Numbers 23

“And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. 2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. 3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place. 4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. 5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. 6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his! 11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. 12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? 13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. 14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. 16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. 17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken? 18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: 19 God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. 21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. 22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. 23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! 24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. 25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? 27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. 28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. 29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.”

“We have come as far in this epic of Balak and Balaam, I wish they’d make a movie out of this, I think I’d really enjoy this. Israel is on the border of the Promised Land again, 38 years have transpired since Kadesh-barnea, and they are encountering certain specific difficulties, some of it in their own person, their own attitude. But these chapters bring us to a scene where behind the scenes there is a contest. They are camped down in the lowland, they are unaware that there is a prophet, a false prophet named Balaam trying to bring curses down on them, they are unaware of God defending them, and the positive and beautiful things that God has to say about them in light of eternity, in light of being his people. There is a contest going on, on the edge of the Promised Land, and they’re not aware of all of these things that are taking place. You know with the principalities, powers, there is spiritual warfare. I think sometimes, in the Christian community it’s blown out of proportion in some ways, I think Satan gets more due than he deserves, I think he gets more press than he deserves, and I think we make it more dependent on our own wisdom, skills and abilities than on the fact that our Father would defend us when the evil one comes, and he touches us not, he has nothing in us, because we are blood-bought and sealed with the Spirit. So certainly there in the mind there is that place where we’re to tear down strongholds and bringing thoughts into captivity to Christ. But it isn’t this ‘Woo, it’s scary out there, we’re saved, we’re God’s sheep, but the bad guy’s going to get us.’ It’s just not the way it is, sometimes it’s presented that way. But we have a very interesting picture here as we look at this on the border of the Promised Land. And there is an attempted resistance, as they would go in again, to embrace the things that God has promised to them. Balak who was the king of Moab, who wasn’t even going to be attacked by Israel, by the way, sends word to Balaam in the land of Pethor, by the Euphrates River in Mesopotamia, Iraq today, to come. He’s famous, famous enough that over 360 miles away, without modern communication he has a reputation all the way back on the borders of the Promised Land. And he sends for this prophet to come, and to curse the children of Israel, Balak realizing that he can’t beat them militarily, because the Amorites had defeated them, and here comes Israel and defeats Sihon king of the Amorites and Og and his forces up in the area of Bashan. And now here they are on the border of the land, he’s realizing if they defeated the Amorites and the Amorites defeated us, we don’t stand a chance in the natural, we need someone to come and put a curse on them, so that maybe we could be victorious over them. So, you know the story, God first forbids Balaam to go, and then they come back a second time, Balaam maneuvers his way around until finally he’s going and probably he shouldn’t be going. The situation last week, we looked at it, it’s just a delightful story when the donkey rebukes him and talks to him, and just remarkable. A critic of the Bible once said to D.L. Moody “You don’t really believe that God could make a donkey talk to you?” And Moody said “Sure, I could do that.” He said “What!?” He said ‘Ya, you make a donkey, and I’ll make him talk.” [laughter] Point being, no problem for God to make a donkey, he can make him talk if he wanted to. And he’s rebuked by the donkey. And as Balaam has all of these opportunities, he’s shown so much by the Spirit of God, and still will turn away and be slain with the enemies of Israel, the donkey a mute testimony against him. Somewhere in donkeydom there’s a donkey saying ‘Ya, it was my great grandfather that God used to speak to Balaam,’ and they’re more proud of it than Balaam’s descendants [I don’t think Balaam lived long enough to have descendants]. So, he comes, and he is confronted by Balak ‘What took you so long? I can do this and that for you,’ and they offered some sacrifices, and those sacrifices are offered to Baal, and we’re encountering that here in chapter 22, verse 41 and it says “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.” Now there’s some questions about this. How does Moses know? [I’ve discussed this before, God, Yahweh, dictated most all of the Torah to Moses for him to write down. Take Genesis for example, there was knowledge revealed in Genesis chapters 1 through 11 that Moses could never have been privy to. God dictated the entire Law to Moses, so why not the rest, things that Moses could never have known on his own. That just proves the Divine authorship of the Torah, all 5 Books.] You know, Jesus with the temptation in the wilderness, when he’s alone with Satan, none of the disciples are with him, it was Jesus and Satan. And yet Matthew writes and Luke writes and tells us about that incident, which means Jesus at some point, sitting alone with the disciples had to say ‘Let me tell you what took place before I called any of you, so when you are in a struggle, you understand how it’s to be handled,’ and it was communicated. Somewhere in the process, and we’re not told how, because this is Balaam and Balak up on the mountain, not down in the valley with the children of Israel, somehow Moses gets the whole routine in detail, and as he writes the Pentateuch and gives us this whole story [like I said, Yahweh dictated it to Moses, as he had to have done for the Book of Genesis]. Maybe the donkey told him, I’m not sure…but Moses has this whole record to give to us. Balaam now in chapter 23 is going to begin to attempt to curse God’s people. That has not stopped until the present time. [The Israelis’ prosecution of the Gaza war with HAMAS has turned the whole world against Israel, all by Satan’s design. It is occurring right now as I transcribe this in September of 2024.] Interesting to watch, because Balaam would have cursed them if he could have. If God would have allowed it. God didn’t allow him to curse Israel, in fact some of the most remarkable prophecies in eschatology, things even of the Last Days are included in his prophecies, and God forbid Balaam to curse his ancient people. And there are people trying to write them [the Israelis] off today. I have an interesting letter in J.D. Phillips, he’s got a great new set of character studies, and on his character study on Balaam he has a fictious letter, and I’ll read part of it to you, of Balak writing to Balaam to have him come and curse the children of Israel. He says “Dear Dr. Balaam” it’s written, “We here in Moab heard of your gift as a preacher, we want to engage you in some very special meetings in here in Moab. You will be expected to speak at least once in public, his majesty king Balak will be present. Also, the king wants to consult you about a private matter. Let me acquaint you with the situation here in Moab. His majesty has a problem directly connected with the nation of Israel. It is of the utmost importance that you keep this in mind, the Israelites have begun to come back to the Promised Land. This greatly upsets his majesty of Moab. The king wants to be assured from the Scriptures themselves that there is no future for Israel as a nation. Anything you can do to spiritualize the Promise of Jehovah to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will be much appreciated here in Moab. On no account must you say anything about a literal fulfillment of these Promises. Such an idea is abhorrent to Balak. I trust I have made myself clear. Should you attempt to take the literal, cultural, grammatical approach to the question of Israel, you will incur the king’s gravest displeasure. If that is your intention it would be better for you not to come at all. Your approach to the whole question of Israel must be strictly allegorical. Emphasize the sins, the unbelief and the materialism of the present people of Israel, show how their wickedness militates against a literal fulfillment of God’s promises to them, and his majesty will be well-pleased.” I appreciate that greatly, because of some of the Replacement Theology in our day I think is a bane on the Truth of God, and I think much dark behavior has been born out of it [1700 years of anti-Semitism has been born out of it, from about 325AD to the present, right up to now. See https://unityinchrist.com/history2/earlychurch3.htm and https://www.unityinchrist.com/history/revivals3.htm and https://www.unityinchrist.com/history/revivals4.htm]

