23 "The Irreversible Blessing of God" Numbers 22:36-23:26 | Thursday, March 12, 2026

Let's take our Bibles and go to Numbers

22.

Numbers chapter 22.

Numbers 22 · chapter mention

Last week we started in dealt with most

of chapter 22 as we deal with this saga

or whatever you want to call it about

Balum and Bailac. Very interesting text

as as no one in Israel is addressed.

This is God

dealing in the affairs of men outside of

his people on behalf of his people. A

pagan prophet, very pagan kings and

princes. And yet what we see is that God

works even among the lost to accomplish

his purpose to fulfill his promises.

Bailo and the Moabites and the

Midionites conspire to hire Balam to

curse Israel. And God tells them,

"You're not to curse Israel, for they

are blessed." Balam wants the money and

he wants the honor. And so he keeps

pressing and God lets him go but God

gets in his way in particular in the way

of his donkey as a very vivid

illustration to show Balam. I do not

stand on your side and I do not stand on

the side of Moab in this. My people are

blessed. Therefore I stand against those

who stand against them. That's what we

talked about last week. Nevertheless,

the Lord allows Balum to go and he

intends to turn his curse into a

blessing. And that's what we're going to

be looking at over these next couple

weeks. The Lord puts four different

speeches in the mouth of Balum that all

issue blessings toward his people and

speak prophetically of God's coming

promises and of God's coming king. And

so we're going to see what God's message

is for Israel through Balum because we

have to remember that this is recorded

in the book of Numbers, not for Bailac

the king, not for Moab and the

Midionites or Balum. It's recorded for

the children of Israel that are about to

enter the promised land. So God has a

particular message for them. And of

course, we believe that God preserves

his word and keeps it for his people

today. And so we know there's meaning in

this for us today as well. And so it's

the text is kind of divided up not by

the the chapters. The chapters and

verses in your Bible were added much

later uh in the Bible's history. And so

when they were originally written, this

was all one flowing story. And so our

our breakups here over the next couple

weeks aren't going to follow the chapter

line. So it's going to be a little weird

that way. But I trust you'll see why

that is. So let's look at Numbers

Numbers 22 · chapter mention

chapter 22 and our text tonight will

cover verse 36 through chapter 3 and

verse 26. So we'll begin reading in

Numbers 22:36.

Numbers 22:36

And when Bailac heard that Balam was

come, he went out to meet him unto a

city of Moab, which is in the border of

Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. And

Bailac said unto Balam, "Did I not

earnestly send unto thee to call thee?

Wherefore camest thou not unto me? Am I

not able indeed to promote thee to

honor? And Balam said, And Balam said

unto Bailac, Lo, I am come unto thee.

Have I now any power at all to say

anything? The word that God puteth in my

mouth, that shall I speak. And Balam

went with Bailac, and they came unto

Kirjath.

And Baal offered oxen and sheep, and

sent to Balam and the princes that were

with him. And it came to pass on the

marorrow that Bailo took Balam and

brought him up into the high places of

Baal that then he might see the utmost

part of the people. And Balam said

unlac, "Build me here seven altars, and

prepare me here seven oxen and seven

ramps." And Bailac did as Balam had

spoken. And Baal and Balam offered on

every altar a bulock and a ram. And

Balam said unto Bailo, "Stand by thy off

burnt offering, and I will go, per

adventure. The Lord will come to meet

me, and whatsoever he showeth me, I will

tell thee." And he went to an high

place. And God met Balam. And he said

unto him, "I have prepared seven altars,

and I've offered upon every altar a

bulock and a ram." And the Lord put a

word in Balam's mouth, and said, "Return

unto Bailac, and thus thou shalt speak."

And he returned unto him, and lo, he

stood by his burnt sacrifice, he and all

the princes of Moab. And he took up his

parable, and said, Bailac, the king of

Moab, hath brought me from Aram out of

the mountains of the east, saying, Come,

curse me, Jacob, and come defy Israel.

