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Reading: Numbers Chapters 22 & 23
1. Introduction
Balaam was a resident of the town of Pethor on the river Euphrates. He was a mercenary prophet who sold himself to the highest bidder. The 'love of money' corrupted Balaam; though at times, when YaHuWaH controlled his tongue, he couldn't help but speak the Truth. Balaam was hired by king Balak of Moab to come and curse Israel. But for all his eagerness to do so, (for he desperately wanted Balak's gold) Balaam couldn't curse the chosen people of YaHuWaH. Balaam's love of money and the frustration he felt at being unable to curse Israel are graphically told in Numbers chapters 22 to 25. The world would do well to learn lessons from Balaam's greed and Balak's hatred of Israel; lessons which could well apply even to the Christian church, which in ages past has sorely persecuted the people of Elohim, the apple of YaHuWaH 's eye. (Deut.32:10, Zec.2:8). But first a few definitions.
2. Pagan Gods
There are literally thousands of pagan gods. In the Bible two are mentioned over and over again. Their names are Baal and Ashtoreth (known variously as Ashtaroth / Astarte / Ishtar etc.).
BAAL
Who is Baal? Why is he singled out for repeated mention? The name Baal means 'lord, possessor, husband'
Ashtaroth / Astoreth / Astarte / Ishtar
Because the worship of these two fertility gods, Baal and Astoreth, was accompanied by sexual rites, their festivals became popular throughout the ancient world. There is nothing like 'sexual freedom' when it comes to attracting devotees to a festival. We should also bear in mind that Easter is a fertility festival which derived its name from this goddess Ashtaroth. That is why we see bunny rabbits and painted eggs in the shops at Easter time. The egg is a symbol of fertility and the rabbit is one of the most prolific of animals. Thus was born the idea that the husband Baal with his wife Astoreth would produce bountiful harvests in the vineyard, the field and the womb.
The Moabites worshiped these two gods; so Israel's Elohim and His commandments concerning sexual conduct would certainly not be welcome in the land of Canaan. That is why king Balak invited Balaam the prophet to curse Israel. Balaam agreed.
- He recognized YaHuWaH 's presence with Israel
- He knew that he was unable to go against the Almighty's will; however much he wanted to.
- He knew the spiritual significance of the number seven.
- He also knew about clean and unclean sacrifices.
- He specialized in blessing and cursing.
- Yet compelled by the Holy Spirit Balaam predicted:
- Israel's assured victory in the latter days, just prior to the Messiah's arrival.
- The coming of YAHUSHUA the Messiah and His millennial reign
3. The Almighty's Blessing
To be blessed of YaHuWaH means to be highly favored, made happy, protected, gifted and cared-for by the Creator of heaven and earth. It is a most gracious position to be in. In the past the Almighty has blessed many people: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moshe, king David and His people Israel. But divine blessing was - and still is - conditional; and the condition is faith and obedience. This fact is detailed in the following verses:
| Ecc.12: | 13: Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear Elohim, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. |
| Deut.28: | 1: And it shall come to pass, IF thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of YaHuWaH thy Elohim, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day , that YaHuWaH thy Elohim will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:
2: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, IF thou shalt hearken unto the voice of YaHuWaH thy Elohim. 3: Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 4: Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 5: Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 6: Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 7: YaHuWaH shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. 8: YaHuWaH shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses, and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and He shall bless thee in the land which YaHuWaH thy Elohim giveth thee. 9: YaHuWaH shall establish thee an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, IF thou shalt keep the commandments of YaHuWaH thy Elohim, and walk in His ways. 10: And all people of the Earth shall see that thou art called by the Name of YaHuWaH ; and they shall be afraid of thee. 11: And YaHuWaH shall make thee plenteous in goods, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy ground, in the land which YaHuWaH sware unto thy fathers to give thee. 12: YaHuWaH shall open unto thee His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow. 13: And YaHuWaH shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; IF that thou hearken unto the commandments of YaHuWaH thy Elohim, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: |
The Almighty's Cursing
Alas the opposite is also true. Blatant disobedience results in divine cursing and the reverse of all the beautiful things mentioned above are sure to come in the wake of willful disobedience. But I'll not dwell on those things; though you should - for your own good - take time to study them.
