What is the Doctrine of Balaam and its Old Testament relations to the New Testament Church?
Penmanship Express 5 is For the Time Has Come
Part I
I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. —II Timothy 4:1-4
The Scriptures often make prophetic statements. They are concerning Christ Jesus, the one who came and is to return. Some prophetic statements are good; some are bad. Some prophetic statements are concerning the nation of Israel, and there is a prophetic statement that the Spirit writes concerning the Church. The word to the New Testament Church was written to the shepherd Timothy and is a New Testament prophecy concerning the people of God. We are also foretold that the last days are a time of people having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof (II Timothy 3:1-5); that the latter times consist of some departing from the faith (I Timothy 4:1), and that the great falling away is prophetic because it is an entrance to the man of sin, which is an entrance to the Day of the Lord (II Thessalonians 2:1-4). So, the Scripture preaches or proclaims ahead of time so that one would take heed (John 13:19; 14:29), believe in the face of unbelief, examine themselves, seek God, and not be deceived (Luke 21:7-8), and not be found evil (Luke 12:42-48). But for each situation and circumstance, the Scriptures provide a response or an example so that one who believes will be helped by the Word of God, for the Bible says, “Whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4). God loves us and has given his all to redeem us. For this cause, the Word of God to us concerning his holiness and this love he has for us is this:
These instructions are therefore specific, doable, and have been done. And so, for one to navigate themselves to Christ through the crowds of people idly gathered amongst him requires faith. The Scripture shows that faith is an action word, and that it is a focused determination despite one’s own feelings, obstacles, fatigue, others’ feelings against you, or whatsoever. “When the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8) Faith — belief in God — is what God is looking for, and there is an Old Testament example who provides what this looks like in the situation and circumstances of today’s Laodicean age of the Church. The Church has an Old Testament example that is fit for today.
King Josiah
There was a king by the name Josiah. The Scriptures tell of him in II Kings 22 – 23:30 and II Chronicles 34 – 35:27. The Scriptures say of him:
And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him. (II Kings 23:25)
What is of interest is that the Scriptures describe King Josiah’s faithfulness and dedication to the LORD as what the LORD Jesus Christ informs us that God desires of each believer or servant of God. The Scripture calls it a commandment: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law? Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment'” (Matthew 22:36-38). Now, a command is something that is mandatory . . . It is something that renders one pleasurable or undesirable through one’s obedience or disobedience thereto. However, the demand of the Law is fulfilled in Christ Jesus. Thus, all a believer has to do is to be found in Christ, and thereby is this command fulfilled in a believer’s life. The believer is therefore found worthy or justified by the Word of God by abiding in the Word (Colossians 1:21-23).
This blog is a 720 of 29,464 words preview of For the Time Has Come, the fifth entry of Penmanship Express. This entry unites the Old Testament with the New Testament just as Christ does through his words to the Church of Pergamos in Revelation 2:14. Thus, in understanding Christ’s words to the Church (Revelation 2:17), King Josiah comes to the forefront. The legacy of the great young king becomes highlighted as this church age of Laodicea’s shining light and example. Recognizing, the scriptural homage of King Josiah is just as responding to Christ’s knocking and opening unto Him in one’s life (Revelation 3:20).
At the time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. (Matthew 18:1-5)
Josiah became king at the precious age of 8 years old. At the young age of 16, the Scriptures say that he began to seek after the God of King David. (King David is also found great in God in his adolescence, challenging and slaying a lion and a bear, and challenging and slaying a giant named Goliath, a champion.) So, God calls and is able to mightily use the young. Therefore, King Josiah is highlighted. His type of devotion and surrender to God is as a little child, and such is great before God.
When it comes to King Josiah, his legacy can be easily surmised and seen in the act of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest (Numbers 25:7-8), as it relates to both the deeds and doctrine of Balaam. King Josiah even ties to the Lord Jesus Christ in that he ran folks out of the temple who commercially corrupted the House of God. In these instances, we are given by the Word of God to be as Josiah if we are to individually be revived unto God, truly, in this Day. And a revival occurs when there is a return or rededication to God’s holy word.
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