Originally posted: 06/15/2019
“Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it,” (23:20).
The story of Balaam, beginning in Numbers 22, relates the actions, not of a prophet of God, but a pagan prophet; hired for divination, who almost lost his life due to pride and disobedience, and was spared only by a donkey with more wisdom than him.
God chose to put His word into this pagan’s mouth to Command His Blessing.
Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus,” (23:5).
Then the Lord met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak,” (23:16).
While a pagan king is grasping at straws in hopes of cursing and defeating God’s people, the Holy King turns the tables, using the very instrument intended for evil to speak His Word of Blessing.
No man, no spiritual entity, no force of evil can stand against the Almighty, Sovereign LORD and His Command to Bless.
Consider His Command to Bless
And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Arise, O Balak, and hear;
Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
Has He said, and will He not do it?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 “Behold, I have received a command to bless;
When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it.
21 “He has not observed misfortune in Jacob;
Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
The Lord his God is with him,” (23:17-21).
His Command to Bless is Truth:
God is not a man, that He should lie,
His Command to Bless is Enduring:
Nor a son of man, that He should repent;
His Command to Bless is Certain:
Has He said, and will He not do it?
His Command to Bless is Dependable:
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good??
His Command to Bless is Irrevocable:
When He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it.
His Command to Bless imparts His Peace:
He has not observed misfortune in Jacob;
Nor has He seen trouble in Israel;
His Command to Bless communicates His Presence:
The Lord his God is with him,
His Command to Bless pledges His sovereign rule as King:
And the shout of a king is among them.
How do we respond to His Command to Bless?
His Command to Bless is founded in His Truth.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me,” (John 14:6).
If you have any doubt about your eternal destination, any doubt you will be with the Father in Heaven for all eternity, stop now and ask Jesus to save you. Tell Him you know you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself; place your faith in what He did for you when He suffered and died on the cross to bear your penalty of sin, then rose from the dead to raise you to new life in Him … “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;” (Romans 10:9).
If you prayed this prayer, please talk to a pastor or you can email The Planting Place: plantingplace@gmail.com
Even Balaam, the pagan prophet, after speaking aloud God’s Blessings desired the blessings for himself. “Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!” (23:10).
In the New Testament we learn Balaam did not end like the upright; “forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;” (2 Peter 2:15).
In the New Testament we also learn of the meaning of the wages earned by Balaam; “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, (Romans 6:23).
Knowing, and even being able to speak God’s Word does not save. Only those who depend upon His grace to place their faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ are given His free gift of eternal life and thereby declared upright.
Faith places us in the only position to receive His Blessings.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; (Ephesians 2:8).
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him, (Hebrews 11:1, 6).
By faith, we belong to Him, believe His promises and receive every spiritual Blessing He Commands as our own.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, (Ephesians 1:3).
By faith, we can live convinced His Blessings are True, Enduring, Certain, Dependable and Irrevocable; His Blessings impart His Peace and His Presence. By faith we know He is our King and He is Faithful in all His Commands to Bless.