Holston Daily Devotional February 1, 2021

Focus Scripture

Psalm 35:1-10, Numbers 22:1-12, NRSV

Devotion

A picture hanging in my grandparents' house showed two small children walking across a wooden bridge at night. Unbeknownst to them, there is a hole in the bridge, but the children have passed over it safely. Though they do not see it, an angel is hovering above them, watching over them.

I had an experience like that once, when I was in college, walking alone to my car after a late class. I will not go into the details here, but the next morning I learned that I had been in very great danger indeed. I still tremble with the knowledge that God's protective angel was standing guard over me.

In today's scripture from Numbers 22, the Israelites were likewise unaware of their peril as they camped in the plains of Moab. The Moabite king Balak had taken due note of their success in the battle against the Amorites; he worried about the sheer number of these invaders from Egypt. So he decided to use supernatural means to fight them, and he sent messengers to Balaam, asking him to come and curse the Israelites so that he, Balak, could defeat them.

Now Balaam was a pagan, identified as a soothsayer or a diviner (Josh. 13:22), a class of people considered to be "an abomination to the Lord (Deut. 18:9-12)." Nevertheless, when Balaam consulted God, God answered him, and God's message was short and succinct: do not go with these men, and do not curse the people that God has blessed.

God does eventually permit Balaam to go to Moab but insists that he say only what God tells him to. During Balaam's journey, God repeats these instructions, using a sword-wielding angel and a talking donkey, but that is a tale for another time. Suffice it to say that Balaam is crystal clear on God's message by the time he reaches Moab.

Balak, meanwhile, has been impatiently awaiting Balaam's arrival. Together they go up into the mountains, from whence they can see the Israelite encampment. There, they offer sacrifices, after which Balak expects to hear the prophet rain down curses upon his enemies.

Instead, Balaam pronounces God's blessings upon the Israelites; in fact, he does this three times. Then, turning to the now enraged king, Balaam, inspired by the Holy Spirit, foretells doom and destruction for the Moabites, along with all the pagan peoples like them.

Centuries later, David would beseech God to don His holy armor and take up His divine weapons, and fight against David's enemies; he asks God to ensnare his foes in the net they had laid out for him, to trap them in the very pit they had dug for him. "Hoist with their own petard," as the saying goes.

This is pretty much what happens to King Balak and the Moabites, cursed by their own prophet to suffer the fate they had wished on the Israelites.

Furthermore, all this time, the Israelites have no idea they are in danger. Encamped on the plains in blissful ignorance, they do not know that God is fighting their enemies on their behalf.

In fact, God had gone even further. Through the mouth of this pagan prophet-for-hire, God speaks one of the earliest prophecies of His coming Messiah: "A Star shall come out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel (Num. 24:17)." God's deliverance shall come, not just for the immediate future, but for all eternity.

Sometimes we, like David, might feel we are beset by enemies. At other times we might believe ourselves safe and secure when in fact, the forces of evil are arrayed against us. We might even find we are walking down a dark and unfamiliar road with unseen hazards; certainly, many of us have felt this way in recent months.

But never fear! As proclaimed in Psalm 46, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." (46:1) "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." (46:7, 11)

Prayer

God watches over us; God fights for us even when we do not realize it