King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Tuesday, March 05, 2024
Chapters: Numbers Chapters 22-24
Message: From Cursed to Blessed
Hello My Friend,
Yesterday I talked about how my husband and I were late getting to church Sunday night and knowing whether or not it was a warning from God or the devil discouraging us and how it pointed out toward being the devil. Well, that was probably not the case, it turns out that it may just have been a warning from God. Thankfully, it only cost my husband a tank of gas to realize that while it was not necessarily the church that was the problem, it was everything else that we were led to believe. So, where do you go when you discover that what you thought was true turned out to be a lie? You go right to God. God, will always lead His blessed away from danger, even if they take a detour every now and then.
[2 Peter 2:9-12 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;]
It is fitting that this would happen at this moment because it lines up with what we are reading today. As we continue in the reading of Numbers, we learn that the people in the land of Canaan and surrounding it were well aware of the Israelites being close by and that actually terrified them. While camped along the plains of Moab, Balak, the king of Moab, feared for his nation so he aligned himself with the Midianites in an attempt to not attack the Israelites, but curse them.
[Numbers 22:3–6 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. 4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me: 6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.]
[curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me:] God, may have been angry with the Israelites who were causing the judgments through their rebellion and disrespect for God, but they were still His people as there were many believers among them. Balak, decided that the only option to defeat them was for a curse to be put upon them, and this fool, Balaam, was all too eager to help.
[Numbers 22:7-12 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak. 8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. 9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? 10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, 11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out. 12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.]
[departed with the rewards of divination in their hand;] Whoever went to consult with a prophet would take with them a present, as this is how they got paid. In this case, these gifts were used to cast spells on people, and even though Balaam knew God, his love for money overthrew his faithfulness to God. Jesus said this, [Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.]
The greatest sin of every church that has turned away from the truth of God’s Word is their greed for money. Sadly, many have turned the cheek on what truth is for the sake of fame and fortune, but in the end they will be the ones who will answer to God. As for the world. they know how blessed God’s people are, which is why they do their best to try to drive them out and curse them. While God does chasten His people, no one can curse His people for they belong to Him. So, here is Balaam, being summoned again by Balak to come to him, this time he makes it more appealing by sending his own sons and giving him an offer that he could not refuse.
[Numbers 22:15-18,20 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: 17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people. 18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.]
[go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee,] Balaam, had the nerve to call God his God when here he is trying to curse Israel for the sake of being rich and famous. Well, he did have enough sense to know that he cannot do anything to anyone without God’s permission, but was still went with them. Now, even though God is telling him that he can go with them if they called for him, He knew that it was for ill intentions on the Israelites, which was why He got angry with him when he went with them. God, was actually attempting to stop Balaam from following them by using his donkey.
[Numbers 22:22-23,26-28 And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff. 28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?]
[And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass,] The angel of the LORD is none other than Jesus Himself, and even though God had to deal with the Israelites that did not keep Him from protecting them. Jesus, is more than just our Saviour from death and hell, He is also our Saviour from the curse of sin, the curse of the world and the curse of Satan himself. Jesus, is in a sense an angel of mercy because He attempts to keep us from sinning, which is what was going on here with the donkey, [1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.]
I do not know about you, but if I heard a donkey uttering its sounds and could understand it then I would not be arguing with it, I would be trying to figure out why I can understand it. Well, Balaam, did not even stop to think about that, but got the shock of his life when he discovered why she was so spooked to begin with.
[Numbers 22:31-35 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive. 34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. 35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.]
[because thy way is perverse before me:] You see, God, knew that Balaam had ill intentions for meeting up with Balak, which was why He tried to stop him. Those whom have been saved from the curse of death upon their soul are sent out into the world to warn the lost of the curse of sin, they are not sent out to curse other Christians. While they cannot curse those who are saved, sadly many do in fact have ill intentions toward their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? That filthy lucre. Nevertheless, Jesus, will forever protect us, [Titus 1:10-11 For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: 11 Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.]
