Jude 1:10-11 ~ Woe To Them!

Good evening and welcome to the Panhandle. Today was the last day of school for our kids. It has been a weird month and a half to say the least. Talking about the way we had to do school I heard one person say it wasn't that all the sudden we were homeschooling, but that all of the sudden we were doing school at home. It may sound the same but there's a big difference.

Okay here we are in verses 10 and 11 were we see three examples from the Old Testament of men who's lives didn't turn out so good. What was it that happened to them and why did it happen? Read on and see why, woe to them.

There was a man who came into a church like a flash. He was energetic, and boy could he sing. Not only that he could also lead music and play the piano. His wife was talented and could hold a crowd with her singing. This man knew Bill Gather and many of the Southern Gospel Groups in the area.

Within six months he had formed a youth choir, got many of the young people in trios, and quartets. He even revived the church choir. He then sold the church a new sound system to equip all the new microphones he had sold the church to handle all the extra singers. After awhile this man and his wife dropped out of the church and started attending another church where he did the same thing. In total he did the same thing to three churches in about a five year period. It seems that he did not care about the young people, the church choir or it would seem the things of God. He did not care if any of the youth or young people excepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. This man just love to sell sound systems.

It kind of reminds me of a fella named Herald Hill who in the movie The Music Man sold Boy's Bands. He sold instruments, instruction booklets, and uniforms and then he would skip out of town without teaching the boys so much as a note.

Last week in looking at verses 5-9 we saw that those certain persons who had crept into the church were already destine to face judgment. In verses 5-6 we saw three examples of judgments brought on those creepers. In verse 8-9 we saw some of the sins that these false teachers were guilty of. Now in verse 10 we are going to see that these false teachers were not as wise as they thought they were. And in verses 11 we will see Jude use a triad again, this time with three men who turned their backs on God.

Jude 10-11

10 Yet these men speak abusively against whatever they do not understand; and what things they do understand by instinct, like unreasoning animals-these are the very things that destroy them.

11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam's error; they have been destroyed in Korah's rebellion.

1. Abusive Ignorance (vs. 10)

These men speak evil... (vs. 10) It seems it is a trait of the natural, sinful person to speak often and to speak most loudly and emphatically about that which he or she knows the least about or are the least sure of. “That,” said Jude, “is true of false teachers.” And they not only do they speak loudly, but also their speech is filled with evil.

“Like brute beasts,… they corrupt themselves “ (vs. 10). These false teachers and creepers were like irrational or dumb animals. Without realizing it, they “corrupt” or destroy themselves. This teaching was especially poignant when we recognize that one of the heresies which these false teachers were espousing was that of Gnosticism. This the earliest of heresies contended, among other things, that its followers were particularly brilliant and elite in their spiritual understanding. And yet they railed (spoke abusively) against God whom they didn't know. They thought they knew God, they acted as though they knew God, but they did not know Him. 

 

The false teachers taught from what they knew, and when it came to God that was basically nothing. They were trying to apply natural standards to the one true supernatural God. How about you today? Are you limiting God in your life?

Here in verse 11 Jude gives us an example of three men from the Old Testament who knew God, and yet they turned their backs on Him. Because of this all three men faced harsh judgment. The first one we see is Cain.

2. The Way of Cain (vs. 11)

Once more Jude used a triad, this time as he compares the false teachers and creepers to godless people from the Old Testament.

The first godless person Jude compares the false teachers and creepers to is Cain. We are told that they had taken the way of Cain, but what is the way of Cain? While there is little agreement on what Jude means here there are several possibilities put forward:

•  they were disobedient and unbelieving, following their own way and not God's.
• They worship God according to their own understanding, not according to God's revelation.
• They were eaten up by the envy of others.
• The hated others and had a murderous spirit like Cain. 
• They taught heresy based on some Jewish tradition attributed to Cain.

We do know for sure the way of Cain was jealousy, hatred, murder, and rejection (Genesis 4:8). Cain did not love God and he did not love his brother Abel. Cain's hatred manifested itself in the form of the murder of Able and the turning of his back on God. The way of Cain was his way and not God's way. This is what Jude saw in those who had crept in, they were following their own desires and not the desires of God. 

 

When you look at your life does your desires line up with the desires of God? Are you living for Him or are you living for yourself?

