Numbers 23:3-11, “And
Balaam said to Balak, "Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go.
Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell
you." And he went to a bare height,
(4) and God met Balaam. And
Balaam said to him, "I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered
on each altar a bull and a ram." (5) And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth and
said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak." (6)
And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were
standing beside his burnt offering. (7) And Balaam took up his discourse and said,
"From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern
mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!' (8)
How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the
LORD has not denounced? (9) For from the top of the crags I see him, from
the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting
itself among the nations! (10) Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the
fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be
like his!" (11) And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you
done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing
but bless them."”
We have before us two of Balaam’s four oracles, and all of them would
have displeased Balak. Balaam had been summoned, hired by Balak to come and
curse the people of Israel, to ask a divine being to rescue them and defeat the
Israelites. However, God has given Balaam very clear instructions, he is only
to do what God tells him to do or say.
Thus when it is time for Balaam to speak with the gods on behalf of
Balak, God gives Balaam the words he should say to Balak. But the words are not
words of curse for Israel, rather they are words of blessing. Balak is shocked,
is in disbelief as to what he is hearing, as it is the very opposite of what he
had hired Balaam to do. Balaam was meant to bring relief from the problem, to
provide them with confidence and the knowledge of victory. But instead Balaam’s
words have only increased their fears of impending defeat and doom.
Why has Balak’s plan failed, why has God refused his request to curse
the people of Israel?
The reason is made clear in these two oracles:
(7) And Balaam took up his discourse and said,
"From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern
mountains: 'Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!' (8)
How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the
LORD has not denounced?
Numbers 23:18-23 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,
"Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: (19)
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should
change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will
he not fulfill it? (20) Behold, I received a command to bless: he has
blessed, and I cannot revoke it. (21) He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor
has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout
of a king is among them. (22) God brings them out of Egypt and is for them
like the horns of the wild ox. (23) For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no
divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, 'What has
God wrought!'
The reason is that God has chosen to bless the people of Israel. These
statements of God’s blessing upon Israel, point back to the days of Abraham,
when God entered into a covenant with him, a covenant whereby God promised to
prosper and bless the offspring of Abraham. All those who would bless Abraham
would be blessed, but those who cursed Abraham would be cursed. If God were to
curse Israel as Balak is requesting Him to, then it would require God to break
His covenant with the Israelites, which would mean that God was unfaithful and
a liar. God has promised to be their God, to bless them and be with them where
ever they went, and would remain true to this covenant.
What Balaam is saying to Balak is that God will not curse the nation of
Israel because He has chosen to bless, prosper, rescue and save them. What God
has decreed, promised, covenanted to do, He will do, He will not, He cannot
break His word, for He is not a liar.
For us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, this chapter is of great
encouragement to us, for that very same faithful, truthful God is our Saviour.
We can rest assured that He is faithful to all His promises. What He has
promised, He can and will perform. The encouragement and comfort go even
deeper. We live in a time when people are fearful and superstitious, thus it is
not uncommon to hear of a Christian who believes they have been cursed, that
they and their family are under a curse through the words and actions of
another, or due to something which happened in the past, even in previous
generations. But what Numbers 23 and 24 teach us, is that those who God has
redeemed and blessed are no longer cursed, nor can they be cursed. Christ broke
the curse through His death and resurrection. As a result, we cannot be held by
a curse spoken by man, or even by the evil one, for we are God’s people, His
very own possession. He has set us free from the curse of sin, death and the
devil, He has blessed us with every blessing in Christ. Those whom God has
blessed, are forever blessed. If this were not so, then God would be a liar, He
could not claim to be a God of truth, power or faithfulness, as He would be unable
to keep His promises and do what He says. Just as God would not curse the
people of Israel because His name was upon them, so God will not curse us, His
people who have been purchased by the blood of His Son.
Father of truth,
faithfulness and power, we thank and adore You, for You are the God of all
truth, the God who cannot, and will not lie. We praise You for Your
faithfulness to all Your promises, and rest in the knowledge that You will do
what You say. Thank You that You have the power to keep us in Your truth and
promises, and that we are free from the cruse and from being cursed. May we
rest in Your unfailing truth, faithfulness and power. Amen.
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