Why Balaam was even able to speak directly to God is beyond comprehension, but He knew where Balaam’s heart truly lied, and it was not to serve Him. Nevertheless, God, allowed him to meet up with Balak, but only to speak what He told him to say, and needless to say Balak was not very hospitable.
[Numbers 22:37-41 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour? 38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. 39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjathhuzoth. 40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. 41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.]
[and brought him up into the high places of Baal,] This reminds me of when the devil tempted Jesus, [Matthew 4:8-10 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. 10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.]
As you will notice, Satan, is good at mimicking God, even when it comes to the sacrifices and offerings offered up to God. He does this so that it might appear that God is with them, but as you will also notice the way that the offerings are presented it is not as God commands. Balaam, told Balak to set up seven altars and offer up seven oxen and seven rams upon each of them, and when he does that stand by the offering and wait for an answer.
[Numbers 23:3,5,7-10 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place. 5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. 7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!]
[Who can count the dust of Jacob,] The numberless people of Jacob (Israel), who according to God’s promise, are now become as the dust of the earth. That also includes all of us who are blessed with the same salvation through our faith in Christ. How could Balaam be expected to curse the blessed of the Lord? God’s people are truly a distinct from others, His peculiar people, separated from all other nations, as in religion and laws, therefore, Satan’s enchantments have no power to curse them, [1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:]
[and let my last end be like his!] What is the last end of the righteous? Eternal life with Jesus Christ. Since God was present with His people and sanctified them with the righteousness which He desires, it was a privilege to belong to this peculiar people and to share also in the final blessing of eternal life which all desire, [John 10:27-28 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.]
Well, Balak, saw that instead of being cursed, they were blessed, he thought perhaps if they went away from the camp and only saw the one forth of them that he could offer the same offerings and then they will be cursed. He tries a second time, this time taking Balaam to the to the top of Pisgah.
[Numbers 23:14,17,19-21 And 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. 17 And 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? 19 God 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? 20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. 21 He 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.]
[He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,] Do you know what God is saying here? When you stop to think about the way Israel has, and still provokes God over and over again, you have to wonder why He protects them and still keeps them. It is a little something that we like to call grace and I do not care what era of time we are born into, God’s grace is the only thing going for any of us. Well, we Christians are really no different than Israel, we provoke God just as much as them, and yet, He still protects and keeps us just the same. God, actually answers that question, [Leviticus 26:45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.]
It is truly only by the grace of God, through our faith in Christ that we are saved. Let me tell you, God deals with His people His way, and no one is going to tell Him how to handle them. Praise God! And once again Balak attempts to have Balaam curse them, he took him to another area, but this time Balaam comes to some sense when he finally realizes that enchantments were not going to work.
[Numbers 24:1-7 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! 6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.]
[and his king shall be higher than Agag,] This is a prophecy of the first king of Israel, Saul, and of his conquering Agag, king of Amalek, [1 Samuel 15:7-8 And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.] However, there is a much bigger kingdom to be recognized here, one in which Christ will reign as KING. Watch. as God gives Balaam this incredible vision.
[Numbers 24:16-20 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. 19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. 20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.]
[there shall come a Star out of Jacob,] And this is the one who broke the curse of death for all who open their eyes to the truth. Christ Himself is this Star, and He will save us from the curse as long as we believe in His perfect, sinless death on the cross, that He was buried in a tomb, and three days later arose from the dead, [Galatians 3:13-14 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Numbers 22:32-33 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me: 33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for giving us the power to break the curse of death and hell too, when we called on You as our Saviour, You instantly broke that curse, and anointed us with Your blood. Now, no one can touch us, not even Satan, but that does not stop him from tempting us. Lord, lead us and guide us, put Your hedge of protection around us and shield us from all his evil tactics. Help us to keep our eyes on You so that we do not fall into his temptations, give us Your strength to walk away from all evil, and even know when getting near it. And give us Your mercy and grace to suffice the day, and see us through. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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