Numbers 24:10 “And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.”

Found primarily in Numbers 22 to 24, Balaam is a prophet of note who pops up in the Bible at a time where the children of Israel, freshly delivered out of the land of Egypt, are passing through land belonging to a nation called the Moabites.

Israel is looking for their land, their inheritance from God… but it’s not in Moab! God had clearly told them that he had not given this particular land to them, and so Israel was just passing through as they journeyed to where God really did want them, the place God had for them.

Do you want what God has for you? Don’t settle for less! Often on our journey to where God has for us, with who God has for us… we can have little detours and temptations to turn aside from the way.

Just like with Israel, our unbelief and disobedience to God can put us in situations and circumstances and even a future that God did not intend for us. How many people get married to someone that wasn’t God’s inheritance for them, but what they took for themselves thinking they knew better.

The challenge of faith is trusting God knows better, and believing not just his promise, but in the character and goodness of he who made the promise… and they are great promises that he makes to all his dear children! Israel found out that Canaan was worth it, and the place God has for you will assuredly be worth it too!

… but back on track!

So at this time the children of Israel are in the land of Moab, ticking along… but unbeknowns to them, they’ve picked up an enemy! And enemies are never far away from us, children of God. If you think everyone is your friend and wants your best, you haven’t read much Bible or started following Christ yet! … but Christ has your back as he did them!

Israel had made an enemy called Balak, the king of Moab, who had taken a strong disliking to them, he felt threatened by them, (people always feel threatened if you are saved and serving God), and he wanted to destroy them, but he was also scared of them… and so he sends for Balaam, who is a soothsayer by trade. Balak’s going to try and use “God” to destroy Israel, how many people are only interested in a God who is at their service rather than them serving God!

And so Balak “hires” Balaam to “curse Israel”, gaining his services through making him an offer he cannot refuse! …If you have a selling point in your faith, be sure Satan will find it. Balaam’s allegiance he said was to God, but under scrutiny, we find his true allegiance was to money and fame, as is a common case. Most people are just the right price away from selling out Christ, what would your thirty pieces of silver be?

Anyway, Balak desperately wants Balaam to speak evil over Israel in the hope for their destruction. And this happens a lot more in life than we think. How many evil wishes have people had toward you, or you to them? It’s amazing how mean we all can be. And words do carry weight, and can weigh heavily upon us.

… But Balaam’s curses didn’t quite go like he or Balak hoped! Because everytime he tried to curse Israel, he blessed them instead!

Just like Balaks, we might also say “What’s going on here?” …Well, just the small fact that God had blessed Israel! And God had told Balaam so beforehand, making Balaam’s errand truly a fool’s errand. God had already told Balaam not to curse Israel because he had blessed them! And he’s not a liar! And he doesn’t do “yeah nah”. God had already told Balaam so! And if you read the Bible, you’ll find just a whole load of God already told you so! In life you’ll find that what God has to say isn’t waiting to be said, it’s just waiting to be read!

God had blessed Israel, and because of that, it doesn’t matter what angle these guys came at “their problem” with “yea, and he shall be blessed.”

I hope you seek God’s blessing upon your life. It’s all you will ever need. With God’s blessing we can face anything and everything life throws at us. A guy called Jacob in the Bible valued God’s blessing so very highly, and God loved him for it, and he pursued hard after it… although he had a lot to learn and understand about God on the way!

Maybe you’ve just got more to learn about God, we all do, but he might just be someone you find you don’t truly know like you think you do… maybe at all. If a righteous man like Job was perplexed by God’s behaviour, actions and character … yeah maybe we should just stick to what God has clearly revealed about himself.

And we know clearly from the Bible that as Christians, we are blessed in and through Jesus Christ. All the blessings of God are found in him. Every blessing you will ever receive from God is in Christ, through Christ, because of Christ, by Christ.

And it doesn’t mean we don’t have troubles and trials, no they are part of the Christian experience, God blesses in some unexpected ways! …but we assuredly know we have the ultimate victory no matter what “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Whatever Balaam tried didn’t work. Going contrary to God never does. And yes he was sneaky and did trip up Israel another way, through putting stumblingblocks in their path, and there’s a lot of stumblingblocks to faith being cast before the feet of many a Christian these days… but the enemy of our soul only has the power we give him, remember that… but we do have to walk wisely as David did when he had Saul hard on his case!

But take it to the bank dear reader – in Christ we are blessed forever, as he is forever, and whatever people may have spoken over our life, no matter what prophetic words, ill wishes and dire forecasts are hanging over our life… they are all washed clean away in the blood of Christ. So go free dear Christian because we are “altogether blessed”… and when it gets darker, never fear, it’s usually through the attempted cursings that they evermore come!

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