Num
24:9b-11, 25-25:3 (NIV) … "May those who bless you be blessed and those
who curse you be cursed!"
10 Then
Balak's anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to
him, "I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these
three times. 11 Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you
handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded."
. . .
25 Then
Balaam got up and returned home and Balak went his own way.
25:1
While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual
immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their
gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel joined in
worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the Lord's anger burned against them.
NOTE: From the
passage we learn that Balaam blessed Israel each of the three times that Balak
had asked for a curse. In one of the blessings we read verse 24:9b of a
blessing to those who bless Israel and a curse to those who curse Israel. I
believe that prophecy is still valid today. Balak says that Balaam will not get
the reward he had promised him, and then Balaam gives one more prophecy and
apparently leaves. But there is more to the story than what we are told. Jesus
himself told John in Revelation, "Nevertheless, I have a few things
against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who
taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols
and by committing sexual immorality (Rev 2:14)." Apparently, Balaam did
get his reward. The very next verses of Numbers tell a story that seems to
appear out of nowhere, a story of sexual indulgence and forsaking God for Baal.
Numbers does not give us any insight on what happened, but Jesus's words in Revelation
tell us the "rest of the story." Balaam's sin was to offer to Balak
an idea hatched in the mind of Satan and exploited against believers throughout time: sexual immorality and the
worship of things (pleasure) other than God. It is a common story that Paul
explains in Rom 1:18 and the following verses, that time and again has lead
people from truth. People loved their sin more than God. It is the single
greatest issue of our culture and while most people will deny it, it is what is
destroying the United States. God have mercy on us that we might recognize our
sin before it is too late.
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