How shall I curse whom God hath not

cursed? Or how shall I defy whom the

Lord hath not defied? For from the top

of the rocks I see him, and from the

hills I behold him. Lo, the people shall

dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned

among the nations. Who can count the

dust of Jacob, and the number of the

fourth part of Israel. Let me die the

death of the righteous, and let my last

end be like his." And Baal said unto

Balam, "What hast thou done unto me? I

took thee to curse mine enemies, and

behold, thou hast blessed them alto

together? He answered and said, Must I

not take heed to speak which the Lord

hath put in my mouth? And Bale said unto

him, Come, I pray thee, with me, unto

another place from whence thou mayest

see them, and that thou shalt see but

the uttermost part of them, and shalt

not see them all, and curse me them from

thence. And he brought him into the

field of Zofheim to the top of Pisgah,

built seven altars, and offered a bulock

and a ram on every altar. And he said

unalac, "Stand here by thy burnt

offering while I meet the Lord yonder."

And the Lord met Balam, and put a word

in his mouth, and said, "Go again unto

Bailac, and say thus." And when he came

to him, behold, he stood by his burnt

offering, and the princes of Moab with

him. And Balac said unto him, "What hath

the Lord spoken?" And he took up his

parable, and said, "Rise up, Bailac, and

hear. Hearken unto me, thou son of

Zippor, God is not a man that he should

lie, neither the Son of Man that he

should repent. Hath he said, and shall

he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and

shall he not make it good? Behold, I

have received commandment to bless, and

he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse

it. He hath not beheld iniquity in

Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness

in Israel. The Lord his God is with him,

and the shout of a king is among them.

God brought them out of Egypt. He hath

as it were the strength of a unicorn.

Surely there is no enchantment against

Jacob, neither is there any divination

against Israel. According to this time

it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,

"What hath God wrought?" Behold, the

people shall rise up as a great lion,

and lift up himself as a young lion. He

shall not lie down until he eat of the

prey, and drink the blood of the slain."

Now Bailo said unto Balam, "Neither

curse them at all, nor bless them at

all." But Balam answered and said unto

Bailac, "Told not I thee, saying all

that the Lord speaketh, that must I do."

And then it's going to go on to the

final oracles that God gives. I want to

speak to you tonight on this subject.

The irreversible

blessing of God. The irreversible

blessing of God. Last week we looked at

this. not left guessing about God's

blessing. And God wants his people to

know that they are blessed. And now we

ask, will God ever change his mind? And

so with that in mind, we'll consider

this text tonight. We can often be prone

to change our minds. You ever known

anybody like that? Flip-floppers, right?

So I mean, think about it. You go into

your closet and you have in your mind

what you're going to wear. and then you

put that on and then you look in the

mirror and you say, "No, I'm not going

to wear that." And you change your mind

and you go and change. You know, I'm not

typically that way, but I've seen my

wife, you know, multiple times going

through different wardrobes. And so,

ladies tend to change their mind about

what they're going to wear. You might

get your spouse's order for Chipotle and

you put it in your app and you hit

submit. And if you've ever experienced

trying to change or cancel an order at

Chipotle, you know what kind of a

headache that is. But right after you

hit send, your spouse texts you back and

says, "You know what? I changed my mind.

I want this." That's how we tend to be.

Maybe somebody has changed their mind

about you before. You had a job

interview. You thought you nailed it.

After talking with them, they say, "You

know, I think you're going to be a

really good fit here. we've just got to

finalize some paperwork. And then you're

excited about it and you're building up

to it and then all of a sudden you get a

phone call that says, "You know what? We

ended up having to go a different

direction. They changed their mind about

you." Or maybe you were dating someone

and you were all in on that

relationship. This thing was heading

toward marriage. You thought everything

was going well and smoothly and then all

of a sudden you get the text, we need to

talk. We need to talk.

>> And so then you're getting together and

for whatever reason, maybe circumstances

changed or their feelings or their heart

changed or maybe somebody else was

involved or available. For whatever

reason, they changed their mind about

you and ended the relationship. That's

painful. That hurts.

Question.

Will God change his mind about you?

We saw last week from Galatians chapter

Galatians 3 · chapter mention

3 that we have been brought under

Abraham's blessing by faith in Jesus

Christ.

That God calls us now blessed in him.

And so if you're in Christ, then you are

under his blessing. And so, is there

anything that can change God's mind

about the blessing he's bestowed upon

you in Christ? Well, our first response

would be, "Well, of course not."

Until we get down to the nitty-gritty in

our spiritual lives,

can you sin

so much that God would revoke his

blessing?

Is there a force so evil and so powerful

that it can overturn God's blessing in

your life?

