Category: Random

God protected the Israelites by foiling Balaam’s sorcery. The Hebrews had no idea that God saved them while they were sleeping. Frustrated, Balaam packed up his stuff and walked away. We thought the story ended there, that he quit his trade and turned over a new leaf after his encounter with God. Not quite.

In the next chapter, we learned of a massive, large scale adultery going on among Hebrew men and Moabite women. At first glance. it would seem like this is a separate story, totally unrelated to what happened in the previous chapter. However, a closer look reveals that it was Balaam who advised the Moabites to send their women to seduce the Hebrews.

The plan worked, the Israelite men committed shameless adultery in broad daylight even in front of the tabernacle. This roused God’s fierce anger that on that same day, 24,000 Hebrew men died. Moab succeeded in inflicting damage to Israel. Their temple prostitutes succeeded where black magic failed. At the end of that grim day, Israel was left weaker and more vulnerable. God’s divine protection upon them came to nothing when they willfully sinned.

The story tells us one very obvious truth: God’s divine protection works best if we stay within it, if we don’t wander away flirting with sin. The moment we venture outside his will, our security is automatically compromised.

In the end, Balaam got his wealth but he didn’t enjoy it. Numbers 31: 8 tells us that he died when Moses sent his troops to battle with the Midians. He got his just deserts. His love of money was his downfall.

Another obvious truth worth mentioning is that when the devil can’t use pain to destroy us, he uses pleasure. Everyone knows this. Everyone, beware of this.

It was the time for celebration again. Our sisters who were working in Manila came home after a few years of work, brought presents for a family of 10 and shared about their experiences in the big city while we, kids, listened in wonder about stories of big supermalls, elevators, traffic, and the “glitter” of urban life. I was 11, we lived in the mountainous parts of Leyte, I’ve never seen a big bus, never been inside an air conditioned building, no idea what escalators were, and what it was like to speak Tagalog everyday.

My sisters’ vacation that time was different. They brought something new with them, something we never had in the house before: a big red Tagalog New Testament Bible with Psalms and Proverbs. It was the Good News version so there were stick drawings in the pages. Back then, it was easier for me to locate verses by just looking at the drawings.

Continue reading Worn Out Slippers

Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. When he came for interview, he noticed that the office was filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background. The receptionist instructed him and all the other applicants to wait until they were called to enter the inner office.

After a few minutes, the young man stood up and walked right into the office. The other applicants were confused as they didn’t hear anybody being called. They assumed the young man went in by mistake and that he would be disqualified.

Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.”

The other applicants grumbled, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!”

The employer said, “I’m sorry, but the last several minutes while you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”

—Source Unknown