Balaam asks if he should continue to go to Balak, God tells him yes, but he was not to curse Israel, but bless them and to only say what He tells Balaam to say.
Here the chapter ends. The rest of the account is in chapter 23.
It is unclear if Balaam was descendant of Abraham (through sons other than Isaac or through Esau) or a descendant of Lot, or otherwise a gentile. The chapter says that his God is YHWH, because the text uses this specific name. It does not say how He knows of YHWH or whether YHWH was the only God he worshipped of one of many. He may have heard of what occurred with the Israelites over the past 40 years. He may have known about the blessings God gave to all of Abraham's sons and the promises specific to Isaac since 400-500 years had passed since Abraham lived.
So there are many questions about Balaam's belief system. Regardless, Balaam did have a sense that YHWH is to be obeyed, having power and authority over men. Balaam seemed to attest to one thing but in his heart, he really was inclined to the opposite of what he attested to. We need to be careful to not be double-minded like Balaam. We need to be careful to not go along with people we know to be evil or against God, like Balaam did. We need to be careful to not put God to the test by not fully accepting His directions to us and continuing to seek to see if He would change His will, like Balaam tried to do.
If we know that an action or way is wrong for us to do or follow, we should not seek God to grant us permission to do something that is against His will. We also should not seek the counsel of anyone who is not a believer or any source that does not align with His Word, whether a Bible teacher or secular source.
Balaam could have told Balak, "No, I will bless Israel because God is with them and His will is for them to be blessed. I want to follow God and His command to me." But Balaam did not hold his ground before the princes of Balak and refuse.
Cont.
Balaam asks if he should continue to go to Balak, God tells him yes, but he was not to curse Israel, but bless them and to only say what He tells Balaam to say.
Here the chapter ends. The rest of the account is in chapter 23.
It is unclear if Balaam was descendant of Abraham (through sons other than Isaac or through Esau) or a descendant of Lot, or otherwise a gentile. The chapter says that his God is YHWH, because the text uses this specific name. It does not say how He knows of YHWH or whether YHWH was the only God he worshipped of one of many. He may have heard of what occurred with the Israelites over the past 40 years. He may have known about the blessings God gave to all of Abraham's sons and the promises specific to Isaac since 400-500 years had passed since Abraham lived.
So there are many questions about Balaam's belief system. Regardless, Balaam did have a sense that YHWH is to be obeyed, having power and authority over men. Balaam seemed to attest to one thing but in his heart, he really was inclined to the opposite of what he attested to. We need to be careful to not be double-minded like Balaam. We need to be careful to not go along with people we know to be evil or against God, like Balaam did. We need to be careful to not put God to the test by not fully accepting His directions to us and continuing to seek to see if He would change His will, like Balaam tried to do.
If we know that an action or way is wrong for us to do or follow, we should not seek God to grant us permission to do something that is against His will. We also should not seek the counsel of anyone who is not a believer or any source that does not align with His Word, whether a Bible teacher or secular source.
Balaam could have told Balak, "No, I will bless Israel because God is with them and His will is for them to be blessed. I want to follow God and His command to me." But Balaam did not hold his ground before the princes of Balak and refuse.
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