Through the Bible – Day 53

_2-3When King Balak of Moab and his people heard how many Israelites there were and what they had done to the Amorites, he and the Moabites were terrified and panicked. ₄They said to the Midianite leaders, “Those Israelites will wipe out everything in sight, like a bull eating grass in a field.”

So King Balak ₅sent a message to Balaam son of Beor who lived among his relatives in the town of Pethor near the River Euphrates. It said:

₇The leaders of Moab and Midian left and took along money to pay Balaam for his work. When they got to his house, they gave him Balak's message.

₈“Spend the night here,” Balaam replied, “and tomorrow I will tell you the LORD's answer.” So the officials stayed at his house.

₉During the night, God asked Balaam, “Who are these people at your house?”

₁₀“They are messengers from King Balak of Moab,” Balaam answered. “He sent them ₁₁to ask me to go to Moab and place a curse on the people who have come there from Egypt. They have settled everywhere around him, and he wants to drive them out.”

₁₂But God replied, “Don't go with Balak's messengers. I have blessed those people who have come from Egypt, so don't curse them.”

₁₃The next morning, Balaam said to Balak's officials, “Go back home. The LORD says I cannot go with you.”

₁₄The officials left and told Balak that Balaam refused to come.

₁₅Then Balak sent a larger group of officials, who were even more important than the first ones. ₁₆They went to Balaam and told him that Balak had said, “Balaam, if you come to Moab, ₁₇I'll pay you very well and do whatever you ask. Just come and place a curse on these people.”

₁₈Balaam answered, “Even if Balak offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I wouldn't do anything to disobey the LORD my God. ₁₉You are welcome to spend the night here, just as the others did. I will find out if the LORD has something else to say about this.”

₂₀That night, God said, “Balaam, I'll let you go to Moab with Balak's messengers, but do only what I say.”

₂₁So Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey, then left with the Moabite officials.

₂₂Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the LORD's angels stood in the road to stop him. ₂₃When Balaam's donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road.

₂₄Then the angel stood between two vineyards, in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. ₂₅When the donkey saw the angel, it walked so close to one of the walls that Balaam's foot scraped against the wall. Balaam beat the donkey again.

₂₆The angel moved once more and stood in a spot so narrow that there was no room for the donkey to go around. ₂₇So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper, then picked up a stick and hit the donkey.

₂₈When that happened, the LORD told the donkey to speak, and it asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that made you beat me three times?”

₂₉“You made me look stupid!” Balaam answered. “If I had a sword, I'd kill you here and now!”

₃₀“But you're my owner,” replied the donkey, “and you've ridden me many times. Have I ever done anything like this before?”

“No,” Balaam admitted.

₃₁Just then, the LORD let Balaam see the angel standing in the road, holding a sword, and Balaam bowed down.

₃₂The angel said, “You had no right to treat your donkey like that! I was the one who blocked your way, because I don't think you should go to Moab. ₃₃If your donkey had not seen me and stopped those three times, I would have killed you and let the donkey live.”

₃₄Balaam replied, “I was wrong. I didn't know you were trying to stop me. If you don't think I should go, I'll return home at once.”

₃₅“It's all right for you to go,” the LORD's angel answered. “But you must say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went on with Balak's officials.

₃₆When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at the town of Ir, which is on the northern border of Moab. ₃₇Balak asked, “Why didn't you come when I invited you the first time? Did you think I wasn't going to pay you?”

₃₈“I'm here now,” Balaam answered. “But I will say only what God tells me to say.”

₃₉They left and went to the town of Kiriath-Huzoth, ₄₀where Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and gave some of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him.

₄₁The next morning, Balak took Balaam to the town of Bamoth-Baal. From there, Balaam could see some of the Israelites.

₁Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars here, then bring seven bulls and seven rams.”

₂After Balak had done this, they sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar. ₃Then Balaam said, “Wait here beside your offerings, and I'll go somewhere to be alone. Perhaps the LORD will appear to me. If he does, I will tell you everything he says.” And he left.

₄When God appeared to him, Balaam said, “I have built seven altars and have sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.”

