I guess it would be hard to leave the story of Balaam out of our journey with the Israelites. (Numbers 22:1-24:25). The Israelites had wandered for 40 years and are on the edge of the promised land. They camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan River. The king of Moab saw the Israelites and was afraid they would move in and take over.
So, King Balak hired a pagan prophet named Balaam to curse the Israelites. But God spoke to Balaam. God warned Balaam to not curse the Israelites because God had blessed them. Initially, Balaam listened to God, but it’s not for nothing that he developed the nickname “the prophet for a profit.” Balaam traveled to talk to Balak about the situation. He hoped to get a greater reward from Balak. So, God sent the Angel of the Lord with a sword to enforce Balaam’s obedience. Three times the angel stood in the way, and three times the donkey stopped. First the donkey went off the road. Then she ran into a wall. Finally, she lay down on the ground. Balaam didn’t understand why the donkey was stopping. He hit the donkey when she stopped, so God gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that you have beaten me three times?”(22:28) Then God opened Balaam’s eyes to the Angel.
Balaam realized his sin and said to God, “If you want me to go back home, I will.” God gave Balaam permission to continue as long as he spoke only the words God gave him. Balaam obeyed God; he spoke in four clear messages, insisting that God would bless the Israelites. Balaam’s fourth message was special because he said that one day the Lord would be born to the people of Israel. It was a special promise that went like this: “I see him, but not now; I perceive him, but not near. A star will come from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel.” (24:17) After Balaam had said these things, he went home. Fourteen hundred years after Balaam announced Jesus’ birth, wise men followed a star to the place where Jesus was born. What an ending for us!
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