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Happy Tuesday, {{first_name| everyone}}!
If you missed yesterday’s introduction to Numbers, you can find it here. And if you haven’t read Numbers 22-23, I highly recommend it to get the most out of this week.
Today, we’re zooming into the strange story of the pagan sorcerer who tried to curse Israel but couldn’t help but bless them…oh and more on that talking donkey part.
In today’s email…
🐴 The original talking donkey (sorry Shrek)
💰 Have you ever tried to bribe God?
📊 Trivia to see if you’re reading closely..
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MEMORIZE 🧠
God is not man, that he _____ ___, or a son of man, that he should ___ ___ ___.
Has he said, and will he not __ __? Or has he spoken, and will he not _______ it?
Number 23:19
CONTEXT 📕
Will God fulfill His promise? Yes. How will He do it? You never can quite guess.
On the road to Moab, hired by King Balak to curse God’s people there, the pagan seer Balaam runs into trouble with his donkey.
She turns off the path.
She pins him up against a wall.
And eventually she crouches in the road, refusing, despite Balaam’s beatings, to go any further.
Angry and perplexed, Balaam has no idea that the donkey has seen something Balaam can’t see – an angel with a drawn sword waiting to kill him to prevent him from cursing Israel.
Then, famously, “the Lord open[s] the donkey’s mouth” and the donkey talks. Balaam’s eyes are opened, and he sees the angel sent to kill him.
Balaam and the Ass, Rembrandt 1626
It’s here, on the road, well before he arrives in Moab, where Balaam realizes it’s best not to oppose the will of Yahweh.
And when Balaam arrives in Moab, King Balak will learn the same lesson.
After Balak meets Balaam in Moab, Balaam tells Balak to build seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams as offerings. Balak surely thinks this generous offering will win the god’s favor. That’s what offerings are for in pagan cultures; they’re bribes.
Then Balaam meets with Yahweh.
But when Balaam comes back from his meeting with Yahweh, he doesn’t curse Israel. He blesses them.
King Balak is shocked. This is not what he paid for.
“‘What have you done to me?’ Balak asked. ‘I brought you to curse my enemies, but look, you have only blessed them!’
He answered, ‘Shouldn’t I say exactly what Yahweh puts in my mouth?’”
Balak doesn’t give up. He suggests another spot. Maybe another hill, another sacrifice, another prayer will enable a better result.
Waiting for the curse he’s commissioned, Balak hears Balaam say our memory verse:
19 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?
20 Behold, I received a command to bless:
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
Balak tries one more time, and once again God puts words of blessing in Balaam’s mouth.
Israel will not be cursed, because Yahweh has promised to bless them.
He cannot be thwarted.
His plans will not be undone.
APPLY AND RESPOND 🏃♂
Have you ever tried to defy or control God? To get him to act the way you want him to act? To curse the people you curse and bless the people you bless? Maybe you just wanted Him to get out of your way?
How did that go?
Take a moment to ask God to reveal to you the places where you’re opposed to His plan.
Maybe you’re not openly fighting God. Maybe you’re just micromanaging Him. Maybe He made you a promise, and you’ve made a step-by-step plan for how exactly He’ll keep it.
Throughout Scripture, Yahweh upends expectations.
Abraham didn’t expect to wait so long for the promised Isaac.
Joseph didn’t expect slavery and prison as pathways to the promise.
Nobody expected a virgin birth in a stable.
Are you comfortable letting God decide how He’ll keep his promise?
🙏 Pray
Yahweh, thank you for refusing to let me boss you around. I confess that my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts. I am so finite and limited. I don’t know best. Show me. Surprise me. Deny me control. Teach me to willingly submit to your wisdom and authority. Amen.
TOGETHER WITH THE FLYOVER
News for everyday Americans.
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The good news is, there is a better way. There’s a free newsletter called The Flyover. Without the hidden agenda, slant, or bias, their team of editors digs through hundreds of sources and pull out the most important news of the day.
TRIVIA 📊
Click one of the answers below. Let’s see how you do…
How many animals did Balaam instruct Balak to sacrifice?
PODCAST OF THE WEEK 🎧
Hey all, Kieran here. I wanted to make sure you knew about Holy Ghost Stories, a podcast produced by Justin — one of the contributing writers this week.
I have never come across a podcast like this, so it’s hard to describe Holy Ghost Stories to someone who hasn’t experienced it…but I’ll try my best.
Holy Ghost Stories tells the stories of the Bible, beautifully and truthfully. They have already shared over 80 episodes of Old Testament stories told in all their fantastic wonder. Some of them even feature original music scores from award winning composers.
The best part? There’s an episode on this week’s strange and wonderful story about Balaam. I couldn’t encourage you enough to give it a listen and immerse yourself in the story of the verse we’re memorizing!
ANSWER KEY ✅
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
Best,
The Malachi Daily team 🙏
Today’s Contributors
Justin lives in the Ozarks with his wife and their two daughters. He’s the creator of Holy Ghost Stories, a podcast that tells the stories of the Bible beautifully and truthfully.
JL is an editor at Holy Ghost Stories and the creator of The Happiest Saddest People, a serialized audio memoir. She loves helping people see and understand the story God’s written in Scripture and the story God’s still writing today.
Kieran is a husband and father living in NJ. In addition to Malachi Daily, he writes a personal newsletter about the intersection of faith, fatherhood and entrepreneurship.
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