Avoid the Error of Balaam
Although many of the mentions in the Bible of Balaam are negative, in the primary account of him, he seems to basically be a good, God-fearing guy. His issue is syncretism, which is the error of Balaam.
Balaam’s issue wasn’t his connection with God, but instead his attempt to meld the God of the Bible with other, contrary beliefs, in this case sorcery and divination. These are incompatible with God.
This practice continues today. It’s called syncretism, the fusion of differing belief systems or an attempt to reconcile religions. Consider:
- God and Hinduism
- God and Confucius
- God and Buddha
- God and voodoo
- God and crystals
- perhaps even God and Yoga
- or what about God and prosperity?
But God is a jealous God. He doesn’t want to be shared; he doesn’t want his peoples’ attention split between himself and someone or something else.
He wants all of us, undivided and undistracted.
It is only human arrogance that suggests otherwise. This is the fallacy of syncretism.
[Read through the Bible with us this year. Today’s reading is Numbers 22-24, and today’s post is on Numbers 24:1.]
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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