Links for today’s readings:
Read: Numbers 23 Listen: (4:01) Read: 1 Thessalonians 5 Listen: (2:37)
Scripture Focus: Numbers 23:11–12
11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”
12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”
Reflection: The Puppet “Prophet”
Erin Newton
A message from God is a force that cannot be equaled. Behind the words is power that is unparalleled and unmatched. Nothing can be formed against it. No human can resist it.
It can speak both judgment and blessing. It can bring life into creation and banish evil to the depths.
We expect the godly to spout the words of God—with joy no less. Shouts of praise and unashamed proclamations of God’s goodness are welcomed reverberations in the walls of churches.
The godly may pause before messages of criticism and judgment, but the power of the word is overwhelming. Jeremiah hesitates, “But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20.9).
A prophet, the chosen mouthpiece for God, may falter ever so slightly, but the word burns like a fire.
And so it is even with fools. The word of God is not hampered by the motives of the speaker, for Balaam proves that God is not deterred by any vessel. Balaam and Balak were mouthpieces for a world hostile to God, hoping to bring curses to God’s people. Over and over they try to bring a foul word. Again and again, they fail. Overpowered by the good news of God, Balaam speaks words of blessing and praise to the God of Israel’s salvation.
Do you languish waiting for a godly, prophetic voice to speak words of blessing? Are you discouraged at the presence of leaders who only seem to plot curses? Let us not be dismayed. God has overpowered the minds and mouths of even his staunchest opponents. Through the most unlikely mouths, curses have been turned into hope. Messages meant to destroy have been overshadowed with messages of good news.
It is more likely that we pray for good leaders to rise up and wicked speakers to be silenced—but Balaam’s story reminds us that God’s message will prevail—no matter the vessel he must use.
Let us pray for the embers of God’s word to ignite within the mouths of unlikely people. Let us recognize the divine power behind such words.
And remember, Balaam is no happy conversion story. He is a symbol to all who try to stand against God that they are merely puppets.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
I will bear witness that the Lord is righteous; I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High. — Psalm 7.18
– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime
by Phyllis Tickle
Read more: Balaams and Balaks
Balaams today claim to speak for God yet seem willing to tickle the ears of the powerful in exchange for assurances of influence and power.
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