.
Whenever we go in the wrong path God’s punishment may not be evident immediately. Sometimes, the Lord waits and cautions us from His word, and at those times we must be ready to listen and obey. Every time we choose the wrong way and walk in rebellion or disobedience to the command of God, we are opening the door for the devil to enter in. The Lord is just, and the word of God, and His Kingdom function on the basis of truth and justice.
We read in Acts 5:3, Peter said to him, "Ananias, why did you let Satan take control of you and make you lie to the Holy Spirit by keeping part of the money you received for the property? (GNB)
This might seem surprising that the members of the early church, who broke bread together, who had seen the powerful demonstration of the Holy Spirit had let Satan take control of their lives. The fact was that by their lies they had opened the door for Satan to enter into their lives. Once Satan was in, he made them do what he wanted them to do, and the consequence was that they had an untimely death. This incident created fear in the hearts of everyone else.
We see that though they lived in a situation of blessedness, they were cursed, and died an early death simply because they did not obey the word of God.
Our lives are intertwined with good and evil (which people mete out to us) and we can categorize them into three types.
1. Those who receive good and repay it with evil
Let me share something that happened in my own life. One of the members told me that there was a vacancy for a job in her work place, and she asked me to recommend someone for the position. The lady who asked me was in a position to help that person get the job, and so I recommended a brother who was really in need of a job. Once that person got the job he joined hands with some of the trouble makers in the organization, and began to create much trouble for the lady who helped him get the job. This is a perfect example of someone who takes good and repays it with evil. If we were to do so, we can be sure that we will only incur the curses of God in our lives, because this is the nature of Satan.
2. Those who do good for good and evil for evil
There are some who pride themselves that they will do good to those who are good to them, and that for anyone who does evil they will treat them ruthlessly. This is the nature of man in general.
3. Those who do good for evil
This is the nature of God, and only those who are godly will exhibit it in their lives. Such people will surely be the recipients of God’s blessings.
Just because we are members of the church it does not mean that we are obliged to receive the blessings of God. Only when we live by the word of God, and when we choose to repay good even for those who do evil to us will we become those who can freely receive the blessings of God in our lives.
In order to understand this let us read this incident from 2 Samuel 14:1, “Joab knew that King David missed Absalom very much…”(GNB)
David had a son named Absalom, we read that he was so handsome in appearance and flawless from head to foot. However, there were more people who were destroyed by Absalom than those who were blessed by him.
Often we too go by outward appearance, and make judgement on people based on their physical appearance. Some people can captivate others with just their smile or by the way they talk. We should be cautious about this.
The blessings of Absalom was that he had the highest honor of being the son of King David who was anointed by God. Absalom had royal ancestry on his father’s side as well as his mother’s, and had all the eligibility to be king after his father King David.
Absalom waits to take revenge
Absalom also had great looks, and we read about it in 2 Samuel 14:25, There was no one in Israel as famous for his good looks as Absalom; he had no defect from head to toe. (GNB)
Though Absalom had such flawless appearance, his life was a total mess. Absalom had a half-brother Amnon who sexually assaulted Absalom’s sister. This matter infuriated Absalom who kept this matter in his heart for two long years, and waited for a chance to avenge. We know that Amnon did a great evil which Absalom could have brought to the notice of his father or elders in Jerusalem. Instead, Absalom decided to take the matter into his own hands.
There are some who are also harboring hatred towards others, and waiting for an appropriate time to get even with them. Every time something evil is done to us we must choose to place it at the feet of the Lord, and never let it keep lingering in our hearts. If we give room for bitterness and anger we can be sure that Satan will gain entry into our lives.
Two years later, Absalom waited for the season when the sheep shearing was being celebrated, and invited his father to attend the same. When King David turned down the invitation, Absalom made use of this opportunity to invite all of his brothers to a party and at that party he murdered his half-brother Amnon. Remember that Absalom waited for two long years to take revenge.
May we as children of God never harbor such hatred and bitterness against any one. We worship a Lord who taught us to repay evil with good, and may we do the same.
Absalom runs away from David
Once Absalom knew that his father King David was aware of what he had done, he ran away from his father into hiding. As the years rolled on King David felt much for Absalom, and longed to see him, knowing that his son Amnon would never return back to him.
There are parents who miss their children only when they leave them, and so also children who realize the value of their parents only after they have moved away from them.
