Numbers 23:23

The Explanation

High up on a bare mountaintop stood a king. His name was Balak, and he was frightened.

Down below, in the valley, he could see them: tents. Thousands of tents. The people of Israel, camped in the desert like a wide brown sea. Balak's hands were sweating.

So he had sent for a man called Balaam. Balaam was famous. People said that when he spoke words over you, things happened. Good words, good things. Bad words, bad things. A curse from Balaam, people whispered, could break an army.

"Come," Balak said. "Curse them for me."

They built seven altars. Seven bulls, seven rams, smoke curling up into the sky. Everything was ready. The princes of Moab stood in a row, waiting. Balaam walked off alone to a bare, rocky place.

And God met him there.

When Balaam came back, everyone leaned in to hear the curse. Balaam opened his mouth, and out came a blessing.

Balak went red. "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and you have blessed them!"

Balaam shrugged. "Must I not speak what Yahweh puts in my mouth?"

So Balak tried again. Another mountain. Seven more altars. Seven more bulls. Maybe from a different angle the curse would work? But God met Balaam again, and put words in his mouth again. And this time Balaam said something that must have made Balak's stomach turn over:

"Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; neither is there any divination with Israel."

That is a strange sentence, so listen closely. Enchantment and divination are old words for magic tricks and spells. Balaam is saying: it does not work. Not on these people. You can build a hundred altars and hire a hundred Balaams, and nothing will happen. Because God has said He will bless Israel, and nobody can turn that around.

And then Balaam says what people will say about Israel one day. Not "look how strong they are." Not "look how clever they are." Just four words, said with wide eyes:

"What has God done!"

What Does This Mean?

Balak thought the world worked like this: if you know the right words, you can make things go your way. Say a curse, and someone falls. Say a spell, and you win.

God says no. The world does not run on magic words. The world runs on God.

That is scary news if you are Balak, standing on a mountain trying to hurt someone God loves. But it is wonderful news if you are down in the valley in a tent. Because those people in the tents had no idea any of this was happening. They were cooking, sleeping, arguing about whose turn it was to fetch water. And up on the mountain, God was guarding them.

The Common Thread

"What has God done!" That sentence keeps coming back in the Bible, and it always means the same thing: something happened that people could never have arranged themselves.

God brought Israel out of Egypt when nobody could. Years later, God sent Jesus, and people who watched Him could only stand there with their mouths open. A storm went quiet. A dead girl sat up. And when Jesus came out of the grave on Easter morning, nobody said, "How clever of us." They said what Balaam said: look what God has done.

For You

Some children are scared of bad luck. Black cats, unlucky numbers, someone at school saying "I put a curse on you." Balaam's words are for you: it does not work. God is stronger than every spooky word anybody says.

So this week, when something goes well, try saying it out loud, even quietly to yourself: "Look what God has done." Your dinner. Your bed. A friend who waited for you at the gate. Name one thing tonight.

Talk About It

Balak built seven altars three times to get his way. Have you ever tried very hard to make something happen, and it just would not?

What is one thing in your life you could say "What has God done!" about?

Praying Together

God, thank You that no bad word can break Your blessing. Thank You that You watched over people who did not even know it. Watch over me tonight too. Amen.