Father, bless us, and help us to remember your lessons and the promised blessing for all the earth.
The Children of Israel had almost completed their forty year tour of the Sinai Wilderness and now they were eventually moving north towards the promised land. God had done great things for them and while they grumbled and complained, the peoples around them had learned the lesson that God was all-powerful even if the Children of Israel hadn't.
They remembered the plagues in Egypt, how the Red Sea had swallowed Pharaoh and his chariots and how God had looked after over half a million people for forty years in a land that barely supported a flock of goats! The Canaanites and others didn't know of God's promise to Abraham so they didn't know why they had stayed in the area so long. They didn't know where they were going. But now as the people started to leave the wilderness, they could probably guess.
The Canaanites had tried attacking the Children of Israel already and had come to the conclusion that if God wasn't with them then they would win, but if he was, then nothing could stand in is way. It wasn't a gamble that they wanted to take. So they asked a wise man of the time, called Balaam.
Balaam knew that as long as the people followed God then he would protect them. He also knew that if the people could be tempted away from God then he would punish them (but that is a different story).
Balak was king of Moab, a land that the people were passing through. He was very afraid because he was out numbered. The land he was living in was not very productive, and as always, right throughout history the weak nations tend to get pushed to the outside by the stronger ones. He was worried that his country was to be over run. He was afraid to fight, but wanted something done to harm them. So he asked Balaam to come and curse them.
Balaam was a 'diviner'. He was supposed to be in contact with the spirit world, and like the witch at Endor at the time of Saul, probably got quite a shock when his hocus pocus actually worked for once.
There's a lot of people who have worked out that if you keep other people bemused with your words then they will think you are clever. I used to lecture in ecology, and my opening line to any class was “Ecology is just common sense made complicated. If someone says they are participating in a eutrophic activity they get paid more than someone who says throw some s**t on it!” There's quite a few who fall into the same category. It's just another way up making yourself look important because others don't understand. Balaam was the same.
But this time God had spoken to him, and he knew exactly what he could and couldn't do. He was not to go to curse the Children of Israel. In fact, at first, he wasn't to go at all. You've probably had the next part of this lesson before, about the donkey talking, so you can read the section if you have time (Numbers22:20-35). God had shown him that he was less intelligent than his ass!
But at least he now knew that God had a special purpose for these people. He knew God had already blessed them. So while Balak wanted him to curse them, he added his own blessing instead. After all, the angel might still be waiting for him on the way back!
Why did Balak want Balaam to curse the Children of Israel?
Why did God change his mind and send Balaam to Balak?
How did Balaam's plan eventually work, so some of the Children of Israel did disobey God? (The answer is in Revelation2:14)
Unfortunately, blessings do not seem a major part of modern day Christianity. Any ideas why not?
And how can we improve things?