Balak’s First Attempt To Get Balaam To Curse Israel--‘Israel Shall Be A Separate People’

So, here we are. Ready? Chapter 23, “And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go:” now this is to Baal, remember, it’s not worshipping Jehovah [Yahweh], “peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place. And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.” Balak was waiting there, “And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” (verses 1-10) Let’s hold on before we go all the way through this. He comes to curse them, but this is what the LORD puts in his mouth in regards to Israel, he says ‘How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy whom God hath not defied?’ He says ‘From the top of the rocks I see him’ singular, Jacob, but we’re going to find out through his prophecy he sees more than just Jacob, ‘and from the hills I behold him,’ then he says ‘Lo, the people shall dwell alone,’ Israel shall be a separate people. In our political world, one day probably even the United States is going to turn her back on Israel [the Israelis, and it is starting to happen, right now in the year of 2024, as a result of the Israeli-Gaza war between the Israeli nation and the terrorist organization of HAMAS in the Gaza strip. World opinion is turning in lockstep against the Israelis, and the U.S. is starting to turn against them as well], ‘the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.’ God would have them separate, and he would have them maintain a separate position. Sad to say, there’s much of the Church [greater Body of Christ] today that thinks the more relative they are to the culture, the more they can accomplish, where I think God is saying that his people, you know the Church is to be the pillar and ground of Truth in a community. The light should be shining out the door of the Church like it shown out the door of Solomon’s Temple when it was dedicated. It should be the diametric [opposite] experience to what is cool and slick and savvy out there, when people walk in here, it should be the Light of God’s Truth, and it should cut to the heart, it should console, it should comfort, it should convict, it should convert, without compromise, without apology. And Israel, in their whole history, every time they began to amalgamate with the local people, every time they began to let down their separate position, and every time they started to worship with them, or sing with them, or marry them, constantly that was their problem, that’s when God had to come and judge them, God had to come and deal with them. Cambell Morgan said “The Church has never done more for the world than when the Church has been the most separate from the world.” [ https://www.gotquestions.org/G-Campbell-Morgan.html ] And here, God says of his own people, ‘they’re going to be separate, they’re going to dwell alone, they’re not going to be reckoned among the nations.’ “Who can count the dust of Jacob? looking no doubt back to the promise he made to Abraham, “and the number of the fourth part of Israel?” Now this is Balaam, “Let me die the death of the righteous.” Chapter 31, verse 8 tells us he gets slaughtered with the Midianites. Now just think what he’s seeing? Yet his heart is not turned. “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” (verse 10b) and God’s going to basically say ‘You’re not going to die the death of the righteous without living the life of the righteous.’ You know, everybody wants that deal, live however you want to live, do whatever you want to do, and the last minute think you’re gonna bail out and be well. There’s a law of sowing and reaping the Bible describes, you reap what you’ve sown, you reap later than you’ve sown, and you reap in greater abundance than you’ve sown, and it’s in practice today. Can God break that pattern in our lives? Of course, his grace can do anything for us he wants. There are many of us who get ourselves into a pickle and then we want to know how can God let me get in a situation like this if he loves me? when he warned us 53 times going into it not to go there. And then we get on our knees and say ‘Father, forgive me, you were right,’ ya, he can break that pattern and deliver us sooner from it. But here, imagine this, Balaam, ‘Let me die’ he sees something looking at Israel, being separate, being God’s people. And he realizes the benefit of it is not just in this world. The benefit, you know, there’s great benefits to being part of God’s people, I love to see your faces, I love to be part of the Body of Christ, I have brothers now, I didn’t have brothers in my family, I grew up with one sister. I have family now I never had then, Kathy and I, some of you pray for us and care for us, whatever’s coming down the pike, whatever’s still ahead of us between now and when the Lord comes, I’m glad I’m going to be going through it with you guys and not alone. You know, the Body of Christ is remarkable to me, it’s beautiful, it’s consoling, there’s great benefits. But, it’s still part of the temporariness of the process. Stepping into glory is the goal. That day when we receive that inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, let me die the death of the righteous--on the other side, this will be the illusion. On the other side, this will be the dream, like a vapour, gone by, and standing there realizing what he’s done. And here Balaam, you know he’s seeing more than the natural eye can see, I mean, he’s looking out across the children of Israel, there’s between 2 and 3 million, twice the population of Philadelphia, how many of you could climb up the roof and see South Philly from here? I mean, that would only be halfway across Israel’s camp. So no doubt God is allowing him through the Spirit to see things supernaturally here, and he says ‘Let me die the death of the righteous, let my last end be like his.’ “And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.” (verse 11) ‘If you can’t say something rotten, don’t say nothing at all! what kind of false prophet are you?’ “And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?” (verse 12) he looks at the donkey, says ‘Right?’ and the donkey said ‘Right, that’s right.’