There are times when Satan is hurling

everything he has at you. His fiery

darts are flying at you left and right.

when he has sent oppressive spirits into

your life to tempt you and to grieve

you, to oppress your prayer life and to

afflict your soul and and you know that

something's just not right in your life

and it feels like some spiritual force

of evil is bearing down on you and you

just wonder, has God forsaken me? Has

God left me to this?

In the end, who will win out?

What about when persecution comes,

pain, suffering, and even death?

Who will fall and who will stand? Is

there anything that can override or

reverse God's covenant blessing in your

life?

The reason I bring that up is because

that's really the uh answer that this

text is drawing out.

It's answering that very question

because Moab and Midian have hired the

most powerful force of evil in their

region to curse Israel.

God told Balam not to go with them. Told

them not to curse them. Told them that

they are blessed. And when Balam still

tried to go though God allowed him to.

There's a little pause in your mind

that's like, "Well, what is God going to

do with this?" And then you see as

Balam's making his way that God God's

angel comes and gets in the way of his

donkey, not once, not twice, but three

times. And the donkey starts talking to

him after he's hit his donkey and says,

"Why are you hitting me?" And and it

says, "I've been your donkey my whole

life." And have I ever done this? And

he's like, "Well, no." And God opens his

eyes. He sees the angel. And the angel

says, "Your way is perverse before me."

That word perverse means it is o over

against me. It's contrary. It's opposite

to me. And so God makes it clear then

that he stands against Balum.

Balam says, "Okay, if it displeased

thee, I'll go back." And God says, "No,

go ahead. But you're only going to speak

what I say." And so now as he goes to

Balum, we wonder what will God add to

what he seemingly made so clear

and God gives Balum this first speech

and it makes it very clear that God has

blessed Israel that that they cannot be

cursed and yet Bailac says now let's go

over here and let's see if maybe they

can be cursed from over here. And what

it's setting up is this idea that yes,

God has blessed us. But is there

something that can overturn, override,

or reverse that blessing?

That's what this text is about.

It's meant to resolve this potential

thought in Israel's mind. Will God

change his mind about us?

Have we sinned too much?

I think that's a valid question for

Israel to ask through their wilderness

journey. Have we rebelled too much

again? I mean, I just imagine this

generation that's there at the plains of

Moab, near Jordan, near Jericho, and

they see the walls on the other side,

and they remember the reports about the

giants and the armies and the battles

that they're going to face. And then

they think back over these last 40 years

and the death and the disease and the

suffering and the rebellion that they

have experienced. And I just wonder if

they themselves are questioning,

is God going to go with us? Is his

blessing still on us? Will these armies

be able to override his blessing? Will

their gods prove more powerful than our

God? Is there a force of evil or a

soothsayer that can turn God's blessing

against us?

Those are the questions that they would

have.

And it's the same question that

sometimes we can have in our lives

because as the new covenant people of

God who are blessed with faithful

Abraham and have become heirs of his

promise. I hope to settle in your minds

tonight that God's answer for Israel in

this text is God's answer for you today.

God's word through Balum provides us

with these two asurances. Number one,

God's people can't be cursed. God's

people can't be cursed. And then number

two, God's blessing can't be reversed.

That's what we see in these two speeches

that God puts in Balam's mouth that's

revealed and recorded for the sake of

Israel. He wants his people to know, you

are blessed. You can't be cursed, and my

blessing can't be reversed. But there's

a particular reason God is offering them

these asurances.

And these asurances can provide the same

assurance to us of what God will do in

our lives. And so let's consider this

tonight. Balam's first word shows that

God's people cannot be cursed. I'm going

to summarize the narrative portions and

focus on primarily the word of God

through Balum tonight.

We might have found this kind of weird

at the end of chapter uh 22 that it

seems like there's multiple sacrifices

being offered here and and it just seems

a little strange. Let me just explain

what's going on here. When Balam comes

with the princes to Bailac, um he he

comes to Bailac and Baal, remember what

he says? Am I not able to provote

promote thee to honor? Why did you delay

so long to come to me? And Balam then

says, "I have come unto you." You know,

doesn't that seem like a weird question?

I mean, Balam's right there and he's

like, "Why haven't you come?" And he's

like, "I'm here."

