In this daily Bible reading is the account of Israel establishing their camp on the border of Moab which borders the Jordan River. The King of Moab, Balak, was aware of Israel and was concerned that Israel would cause problems for Moab. So, Balak sent for a prophet named Balaam who lived nearby. Balaam was notorious in that whoever he blessed became blessed and whoever he cursed became cursed. Balak wanted Balaam to curse Israel.
Balaam resisted meeting with Balak because God had spoken to Balaam telling him not to meet with Balak. Balak then sent more messages to Balaam, offering Balaam riches if he would meet with Balak and curse Israel. God permitted Balaam to meet with Balak, but God told Balaam to only speak the words that God gave Balaam.
Balak guided Balaam to a place where they could view a portion of Israel’s camp. Balaam instructed Balak to make an offering to God, and God would speak to Balaam. When God spoke to Balaam, God gave Balaam words to speak that blessed rather than cursed Israel. This happened three times.
Later, the Bible implies that Balaam counseled Balak to mingle with Israel and intermarry. This resulted in many Israelites going astray and worshiping the gods of Moab. This had a devastating effect and was called’ the error of Balaam.
Balaam was greedy and tried to counter God’s blessings with deceptive counsel. Deceptive counsel is Satan’s method. We must always be aware of this and anchor ourselves in God’s Word. Then we can avoid being deceived.
