In The Word
Read: Numbers 23-24
The Prophecies of Balaam
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 2 Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lordwill come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a bare hill.
4 Now God met with Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.”6 So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab. 7 And he took up his discourse and said,
“From Aram Balak has brought me,
Moab’s king from the mountains of the East, saying,
‘Come, declare Jacob cursed for me,
And come, curse Israel!’
8 How am I to put a curse on him upon whom God has not put a curse?
And how am I to curse him whom the Lord has not cursed?
9 For I see him from the top of the rocks,
And I look at him from the hills;
Behold, a people that lives in isolation,
And does not consider itself to be among the nations.
10 Who has counted the dust of Jacob,
Or the number of the fourth part of Israel?
May I die the death of the upright,
And may my end be like his!”
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to put a curse on my enemies, but behold, you have actually blessed them!” 12 He replied, “Must I not be careful to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from where you may see them, although you will only see the extreme end of them and will not see all of them; and put a curse on them for me from there.” 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Then he said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the Lord over there.” 16 Then the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Arise, Balak, and hear;
Listen to me, son of Zippor!
19 God is not a man, that He would lie,
Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, I cannot revoke it.
21 He has not looked at misfortune in Jacob;
Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
The Lord his God is with him,
And the joyful shout of a king is among them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt,
He is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
23 For there is no magic curse against Jacob,
Nor is there any divination against Israel;
At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob
And to Israel, what God has done!
24 Behold, a people rises like a lioness,
And like a lion it raises itself;
It will not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of those slain.”
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all nor bless them at all!”26 But Balaam replied to Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘Whatever the Lord speaks, I must do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will be agreeable with God that you curse them for me from there.”28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.” 30 Balak did just as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on each altar.
The Prophecy from Peor
24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens, rather he turned his attention toward the wilderness.2 And Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened;
4 The declaration of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
5 How pleasant are your tents, Jacob,
Your dwelling places, Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside a river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from his buckets,
And his seed will be by many waters,
And his king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brings him out of Egypt,
He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.
He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,
And will crush their bones,
And smash them with his arrows.
9 He crouches, he lies down like a lion,
And like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you,
And cursed is everyone who curses you.”
10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! 11 So flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.”12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, I will speak’? 14 So now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the days to come.”
15 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened,
16 The declaration of him who hears the words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered:
17 I see him, but not now;
I look at him, but not near;
A star shall appear from Jacob,
A scepter shall rise from Israel,
And shall smash the forehead of Moab,
And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession,
Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 One from Jacob shall rule,
And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”
20 And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
“Amalek was the first of the nations,
But his end shall be destruction.”
21 And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,
“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation;
How long will Asshur keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,
And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress Eber;
So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went on his way.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
We continue to read today the account of King Balak and Balaam. King Balak was determined to have God’s people cursed. Each time Balaam would offer up sacrifices to the Lord, listen to His voice, and communicate that back to the King. Balaam came back several times and would not curse what God had blessed. This made the King angry, but yet he kept getting Balaam to ask God again for a different answer. Finally, Balaam understood the full counsel of the Lord and didn’t go back to God again, but proclaimed the truth of what God said again to Balak.
As we read these chapters of scripture today, we see that King Balak was determined to have God’s people cursed. The principle, however, is that the king wasn’t satisfied with the answer the Lord gave. This can also happen in our lives if we aren’t careful. As we walk through life, difficult situations and circumstances may come up. It may be that one phone call could set us in a storm of life that we never saw coming. What we do when these things happen is so important. We must seek God’s Word for the answer, then trust the answer that God has given and apply it to our lives. God is not a man that would lie to us, but He is a good and perfect Father who is continually working for our good. Don’t run or ignore God’s will for your life, but apply the plan He has for you to navigate out of the storms of life.