Joshua 24:9-10 NKJV
“Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand.”
God’s righteousness and judgments have secured the blessing of His people in the face of so many odds. His standards are way high and He is all by Himself that all attempts to ‘dissuade’ His stand against His righteous judgements have failed, and will keep failing. King Balak of Moab once tried but his attempts fell flat (Num 22-24). Overtaken by the fear of the Israelites passing through his land during the Exodus, Balak called upon one Balaam and said, “…please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me…for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Num 22:6 NKJV). What a request!
Did King Balak know the God of Israel and all the dust He had stirred up in Egypt for the sake of Jacob’s descendants? Besides, whereas it was known of Balaam that “whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed”, who was Balaam, exactly? The Scripture gives us an insight: “So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the DIVINER’S FEE in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak” (Num 22:7 NKJV). Balaam was a diviner (sorcerer) who operated under a very different spirit from the Spirit of God. In fact, his ‘services’ were at a “fee”! Not all that sounds true and may have some ‘results’ is from or of God.
Years later, the LORD Himself would remind the Israelites of that event through Joshua and say, “Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose to make war against Israel, and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam; therefore he continued to bless you. So I delivered you out of his hand.” Hallelujah! Yes, God said, He “would not listen to Balaam”, the diviner. The LORD had long blessed His people through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He would not turn around to heed a paid sorcerer to curse those He had freely blessed! Oh, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has [forever] BLESSED us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST” (Eph 1:3 NKJV). Hallelujah!
Pst. Emmanuel