₅The LORD gave Balaam a message, then sent him back to tell Balak. ₆When Balaam returned, he found Balak and his officials standing beside the offerings.

₇Balaam said:

₁₁Balak said, “What are you doing? I asked you to come and place a curse on my enemies. But you have blessed them instead!”

₁₂Balaam answered, “I can say only what the LORD tells me.”

₁₃Balak said to Balaam, “Let's go somewhere else. Perhaps if you see a smaller part of the Israelites, you will be able to curse them for me.” ₁₄So he took Balaam to a field on top of Mount Pisgah where lookouts were stationed. Then he built seven altars there and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one.

₁₅“Wait here beside your offerings,” Balaam said. “The LORD will appear to me over there.”

₁₆The LORD appeared to Balaam and gave him another message, then he told him to go and tell Balak. ₁₇Balaam went back and saw him and his officials standing beside the offerings.

Balak asked, “What did the LORD say?”

₁₈Balaam answered:

₂₅Balak shouted, “If you're not going to curse Israel, then at least don't bless them.”

₂₆“I've already told you,” Balaam answered. “I will say only what the LORD tells me.”

₂₇Balak said to Balaam, “Come on, let's try another place. Perhaps God will let you curse Israel from there.” ₂₈So he took Balaam to Mount Peor overlooking the desert north of the Dead Sea.

₂₉Balaam said, “Build seven altars here, then bring me seven bulls and seven rams.”

₃₀After Balak had done what Balaam asked, he sacrificed a bull and a ram on each altar.

₁Balaam was sure that the LORD would tell him to bless Israel again. So he did not use any magic to find out what the LORD wanted him to do, as he had the first two times. Instead, he looked out towards the desert ₂and saw the tribes of Israel camped below. Just then, God's Spirit took control of him, ₃and Balaam said:

₁₀When Balak heard this, he was so furious that he pounded his fist against his hand and said, “I called you here to place a curse on my enemies, and you've blessed them three times. ₁₁Leave now and go home! I told you I would pay you well, but since the LORD didn't let you do what I asked, you won't be paid.”

₁₂Balaam answered, “I told your messengers ₁₃that even if you offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I would still obey the LORD. And I explained that I would say only what he told me. ₁₄So I'm going back home, but I'm leaving you with a warning about what the Israelites will some day do to your nation.”

₁₅Balaam said:

₂₅After Balaam finished, he started home, and Balak also left.

₂₃One Sabbath Jesus and his disciples were walking through some wheat fields. His disciples were picking grains of wheat as they went along. ₂₄Some Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why are your disciples picking grain on the Sabbath? They are not supposed to do that!”

₂₅Jesus answered, “Haven't you read what David did when he and his followers were hungry and in need? ₂₆It was during the time of Abiathar the high priest. David went into the house of God and ate the sacred loaves of bread that only priests are allowed to eat. He also gave some to his followers.”

₂₇Jesus finished by saying, “People were not made for the good of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of people. ₂₈So the Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath.”

₁The next time that Jesus went into the meeting place, a man with a crippled hand was there. ₂The Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of doing something wrong, and they kept watching to see if Jesus would heal him on the Sabbath.

₃Jesus told the man to stand up where everyone could see him. ₄Then he asked, “On the Sabbath should we do good deeds or evil deeds? Should we save someone's life or destroy it?” But no one said a word.

₅Jesus was angry as he looked around at the people. Yet he felt sorry for them because they were so stubborn. Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did, and his bad hand was healed.

₆The Pharisees left. And straight away they started making plans with Herod's followers to kill Jesus.

₇Jesus led his disciples down to the shore of the lake. Large crowds followed him from Galilee, Judea, ₈and Jerusalem. People came from Idumea, as well as other places east of the River Jordan. They also came from the region around the cities of Tyre and Sidon. All these crowds came because they had heard what Jesus was doing. ₉He even had to tell his disciples to get a boat ready to keep him from being crushed by the crowds.

₁₀After Jesus had healed many people, the other sick people begged him to let them touch him. ₁₁And whenever any evil spirits saw Jesus, they would fall to the ground and shout, “You are the Son of God!” ₁₂But Jesus warned the spirits not to tell who he was.