Bible Lessons

From: Messages of God's Love: 1924

Narrator: Chris Genthree

Duration: 2min

Numbers 23:13-30¹³And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. ¹⁴And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. ¹⁵And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. ¹⁶And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. ¹⁷And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken? ¹⁸And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: ¹⁹God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? ²⁰Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. ²¹He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. ²²God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. ²³Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! ²⁴Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. ²⁵And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. ²⁶But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do? ²⁷And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. ²⁸And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. ²⁹And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. ³⁰And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. (Numbers 23:13‑30).

PERHAPS, thought Balak, who did not have God in his mind at all, if Balaam goes to some other place he can curse the children of Israel as I want him to do. So he takes him to another height, where only a part of the people can be seen. Again seven altars are built, and cattle and sheep are slaughtered on them,’ as at the first place to which Balaam was taken by Balak.

Balaam, saying, “Stand here by thy burnt offering while I meet yonder,” went away to seek an enchantment (chapter 24, verse 1) —not to meet God, for the words, “the Lord,” in italics in the fifteenth verse should be left out. But God met him again, and gave him what he was to say to Balak, when he should get up to make his speech against the people of Israel. Wonderful words these were that Balaam was used to tell, speaking of God’s purposes and His interest in the people He had formed for Himself, but telling too of Balaam’s bad character, and the coming judgment of God’s enemies.

Man might tell lies, but God would not. He would not, like men, say one thing and do another. He had not seen iniquity in Jacob or perverseness in Israel. God had justified them, and Satan had no power to speak against them. Enchantments and divinations were without power against the people of God, and in a day close at hand, they would drive out their enemies before them. This and more, Balaam told Balak, who of course was very displeased. Yet he proposed to have Balaam try again to curse the people.

ML 04/20/1924

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