But then he asks this question. Am I

able to speak anything except what the

Lord tells me to speak? You have these

two questions. Okay, it seems kind of

obvious and weird. And then it follows

with this sacrifice of oxen and and

sheep. And we're like, what is going on

here? What's going on is a pagan ritual

covenant. They're cutting a deal that ba

ba says, am I able to promote thee to

honor? And Balam says, "Am I able to

speak anything but what the Lord says?"

And so what he's saying is this. You

curse Israel, I promote you to honor.

And he's saying, "I can only say what

the Lord says." Deal? All right. Good.

Let's cut a covenant. And so they offer

these sacrifices. It's called a a za,

which if you remember from Leviticus,

those are communal sacrifices where they

eat a portion of the meat. So they share

in this fellowship meal as part of their

agreement. That's what's going on there.

So then the next morning, uh, Bailac

takes Balam over to this particular area

up in the mountain that overlooks the

nation of Israel. And Balam tells him,"I

want you to build seven altars for me,

and we're going to offer seven oxen and

seven sheep at this time." Now, you

would notice that that is not a

prescribed sacrifice in the scripture

anywhere. What that tells us is Balam is

not approaching God on God's terms here.

He is approaching him through normal

pagan means of ritual divination and

magic and spells and all of this stuff

that Balam is into. You know, we we

studied how what the pagans would do is

they would take the the kidneys and the

liver and they would divine over that

and tell the future and do their

fortuneelling uh through means of that.

And so God told his people, "No, you're

to take the kidneys, you're to take the

liver, and you're to offer that up to

me. You're to trust me with your

future." That was God's point in that.

And so you've got Bale and Balum

offering these sacrifices by their

normal means of of divination. And I

want you to understand that God is not

signing off on their pagan rituals. He

is not saying this is how you should

approach me to Israel. What God is doing

is he is using sinful people in their

sin to proclaim his word to accomplish

his purpose. That's what God is doing

here. And so you have them offering

these sacrifices and Balam tells Bailo,

I want you to stay here by your burnt

offering and I'm going to go up into the

the high place of Baal up here. He's

going to go try to meet God where Baal

is. Right? That's the idea. So you can

see I'm I'm trying to make it clear.

Balam's not a good guy. Balam's not a

prophet of God. God is long-suffering

with him to accomplish his purpose. And

so Balam goes up into this high mountain

and the Lord meets him there and it says

that the Lord puts a word in his mouth

and he says, "I want you to go and I

want you to tell Baleo exactly what I've

said here." And so what exactly does

Balam say? Here is his word beginning in

verse 7. It says, "And he took up his

parable, his it's a poetic statement."

And so you're going to see parallelism

here. two ways of saying the same thing

as we go throughout these. It says there

in verse number seven, Ba, the king of

Moab, hath brought me from Aram out of

the mountains of the east. That would be

describing an area near Syria. So, he's

traveled a little bit of ways here. And

he says, "Come curse me, Jacob. Come

defy Israel." And here is Balam's

response in verse eight. How shall I

curse whom God hath not cursed? And how

shall I defy whom the Lord hath not

defied? And so Balam is acknowledging

here and it's important to remember

this. Balam is speaking in the first

person, but this is what God has put in

his mouth. So this is God's word to

Bailac about Israel. And so he has he

has told him, Balam told me to come to

curse Israel, but how can I curse whom

God has not cursed? What he's saying is

I can't curse Israel against God's will.

God has not cursed them. God has not

defied them. In fact, he has blessed

them. And he goes on to describe this

blessing that God has put in his mouth.

Look what he says in verse 9. For from

the top of the rocks I see him, and from

the hills I behold him. He's describing

where he's at here, looking down from

the top of this mountain and seeing even

just a portion of Israel. It says that

he saw the utmost part of them. That

that literally means just a fraction of

them. Later he'll say a fourth part. And

so he's only seeing like 25% of the

congregation. And notice what he sees

about them in verse 9. Lo, the people

shall dwell alone. People shall dwell

alone. What does that mean? He's

speaking prophetically

of the fact that Israel is going to

dwell. They're going to settle. They're

going to reside in the land by

themselves. But then notice he says that

they shall not be reckoned among the

nations. They will imagine it this way.

Over here is all the nations of the

world. Israel will not be numbered among

them. Israel will be over here by

themselves. What he's saying, what God

has put in Balam's mouth is this. Israel

is in a category of their own. They have

been distinguished from the nations.

