OCTOBER 6, 2025

Numbers 22:1-8 (HCSB)
Balak Hires Balaam
22 The Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous, and Moab dreaded the Israelites. 4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time, 5 he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. Balak said to him: “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land and are living right across from me. 6 Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”
7 The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him. 8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.

Nathan Cripe
Temple Supported Missionary Serving in Mexico
Have you ever found yourself in a position on the job where you would have helped the company make more profit if you were willing to do something wrong... maybe by being dishonest or treating others poorly? We have had times in our careers like that, and doing the right thing often wasn’t rewarded in the corporate world. God calls us to be changed by the Truth that we have accepted....to be people of integrity, not people who are only looking out for ourselves. In this passage, we see two examples of people who believed in God’s power but didn’t allow the truth to change them. We see Balak and the Moabites, who could have believed in God because of what they saw, but instead they reacted in fear and asked Balaam to curse the Israelites. Can you imagine what could have happened if the Moabites allowed the truth they saw to change them and decided to help the Israelites instead of cursing them? Then, there’s Balaam, who knew he had no power or authority of his own...he only had power to do what God allowed him to do. Yet he was willing to consider cursing God’s people in order to receive financial reward. We can know the Truth, but are we allowing the Truth to change us, or are we only interested in personal protection or gain?