Wrong! But for Cain and his offering he (God) had no regard.
Why? Because worship isn’t about us and what we want. It’s about God and what he wants.
This customized sacrifice showed defiance in his heart, which becomes clear as the story unfolds.
You cannot make up your own thoughts about what God likes and wills and allows. We worship God as he has instructed.
2. Profitable Revelation
Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error … (Jude 11)
Most people know Balaam for his talking donkey. But perhaps you’ve forgotten why God empowered an animal to rebuke him. Balaam was a real prophet who did get revelation from God. But the thought of making a profit as a prophet was too tempting.
In Numbers 22 we read that Balaam is torn between pleasing God or the Moabite King – the latter would be financially profitable. So, God sends an angel and a talking donkey to warn him. But God should not have had to resort to supernatural intervention to get his prophet to proclaim the truth.
So when Jude says, “Woe to them! For they … abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error,” Jude means that the false preachers who claim revelation from God are giving false revelation in order to gain fame, power, and money.
Satan always finances the lie. Think of the Lear jets, multi-million-dollar salaries, and opulent mansions of Benny Hinn, Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, and TD Jakes.
The error of Balaam is preaching a false message because it brings in more money.
3. Popular Revolution
Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion. (Jude 11)
Korah was a cousin of Moses and Aaron but he wasn’t chosen to be a priest. He was so peeved to be excluded from the leadership that he incited a revolution against Moses.
By resisting Moses and the priesthood, Korah was resisting what God was doing in Israel. In Numbers 16:3 we read:
They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
God dealt swiftly with this rebellion by opening up the ground and swallowing up 250 men.
Yikes! Jude’s vivid illustration is that when your worship is all about elevating you, and you get others to join you, then your self-styled, wonky worship is actually rebellion, even when it’s popular and appealing to the masses.