They have been chosen. They have been

separated. They have been sanctified by

the Lord. They are God's chosen people.

You know what that sounds like? A

fulfilled promise of God. That sounds

like a part of the Abrahamic blessing

that God said he he calls Abraham out of

the Caldes and he tells them that he is

going to make of him a mighty nation and

that he will be their God and they will

be his people. But then look at verse

number 10.

He says, "Who can count the dust of

Jacob or number the fourth part of

Israel?" What does that sound like? It

sounds like when God told Abraham and I

and Jacob that I'm going to multiply

your seed as the dust of the earth. He

told Jacob that if if you can count the

dust that covers the face of the earth,

you can count your descendants. You know

what that sounds like? God's fulfilled

his promises. Balam says you can't even

count the fraction of them. You can't

even count 25% of them. God has

fulfilled his promise. But then if you

look at the end of verse 10, he says

this, "Let me die the death of the

righteous and let my last end be like

his Israel."

What's What is this about? Here's what

Balam's recognizing.

The place where you want to die

is in Israel's camp. Why? They're under

God's blessing.

You know what this is about? When God

said, "In thy seed shall all the

families of the earth be blessed."

What Balum, this pagan Syrian diver, is

recognizing through this whole saga here

is that if you want to die with Israel

is where you want to die where the the

kind of end that I want to have is with

Israel. Now, unfortunately, Balam is not

going to embrace the God of Israel, and

he's going to continue to provoke them,

and he's going to counsel the Moabites

and the Midianites to lead Israel into

idolatry and prostitution and slavery,

and and it's going to end up creating a

a mess for Israel. And so, Balam doesn't

repent. Balam doesn't turn to the Lord,

but he at least recognizes this, that

people's under their blessing. And if I

could die anywhere, that's probably

where I would want to die, under God's

blessing.

And so what we find here is that God is

offering first of all affirmation to

bail

but also assurance to Israel that they

can't be cursed because they are blessed

that that that being cursed is against

God's will that he has chosen them to be

his holy people. He has multiplied them

as the dust of the earth. He intends to

bless all the families of the earth

through them. They are his blessed

people. And if God won't curse Israel,

then Balam can't either.

God is telling his people even today,

my people can't be cursed when I have

blessed them. And so what that means is

when we consider ourselves in this text

that if you are in Christ and you have

come under the blessings of Abraham and

become an heir to the promises of God

through him then God's will for you is

to be blessed. And if God's will for you

is to be blessed then you can't be

cursed. He chose you. He sanctified you

by his spirit to be his own peculiar

treasure. That's why Peter says, "You

are a chosen generation, a royal

priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar,

a special, a precious treasure of God.

That's what he calls believers in this

new covenant with Jesus Christ." And so

through Christ, the true seed of

Abraham, you have been adopted into

God's family. And though earthly

families may disown their adopted

children, God never does. God always

claims them as his own, he secures you

and seals you in Christ. He gives you

eternal life, never to be rescended. He

gives you a place in his kingdom around

his throne with a glorified body that

will be free from sin and pain and

suffering and death. You have become an

heir of God's blessings promised to

Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ.

That promise was first began in Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3 when God promised to restore

Edenic fellowship through the one who is

the seed of the woman who had crushed

the head of the serpent would conquer

Satan and evil. He is the one through

whom we are blessed. the high priest and

mediator of the new covenant, Jesus

Christ. That is how our blessing comes

upon us. When God blesses you, no one

can curse you. Balam's first word

assures Israel that they can't be

cursed. And friend, neither can you.

Balam's second word is that God's

blessing can't be reversed. God's people

can't be cursed and God's blessing can't

be reversed. What happens here in verse

number 11 is Ba is furious.

What have you done to me? I brought you

here to curse my enemies and you have

blessed them altogether. When when you

study the original Hebrew, it's you have

blessed them. Blessed them doubly

blessed them now. And so Balum then

replies. He says, "Hey, this was part of

the deal. I said I can only speak what

the Lord tells me to speak. And so then

Bailo says, "Okay, well it it didn't

work here. Let's go over to this place."

And he takes him to this field called

Zofim on the top of Mount Pisga. Then he

says, "Maybe over here you'll see a

different viewpoint and a different

fraction of the people of Israel and you

can maybe curse them." Here's what

Bailac is wondering. Maybe God will

change his mind. Maybe he doesn't want

to curse that section of Israel. Maybe

he'll allow us to curse this section of

Israel. And so he says, "Let's go try it

out over here."

