The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Bless” it comes from the Hebrew Word “barak” which means “to bless.”
Balak wants curses, but every time Balaam opens his mouth, blessing comes out instead. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Numbers 23.
Balaam instructs Balak to build seven altars and prepare seven bullocks and seven rams for sacrifice, then goes to meet with God alone while Balak waits by his offering. God puts a message in Balaam’s mouth, and instead of the curse Balak expects, Balaam declares, “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?” describing Israel as a people who dwell alone, not reckoned among the nations, and expressing his own wish to die the death of the righteous.
Furious, Balak assumes a change of location might produce a different result and takes Balaam to another vantage point overlooking only part of the Israelite camp, hoping a smaller view might make cursing easier. Again Balaam can only speak what God gives him. “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent,” describing God’s unwavering commitment to bless Israel, declaring, “he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” The Hebrew word for this blessing is “barak.”
Balaam adds that no sorcery or divination will work against Israel, since it will be said of them, “What hath God wrought!” comparing the nation’s strength to a great lion that will not lie down until it has devoured its prey. Balak, deeply frustrated, tells Balaam that if he cannot curse them, he should at least stop blessing them altogether, but Balaam simply reminds him that he can only speak exactly what the Lord commands him to say.
Balak kept changing locations, hoping a different vantage point might change the outcome, but God’s blessing on Israel remained completely unmovable regardless of where Balaam stood. No amount of maneuvering or repositioning can reverse what God has already declared. His word, once spoken, simply cannot be undone by human effort.
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