Balaam’s First Oracle
“Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” So Balak did as Balaam had directed, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
“Stay here by your burnt offering while I am gone,” Balaam said to Balak. “Perhaps the LORD will meet with me. And whatever He reveals to me, I will tell you.”
So Balaam went off to a barren height, and God met with him. “I have set up seven altars,” Balaam said, “and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” Then the LORD put a message in Balaam’s mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and give him this message.” So he returned to Balak, who was standing there beside his burnt offering, with all the princes of Moab.
And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; Come and denounce Israel!’ How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced? For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”
Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and behold, you have only blessed them!” But Balaam replied, “Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
Balaam’s Second Oracle
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—not all of them. And from there, curse them for me.”
So Balak took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, where he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”
And the LORD met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth, saying, “Return to Balak and speak what I tell you.” So he returned to Balak, who was standing there by his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. “What did the LORD say?” Balak asked. Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it. He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel.
The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox. For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’ Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.”
Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” But Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you that whatever the LORD says, I must do?” “Please come,” said Balak, “I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you curse them for me from there.” And Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the wasteland. “Build me seven altars here,” Balaam said, “and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.” So Balak did as Balaam had instructed, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar.”
Balak is really frustrated! Here he has brought Balaam at great expense to curse the Israelites, but all Balaam will do is to bless them. When God gives Balaam the first message, Balak is horrified. “How can I curse what God has not cursed? How can I denounce what the LORD has not denounced? For I see them from atop the rocky cliffs, and I watch them from the hills. Behold, a people dwelling apart, not reckoning themselves among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous; let my end be like theirs!”
Balak sends Balaam to another location where he can only see part of the Israelite camp in hopes that Balaam will now be able to curse them. But God’s next message is a harsh rebuke. ““Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? I have indeed
received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it. He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt with strength like a wild ox. For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What great things God has done!’ Behold, the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion, not resting until they devour their prey and drink the blood of the slain.” At this point, Balak’s reaction is,”Aargh!” As the chapter closes, Balak is moving Balaam into yet a third area, despite God’s rebukes. Balak is a slow learner.
APPLICATION: One popular chorus here in Ghana says, “Who has the final say? Jesus Christ has the final say!” God has the final say, no matter what we might think. Balaam would be happy to satisfy Balak’s demands were it not for God having confronted him on the way to Moab. But God insists on Balaam blessing Israel abundantly. It’s likely that Balak has already attempted other kinds of witchcraft without any success. But nothing is working.
Witchcraft is real and we fool ourselves if we ignore that reality. But God is also real and His power to protect is still very real. How can we qualify for God’s protection? Obedience to God’s will is the key. When we commit our lives to God and persistently seek His will for our lives, we qualify for His protection. But when we are living and acting in rebellion against God, we have removed ourselves from God’s protection. Rebellion can take several different forms, including rebellion against those in authority above us. 1 Samuel 15:23 tells us that “rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.”
If we don’t want to become a target of evil, we must be sure to obey God. We served faithfully in one location, only to be refused the opportunity to return there, despite the fact that the local people really wanted us to come back and take up the work. We had to relocate and move all our belongings that we had stored in a container in the village to another location several hundred miles away. We worked in two different places for several years until being invited to return to that remote village. (The parent group couldn’t find any other doctor willing to work there.) God showed us that the only way we would survive would be to repudiate all traces of bitterness over the way we had been treated. For months we quoted Ephesians 4:31-32 several times a day. “ Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” This village was a satanic stronghold. Had we failed to reject bitterness, we could have fallen sick or died. Only God and His Word protected us.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to obey You at all times so that You can guard and keep us. Thank You for Your powerful protection. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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