Not quite sure how Balak knew about him. Perhaps he was listed under “Prophets for Hire” in the “Beyond the Jordan Yellow Pages.” Maybe he had a billboard or two set up along the road . . . “Blessings for Bucks, Curses for Cash” . . . “You Pay, I Pray” . . . “You Hire, I’ll Call Down Fire” . . . whatever. Bottom line is Balak, king of Moab, was shaking in his boots . . . he had seen what Israel had done to the Amorites . . . he knew he was in their path . . . if he couldn’t prevail by military might, maybe he could with some magical mischief. Cue Balaam, prophet for hire (Numbers 22).

So Balak has his prophet . . . but God, it turns out, has the prophet’s mouth (Numbers 23, 24). Even though Balak tries three times to get Balaam to “curse my enemies”, each time Balaam blesses “the dust of Jacob” as he’s compelled to “speak what the LORD puts in my mouth” (23:11-12). And what grabs me as I read these oracles of Balaam are the words that the LORD puts in this sleazy prophet’s mouth concerning Israel.

You know, Israel . . . the people you even now have been marching around the wilderness for decades because they had refused to believe and obey the LORD at Kadesh Barnea. You know, Israel . . . whiners extraordinaire . . . “Moses, we’re thirsty!” . . . “Moses, we’re hungry!” . . . “Moses, why did you bring us here!?!” . . . “Moses, we wanna go back to Egypt!” . . . “Moses, we’re getting sick of this manna stuff!” . . . blah, blah, blah. Yeah, Israel . . . who had, more than once, risen in rebellion against Moses . . . who had, more than once, been on the verge of God’s calling it “a wrap” on the Jacob initiative, being ready to start over again with another people . . . who had more than once, been the object of ardent intercession as Moses, on his face, pleaded for God’s mercy for the sake of God’s glory. Yeah, this Israel. But check out some of what the LORD says concerning them through this pseudo prophet . . .

“. . . [God] has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has He seen trouble in Israel. . . . The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt, and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. . . . How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. . . . God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox . . . “   (Numbers 23:21-22; 24:5-6, 8 ESV)

Really? God has “no bone to pick with Israel, He sees nothing wrong with Israel” (MSG)? Their tents are lovely? . . . prospering like gardens beside a river? . . . like cedars beside the waters? What Israel is Balaam hovering over? What Israel is God talking about? Oh, praise God, it is the people of His calling . . . the people in whom He has begun a good work . . . the people through whom He will be known and glorified . . . they are God’s people of promise . . . and God keeps His promise!

“God is not man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change his mind. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”   (Numbers 23:19 ESV)

The prophet’s words weren’t deserved by Israel’s performance, but delivered because of their God declared position. They weren’t reflective of this band of nomads’ practice, but proclaimed solely on the basis of their God ordained potential. It wasn’t about how perfect they had been, but about how powerful the God was, the God who declares Himself “for them”. It was about His promise to redeem them, and then remold them, as His people.

And I hear a similar “prophetic word” spoken over me this morning . . . not by not some prophet for hire, but through the abiding Spirit of God. Words not uttered because of who I am, but because of what He’s done . . . spoken not because of what I’ve done, but because of who He is. God has begun a work . . . a work based on a promise . . . a work focused on potential . . . a work that will be completed because of His power (Php. 1:6) . . . a work that He has determined to bless, and not curse . . . for His purposes . . . for His glory!