4. Balaam's Advice
Balaam understood these facts about divine blessing and cursing. Yet he needed to be taught a lesson as to how futile it is to try to reverse YaHuWaH 's will. When Balaam discovered that he was unable to curse Israel, he revealed a secret to king Balak which every soul on earth should pay special attention to. It is this: that when a nation, community or person forsakes the law of Almighty YaHuWaH and turns to sin - particularly to sins of a sexual nature - then the curses of YaHuWaH will automatically fall upon the guilty.
It matters little if that community or person had previously served YaHuWaH. Once people take to sin and turn their backs on YaHuWaH 's commandments, all the curses recorded in the book of Deuteronomy begin to descend upon their heads.
With that fact in mind, Balaam advised Balak to invite the men of Israel to the Moabite festivals where idolatry, drunkenness, the eating of forbidden food and Fornication were encouraged. The results were catastrophic. Israel sinned grievously and the Almighty's curses poured down on His chosen people. Twenty four thousand Israelites died in a plague sent by YaHuWaH ; all because they committed fornication with the women of Moab.
| Numbers 25: | 1: 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 YaHuWaH was kindled against Israel 4: And YaHuWaH said unto Moshe, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before YaHuWaH against the sun, that the fierce anger of YaHuWaH may be turned away from Israel. 5: And Moshe 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 Moshe, 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. |
The Savior gave a special warning to His church concerning the sin of Balaam. Here it is:
| Rev:2: | 14: But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. |
5. The Holy War
The Almighty never forgot or forgave Balaam's sin and the deadly advice he had given the people of Moab. Had it not resulted in the death of 24,000 Israelites? (Num.25: 9). And so, just before Israel entered the Promised land YaHuWaH commanded Moshe to enlist an army of 12,000 Israelite soldiers, 1000 from each tribe, to go and slaughter the Midianites and Moabites. In the holy war which followed, Israel:
- Slew all the males of Midian and their five kings.
- Took all the virgins of Midian captive.
- Slew with the sword the false prophet Balaam, who had opted not to return to Mesopotamia but to stay with the Midianites and Moabites.
- Captured 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, 32,000 persons.
- All without the loss of a single Israelite soldier!
You may read the amazing story, which has prophetic implications for this generation, in Numbers chapter 31. This time the victorious army will number 144,000; that is 12,000 from each tribe. But the objective will be the same; to root out the sins of idolatry, heathenism and illicit sexual intercourse. This they will accomplish, not with bullets or bombs, but by the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of YaHuWaH.
6. The Coming False Prophet
False prophets are known for their love of money, their heathen teachings and their unwillingness to speak out against illicit sex. Many of them also have miraculous powers. The world is awash with false prophets. But soon there is coming a False Prophet in the Balaam mould; but with infinitely more power than had Balaam. We read about this character in the book of Revelation.
| Rev.16: | 13: And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
14: For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of YaHuWaH Almighty. |
When he arrives on the world scene, this False Prophet will do stunning miracles and will cause billions of earth's inhabitants to reject the commandments of YaHuWaH. No doubt his stand against YaHuWaH 's Torah concerning sexual conduct will be welcomed by our sex-crazed society. But his end will be far worse than that of Balaam.
| Rev:19: | 20: And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
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7. Remain Blessed
Balaam's prophetic words concerning Israel in the last days are significant. They tell us that Israel, though surrounded by enemies intent on her destruction, will in the end be victorious. Balaam predicted the coming kingdom of YAHUSHUA the Messiah, the One who will hold the Scepter!
| Numbers 24: | 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 YaHuWaH, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what YaHuWaH 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 Elohim, 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 Scepter 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. Are you an Israelite? Do you believe in Israel's Elohim and His Son YAHUSHUA the Messiah? the Bible says that if you do then you are already blessed. See Israel, the Chosen of Elohim. Moreover, no one can reverse that blessing except you; and then only if you blatantly sin. As Balaam so correctly said:
The same principle applies today. If you trust and obey YaHuWaH, the Almighty Elohim of Israel, you are already blessed and no power in the Heavens above or the Earth below can reverse that blessing. Remember that fact.
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balaam yahuwah pagan ishtar false prophet
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