Saturday, February 11, 012

Today in Numbers 22-24, King Balak of Moab sees the "hordes" of Israelites approaching his land and summons Balaam, a soothsayer, to place a curse on the Israelites.  You could infer that a king wanting to place a curse would summon the best his money could buy.  Balaam first refuses to go, but is enticed by the ever-increasing seduction of power and money offered.  In fact, God does use Balaam.  God gives Balaam directions which he does not follow.  Things start to unravel for him.  If the talking donkey didn't convince him, you would think the angel in the road might have.  Eventually, he meets with Balak, but instead of a curse on the Israelites, God three times gives him blessings to utter.  When a curse is finally given, the curse is on Balak's kingdom, not on the Israelites.  Even unwilling participants do God's will.  Love that story!