>> So they go through the process again.

>> They build the seven altars. He offers

the seven bulls, offers the seven rams,

and he tells Balam, "Bailo, I want you

to stay there, and I'm going to go over

yonder, and I'm going to speak to the

Lord, and maybe he'll meet me there, and

maybe he'll say something else."

And here's the word that comes from the

Lord to Balum. Verse 18.

And he took up his parable and

said,"Rise

up, Bailch, and hear.

Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor."

I think God is saying, "Bailo,

you're not listening.

Uh, you're not listening." So, I'm going

to tell you, listen now. Heed now. Verse

19. God is not a man that he should lie,

neither the son of man that he should

repent. The word repent is a word that

means a turning of the mind. God is

saying, Bailo, you're not listening to

me. I will not change my mind about

these people. I am not going to curse

them. They are blessed.

says,

"Hath he said and shall he not do it? Or

hath he spoken and shall he not make it

good?" Balam saying, "Bailo, God has

said, I'm true to my word. I don't lie.

I don't change my mind. I do what I say.

I make good what I promise." And so

therefore in verse 20, Balam says this,

"Behold,

I have received commandment to bless and

he hath blessed and I cannot reverse it.

I can't reverse it."

Bailo,

God's blessed Israel,

and I can't curse them. And no matter

what you do, no matter how many altars

we build, no matter how many bulls we

offer, no ma no matter how many rams we

offer, no matter how many kidneys and

livers that I bring out before the Lord,

no matter how many spells that I cast,

no matter what we do, even the fact that

as Bailo acknowledged, Balam, whoever he

blesses is blessed and whoever he curses

is cursed, Balam recognizes this God is

not like other gods. I cannot turn his

heart. I cannot change his mind. I

cannot get him to go against what he's

already said. He says, "I don't lie. I

don't change. I do what I say. I make

good on my promises. Therefore, I cannot

reverse it. I can do nothing to reverse

his blessing.

In fact,

he says the Lord God is with him." Would

you look at verse 21? Oh, check this

out.

He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,

neither hath he seen perverseness in

Israel.

Now, this is quite remarkable

because there's been a lot of sin in

Israel and there's been a lot of

rebellion in Israel and there's been

golden calves and there's been strange

fire and there's been complaints and

there's been utter rebellion. There's

been a lack of faith and fear. There's

been a slander of God's name. There's

been a breaking of the Sabbath. I mean,

this is a people that we would look at,

and this is a people that God even said

they are rebellious. They are stiff

necked. And yet, what God tells Balum

here is, I don't see iniquity in them. I

don't see perverseness in them. In spite

of the sins that they have committed, in

spite of their stiff necked responses,

and in spite of their rebellion, I see

nothing worthy of reversing my c my

blessing. I see nothing worthy of

changing my mind or of going back on my

word. No. Why is that? Because not only

is God holy and just, God has also

revealed himself to be gracious and

merciful and long-suffering and

forgiving the iniquity of thousands. Has

he not revealed himself to be that in

Exodus and Leviticus and even here in

Numbers? He has.

What that means is this.

God's blessing is not irrevocable

because of their sin.

God still. And so instead he says in

verse 21, "The Lord God is with him and

the shout of a king is among them." I

want you to imagine he's up on this

mountain and he's seeing Israel camping

out there. And you'll remember when we

talked about the arrangement of the camp

that scholars say that it followed suit

with the arrangement of the camp of the

Egyptians that they would line up

surrounding the tent of Pharaoh and the

king was in their midst. But as Balam

looks down and he sees Israel camped in

this square or rectangular formation, he

sees a tabernacle of God in the midst of

their camp. And he sees the smoke

ascending from the altar and the smoke

ascending from the altar of incense. And

he sees the cloud of God's glory resting

upon the tabernacle. And here's what he

recognizes. There is a king among

Israel, and it is the Lord his God.

Notice what he says about him next here

in uh in verse number 22. It says, "God

hath brought them out of Egypt."

He brought them out of that massive

army. He brought them out of that

strongest nation. He delivered them. And

they knew exactly how by the parting of

the Red Sea and the 12 plagues and

drowning the the Egyptian army. He's

heard how they have they've heard of how

they how God sustained them through the

wilderness. And so, they've heard of

this powerful God. And he says, "Well,

that powerful God is their king. He

brought him out of Egypt." And then it

says this in verse 22. He hath as it

were the strength of a unicorn.

