A story is told in Numbers 22-23 about the King of Moab named Baalam. During his time as King, the Israelites travelled from Egypt towards the promised land. When they came near Moab, Baalam became nervous because they had overthrown every Kingdom before them. Baalam was worried that now Isreal would overtake him and possess his kingdom. He sent to call Balak who was a Diviner (Medium) to pronounce a curse on the children of Isreal. Interestingly, the scripture says that Balak prayed unto the Lord for direction before going to meet the King. “God said to Balak, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed”” (Numbers 22:12).
The King did not take no for an answer but sent another company of men to summon Balak. This time, God appeared to him and told him to go with them. On the way to meet the King, Balak’s donkey saw an angel and refused to continue and eventually spoke to Balak when he struck her. The angel told Balak to go with the men but to only speak what the Lord allowed him to say. When Balak arrived, Baalam took him to a place where he could see the Israelites. On three separate occasions Balak asked for seven altars to be built to offer sacrifices to the Lord. On each occasion, Balak would listen to hear God speak and then declare what he had to say.
Three times Balak pronounced a blessing over the children of Isreal as the Lord gave him utterance. “How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced” (Numbers 23:8)? Balaam was angry with Balak because he did the opposite of what he asked. He blessed the people three times and did not curse them once. Balak reminded Balaam that he did make it clear to his men that no amount of money would cause him to speak contrary to what God had said. Balak had no power to pronounce a curse on those whom God had blessed.
We are the seed of Abraham and the blessings of God are conferred to us. “In thee all families of the earth will be blessed.” No one will be able to stand against us all the days of our lives. The blessings of God makes us rich and adds no sorrow. Every curse directed towards us returns to its sender double fold and only the blessings of the Lord rests upon us. The blessings of God nullifies the curse and anyone who tries to curse us, invokes a curse on themselves.
A.P.-Y.
Devotional Inspirations 