Balak Tries To Get Balaam To Curse Israel In Another Location--The 2^nd Prophecy About Israel Comes

“And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.” (verse 13) ‘you see a little part of them, just give me a little curse, a cute little curse, on one part of them, let’s see if that works, you get a better vantage point, maybe we can get a little curse going here.’ “And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.” (verses 14-16) This is not a situation where Balaam is going to the LORD and the LORD through Balaam is blessing his people, the LORD is only confirming through Balaam that he has already blessed his people. You know, and again, as we go through these, it was an important lesson in my life, and it should be an important lesson in your life. If you’ve grown up in the church for any length of time, you’ve met at least one person in the church you’d like to curse. [laugher] Look, what’s your problem? If we’re filled with the Holy Spirit, and we’re looking at the Bride of God, her beauty is not by her performance, it’s when we see spiritually. The person that bugs you the most, if you start to pray for that person you’re going to see that person differently. And I am not trying to be cavalier, because I know some of you have been deeply hurt, and there are some things I would never make light of those things, never. But the One who would fill our being is the one who said ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ The One who would fill our being is able to forgive when we’re not able to forgive, and is able to extend grace when we’re not able to extend grace. And anybody could have looked at Israel in the natural and seen all of their problems, they had turned away at Kadesh-barnea, they had built the Golden Calf, God had just judged them with the serpents and so forth, and 24,000 of them are going to die in chapter 25. But God looking at them has pronounced his blessing upon them, he’s chosen them, he’s separated them, and Balaam only confirms God’s love for his people. The blessing doesn’t come when he opens his mouth, he’s only ratifying what God has already done towards his people. And it’s the same in our lives. Imagine that, he tells us we’re justified, sanctified, and glorified. You don’t see that in the mirror when you get home. We’re seated in heavenly places with Christ, you and I. You know you read the things that the Scripture has to say to us, from the God who calls things that are not as though they were. Verse 14 says “And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering,” Balaam, “and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?” now it’s the second prophecy now, “And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:” “hearken” which means to bend down and give your ear, now he says this directly to Balak this time, “God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (verses 14-19) That’s a wonderful verse. He says ‘Balak, you think my opinion changes when the hill changes, moving from one hill to another and my idea, my opinion changes?’ And God would say the same thing today to anybody who would try to write off or get rid of the nation of Israel, you know, “God is not man that he should lie, neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?” (verse 19) You know, that’s wonderful for you and I isn’t it? Because he says we’re justified, sanctified and glorified, it means he’s not going to change his mind. It means the Lord himself is going to descend with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trump[et] of God, he’s not going to change his mind about that. It means of all the Father’s given him, he’s not going to lose one, that we’re in his hand, and he’s in the Father’s hand. And he’s not going to change that. I appreciate that. That he’s loved us with an everlasting love, you’re not going to change that. There are some great things here for us as we look at this. ‘I’m not changing my idea just because we’ve changed hills here,’ he says. “Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,” (verses 20-21a) wow, isn’t that good news? It doesn’t say that there’s no iniquity in Jacob, it just says he hasn’t beheld it. ‘I have not beheld iniquity in Jacob’ you know, it tells us that our sins and iniquities ‘he will remember no more.’ It doesn’t say he forgets them, God cannot forget. If he could forget he wouldn’t be God. He knows everything all the time, he knows the end from the beginning, so he can never forget. But to choose not to remember is vastly different than forgetting. And he has made a choice, in regards to our lives, not to remember our sins and our iniquities, through the blood of Christ. Here he says “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel:” (verse 21a) Imagine! We’ve been reading about Israel all this time, imagine him saying this, you know, again, the God who calls things that are not as though they were. With him, James says ‘There’s not variableness, neither shadow of turning,’ I’m so thankful as we read this. “the LORD God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.” King James always translates this particular word “unicorn,” we’re not sure, some say it should be a wild ox, or a rhinoceros, unicorn speaking of strength, he has it as it were this incredible strength.

