🏃🏼 Numbers 23:19 | Original Hebrew

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Who wants to learn some Hebrew? Today we’re diving into the original meaning of a word in our verse and what it tells us about the way God keeps his promises.

In today’s email…

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God is not ___, that he _____ ___, or a son of ___, that he should ___ ___ ___.

Has he said, and ____ __ not __ __? Or ___ __ spoken, and ____ __ not _______ it?

Numbers 23:19

Let’s sit with the words of Numbers 23:19. A whole world opens when we look closely at the Hebrew word “fulfill.”

quwm (koom) — “fulfill” / “establish”

In our memory verse, Balaam asks rhetorically, “Has [Yahweh] spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”

This Hebrew word finds use again and again throughout the Old Testament, often pointing to the work Yahweh will do to keep His promises or fulfill His covenant.

Saul, for instance, admits to the ascendant David: “I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands.” 

Interestingly, though, this word is most commonly translated “arise” or “go.” Yahweh says to Abram in Genesis 13, “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” Quwm. Get going. Begin.

So we have “fulfill/establish” and “arise/go” — is there a connection between these meanings?

Perhaps the bridge is this: God is never passive or uncertain; His word always moves history toward His intended end.

God does not “start” acting when He speaks. His speaking is His acting. His word reveals what He has eternally decreed and is sovereignly bringing to pass.

He is always going, always on the move, always speaking and always bringing His words to fulfillment.

Even the pagan Balaam could see this.

Hopefully, we see it too.

God always keeps His word — but He only promises what He has actually said in Scripture.

Numbers 23:19 reminds us that God does not speak casually or vaguely. When He speaks, He acts. When He promises, He follows through. Even Balaam, a pagan prophet, could see this truth clearly.

But sometimes confusion and disappointment come when we expect God to do things He never promised to do. There’s a difference between God’s promises and our preferences.

Use the below exercise to reflect on this with God:

Acknowledge that these are signs that God is already “on the move,” keeping His word.

It is good to bring these desires before God. At the same time, ask for help trusting Him even if His answer looks different than you expect.

This is what it means to hold our desires with open hands, while holding God’s promises with confidence.

🙏 Pray

Father, you speak no idle words. You break no covenant. Bring to mind the promises you’ve made to me, to the people I love, and to the world. Remind me that you’re at work at every moment fulfilling those promises, making good on what you’ve said. In the faithful name of Jesus, Amen.

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Here are a few resources to help you dig deeper into our memory verse:

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God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Numbers 23:19