MAKE ONE’S FLAME BRIGHTER
Numbers 22:6: “Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the country. For I know that those You bless are blessed, and those You curse are cursed.”
Twelve-year-old Jeremy shook his head No. “I’m not going to play on your team, Scotty. You don’t play fair. I will not tackle below the waist, knocking a guy’s legs out. I will not head-butt, either. Haven’t you heard that tackles can cause brain damage [(CTE) Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy]? Concussions are from bruised brains!”
There are two ways people get ahead in life. One way is to push others down. Wine is made from squeezing the grapes’ juice out, after all. (An ancient procedure for wine making was to stomp grapes with bare feet). Some think this is an okay way to treat people. Squash someone below yourself. Stomp another who competes with you. Step over that person. Walk away whistling a happy tune.
Another other way to get ahead is to cooperate with God’s indwelling Spirit. His job is to grow Believers-in-Christ past milk (the Bible) to solid food (spiritual growth in Christ). Apostle Paul advises to “work out salvation with fear and trembling” AFTER one believes and accepts Jesus in Philippians 2:12.
Jesus’ finished work on the cross offers people forgiveness and eternal life. The salvation part is God’s work, but we got to want it! God’s Spirit lights Believers’ spirit flame. As we grow up in salvation, we glow brighter!
The opening Scripture is about Balak’s wanting to crush the Israelites. As the king of the Moabites, Balak was at wit’s end deciding the best way to deal with so many Hebrews. He asked the sorcerer Balaam to curse them. See the lesson linked below for God’s response in Numbers, chapter 22. Balaam understood why God answered the way He did.
Let’s thank God that Balak never crushed the Israelites. If he had succeeded, he would not only have hurt himself, but the whole world! In Genesis 12:3, God says to Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you and whoever curses you I will curse; all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Blessing Israel blesses the whole world, and is why we’re encouraged to pray for peace in Jerusalem!
Take Home Nugget
Tradition has people lift a cup of wine high and say a blessing. This symbolizes raising up what had been crushed. Like Jeremy, we choose to make our flames brighter by not hurting or crushing others.
Holy Father, may our flames glow brighter making the whole world a brighter place for us all! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
J.D. Griffith
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