“Surely There Is No Enchantment Against Jacob, Neither Is There Any Divination Against Israel”--The Demonic World Can’t Touch Us

“Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” (verses 21b-23) It’s going to be said, ‘What in the world has the LORD done in regards to this people?’ Look, very important for you and I to take note of this. ‘There is no enchantment, neither is there any divination against Israel.’ And if that’s true of Israel, how much truer is that of you and I? Because in the church, and in Philadelphia here I’ve heard it, sadly in some churches that were decent solid churches, they’ve all of a sudden opened the door and let in this doctrine of ancestral sin. ‘Because your grandma was a voodoo priestess, you’ve inherited the demons along with the grandfather clock and other things that were in the will, and they’ve come down to you, and you’re suffering and having nightmares because your parent or your grandparent was wicked.’ Well that’s balderdash, poppycock, I can’t say all the words. It’s nonsense, it’s not in the Bible, which is most important. Ezekiel 18, please read it, that’s the chapter that blows all of this nonsense out the window. Read Ezekiel 18 on your own, God says ‘I am so tired of listening to this parable, that our teeth are set on edge because our parents drank sour grapes,’ God said ‘I don’t want to hear it anymore,’ he says ‘If there is a man whose wicked, and he worships on the mountains,’ all of this stuff with Ashtoreth, it’s Satanic, and he says ‘he is going to suffer for his sins. But if he has a son, and his son walks before me, and does what’s right, he’s not going to suffer for the sins of his father Am I not just?’ God says that’s baloney. ‘And if that righteous man has a son and he doesn’t walk with him, he goes the other way, he’s not going to be considered righteous because his father was righteous, he’s going to be judged for his own sins.’ And the Bible is very clear about that. Jesus says for you and I, that upon the truth of who he is, the foundation of the Church is built on that, Matthew 16, is built on that, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church. The “gates of hell,” if we get on another trip to Israel, if the Lord tarries, those of you who have been there with us, we look at the gates of the ancient cities, and you can see that’s where the counsel, the elders of the city, where they made their stratagems and planned their wars, their counsel, and the gate was cool, because it was all stone, and under the gates there were seats there, and they would sit there. The gates of hell are not chasing the Church down the street, the gates of hell are the stratagems of hell, the plans of hell, the strategies of hell, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church,” Jesus said, that’s not going to happen. Zechariah chapter 3, we see there, as Satan goes to accuse Joshua the high priest, that his filthy garments are taken away by the LORD. It doesn’t say the accusations aren’t true. And the LORD gives him a clean garment, and he gives him a clean turban to put on, and he says this is a brand plucked from the fire, he rebukes the enemy, he has nothing at all to do with that. Again, 1^st John chapter 5, ‘The evil one comes, he touches us not.’ So, take note of that here, this is very, very important, because Balaam is unable to curse the children of Israel or to have their God curse them, the LORD of the children of Israel. What he’s ultimately going to do is to get them to come out from under the place of God’s blessing. He can’t get God to remove his blessing from the people, so he will get the people through sin, to come out from under the blessing of God. But he can’t removed it, it’s not removable. If we are walking with the Lord, are abiding with him, we are not walking around with some bulls-eye on our back and the enemy is going to hit us when we’re not looking and take our feet from out from under us, the Bible doesn’t know anything about that. “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” (verse 23) Just interesting for an aside, when Samuel Morse, scientist, artist, inventor, Christian, invented Morse Code, invented the telegraph, the very first message that was sent across telegraph wires was this verse, “What hath God wrought!” the first message that was ever sent. And of course the media has gone down the hill all the way since then, that was the first message that went out in the media world. Verse 24 says “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” You know Balak’s not enjoying this. “And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.” ‘There’s a nice little cursing hill over here, we’ll try that.’ “And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.” (verses 25-30)

“And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open said: 4 he hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! 6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lignaloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee [cf. Genesis 12:3; 49:9]. 10 And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour. 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? 14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. 15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 16 he hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. 19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. 20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. 21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. 22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. 23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! 24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish forever. 25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.”

