So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ” And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.” And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.
Nu 22:7-18 NKJV
Category: Numbers
Numbering of Israel and Journey to the Promised Land.
Why isn’t there any record of millions of Jews wandering in the desert?
Click on the link below to read an article on the CARM website and find out some possible reasons why no evidence has been found for millions of Jews living in the desert for forty years Link here
Numbers 32
13 The Lord’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
Unless you’ve traveled to the places mentioned in the Bible or studied geography the chances of you making any sense or Numbers 33 and 34 are slim. That’s where BibleMap.org comes in…
BibleMap.org is developed by the duo at He Lives Ministries (HeLives.com). The motivation for developing the site was simple, create a free Bible atlas which harnesses Google maps. We hope this site will be a blessing to you and possibly help make the living book of the Bible more alive in your life.
An interesting discussion on Balaam here especially the comment from Bill Smith, read an extract below…
balaam is a sorcerer. he dabbles in the occult. That is the source of his “gift”. He is a mercenary . He hires himself out to whoever will pay him. He doesn’t care what it is about. He is on his way to do the bidding of Balak the Moabite king for a handsome reward.
because he is skilled in the occult he recognises a greater power when he meets it. That greater power is God. He also knows that the powers he moves in are subordinate to the power of God. He does not have a power to oppose God.
When he encounters the angel on the road he really comes face to face with the power of God. I cannot emphesise enough the difference between the power of God and the occult. Balaam is an occultist. he knows the power he is facing when God comes to him.
Commentary from Matthew Henry on Chapter 22 can be found on blueletterbible.org
Numbers 22
4 The Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”
So Balak son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor, who was at Pethor, near the Euphrates River, in his native land.
Aaron’s Rod Bursts Into a Tree
Eleazar’s Thoughts
Uncle Moses came out of the Tabernacle this morning and spoke with my dad. Since I’m a priest in training, Dad invited me to many of their talks.
The wrinkles on Uncle Moses’ forehead pushed down. I wondered what deep thoughts he had. The people had rebelled against God, Moses, and now several men wanted my dad’s job. Uncle Moses sighed. “Aaron, God has decided to show the people who He chose as head priest. He’s tired of their complaining.”
Dad groaned. “Not anything bad, is it?”
Read the rest of Eleazar’s Thoughts @ Mary Vee’s blog here
Numbers 17
1 The Lord said to Moses,2 “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.4 Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you.5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”
6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron’s staff was among them.7 Moses placed the staffs before the Lord in the tent of the covenant law.
8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.9 Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the Lord’s presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each of the leaders took his own staff.
So how big can grapes get? Here’s a good example although these took 14 years to develop in a state led project. Ruby Roman grapes
some of the grapes were 3 centimetres (1.2 inches) in diameter.
The largest “natural” variety of grapes that I could find is the Muscadine or Scuppernong grape
More about Muscadine grapes here
Numbers 13
23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs.
Youtube link
Now you see it……….now you don’t
Verse by verse 3d video illustration of the chapter 4 of the Book of Numbers, that describe the Transportationf The Desert Tabernacle (Mishkan) and the burden of the families of Levites.
Numbers 4
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron:2 “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families.3 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
Bible stuff 