Tag: blessed by God

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”

December 15 🌟 God’s Favor (Isaiah 61:1-11)

Read Isaiah 61:1-11

A girl holding a cardboard sign that reads "BLESSED"

We may recall Jesus reciting the opening words of this passage in Luke 4. Jesus ends with these words before sitting down, “the time of the LORD’s favor has come.” Isaiah prophesied about the LORD’s favor, and then Jesus proclaims the words had been fulfilled that very day.

Certainly, we do see Jesus as the one appointed to bring good news to the poor. We think of Jesus’ earthly mission as a care ministry, bringing peace and wholeness to those he encounters. What do we see when we read these same words with our Advent eyes?

Continue reading “December 15 🌟 God’s Favor (Isaiah 61:1-11)”
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