Remember Your Journey

 In Micah 6:1-8, God lays out His case for judgment against Israel. He reminds them of some of the things that He has done for them as proof of His commitment to the covenant that He had made with them in verse 5:

Micah 6:5

My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.

When I read this, I did remember the story of Balak and Balaam (you can read it in Numbers 22 for a refresher.) Balak, the king of Moab, sought out Balaam, a prophet, to prophesy victory for the Moabites over the Israelites in battle (this was during their first journey to the promised land.) God, however, would not allow Balaam to speak any false prophecy, and he instead prophesied victory for the Israelites, much to the frustration of Balak, the lesson being that the Word of God is true and that the will of God cannot be changed by any man, prophet or not.

On the other hand, when I tried to remember the “journey from Shittim to Gilgal,” I didn’t have a clue what God was talking about!

Profane Fire

The bible can, in some sense, be thought of as an instruction manual for how God wants us to live. If the bible were written the way that most instruction manuals today are written, there would be fairly large sections entitled “How to Worship God” and “How NOT to Worship God.” Unfortunately, most people today who believe in God are unaware of most of what would be in the “How to” section and would be shocked by some of the things that they find acceptable that would end up in the “How NOT to” section.