Numbers 23
(1) Balaam and Balak Offer Sacrifices
Then Balaam told King Balak,
“Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
King Balak did so, and the two men offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam told the king,
“Stay here next to your roasted offering, while I go somewhere else and see if the Existing One comes to meet me. If He does, I’ll let you know whatever He shows me.”
So Balaam went to a hill that didn’t have anyone else around.
(4) Balam’s 1st Blessing for Israel
Sure enough, God did end up meeting Balaam there. Balaam told God,
“I set up the seven altars and offered You a bull and a ram on each one.”
Then the Existing One gave Balaam a word and told him,
“Go back to Balak and share the word with him.”
So he went back and found King Balak standing next to his roasted offering with all of Moab’s leaders. He recited his poem, saying,
“Balak brought me here from Aram. He is the king of Moab from the east mountains. He told me to curse Jacob for him and denounce Israel. But how can I curse someone if God hasn’t cursed them? How can I denounce someone if the Existing One hasn’t denounced them? As I look at Israel from these mountain tops and hills, I see a population who settles down securely and will be thought of as being on another level from other countries. Who could ever count all of Jacob’s descendants? There’s as many of them as there are dust particles! Who could even count one fourth of them? I hope I die the death of an upright person, because I want my demise to be like theirs!”
(11) Balaam’s 2nd Blessing for Israel
Then King Balak told Balaam,
“What are you doing?? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but here you are blessing them!”
Balaam said,
“I need to make sure I only say whatever the Existing One tells me to, don’t I?”
King Balak said,
“Please come with me to another area where you can see them from a different angle. Then you can curse them from there.”
So they went to the field of Zophim [which means “watchers”] at the top of Pisgah [which means “cleft”], where they built seven altars and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one. Then Balaam told the king,
“Stay here next to your roasted offering while I go over there and meet with the Existing One.”
The Existing One met Balaam, placed a word in his mouth, and said,
“Go back to Balak and tell him the word.”
So he went back and found King Balak standing next to his roasted offering with Moab’s leaders. The king asked,
“What did the Existing One say?”
So Balaam recited his poem and said,
“Get up and listen, Balak. Open your ears to what I have to say, Zippor’s son.
“God isn’t a man who lies. He isn’t a descendant of Adam who has regrets. If He says something, He will do it—don’t you think? If He declares something, won’t He carry out His word?
“Look—God told me to bless. When He blesses something, I can’t go back on that. He doesn’t see anything wrong with Jacob, or any trouble in Israel. Israel’s God, the Existing One, is with them, and the shout of a king is with them.
“God brought them away from Egypt. He’s like the horns of a wild bull for them. There aren’t any negative enchantments to put on Jacob. There aren’t any spells God wants to put on Israel.
“When the right time comes, someone will tell Jacob/Israel what God has done. It will be said,
‘Look! A people group rises like a lion, and they’ll be just like a lion who stands up and doesn’t lie back down until it has devoured its prey and licks the blood of the victim.’”
King Balak said,
“Okay, fine: don’t put any curse on them—but don’t put any blessings on them either!”
Balaam responded,
“Didn’t I just tell you that I have to do whatever the Existing One says?”
(27) Balak’s 3rd Request to Curse Israel
Balak said,
“Come on. Let’s go to another place. Maybe God will find it agreeable for you to curse them for me from there.”
So they went to Peor [“cleft”], which overlooks the desert. Balaam told the king,
“Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”
Balaam did so and offered a Bull and a ram on each altar.
