July 31, 2024
Numbers 23:1-30 (HCSB)
Balaam’s Oracles
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2 So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord will meet with me. I will tell you whatever He reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill. 4 God met with him and Balaam said to Him, “I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.” 6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab. Balaam’s First Oracle 7 Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: “Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!”8 How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced? 9 I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. There is a people living alone; it does not consider itself among the nations. 10 Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered the dust clouds of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs. 11 “What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!” 12 He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.” 14 So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.” 16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.” 17 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” 18 Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! 19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? 20 I have indeed received a command to bless; since He has blessed, I cannot change it. 21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and there is rejoicing over the King among them. 22 God brought them out of Egypt; He is like the horns of a wild ox for them. 23 There is no magic curse against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said about Jacob and Israel, “What great things God has done!” 24 A people rise up like a lioness; They rouse themselves like a lion. They will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain. 25 Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!” 26 But Balaam answered him, “Didn’t I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?”
Balaam’s Third Oracle
27 Again Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. 29 Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 30 So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Jason Ricciardi
Have you ever been in a place where you were a reluctant participant? I think we can all look back and remember a time that our parents asked us to do chores and we REALLY didn’t want to. We did, however, respect the power they had to discipline us –my dad usually got me moving by whispering something about a spanking in my ear. So, we end up doing what they wanted...and it showed in every part of our being! You could see it in our faces, you could hear it in our whiny tone, and you could even see it in the quality of our work. I think this was like Balaam in Numbers 23. God had already told him that a talking donkey just saved his life (22:33). God had already put firm boundaries on what he was to say. Yet, God had to meet with him and put a message in his mouth (23:4-5). Even more, God had to do this AGAIN in 23:17! My daughter, Charis, is definitely different than I was as a child. There have been countless times she has seen me at work and joined me in picking up sticks or doing the dishes for her mom WITHOUT being asked. In those times it’s fun to bless her unexpectedly and see her appreciation! God would much rather have a relationship with us like that than a reluctant child in the mold of Balaam. What do people see in your face, your tone, and your quality of work on a daily basis?
Balaam’s Oracles
23 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2 So Balak did as Balaam directed, and they offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone. Maybe the Lord will meet with me. I will tell you whatever He reveals to me.” So he went to a barren hill. 4 God met with him and Balaam said to Him, “I have arranged seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.” 5 Then the Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.” 6 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab. Balaam’s First Oracle 7 Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak brought me from Aram; the king of Moab, from the eastern mountains: “Come, put a curse on Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel!”8 How can I curse someone God has not cursed? How can I denounce someone the Lord has not denounced? 9 I see them from the top of rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. There is a people living alone; it does not consider itself among the nations. 10 Who has counted the dust of Jacob or numbered the dust clouds of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright; let the end of my life be like theirs. 11 “What have you done to me?” Balak asked Balaam. “I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!” 12 He answered, “Shouldn’t I say exactly what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Oracle
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place where you can see them. You will only see the outskirts of their camp; you won’t see all of them. From there, put a curse on them for me.” 14 So Balak took him to Lookout Field on top of Pisgah, built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here by your burnt offering while I seek the Lord over there.” 16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth. Then He said, “Return to Balak and say what I tell you.” 17 So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the officials of Moab. Balak asked him, “What did the Lord say?” 18 Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say! 19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill? 20 I have indeed received a command to bless; since He has blessed, I cannot change it. 21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and there is rejoicing over the King among them. 22 God brought them out of Egypt; He is like the horns of a wild ox for them. 23 There is no magic curse against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said about Jacob and Israel, “What great things God has done!” 24 A people rise up like a lioness; They rouse themselves like a lion. They will not lie down until they devour the prey and drink the blood of the slain. 25 Then Balak told Balaam, “Don’t curse them and don’t bless them!” 26 But Balaam answered him, “Didn’t I tell you: Whatever the Lord says, I must do?”
Balaam’s Third Oracle
27 Again Balak said to Balaam, “Please come. I will take you to another place. Maybe it will be agreeable to God that you can put a curse on them for me there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. 29 Balaam told Balak, “Build me seven altars here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 30 So Balak did as Balaam said and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Jason Ricciardi
Have you ever been in a place where you were a reluctant participant? I think we can all look back and remember a time that our parents asked us to do chores and we REALLY didn’t want to. We did, however, respect the power they had to discipline us –my dad usually got me moving by whispering something about a spanking in my ear. So, we end up doing what they wanted...and it showed in every part of our being! You could see it in our faces, you could hear it in our whiny tone, and you could even see it in the quality of our work. I think this was like Balaam in Numbers 23. God had already told him that a talking donkey just saved his life (22:33). God had already put firm boundaries on what he was to say. Yet, God had to meet with him and put a message in his mouth (23:4-5). Even more, God had to do this AGAIN in 23:17! My daughter, Charis, is definitely different than I was as a child. There have been countless times she has seen me at work and joined me in picking up sticks or doing the dishes for her mom WITHOUT being asked. In those times it’s fun to bless her unexpectedly and see her appreciation! God would much rather have a relationship with us like that than a reluctant child in the mold of Balaam. What do people see in your face, your tone, and your quality of work on a daily basis?
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