Sarah G.
**Numbers 22**
**“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you.” (Deuteronomy 31:8)** 🙏
As the Israelites continued their journey through the wilderness, their numbers grew larger and larger, causing great fear among the Moabites and their king, Balak.
Balak had heard of a man named Balaam. It was said that whoever Balaam blessed was blessed, and whoever he cursed was cursed. Therefore, Balak sent messengers with valuable gifts to invite Balaam to come and curse the people of Israel.
At first, God clearly told Balaam:
**“You must not go with them. You must not curse those people, because they are blessed.”**
However, Balak kept increasing the rewards and sent even more distinguished officials to persuade Balaam.
Although Balaam knew God’s will, he still desired the rewards and hoped that the situation might somehow change.
Later, Balaam set out on his donkey.
But God was angry because of the greed in Balaam’s heart, and He sent an angel to stand in the road to oppose him.
The donkey saw the angel, but Balaam could not.
The first time, the donkey turned off the road and went into a field. Balaam struck it with his staff.
The second time, the donkey pressed against a wall and crushed Balaam’s foot. Again, Balaam struck it.
The third time, the angel stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn either way. The donkey had nowhere to go and lay down under Balaam. In his anger, Balaam struck the donkey once more.
Then the Lord enabled the donkey to speak:
**“What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”**
Balaam actually argued with the donkey:
**“Because you have made a fool of me!”**
The donkey replied:
**“Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I ever treated you this way before?”**
Balaam answered:
**“No.”**
Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes.
Balaam finally saw the angel standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand.
The angel said to him:
**“If the donkey had not turned away from me these three times, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared the donkey.”**
Only then did Balaam realize that it was not his own wisdom that had protected him, but God, who had used a donkey to save his life.
In the end, Balaam confessed his sin and could only speak the words that God gave him. Although he had been invited to curse Israel, he instead proclaimed blessings over Israel again and again.
### Discussion Questions
1. What motivated Balaam to want to curse Israel at first? What kind of inner struggle did he experience?
2. What methods did God use to stop Balaam, and how did He turn Balaam’s curse into a blessing?
3. Satan uses many different methods to destroy the Kingdom of God. As Christians, temptation and deception are realities we all face. How can we remain alert and learn to recognize and resist them?