Only God's command

Reading through Numbers has been hard going these few weeks. Some of the story of Moses is tough, God seems angry and vengeful. It is hard to say "The Word of the Lord" as we read through day by day. But into all this comes Balaam. He is probably best known for his donkey who talks to him as he is confronted by God but beyond that he calls us to a remembrance of what the prophetic really is.

The King, Balak, wants Balaam to curse Israel. Reluctantly Balaam goes to Balak but there he has some bad news - his loyalty cannot be bought - he can only speak the truth which comes from God. He is fearless in this and Balak finally gives up on him.

Balaam says he cannot go beyond the Lord's command. Whilst this is, apparently, a very simply statement it is also a very profound one. After all, if we were this sure of God and God's command to us, then our lives would be moulded and set apart very differently.

Being a prophet is not all about predicting the future. Many prophets in the Bible are called to pronounce future hope or judgement but within this message of fall and redemption there is another theme - that of witness. Prophets are more literally witnesses to the truth. Most of us do not have the ability to see into the future but we all share this same call to witness to the truth - whatever the risk and cost.

Witness is not an easy task. We often come to God with a lot of baggage - many Old Testament prophets meet God and are afraid. Some feel overwhelmed - jonah runs away. But after all our human weakness God seeks us out and recovers us from our own fear. This God of ours passionately wants us to be able to fulfil and live into God's command and to live into it to the point where there can be no other.