Blessings not Curses

Blessings not Curses

Words of Faith 7-16-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Numbers 22

    [39] Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. [40] Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him. [41] The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he saw part of the people.

    [23:1]  Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." [2] Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

    [3] Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.

    [4] God met with him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."

    [5] The Lord put a message in Balaam's mouth and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this message."

    [6] So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab. [7] Then Balaam uttered his oracle:

    "Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. 'Come,' he said, 'curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.'  [8] How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?  [9] From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. [10] Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs!"

    [11] Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!"

    [12] He answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?"

     What a shocker for Balak, the king!  He had hired the best "spiritual mercenary" money could buy, the renowned sorcerer Balaam.  He got the various princes together to hear Balaam pronounce a great curse upon the Israelites.  They made offerings at Bamoth Baal, a place of pagan Baal worship.  It sounded like they were working up a really great curse to lay on the Israelites.  But zowie!  Here comes the blessing!

      The story of Balaam is ultimately about the folly of attempting to destroy the eternal blessing of the people of the Lord. Mistake. Big mistake.  It is impossible to destroy the blessing that God intends for His people no matter how elaborate the incantation or how pricey the hired gun.

       Do we gather from this that Balaam was now a true believer and follower of Yahweh, the one true God?  It really doesn’t appear that way.  Balaam continued to make sacrifices to the false god Baal.  But he did realize that he was part of something bigger than himself.  Balaam did come to understand that to resist the words of the Lord would be a mistake.

       We can conclude from this story that God can use anyone He chooses at any time. He can speak through a donkey or a pagan priest if He desires.  That is up to God.  God can pronounce blessing and carry it out through whomever He chooses.  This is the sovereign reign of the Lord God.

       There is that word, sovereign.  Sovereignty is one of those words we sometimes fear.  It means that God is in charge no matter what.  We are afraid of this, at times, because we want to be in charge.  (This is our sin nature resisting God.) 

       The truth is that we make a very poor god, mainly because we are not equipped for the role. There is actually great comfort in the sovereignty of God if we will surrender to Him and the fact that He is very well equipped to be God.  He is our creator.  He knows everything about us.  He knows all our needs.  He knows all our weaknesses.  He has the power to carry out His intentions.  He knows the blessings we require as well as the challenges that are needed.

       God is in charge.  He is there to provide for, bless, and challenge us.  He will do so using any and every means. He can use a foreign king or power.  He can use a pagan priest or spiritual hireling. He can use a circumstance that seems unbearable.

      The one sure thing is that the intention of the Lord cannot be thwarted.  "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).

       Father God, I surrender to You.  I surrender to Your will and desire for my life.  I give thanks that You are watching over me.  I rejoice in knowing that you have me in Your hand and have a plan for me.  In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2004, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.