Another Blessing On Israel--‘I Will Bless Them That Bless Thee & Curse Them That Curse Thee’

“Now look, take note of this, “And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.” (verse 1) Now it’s very clearly telling us that this man’s not a believer, because he had been in the process of seeking Jehovah through some type of occultic practice here. But it’s become perfectly clear to him that God wants to bless his people, so he doesn’t bother to try that approach to the LORD again. It says, “he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.” evidently where they were camped. “And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes;” notice, how did he know that? Isn’t it interesting what God is showing him, the order, the beauty, here’s this false prophet, somehow he even realizes that they’re abiding according to their tribes. And was it a shape of a cross, as someone had said, the camp? “and the Spirit of God came upon him.” (verse 2) notice, not “into him,” but “upon him.” So it’s no proof that’s he’s the LORD’s prophet, because the Spirit came on him, it also came upon Saul, we see others. “And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open said: he hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:” (verses 3-4) So God had given him a genuine vision. The point is, not how the enemy sees God’s people, the point is not how God’s people see themselves--the point of all this is how does God see his own people? How does he see that? Very important. Listen to this, “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!” (verse 5) Here is the Spirit of God come upon the man, and he is an antagonist, and he would curse them if he could. You and I sometimes, when our feelings get hurt, we get frustrated with the church, or we get critical with the church, we need to remember, our problem is, when we get into a rut like that, we are not filled with the Spirit. Because this antagonist who is filled with the Spirit [come upon him] says ‘How beautiful, how lovely are thy tents, O Jacob.’ And they weren’t to the natural eye, this is God’s heart, he’s filled with the Spirit of God. You know, Paul said to the Corinthian church ‘I want to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ on that day.’ The Corinthian church? Come on Paul, you mean the Ephesian church, any other church but the Corinthian church. ‘How beautiful, how lovely are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tubercles O Israel’ the heart of God. “As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lignaloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.” (verse 6) I personally love this, I love cedar trees, Cedrus libani, Cedrus pendula, criptamaria, Cedrus Deodar, of all of the cedars I think they’re just incredible, they’re beautiful, and I’m glad the Lord likes them too. He says “as the cedar trees beside the waters.” “He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.” (verse 7) Literally “the fiery one,” the king of the Amalekites, who had been in their journey one of their major antagonists. “God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.” Balak is listening to this, “He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.” (verses 8-9) Back to Genesis chapter 12:3 (and Genesis 49:9 for the tribe of Judah). I don’t see anywhere in the Bible where that’s been removed today. And if you look at the nations of the world, and their relationship with the people of Israel [the Israelis], all the way up to Great Britain turning her back, who was a world power, that has deteriorated to a 3^rd world power at this point in time. I’m thankful for them [the Brits] and that they’re our allies with us. You look at what happened to Hitler and his insanity. That promise still stands. I will bless them that bless thee, not because they deserve to be blessed, not because there is no iniquity in them, “I will bless them that bless thee, I will curse them that curse thee,” he says it here. [Hikawa Maru: Civilian service In 1940–41, before Japan's entry to the Second World War, hundreds of Jewish refugees from Nazi persecution fled to Canada and the United States via Japan, and many of them sailed on Hikawa Maru.^[1] In August 1940 a party of 82 German and Lithuanian Jews who had travelled via the USSR and Vladivostok reached Seattle on Hikawa Maru.^[5] Later, Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig and his family travelled east from Lithuania to Japan. They left Yokohama on Hikawa Maru on 5 June 1941 and landed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 17 June.^[5][6] He described the trip as "a summer vacation and with the war seeming to be so far away" although, he said "I didn't have a peaceful mind because of the strong responsibility I had to help the Jewish refugees with the troubles they faced." Hikawa Maru and her sisters ran a regular liner route between Yokohama, Vancouver and Seattle.^[1] She had a reputation for service that combined splendid food and beautiful art deco interiors, and she was nicknamed "The Queen of the Pacific".^[3] Wikipedia.] [The Hikawa Maru along with her two sister ships served as hospital ships during World War II. The Hikawa Maru was the only one of the three that survived World War II totally unscathed, whereas her two sister ships were blown out of the water by striking U.S. Naval mines, with all hands lost. Not one crew member on the Hikawa Maru was lost during World War II. She is now fully restored as she was when a passenger liner, now a museum ship moored in Yokohama Harbor, a living testimony of Genesis 12:3 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikawa_Maru )]

