At this point in their journey Israel had rebelled against God a number of times despite ongoing displays of God’s miraculous providence for them. If there were any people that should have been cursed, it is this people. But when Balaam was summoned by the Moabite king to curse Israel, God appeared to him and told him: “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed” (22:12). This is amazing grace indeed! In fact, God was going to use Balaam to declare a blessing on his people. This wasn’t warranted by their conduct, and it had nothing to do with Balaam’s power. The story about Balaam’s donkey underlines the fact that this man’s donkey had greater powers of spiritual vision and prophetic speech than he did. If God so determines he will use any and every means to bless his people. And this is the point. God had determined to bless his people and he was going to remain faithful even in the face of their unfaithfulness. “If God is for us,” as Paul says, “who can be against us” (Romans 8:31). God is for you and not against you. This determination of God isn’t based on your actions but on Christ’s actions. God was so determined to bless you that he paid in Christ’s sacrifice for your full reinstatement to his favour. He will remain faithful to you. Your part is to trust him for this. The more you trust the more you will experience his blessing in your life.
Think about the extent to which you have experienced God’s blessings. How willing are you to trust God?
Read Numbers 22-24
