Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. (Numbers 23:5, 8)
When Balaam arrived, Balak was obviously annoyed at the length of time it took for Balaam to get there — he would have good reason to be even more annoyed as things developed. Altars were built and animals were sacrificed but, in the end, Balak’s goal was not achieved; Balaam was bound to speak a blessing over Israel and not a curse — God made sure of that. As he looked out over the camp of Israel, he began to speak in a parable saying, “How can I curse whom God has not cursed?”
The Babylonian seer is compelled to see Israel as God sees her — a “set apart” (holy) nation whose destiny is one of prosperity and blessing. Balaam even indicated that he wished to be as Israel in that he said, “And let my end be like his!” (Numbers 23:10). Israel doesn’t conspire against others, so why should Israel be cursed? And even if or when Israel was deserving of a curse, God would not allow others to do it because, as Isaac said of Jacob, “He is blessed.” And so then, here is the point we are making today — no one, including the Adversary, can curse what God has blessed.
I know that there are some who believe we have to be careful of those who try to put curses on us as followers of Messiah; careful perhaps but we need not fear them. Avoid them? Yes. Fear them? No! Again, no power in the earth or in hell has the authority to override the blessing that God has placed on His people. We would do well to remember that in the evil days ahead. And as we do, remember this as well: it is critical that we walk upright before God thus ensuring that the blessing of the Almighty continues to cover us from the attacks of our enemy. Balaam could not curse what God had blessed; it was true then and it remains true today.
Blessings and Shalom,
Bill
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