The next example Jude uses is Balaam (bil-awm).

3. The Error of Balaam (bil-awm') (vs. 11)

While the New American Standard Revised translation says “rushed headlong” a better translation of the Greek would be “ran greedily after.”

You can find the biography of Balaam in Numbers 22-25. The short version is this: Balaam was hired by Balak to put a curse on the Israelites, who were wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. Balaam was a prophet for hire, people would pay him to bless or curse people.

There are three times in the New Testament that Balaam's name is mentioned:

• 2 Peter 2:15 states, forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
• Revelation 2:14 where it says to the church at Pergamos, "But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.”
• And then here in Jude 11 were the Creepers rushed greedily after the error of Balaam.

So Balaam was to curse the Israelites for pay. The error of Balaam was:

• He thought he could be like God – blessing whom he wanted and cursing whom he wanted.
• He was prideful.
• He opposed God for money.

Creepers or Apostates think they can have church the way they want it. They feel there is nothing in the Word of God that should dictate how they worship, how they act, or how they live. They are a prideful lot.

Balaam was at one time known as a man of God. Balaam at one time knew what was right in the sight of God. But he gave all that up for earthly gains – money and prestige. Balaam let money and pride blind him as he turned away from God. Because he had turned a deaf ear to God, God sent an angel to kill Balaam. Balaam (the prophet) who was blinded by greed and pride did not see the angle.

Often the false Christians who have crept into the church will ignore the warnings of the Godly people around them. Now check this out God had told Balaam not once but twice not to go and curse the Israelites, but did he listen, no. So God sent an angel to take his head and he did not see it. Next Balaam's donkey turned aside, crushed his foot, and then laid down refusing to move.

Balaam got mad at the beast and thumped on it repeatedly and then the donkey told him to chill out. And what happened? Balaam argued with the donkey. Talk about a duh moment, here was man who had been a prophet of God, but sold out for earthly gains and now he was having an argument with his donkey. The donkey was faithful to God and the man who was called a prophet of God was not.

I don't know about y'all but I think I would have been wondering what was going on when my donkey told me to chill. But here's the thing, people who are prideful will do bazaar things. Like argue with a talking donkey. They miss that being faithful to God brings life and unfaithfulness brings death. 

Things did not end well for Balaam. Instead of a curse he blessed the Israelites not once but four times. But Balaam had already sold out, he offered up a sacrifice in the high place of Baal (Numbers 22:41). Because Balaam turned his back on God 24,000 people died and later Balaam was killed along with the five kings of Midian. 

Why did all this happen? Because Balaam listen to Satan instead of God. He followed the evilness in his heart instead of the Spirit of God. He led others astray, and even after his death; by his actions. You must be separation from the ways, the actions, the ideas, and the philosophies of the world. Like Balaam you can be led astray by Satan, but you do not have to stay on that path. Turn and repent and God will forgive you. Or ask Christ Jesus into your life and He will come in and all your sins will be forgiven.

Finally we see Moses' cousin Korah get into trouble.

4. The Rebellion of Korah (vs. 11)

Korah was Moses' cousin who didn't like the way things were being ran. Not only did he not like the way Moses was running things, Korah wanted to be in charge. With what he thought was a good backing Korah made his move. But it didn't quite go the way he had hoped it would – all that sided with him and their families (about 15,000) were swallowed up by the earth and the 250 men who brought their incenses before the tent were burned where they stood. 

 

Why was God so mad? Because Korah and all those who followed him rebelled against Moses and Aaron and in doing so rebelled against God who had appointed them as leaders over the Children of Israel. Those who lost their lives did so because what sounded good to them was not what right in the sight of the Lord.

Those who had crept into the church did not follow God, they did not follow what was right in His sight. When it comes down to it, you have to make a choice – will you follow after the things of this world? Will you go the way of Cain, will you rush greedily after Balaam, will you continue to rebel with Korah? Will you continue to choose death, because that is exactly what will happen if you continue choosing anything or anyone but Jesus Christ. Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned -- But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. (Romans 5:12; 15).

If you are already a Christian will you remain faithful to God and His Word? If you don't know Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour will you call on His name and be saved today?

I pray the Lord keep you and bless you.

Until next week,

Biblesurfer