“And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.” (verse 10) Now he just couldn’t take it anymore, and what a king would do in that days ‘Clap! Clap! Clap!’ which means ‘Stop it! Shut up! don’t do that!’ he clapped his hands together, he’s angry, he’s not getting his money’s worth here at all. And he says “behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.” (verses 10c-11) This lie is right from Genesis chapter 3, it’s the oldest lie in the book. Listen, here’s the thing, here’s this unsaved prophet, and when he hears the word of the LORD, he’s spoken it, you know, divine light and divine life are two different things. This man is not going to live according to the things that God has revealed to him. In Micah, chapter 6, it said “Remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from Shittim unto Gilgal; that you may know the righteousness of the LORD” (verse 5) You know, he said ‘Let me die the death of the righteous’ but he’s slain with the enemies of Israel. And here are these hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years later, God’s still making reference. We’re going to have Balaam referred to in 2^nd Peter, in Jude and in Revelation chapter 2. He’s mentioned ten or eleven other places after this incident we’re studying in Numbers in the Bible, and he is someone who is brought before us. And here in Micah 6, in Micah’s prophecy, it says “O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the LORD. Wherein shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with they God?” (verses 5-8) Here is Micah, hundreds and hundreds of years later, using this scene to describe what God would have of his own people, challenging them, how they should walk. Here is Balak saying “I thought to promote thee,” that’s what the world would say to us. In the church at Pergamos you hear these kind of things where you have the doctrine of Balaam, teaching the people in the church to commit fornication, to compromise. God says I hate you have the doctrine of Balaam there, teaching Christians that it’s fine to live in sexual sin outside of marriage. The Lord deals severely with it, Revelation chapter 2, verse 14. Balak says “I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.” The very true is opposite. If Balaam at this point would have walked with the LORD, and given his life to the LORD, we would have had a whole different history of his life. He would have had more honour than he could ever have imagined through the centuries, through the millenniums, through eternity. But we read of the “way of Balaam” in 2^nd Peter, and the “error of Balaam” in Jude, then he was greedy, he’s running after filthy lucre, what he really wants is what’s temporary, what he really wants is to satisfy his flesh in this world. He doesn’t want to take the very Word of God that was spoken to him, but he’s prophecying to others to walk in it and to live in it. He’s a picture of someone who is preaching, as it were, the truth of God, and then you find out he’s leading a completely different life, completely different life [we have examples of that in Christian ministry, such as the Jerry Falwell Jr. scandal which led to his resignation as president of Liberty University]. And sadly we’ve seen some of that. “I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.” (verse 11b) No, the LORD’s boundaries are always protective. Anything the Lord asks us not to indulge in, he asks us because he loves us. Kathy and I, when we raised our sons and our daughters, any restrictions we gave them is because we so dearly loved them. We never ever said to them ‘You can’t do this because I’m a pastor, what will people think.’ We never ever laid that trip on them. When they asked why, we said because this is the Book that we live by. If I was a baseball player, if I was a computer operator, if I was a carpenter, the rules would be the same. ‘God has lent you to us, you are not ours. And we enjoy you tremendously, we love you with all of our hearts, I would lay down my life for you in a heartbeat. But I will give an account one day for your life. And this is why we live the way we live. This is why we have the standards that we have.’ It was never relative to my honour or my wife’s honour, as pastor or pastor’s wife, it was relative to his honour, it was relative to his honour. And all of the boundaries that God gives us, are like the boundaries we give to our children, because we love them, we know it’s right and we know it’s good. ‘The LORD hath kept thee from honour,’ what Satan said to Eve, ‘the LORD doth know when you partake, you will be like him, he’s holding out on you,’ Satan told Eve.

Balaam’s 3^rd Prophecy About Israel & Surrounding Nations In The Latter Days

“And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: he hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:” (verses 12-16) He doesn’t bother to say “after the donkey’s eyes were opened.” He’s writing his own indictment against his own life. And look, this is what a vision is, he’s seeing this with his eyes open. We hear people today, and I understand what they’re saying ‘Oh I have a vision for this, I have a vision for that,’ kind of charismaniac speech you know, and I understand what people are saying. But understand Biblically, when you have a vision, you have it with your eyes open, it isn’t just, you know. “I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” (verse 17) the seed of the first, Sheth has a broader idea of being cursed or fallen. It’s interesting here, certainly he’s looking down to Christ. All of these things were not fulfilled through David when he was king, and all of them were not fulfilled at Christ’s 1^st coming at all, he’s talking about taking up a sceptre, he’s talking about ruling, he’s talking about a Star rising. And then he’s going to go through these other nations, and he’s going to talk about how they come and go. You might want to read through them. The point he’s making is, all of these other nations of the world, they change, but Israel will be left standing when all else is done, because of who he is. “And Edom shall be a possession, Seir” where Esau was, “also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said,” now this is Balaam, “Amalek was first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur” the Assyrians, “shall carry thee away captive.” [and the Assyrians did carry Israel, the 10-northern tribes, away captive in 721BC] “And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,” is Cyprus [but in Daniel 11, the ships of Chittem refers directly to Rome, the Roman navy] “and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish forever. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.” (verses 18-25) Now it doesn’t say Balaam returned home, we’re going to find out he dies here, but “to his place.” He had some place it seems there where he was staying. “And Balak also went his way.” Chapter 25 gives us the wrap-up here but, yup…

“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. 4 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. 5 And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor. 6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. 10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: 13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel. 14 Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman, was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.”

