FRIDAY. 287 days Swords of Iron War.

Nahariya, Israel.

Two Rams... 

Hot again: 31 c and it is cooler than the last few days.

Tel Aviv was attacked yesterday at 3:12 am by a suicide drone, that exploded 200 meters from the USA embassy, near the beach. Houthi officially claimed they sent the UAV. 

Tel Aviv Civilians: 1 killed, at least 8 injured and dozens are treated for psychological distress.

Increased air patrol by the IAF, The airplanes circled all night.

Parshat Barak, numbers 22 - 24 is being read this Shabbat. (One of my favourite Bible stories).

Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people …

I assume my readers know the story. Balak was terrified from the Children of Israel and called Balaam to curse them so he could overpower them.

...And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, ...saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me... Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Of course, God warned Balaam.

And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”...

and Balaam understood.

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.

But Barak pushed him further and since Balaam was between the rock and the hard place, he took his donkey and off he went to climb those rocks in the desert.

Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him....Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand...

And that happened a second time, and a third,

And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

When one doesn't listen to God, the donkey will talk...

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face

And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord,“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”

Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

So off he went and Balak went out to meet him and was complaining about his late arrival. Balaam, on the other hand, had enough. So he called it as it is,

And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.”

Four prophecies Balaam gave to Balak:

Balaam’s First Prophecy

So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal... And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’

“How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
...“Who can count the dust of Jacob,

Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”

King Balak was not happy,

Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”

Maybe it is a wrong spot, thought Balak, the prophet sees the multitude and is afraid.

Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there." So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balak did not give up, he wanted to destroy God's people. It is King Yeshua that is prophecied about here. Balak did not stand a chance, no more than all the enemies before him and since.

Right now the booms are loud on the North Border. But I declare, out loud, the words that God Himself put in Balaam's mouth to bless and not to curse, Israel.

Balaam’s Second Prophecy

Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”

Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor!

“God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
Behold, I have received a command to bless;
He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

“He has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a King is among them.

God brings them out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox.

“For there is no sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’
Look, a people rises like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”

Willie woke up from his afternoon nap by the booming and is declaring the blessing of God over Israel with me. For two of us with Him is a cord that is not broken, and according to (Deuteronomy 28:7) “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.

Willie and I are standing against the enemies of Israel, declaring God's word above and knowing that His blessings are yea and amen forevermore.

Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!” So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”

Balak with the familiar arrogance of the surrounding enemies, insists yet for another try.

Balaam’s Third Prophecy

Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,

Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel!
Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens by the riverside,
Like aloes planted by the Lord, Like cedars beside the waters.

He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters.

“His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.

“God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows.
‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’

“Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.”

Balak was angry, and he let Balaam know. But when you know that you are where God put you, you are as brave as the strongest man alive. So Balaam prophecies the future of the entire region.

And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” 

So this is what we are reading this Shabbbat, reminding our people that God said it first many years ago and that our future is blessed in His hands.

Balaam’s Fourth Prophecy

So he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.

“And Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does valiantly.
Out of Jacob One shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”

Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.”

Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:

“Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock;
Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”

Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
But ship shall come from the coasts of Cyprus,
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber,
And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.”

So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

Shabbat shalom, full of God's blessings.

שבת שלום ומבורך.