Numbers 22 Devotional

Opened Eyes on the Road

“But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.””Numbers 22:12 (BSB)

Balak, king of Moab, is terrified of Israel, so he sends for Balaam, a diviner whose curses Balak trusts (22:3-6). God's answer is clear. He must not go, and he must not curse this people, because God has blessed them (22:12). When Balak sends grander princes with promises of honor, Balaam insists that no amount of silver and gold could move him, yet he invites them to stay while he asks God again (22:15-19).

On the road the angel of the LORD stands with a drawn sword. The donkey sees him three times, while the seer sees nothing and beats her (22:23-27). Then the LORD opens the donkey's mouth, then Balaam's eyes (22:28, 31). Peter says Balaam loved the pay he could get from wrongdoing and was rebuked by a donkey that spoke (2 Peter 2:15-16). Israel is camped below, and nothing in the chapter suggests they know any of this is happening. God was guarding them all along, and he still watches over his people in ways they never see.

To think about: How might your worries change if you remembered that God guards his people in ways they never see?