Tag: Numbers 23

Numbers 23–24: Balaam’s 4-fold warning for the end-times generation

Post author By Jeff
Post date July 20, 2019
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Title banner: Balaam's 4-fold warning for the end-times generation with a campsite of yurts in the background

The New Testament has multiple warnings about the “error of Balaam” (Jude 11) and “teaching of Balaam” (Rev. 2:12–17), specifically for the Body of Messiah at the apocalyptic time around the Day of the LORD.

But what does the amazing account in Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9) of a talking donkey and double-agent prophet have to teach us today? In short, remember who we are as “treasures” of the Kingdom of Heaven, why that’s special, and whether we are being transformed into people who have the character and heart of the Messiah.

Tags Balak - devastator or destroyer - Strong's H1111, Bilam/Balaam - Strong's H1109a, messianic prophecy, Numbers 23, Numbers 24, Parashat Balak, Revelation 02, Revelation message to church of Ephesus, Revelation message to church of Pergamon

Discussions Torah

Numbers 22–24: Beware of self-loving, double-speaking prophets

Post author By Daniel
Post date June 30, 2018
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A man stands atop of a high place in the Grand Canyon with arms outstretched in praise

It’s important to respect yourself as one who bears the image of God, but when does self-love cross over into conceit? And when that conceit is in the heart of a prophet that practices deceit, it’s a sobering warning. The lesson of Balaam told in Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) and expanded upon in Micah 5:6–6:8 and Jude 3-16 is a warning and a contrast between a true prophet of God, namely Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), and a false prophet.

Tags Balaam, Bilam/Balaam - Strong's H1109a, donkey, false prophet, Jude, Micah 05, Micah 06, Numbers 22, Numbers 23, Numbers 24, Parashat Balak, talking donkey

Discussions Torah

Numbers 22:1-25:9: God sent emissaries to the Gentiles too

Post author By Daniel
Post date July 8, 2017
No Comments on Numbers 22:1-25:9: God sent emissaries to the Gentiles too

Cartoon of Balaam and the King of Moab by Jack Foster of MrBibleHead.blogspot.com via Creative Commons License.

The prophet Bilam (Balaam) is not an isolated individual, an anomaly in Scripture. He was not the first or last emissary to the Gentiles. God did not leave them without guidance. Bilam is a foreshadowing of the ministry of Saul of Tarsus, aka the apostle Paul, whose experience on the road to Damascus echoes the account in the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak of Bilam’s experience with a “recalcitrant” she-donkey.

Tags Aram, Balaam, Balak, Bilam/Balaam - Strong's H1109a, blessing, curse, Damascus, Gentiles, Israel, Moab, Moses, Numbers, Numbers 22, Numbers 23, Numbers 24, Numbers 25, Parashat Balak, Paul, talking donkey

Discussions Torah

Numbers 22:1–25:9: Stubborn as a donkey about true prophecy

Post author By Daniel
Post date July 23, 2016
No Comments on Numbers 22:1–25:9: Stubborn as a donkey about true prophecy

Painting "Landscape with Bileam" by Joseph Anton Koch (1768–1839), owned by the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. Photo via Wikipedia Commons.

Everyone loves a story about talking animals, especially smart ones. But the account in the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak isn’t just fodder for a fun animated kids’ movie. It’s an important lesson that God wants us to recognize false prophets and not follow them.

Tags 2nd Peter 02, Balak, Balak - devastator or destroyer - Strong's H1111, Bilam/Balaam - Strong's H1109a, Micah 06, Numbers 22, Numbers 23, Numbers 24, Parashat Balak

Discussions Torah

Numbers 23-24: The unintended prophesy of Balaam, part 2

Post author By Richard
Post date July 30, 2011
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Bilam (Balaam) is not a member of God’s covenant and was a foreigner to them, although he was from the land of Aram, the ancestral homeland of Abraham. Yet, God saw fit to give him His words, His visions and to Bilam and use Bilam as God’s instrument among the people.