A story is told in Numbers 22-23 about the King of Moab named Baalam. During his time as King, the Israelites travelled from Egypt towards the promised land. When they came near Moab, Baalam became nervous because they had overthrown every Kingdom before them. Baalam was worried that now Isreal would overtake him and possess his kingdom. He sent to call Balak who was a Diviner (Medium) to pronounce a curse on the children of Isreal. Interestingly, the scripture says that Balak prayed unto the Lord for direction before going to meet the King. “God said to Balak, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed”” (Numbers 22:12).
The King did not take no for an answer but sent another company of men to summon Balak. This time, God appeared to him and told him to go with them. On the way to meet the King, Balak’s donkey saw an angel and refused to continue and eventually spoke to Balak when he struck her. The angel told Balak to go with the men but to only speak what the Lord allowed him to say. When Balak arrived, Baalam took him to a place where he could see the Israelites. On three separate occasions Balak asked for seven altars to be built to offer sacrifices to the Lord. On each occasion, Balak would listen to hear God speak and then declare what he had to say.
Three times Balak pronounced a blessing over the children of Isreal as the Lord gave him utterance. “How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced” (Numbers 23:8)? Balaam was angry with Balak because he did the opposite of what he asked. He blessed the people three times and did not curse them once. Balak reminded Balaam that he did make it clear to his men that no amount of money would cause him to speak contrary to what God had said. Balak had no power to pronounce a curse on those whom God had blessed.
We are the seed of Abraham and the blessings of God are conferred to us. “In thee all families of the earth will be blessed.” No one will be able to stand against us all the days of our lives. The blessings of God makes us rich and adds no sorrow. Every curse directed towards us returns to its sender double fold and only the blessings of the Lord rests upon us. The blessings of God nullifies the curse and anyone who tries to curse us, invokes a curse on themselves.
A.P.-Y.
Published by Anneta Pinto-Young
I am a trained Social Worker who currently provides professional leadership on a programme to support Social Work students and Newly Qualified Social Workers entering the Social Work Profession. Born and raised in Jamaica in a Christian family where my father is an ordained Pastor and Deacon who has served for over 50 years in the ministry. My father is also a trained musician and our family can be described as a musical family. I grew up in a small farming community in St. Peter’s, St. Andrew and my parents also have a small farm. I credit my gift of writing to my father who I watched and listened to over the years as he wrote sermons, poems and other recitals in his capacity in ministry. English has always been an easy subject for me and over the years I have developed an increased interest in writing. I am a Trainer, I sing and have a passion for worship, the spoken word and the free flow of the prophetic anointing. I am married to my best friend Andrew Christopher Young who is an advanced Musician and whose music you can find on YouTube and Facebook. I am a trained Coach and Mentor and I love experimenting with food so I love cooking. I enjoy trying cultural dishes from across the world and I view food as an entry into cultures and languages. View all posts by Anneta Pinto-Young
Published October 3, 2023
Post navigation
Republished with permission from Blogs.crossmap.com, featuring inspiring Bible verses about Blessed and not Cursed.