“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.” (verse 1) Now what we’re going to find out here is, and I’ll read it to you, in chapter 31, it says in verse 15, “Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?” verse 16 of chapter 31, “Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.” So that’s our background here, that we have these four times he tried to curse Israel, and each time he blessed them. But evidently still one thing, for the wages of unrighteousness, he takes Balak aside and said ‘Look, I can’t curse them. God’s blessing is on them. But you can seduce them out from under God’s blessing. God has an umbrella over them, they’re protected there. As long as they stay there they’re safe, God cares for them, he sees the beauty of them. But what you can do, you can’t remove the blessing of God from them, but you can cause them to come out from under the blessing of God in their behavior.’ [And in case you hadn’t noticed, that is essentially what Satan is doing to the United States of America, along with the world. He through inspiring them to sin, is causing America and the English speaking peoples, to come out from under God’s blessings, which they have been under these past 200 years.] “And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab.” (verse 1) And immorality is always central in the Canaanite religions. “And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods.” (verse 2) So what Balaam says to Balak, ‘Take some of those little Moabite chickadees and send them into the camp with the Israelite men, and say ‘Hey big boy, why don’t you come with me in the tent, I’ll show you how to worship our gods in Moab.’ And they seduced them into sexual sin, into worshipping their gods. Now this is the first account of Israel worshipping Baal in the Old Testament, and it will be a perennial problem. This failure continues to infect them, and it’s challenged in the Book of Deuteronomy, it shows up as we get towards the end of Joshua, is present in the Book of Judges ‘everyone was doing what was right in their own eyes.’ We find it haunting Israel, this failure here, this influence of Balaam [see https://unityinchrist.com/kings/1.html ]. “the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. And Israel” notice, he wasn’t forced, “joined himself unto Baal-peor:” the mountain where Baal is worshipped, “and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.” (verses 2b-3) Now, the LORD loves his people, but his anger is kindled against them. Any parent understands that problem. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people,” now it doesn’t mean cut all of the heads of the people off, he’s saying take the chief men of the tribes “and hang them up before the LORD against the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baal-peor.” (verses 4-5) Take what’s happening here, and drag it out into the light. Drag it out into the light. We were there Sunday morning, God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth is not condemned, he that believeth not is condemned already because he believeth not in the name of the only begotten Son of God, because they loved darkness more than they loved light. We’re told clearly, they agape’d darkness, they’re devoted to it. And that is because their deeds are evil. Here, there’s a beautiful picture, he says ‘Get those individuals that are teaching compromise in the camp, that are teaching people it’s ok to sin, it’s ok to look at pornography, that that’s not really sexual sin, it’s ok to do this, it’s ok to have sex before marriage because you love her anyway.’ Let me tell you, girls, if you have any guy in this church telling you that kind of stuff, you ball up your fist and you hit him right in the nose, and we’ll talk about it later. If we see a few swollen noses around here, it’ll straighten a lot of things out. [laughter] Because in the Old Testament, you killed them, bring them out in the open, and hang them up in the sun for everybody to see, bring it into the light. And when we have that warfare in our own lives, we’re to bring it into the light, the light of God’s Word, the light of God’s presence, the light of God’s Spirit. You know, I have a traitor that lives within me, and I am not condemned from day to day, as I seek to walk with him. I walk in the light, as it says in 1^st John. And in my failings I say ‘Oh Father, be patient with me, Lord, today was a good day, but I got angry here, I let my thoughts go here where I shouldn’t have let them go. Oh Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, my Lord, my redeemer. Father, let’s drag this out into the light, where there’s nothing hidden concerning it.’ Take them, drag them out into the light. And it says “And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.” (verse 6) now a plague had evidently begun to spread, and people were repenting, they were weeping, and here comes this character, he’s one of the princes, evidently he thinks he has some kind of special right, some entitlement. And man is that a problem in God’s church, people who think they have entitlements. To me everything’s blood-bought, no entitlements. But he brings here, right in front of everybody, and takes her right into his tent, where he’s going to be intimate with her. “And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand;” that’s a short spear, “and he went after the man of Israel into the tent,” where he finds them evidently being intimate there on the floor of the tent, “and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.” (verses 7-8) I’m not recommending this, there’s a picture here. Phinehas, his name is made of two Hebrew roots, one means “to scatter,” and the other one means “serpent,” or “to hiss,” it’s just an interesting picture, “scattering the hissing serpent,” as it were. Look, it’s going to tell us, he’s jealous for the things of God. The Bible tells us that we should speak the truth in love. It doesn’t say “pastors should speak the truth in love,” all of us. It says if we see a brother overtaken in a fault, with a spirit of meekness, that we should restore such a one. And again, that word “restore” is the word used for setting a broken bone, it doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time. But take some ownership. We’re going to read in Chronicles that Phinehas, chapters 9, verses 19 and 20 I believe, I believe that Phinehas, it’s going to tell us about the priests who guarded, who kept the doors to the Temple, and to the Tabernacle, and that they were after the order of Phinehas. Here is the son of Eleazar, Aaron has died, Eleazar is the high priest, and his one son Phinehas, he guards the way to the Tabernacle, he guards the gates into the place of worship. And he’s jealous for the God that he loves. Would to God there was some jealousy today for God’s glory and for the reputation of his Son, and for his Word, you know, that we’d just sometimes rise up and tell the truth, and trust the Lord to pour his Holy Ghost out on it without compromise, and without apology. Because we live in a world that needs it so desperately. And Phinehas knows nothing of the reputation he’s going to get, he knows nothing of the fact of the blessing that’s going to come to his family because of this. He does it simply because his love for the LORD, and he is so grieved over what happens, that he address it the right way. And so should everybody here take the responsibility. You know, the pastors don’t know what’s going on in everybody’s life. Just as responsible you are to help someone whose broken, or who is in need, or to pray with them, it’s also your responsibility to challenge someone, in the spirit of meekness, not like a Pharisee, but in love, somebody whose overtaken in a fault or living in sin. Look, you help all of us remain healthy, it says when Phinehas did this, the plague was stayed, it effected the entire camp. And it can’t always be left to us pastors, when we see we do, sometimes people are mad, sometimes happy, sometimes people are mad and happy, depending on their relationship in the situation. It’s incumbent on all of us, he’s our Lord, he’s our Saviour, he died for all of us, his reputation, his Word are at stake, the stakes are high. And when the Church is pure, the Church is powerful. And this one man, Phinehas, goes in, pins them to the ground. Again, we’re not recommending the literal practice of these kinds of things. He went in, he thrust them both through, the man no doubt through his back, the woman through her belly, “So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.” (verses 8c-9) 24,000 die in the plague. What the armies of Moab could not accomplish, the women of Moab did. What Balaam could not accomplish by cursing the children of Israel, sin and temptation did. If we read 1^st Corinthians chapter 10, just for those who are come and ask me, I’ll save you the trip, it says “Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” (verse 8) And you’re going to say to me ‘How come it says here “and those that died in the plague were 24,000.”? Well if you read it carefully, it says in 1^st Corinthians 10:8 that 23,000 fell in one day. Evidently the total number that died in the plague were 24,000, that’s the total number. The carnage of a single day it says was 23,000. Just, you can do whatever you want with that. We’ve got a few verses to go. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: and he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God,” what a beautiful thing, “and made an atonement for the children of Israel. Now the name of the Israelite that was slain, even that was slain with the Midianitish woman,” just don’t think you get away from it, here’s the names, “was Zimri, the son of Salu,” Zimri means “to celebrate,” Salu means “exultation,” boy did he not live up to his name, “a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianitish woman that was slain was Cozbi,” it’s a Hebrew word that means “to lie with the tongue, to tell a lie and to deceive,” and that’s what this type of compromise is, it’s a deception, it’s a lie,” the daughter of Zur;” now Zur is a prime root, you can go to your Strong Concordance, # 6696, and it means “adversary,” just interesting. he was head over a people, and of a chief house in Midian.” (verses 10-15) You know, if you look these things up, I just don’t always have the time to do it, it’s fascinating, the beauty of God’s Word…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Numbers 23:1-30, Numbers 24:1-25 and Numbers 25:1-15, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]

