Numbers – Page 3 – Be Still…

Numbers 26:1-65 – What a Big Family!

Read Numbers 26:1-65

All the people camped near Moab ready to enter the Promised Land were related. Their patriarch was Jacob, and each of his twelve sons are represented by descendants recorded here. A census is the best way to keep track of this huge family. You may recall at the beginning of the book of Numbers a census was taken to register the people of Israel coming out of Egypt. Since that time, as God declared, all but two of those people on the original roster have died. Joshua and Caleb are the exceptions, and how they will be used by God is yet to be seen. We can follow his story as the successor to Moses in the book of Joshua. The circle of life can be a beautiful thing.

God was getting the people ready for the final leg of their pilgrimage through the wilderness. The number of people in this moment would be memorialized for all time. How many people survived the journey? That was the question being answered by this registration process. How many men would there be to fight the battles ahead? As it turns out, there were fewer than previously counted. Continue reading “Numbers 26:1-65 – What a Big Family!”

Numbers 25:1-18 – Overly Protective

Read Numbers 25:1-18

Looking back at a very short relationship I had as a freshman in college, I can understand my parents being overly protective. I was being pursued by a young, very handsome man, from Iran. Not the most popular choice according to my parents. Two different cultures and so much more.

Today’s reading reveals another overly protective parent. Our loving Heavenly Father. Moab as a nation isn’t going to relent on its pursuit of Israel. The curse didn’t work, but they could entice God’s people away. That’s exactly what God was afraid of and what disappoints him the most. So many people died because of that anger. Continue reading “Numbers 25:1-18 – Overly Protective”

Numbers 24:10-25 – God’s Will

Read Numbers 24:10-25

After all of that, Balaam received no reward from the king. That promise of riches was taken away when Balaam didn’t deliver the curse Balak wanted. The reward we receive is for doing good and having faith and trust in our God. I wonder if God extended that grace and mercy to Balaam as well.

We may not always understand what God’s will is for our lives, but we can clearly see here that it was his intention to protect his people Israel and give them victory over the people who would stand in their way. Even Balaam, an outsider, realized that and was used by God to further God’s will. Continue reading “Numbers 24:10-25 – God’s Will”

Numbers 23:13-24:9 – To Bless or Curse

Read Numbers 23:13-24:9

Balak thought that taking Balaam to a new place would change the outcome and he’d get his curse on Israel. We learn in these next two oracles that God doesn’t change his mind. There may be instances in the Bible when God does change his intention, but that is generally at the pleading of one of his faithful ones. What we can say for certain is God is always faithful.

Were you surprised that God spoke directly to Balak in this second oracle? Balak was pressuring Balaam for a curse. Balaam stood his ground and said he could not go against God’s word to him. I can only imagine the pressure Balaam must have felt being on a strange mountaintop, with a king, having just hauled fourteen animals up the mountain to be sacrificed. It was quite the production, and for what Balak must have thought. Continue reading “Numbers 23:13-24:9 – To Bless or Curse”

Numbers 22:41-23:12 – Balaam’s First Oracle

Read Numbers 22:41-23:12

Balaam boldly proclaimed the LORD’s message, and Balak, the Moabite king was not pleased. I was impressed that Balaam did not cower and cave in under pressure knowing his words from God would not be popular. After all, in our last reading we’re told he refused to help the king, but here we see both men’s true colors.

I wonder what was going through Balaam’s mind when he saw the hoards of Israelites camped out below? Did he marvel at the sheer number of God’s people he’d been asked by Balak to curse? Was he afraid for his own life? Was he thinking of the riches he would receive in return for cursing these people? Whatever was happening from that high place, likely a shrine to the pagan god, Baal, Balaam chose to pay his respects to God with sacrifices as he waited for God’s response. Continue reading “Numbers 22:41-23:12 – Balaam’s First Oracle”