A unicorn.

This is not a white mystical horse with

a rainbow horn coming out of its snout.

This this word translated unicorn. It is

an ancient,

fierce,

strong, wild ox with these massive

horns. who was not domesticated and was

untamed and he would go through the

fields and would push against and thrust

against and beat off anything and

everything that got in its way. That's

what it's talking about here. There's

nothing that could stand before this

massive ox and there's nothing that can

stand before Israel's God. He is their

king. He is in their midst. He is going

against their enemies. He is the one who

is leading them forward and he is

obliterating everything in their path.

That's what he says here.

So therefore, when you have a king like

that and a god like that in your midst,

verse 23, surely there is no enchantment

against Jacob, neither is there any

divination against Israel.

Not any of the most powerful forces of

evil and magic and satanic power can

overthrow God's blessing.

None of it can reverse it. None of it

can overturn it. None of it can overrule

it. God's blessing stands sure. Instead,

he says,

"According to this time,

it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,

what hath God wrought?"

See, what started this whole thing was

Bailac and Moab said, it says, 'When

they saw what Israel had done to the

Amorites.

See, they're fearing Israel. And what

God's making clear is the greater fear

needs to be the power behind Israel, and

that is the Lord their God.

Because the things I'm going to do, the

parting of the Jordan River at its flood

season, the crumbling of the walls of

Jericho, the falling of giants, the

destruction of mighty armies, the

dispossession of mighty cities. That is

not going to be a work that this people

of Israel has done. That is going to be

a work that the Lord has done. There's

no enchantment against them. There's no

divination against them. And then in

verse 24 it says this, "Behold, the

people shall rise up as a great lion and

lift up himself as a young lion. He

shall not lie down until he eat of the

prey and drink the blood of the slain."

He portrays Israel here

as hunting pack of lions.

And you think about the pack of lions

resting down in the meadow and they all

rise up for their hunt and they start

going after their prey. And they're not

coming back to rest or to lie down until

they have completely consumed their

prey. He says, "Israel will not lie down

and rest in Canaan until they have

completely consumed their enemies,

but not by their power. It'll be what

God has wrought."

And so God's message here to Bailac is

this.

Israel is blessed.

They cannot be cursed.

And I'm not changing my mind.

God's people can't be cursed and God's

blessing can't be reversed. And I want

you to understand today that the same

thing is true in your life that the

blessing that God has placed on you in

Christ cannot be reversed by any force

of evil. My mind goes to the final verse

of the song in Christ alone when it says

no power of hell, no scheme of man can

ever pluck me from his hand till he

returns or calls me home. Here in the

power of Christ I'll stand. You are

secure believer. There's no power of

hell, no force of evil. Let me let me

make it clear here. Sin can't reverse

God's blessing.

Because the covenant blessing that God

has bestowed upon you has been ratified

by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. His

atoning blood on the cross has covered

all of your sin in your past, in your

present, and in your future. And what

that means, if God saved you full well,

knowing you would sin in the future, it

doesn't mean that he was going to just

go take it away when you sin in the

future. No, he chose to save you in

spite of knowing all you'd done and all

you would do. That is the irreversible

blessing of God. No sin can take away

his blessing. There's nothing your

fallen nature, your rebellious and

stubborn tendencies, or your personal

failures can do to make you lose your

salvation. Let me just say it this way.

God won't change his mind about you. He

won't change his mind about you. Now,

listen.

Sin can hinder our fellowship with God.

Sin can bring God's chastening. But

understand that even his chastening is

still his blessing because the book of

Hebrews says that it means he chastens

you as a loving father chastens his son.

And so even when you know you have

sinned, even when you know you have

rebelled against God, even when you know

you are under his chastening hand by the

consequences and the circumstances in

your life, you can understand this. He's

still your father. He still chose you.

He still blessed you. He still secured

you. And he's not changing his mind

about you. Not now, not ever. You're

sealed in him.

Once God has chosen to bless you in

Christ, sin can't reverse his blessing.

But listen, also,

there is no force of evil

nor power of hell

that can erase God's blessing on your

life.

Satan may tempt you sore.

