Numbers 22-24

“How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel! Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river ...” (24:5-6). Balak king of Moab desperately wanted to curse the Israelites, but God had a different plan. The Israelites were vulnerable, without a king, yet the Lord protected them because they were part of his plan to bless the world. When Balak tried to force the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, the people received instead three divine blessings.

One day, Balaam prophesied, Israel would be a great nation, and “a star will come out of Jacob” – the Messiah (24:17). The world’s destructive powers can never stop the Lord’s plan for salvation and blessing, for us and for all those who seek him.