Today's readings allow us to see how the Israelites were perceived by the nations around them as they moved towards the land. Early advances were met by military resistance, but in each case God gave the army favor and support in winning battles - even though the armies that opposed them knew the layout of the land, and should have had superior advantages.
What's fascinating in the narrative is the story of Balaam and Balak. Balak was a Moabite king.
Moab was not in the territory, or land area, that God had promised the Israelites; but nevertheless they feared the Israelites. After seeing what their army had done to the Amorites, Balak decided to fight them with "curses", and so sought out Balaam.
What's obvious from the text is that Balaam knows Yahweh. He hears from God, and when he does travel towards the land, God sends an angel along to make sure he gets the point..."only say what I tell you to say". He was a "diviner"...a person who spoke "oracles" - sayings that represented either curses or blessings on those who they were intended for.
Balak thought that if Balaam would curse the nation, then he would have a military advantage over the Israelites. The story is rich as a story...imagine the scenes, they are full of dialog and rich in understanding how God viewed the nation of Israel in spite of all their complaining and lack of faith.
In the end, Balaam only blesses - BUT, the outcome of his visit is that we quickly see that while the enemy cannot destroy the nation from outside - militarily - they can act like a cancer from the inside and do it through immorality.
The story of Balaam is a story of being seduced by material promises, and hedging obedience by not being fully obedient to God's word.
Peace
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