His cohorts may oppress you. They may

inflame persecution against you. But

there's nothing he can do to touch you.

There's nothing he can do to harm your

soul, to steal God's blessing or pluck

you out of the father's hand. There's no

enchantment. There's no curse. There's

no magical spell. There's no voodoo.

Listen, all of those things are real

powers from real darkness. But if you

are in Christ, they can't touch you. His

blessing cannot be reversed. It can't

be.

You have God on your side.

And this God

is faithful.

He's powerful. And he's a conquering

king.

He comes with the shout of a king as

that wild ox obliterating everything

that would ever try to stand between you

and his kingdom, between you and his

throne, between you and the Holy of

Holies. Nothing can stand against this

God who is your king, who fights on your

behalf, secures you in his blessing, and

promises you a place in his kingdom.

Just as God told Balam to say, I want to

say to you, you will not lie down

nor rest in his kingdom

until your enemies have been totally and

completely consumed by the Lord Jesus

Christ.

He is the one who goes before us. He is

the one who fights our enemies. God's

people can't be cursed and God's

blessing can't be reversed. Those are

the asurances that God gives to his

people.

Now, why

does he give this assurance?

What is his purpose behind this message?

Why is this event on a hill that was

outside of Israel's sight? Why is it

revealed to them and recorded for them?

They've got armies to fight,

battles to face, walls to destroy,

giants to conquer. Israel is about to

march into enemy territory. And God is

assuring Israel that their enemies will

fall because God's blessing will stand.

Their enemies will fall because God's

blessing will stand.

He has chosen them from among all

nations. He has sanctified them by his

law. He has multiplied them as the dust

of the earth. He has brought them out of

Egypt to the doorsteps of Canaan. God

has been faithful to every promise in

the blessing that he gave to their

father Abraham. God has proven faithful.

And now because their king is in their

midst and his blessing stands, they can

be confident to face whatever lies

ahead. And God's message to them is

God's message to you.

Your enemies will fall because God's

blessing will stand.

And so what that means

that God has not and will not change his

mind about you.

We change our minds about others and

others change their minds about us. But

God does not. His blessing will stand in

your life and therefore your enemies

will fall. Listen, Satan will fall hard

and long to his destruction.

His demonic cohorts will fall. Every

magician will fall. Every spellcaster

will fall. Every witch will fall. Every

enemy will fall. Every evil kingdom will

fall. Every evil king will fall. Every

every bit of our sin will fall. And this

broken sin-cursed body will also fall.

This world's system will fall. Do do you

get the picture here? Everything that

wages war against your soul will fall.

And it's because God's blessing will

stand. Christ will return with 10

thousands of his saints. And he will

consume all of his enemies and ours with

the word of his mouth. And he will set

up his kingdom. And we will live with

him forever and ever and ever. Absent of

fear, absent of enemies, absent of

curses and sin and death, everything

will fall because God's blessing will

stand. And what that means for you is

this. Fight today's battles with the

confident assurance

that God's blessing will stand.

fight today

knowing God will do what he said.

Knowing God will make good on his

promises. Knowing God does not lie.

Knowing God does not change his mind.

Fight those battles today with that

confidence in your God. Let's pray. Our

father, we are humbled that in spite of

our sin,

you would remain faithful.

That in spite of our failures and our

fears,

you don't see iniquity in us,

nor perverseness

in us

because it's all been covered by the

blood

of our savior and king Jesus.

We all are going to face battles, but

you have given us two great assurances

here.

That no matter what comes in our lives,

we can know it's not a curse from you.

The hardest things that we face in life

doesn't mean you've reversed your

blessing.

we can trust in you

knowing that you're faithful to all your

promises and knowing that we are secure

in your blessings.

And so I pray for those tonight who are

battling

that they would come before you

and fight those battles on their knees

trusting and depending on you.

I pray that you would grant freedom

to those who are bound by fear,

by guilt of their past

to see that you call them blessed.

That you don't see the iniquity because

it's covered by Christ. You don't see

anything in them worthy of reversing

your blessing because Christ paid it all

in full.

Help us to rest in the gospel of your

son. And I pray if there are any that

have never trusted Jesus that they would

trust fully in his shed blood and in his

resurrection for their eternal life that

they too might come under your blessing.

Please speak to our hearts and work in

our time of response in Jesus name.

Amen.