“I will bless them that bless thee, I will curse them that curse thee,” he says it here. Hikawa Maru: Civilian service In 1940–41, before Japan's entry to the Second World War, hundreds of Jewish refugees from Nazi persecution fled to Canada and the United States via Japan, and many of them sailed on Hikawa Maru.^[1] In August 1940 a party of 82 German and Lithuanian Jews who had travelled via the USSR and Vladivostok reached Seattle on Hikawa Maru.^[5] Later, Rabbi Zerach Warhaftig and his family travelled east from Lithuania to Japan. They left Yokohama on Hikawa Maru on 5 June 1941 and landed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, on 17 June.^[5][6] He described the trip as "a summer vacation and with the war seeming to be so far away" although, he said "I didn't have a peaceful mind because of the strong responsibility I had to help the Jewish refugees with the troubles they faced." Hikawa Maru and her sisters ran a regular liner route between Yokohama, Vancouver and Seattle.^[1] She had a reputation for service that combined splendid food and beautiful art deco interiors, and she was nicknamed "The Queen of the Pacific".^[3] [Wikipedia.] The Hikawa Maru along with her two sister ships served as hospital ships during World War II. The Hikawa Maru was the only one of the three that survived World War II totally unscathed, whereas her two sister ships were blown out of the water by striking U.S. Naval mines, with all hands lost. Not one crew member on the Hikawa Maru was lost during World War II. She is now fully restored as she was when a passenger liner, now a museum ship moored in Yokohama Harbor, a living testimony of Genesis 12:3 (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikawa_Maru ).