Joab brings about reconciliation
Joab realized that King David longed for his son Absalom and so he sent a wise woman who enacted a story as recorded in 2 Samuel 14, and made King David agree to bring his son back to Jerusalem. David perceived that the woman was sent by Joab, and then David instructed Joab to bring Absalom back. We see that Joab was a kind man who did not stay satisfied with his position in the palace as commander of King David, but was concerned that David felt much that his son Absalom had been estranged from him.
Sometimes, when people try to reconcile two who are disunited, they will turn against the one who brought the reconciliation.
We read in 2 Samuel 14:21, Later on the king said to Joab, “I have decided to do what you want. Go and get the young man Absalom and bring him back here.” (GNB)
Joab made peace between King David and his son Absalom, and Absalom was came back to Jerusalem. Here too Absalom was not able to see his father King David, because David forbid that Absalom should meet him face to face. As Absalom waited hoping that his father would call to meet with him, and when this was not forthcoming this is what he did.
Absalom does evil to Joab
We read in 2 Samuel 14:28-30, “Absalom lived two years in Jerusalem without seeing the king. Then he sent for Joab, to ask him to go to the king for him; but Joab would not come. Again Absalom sent for him, and again Joab refused to come. So Absalom said to his servants, "Look, Joab's field is next to mine, and it has barley growing in it. Go and set fire to it." So they went and set the field on fire.” (GNB)
Absalom pretended that he wanted to see his father King David, but his true intention was to confiscate his father’s throne. When Absalom sent word to Joab to ask him to go to the king with his request, and when Joab did not come, Absalom did something atrocious. When Joab did not respond to Absalom’s request twice, Absalom sent his servants to set on fire fields of Joab which were ripe, and ready for harvest. One cannot imagine the evil nature of Absalom who could do something so evil to Joab, who had done so much of good for him. This was Absalom’s way to get Joab’s attention so he would come rushing to him and oblige to his request. It must have taken so much of effort to till a field, sow the barley in it, water it, and wait for many long months to reap the harvest, and we see that Absalom was heartless to just burn it down without any remorse whatsoever.
This is the exact way many people respond to the good that others have done for them. They receive all the good and blessings from others and instead of being thankful, they scheme and plot to do evil to them.
We read about such people in Proverbs 17:13, “If you repay good with evil, you will never get evil out of your house.” (GNB)
Absalom’s tragic end
If we read about the end of Absalom we will learn much. We read about it in 2 Samuel 18:9, And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. (ESV)
Absalom’s pride was his flawless complexion, and his thick hair. It was that hair on his head that got caught in the branches of an oak tree, and left Absalom suspended while his mule just walked away from him. As Absalom hung there in a precarious situation, unable to get off, and became easy prey for Joab who got even with him, and finished him off.
More than the birth of a person, their death tells a lot about who they were. That is why the word of God tells us to go to the house of mourning, so we can learn many crucial lessons.
King David stands out
If we observe this story King David stands out distinct from everyone else. David never resorted to do evil for evil.
There are three distinct characters in this narrative, Absalom who did evil for good, Joab who took revenge and did evil for evil and King David who did good in spite of all the evil that was done to him.
If we want to receive the blessings of God in our lives we too like King David must decide to do good for the evil that is done to us. God has brought us into the church, and we must choose to be different and those who will always do good even when evil is done to us.
Rahab was blessed for the good she did
Finally, let me highlight the life of another person in the bible. We read about Rahab who lived in the land of Jericho which was cursed, and later burned down by the Israelites. Rahab feared God, protected the spies who came from Israel and did good for them. The consequence was that she, and her family were saved when the walls of Jericho came crumbling down and moreover, she had the honor of being named in the lineage of Jesus.
Absalom was chosen to be a vessel of blessing, but ended up being cursed and destroyed. Rahab on the other hand was an immoral woman who was worthy of curse, but because she feared God and did good she became the recipient of God’s great blessings on her life.
Think about those who helped you in your times of trouble, who went out of the way to help in a crisis. May we never forget the good things that people have done to us, and always take time to be grateful to them. The way we treat others is the exact same way we will treat God too. If we forget the good others have done, we will also forget the goodness of God in our lives. Let us recall and be thankful to the Lord for everyone He has used in our lives.
We must have the heart of Jesus who though He was despised, rejected, beaten spat upon, scorned and shamed cruelly on the cross, even in his moments of deepest anguish spoke forgiveness on all who did evil to Him. May we be more like Jesus and choose to love everyone, and do good even to those who insult us, persecute us and do evil to us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
