Old Testament - Numbers 24 - May 13, 2022

 5/13/2022 – Numbers 24

I came across an interesting item. It was about the very unusual event of having an animal speak to a person, as the ass spoke to Balaam: “The rebuke received by Balaam from an animal wrought upon by the Spirit of God is a singular event in history. Speculation on how the deed was accomplished is useless. It is certain that the beast spoke in a way understandable to Balaam. Other scriptures indicate that when animals are filled with the divine Spirit and celestialized, they will be able to express themselves in ways previously denied them. (see Revelation 4:6; D&C 77:2-4

And Balaam’s story continues….after their burnt offerings Balaam has a vision and he prophesies of the great density of Israel. The king Balak is angry: “I called thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou has altogether blessed them…” (v10) Then Balaam follows with more prophecy that tells of Israel’s growth and power, and of the eventual fall of Balak’s  Moab.

The study manual has an interesting paragraph: What is not mention in this chapter, but is explained later (Numbers 31:16) is that Balaam did give significant advice to the Moabites that would help the Moabites in their efforts to conquer the Israelites: “Evidently when Balaam saw that he could not earn Balak’s commission by cursing Israel directly, he told Balak that God would only bless Israel when they were righteous. Thus, if the Moabites could seduce Israelites into idol worship, the Israelites would lose the power of God’s. Thus, Balaam became a symbol of those who use their callings and gifts to get gain and pervert the Lord’s people. (see 2 Peter 2:15; Revelation 2:14).  The record next describes the whoredoms Israel committed with the daughters of Moab; that is, the Israelite women joined the women of Moab in worshiping Baal, a fertility god, including offering sacrifices to the god and indulging in sexual immorality.”

The Lord gives us His scriptures to let us know of Him and how we should live our lives. 

His principles were true then, and they are still true today.


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