Of Seers | An Uncomfortable Question

There’s an uncomfortable question I’ve been wrestling with.

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Exodus 3.1

He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates, in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, ‘A people has come out of Egypt; they have spread over the face of the earth, and they have settled next to me.
Numbers 22.5

There was once a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. That man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
Job 1.1

There are plenty of examples in Scripture of people who had somewhat healthy views of God, people who had no access to the Bible or the people of God. Their views develop before they have access to either.

There are examples of such people now, people who are spiritual but not yet Christian.

monotheistic

What sets these men apart from other pagans? First, all 3 seem to have a belief in 1 God, or at least a belief in the ultimate God (Jethro, Balaam, and Job). This is clear from their interactions in Scripture. They are neither polytheistic nor pantheistic. Ultimately, they answer to 1 God, our God.

I think it’s important to bear in mind that many people believe in 1 God, or at least in the ultimate God. You don’t need to go to a missions field to discover this. Just go to work or school. This is often a point of common ground.

seers

Secondly, and perhaps more mystifying, they are all 3 seers. In fact there is a Rabbinical tradition that they are contemporaries, seers in network with each other and Pharaoh.

Jethro and Balaam encounter the people of God and bless them. Jethro offers wise counsel to Moses.

Only Job is set apart from the people of God, perhaps in Babylon. Yet he encounters God in profound ways.

the question

So is there a case to be made for people who do not hold Judeo-Christian values, but they 1) believe in the 1 true God, and 2) are oracles?

This is a question I am entirely uncomfortable asking. However, serving in the marketplace has brought me face to face with this question.

This is not a question birthed from some sort of soft universalism. I am using Scriptural examples.

Rather than trying to answer the question, I think at this point it’s best to simply raise it.