I’m tired, so I’ll cut to the chase: Balaam makes a third prophecy, and this time, Balak actually sends him home, for God has him bless Israel three times even though he was trying to curse them ā Balak actually said in Numbers 23:27, “Maybe God will be happy to let you curse them for me from over there” (VOICE). Then Balak claimed he had promised Balaam a reward and said God withheld it from him! This shows the pattern and mindset of an abusive head honcho, proving that those who do this will never be forgiven, even though Jesus had died for them, too, hence why He commands us to love our enemies (see Matthew 5:44-48). This passage is found in page 94 of the NKJV Bible I have for this four-translation project, page 120 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament), page 191 of my VOICE copy, and page 194 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy.
The fact that Balaam mentioned God’s splendour being like a wild bull in Numbers 24:8 as in Numbers 23:22 is interesting, but I’ve never seen a wild bull charge at something before. Yet it’s not right he didn’t enjoy fellowship with God. Indeed, divination is a total ripoff of prophetic revelation, as 1 Samuel 15:23 briefly notes. If we seek a diviner, we won’t be in good shape, but they aren’t beyond the reach of God’s sacrifice through Jesus, either. Yet no one should assume that those who have a spirit of fortune-telling or something are lost causes ā Jesus cast out many demons, like in Mark 5:1-20, and those who have one inside them I rebuke and tell them to leave and never come back, getting to the foot of the cross so He can deal with them there ššššššššš I wonder if anyone at work is demon-possessed, actually…
After the third prophecy, Balaam claimed, in response to Balak in verse 11, that he didn’t care what wages he’d receive from him (verse 13), but again, 2 Peter 2:15 speaks the truth of his motives. From here, Israel will fornicate with Moab, and thousands perish (Numbers 25:9, 1 Corinthians 10:8; the amount of casualties was approximate between both verses, which was probably what Moses and Paul, respectively, had intended in both texts), but thankfully, there’s no more unfaithfulness after that… at least for now. Before Israel fornicates with Moab, however, Balaam prophesies Jesus’ birth from Israel a long time later (Numbers 24:17). He had mentioned Agag in verse 7 (the VOICE translation ties this to 1 Samuel 15:8), though, but the Messianic prophecy is good, especially when we get to the New Testament, if God wills.
Ron And His Stories 