"We see, in many a land, the proudest dynasties and tyrannies still crushing, with their mountain weight, every free motion of the Consciences and hearts of men. We see, on the other hand, the truest heroism for the right and the greatest devotion to the Truth in hearts that God has touched. We have a work to do, as great as our forefathers and, perhaps, far greater. The enemies of Truth are more numerous and subtle than ever and the needs of the Church are greater than at any preceding time. If we are not debtors to the present, then men were never debtors to their age and their time. Brethren, we are debtors to the hour in which we live. Oh, that we might stamp it with Truth and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded." -- C.H. Spurgeon . . . "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:31, 32 . . . . .

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Wednesday, June 29, 2022

NUMBERS – From SINAI To The PROMISED LAND: Chapters 22

Contributing commentaries by pastors Sonny Islas, Albert Lopez and James Fire

NUMBERS 22: “A TALKING DONKEY & A PAGAN PROPHET” – by Sonny Islas

For the full message, watch it on the Facebook video!

INTRODUCTION: At this point in the narrative, Israel is closer to Canaan (Israel) than ever before. Number 22 consists of the King of Moab named Balak and a false prophet named Balaam. King Balak is terrified because of Israel’s nearness, so he hires this pagan prophet Balaam to curse Israel – BUT GOD, steps into the picture and causes Balak’s wishes to utterly backfire.

Let’s start by reading:

NUMBERS 22:1-4
1 Then the children of Israel moved and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.” 4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time
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MOAB: The Moabites were descendants of Lot (Abraham’s nephew). Moab was Lot’s first born by his firstborn daughter. This was incest as Lot’s daughter got him drunk in order to lay with him to “preserve his name” due to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

What Moab didn’t know was that God wasn’t planning on harming Moab at this point. DEUTERONOMY 2:9 says,
Then the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab, nor contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession.

Balak was aware of what Israel did to the Amorites in chapter 21 (beat them down and took their land) and thought that he was next.

King Balak was so afraid that he called for backup by looking to the elders (leaders) of Midian. By the way, the Midianites were descendants of Abraham through Keturah (GEN 25:1-4).

NUMBERS 22:5-6
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed
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TOO MIGHTY FOR ME: King Balak was so desperate that not only did he team up with the Midianites, but he’s also looking to hire a popular sorcerer (24:1/wizard/magician) named Balaam. King Balak knew that physical war won’t work, they needed demonic help through witchcraft and curses.

FOR I KNOW: Balaam must have been well known for placing curses on people – curses that actually work. Balaam was a successful sorcerer.

NUMBERS 22:7-8
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam
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Both the leaders of Moab and Midian came to Balaam “with the diviner’s fee,” so there was a set amount of money, a specific cost when it came to hiring pagan prophets, or medium’s like this here Balaam. This shows us that paying pagan prophets to pronounce curses on your enemies was a common practice. Balaam was no stranger to making big bucks for his wicked, even demonic business.

AS THE LORD SPEAKS TO ME: It may seem a bit confusing that Balaam sought the LORD (Yahweh), the One true God for an answer, but sorcerer’s at this time had no problem calling on any god and Balaam knew that the God of Israel was Yahweh, so to Yahweh he called and because Yahweh was for the protection of His people, he answered.

NUMBERS 24:1 tells us that Balaam “sought to use sorcery” even before calling on the LORD (Yahweh).

NUMBERS 22:9-12
Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed
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THEN GOD CAME TO BALAAM: Here we see that God made the first move. I don’t think that Balaam had the chance to call on Yahweh like he usually called on other gods and evil spirits. God came to Balaam because again, Yahweh is the King of Israel. And as King, He comes to defend and protect His people from any form of attack – whether it comes in the form of swords or sorcery.

The LORD answers, YOU SHALL CURSE THE PEOPLE FOR THEY ARE BLESSED: King Balak and Balaam were the ones on the verge of being cursed by God because, God tells Abraham,
I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you;… (GEN 12:3a).

By the way, this shows us that we as God’s children, as Jesus’ disciples, cannot be cursed by witchcraft. No one can cast spells on us, because we are blessed by God – meaning that He is our impenetrable shield.

The New Testament makes it very clear that we are utterly safe and sound in the LORD’s love and eternal salvation.
ROMANS 8:31-37
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us
.
NUMBERS 22:13-20
13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.” 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more [a]honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” 18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do
.

King Balak doubled down on his efforts – he sent better men and a blank check – “I’ll do whatever you say to me.”

I think that Balaam played the part of a true servant of God because instead of holding his ground by saying, Yahweh said no – so, it’s no, period; Balaam no doubt thought about the offer and said “well let me double check with God.

2 PETER 2:5 says,
Balaam [the son] of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

NUMBERS 22:22-41
22 Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!" 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?" And he said, "No."

31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 "The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live." 34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back." 35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?" 38 And Balaam said to Balak, "Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak." 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. 41 So it was the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people
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In closing, I’m going to read off a few other verses that speak of Balaam:

DEUTERONOMY 23:5
Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the LORD thy God loved thee.

JOSHUA 13:22
The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the [a]soothsayer, among those who were killed by them.

JOSHUA 24:10
But I would not hearken unto Balaam; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.

NEHEMIAH 13:2
Because they met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them, that he should curse them: howbeit our God turned the curse into a blessing.

MICAH 6:5
O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD.

2 PETER 2:15,16
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.

JUDE 1:11
Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core
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Balaam was one of the original prosperity preachers rather like Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar, Benny Hinn, Jesse Duplantis, Joel Osteen, TD Jakes, Cash Luna, Guillermo Maldonado and many others

REVELATION 2:14 (Re: The Compromising church – Pergamos)
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

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