A different twist today - Balaam and Balak (Balac) Numbers 22-24

 Good morning all. God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!

  Today I am taking a little different turn and talk to you about Balaam and Balak (or Balac).  This comes from Numbers 22 to 24.  Who was Balaam?  Balaam was a gifted and eloquent prophet but not a Jew or Hebrew.   Okay, so who was Balac?  Balac was the king of Moab.

  So, why the mystery of these two.  Well, the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan River before crossing into the promised land.  As you read in Numbers Balac was scared of the Israelites and wanted the prophet Balaam to curse them.

  Let's back up slightly and speak of their names.  Balaam, in Hebrew means "destroyer of people'.  Balac or Balak in Hebrew means "devastator", "empty", or "wasting".

   So what is happening here?  Balak has hired Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites so he could defeat them and fear them no more.  At first Balaam did not do this, and if you read the story this is where Balaam's donkey sees the angel of the LORD and then talks to Balaam.  The reason for this interaction was because Balaam had angered God and went against what God had told him.

  In Numbers 233-24:9 Balaam obeys God and blesses Israel.  However, in the end Balaam told Balak, King of Moab, how to get to the Isarelites.  Okay, and how was this?  By getting them to commit sin through sex with foreign women and to worship idols. 

  Unfortunately, the Israelites fell into these traps and God turned loose a deadly plague upon them as a consequence (Numbers 31:16).  Take a moment to realize what the Isarelites did!!

    They were following God, then, the lure of sin came forth and they COMPROMISED THEIR BELIEFS.  This is what we have to be aware of and fight against---compromising what God wants us to do.  The Israelites were weakened by sin;  look around my friend---in what ways are you weakened by sin?  Envy, lust, sexual immorality, thievery, lying, idol worship, or what?

  Here is Numbers 22-24 audio if you care to listen.  Thank you for reading and I do hope this made sense to you today. Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny