Week 11 Day 1 Cursed

Numbers 22-25

Three out of four chapters here deal with two men...Balak and Balaam. Balak was the king of Moab. He was a bit worried about the large group of Israelites camping nearby. So he sent messengers to a man named Balaam who lived down the road...or rather the river. The Euphrates to be exact. He offered big bucks if Balaam would put a curse rather than a blessing on the Israelites.

So Balak's leaders approached Balaam. They offered him money. Balaam tells them he needs to find out what God wants. (It looks so nice on the surface but some commentary I read says that Balaam was not really that tight with God and probably didn't intend to talk to Him at all...instead God approached him.) God tells Balaam to send the messengers home. So he did.

Well, Balak didn't take that news well. He sends MORE messengers and is ready to offer more money.

Again, Balaam insists he needs to hear what God says on the matter.

This time, God tells Balaam to go but to only say what He tells him to say.

This is the point I got a bit confused. The next day Balaam hopped on his donkey and headed down the road. God was not happy. He send a messenger to stand in front of the donkey. The donkey went off the road so it wouldn't run into the messenger. Balaam kept striking the donkey to get him to go. The donkey finally SPEAKS to Balaam. Can you imagine that scene?

I will admit. I was a bit confused about why God would tell Balaam to go then be angry when he does. I honestly don't know the answer. I just have to trust God had His reasons. I don't know if He was irritated that Balaam insisted on listening to the messengers though he had already been told no. Or whether we are missing some information. Either way, it all worked out.

Balaam did talk to Balak who kept taking him to different areas of his country to "curse" the Israelites. Each time, God gave Balaam the words to say, all a blessing for His children. Each time, Balak doesn't like the answer and takes Balaam to a different spot in hopes of a curse. None comes. Balak is irritated beyond words. The whole thing is kind of comical.

One part I particularly loved was that Balaam, speaking for God, told Balak that He found no wrong with His people, no fault. In some ways, I am scratching my head. These people were always doing dumb stuff. Lots of wrong stuff. But that isn't how God saw them, in spite of their grumbling and whining. It gives me hope for a very imperfect me. :)

The last chapter is just your typical "The Israelites forget about God for a while, do their own thing, and suffer the consequences" kind of chapter. I would elaborate but I must go to bed...

More later,
Reba

Tomorrow's reading: Numbers 26-27