Huh? Balaam and His Talking Donkey 10-8-23
Overview
Balaam and His Talking Donkey: When Scripture Makes Us Say "Huh?"
Some passages of Scripture make us pause and scratch our heads. The story of Balaam and his donkey in Numbers 22 is one of them. Yet because God's Word is the inerrant, infallible Word of the Lord, every word has purpose. Even the strange passages, when revisited under the Spirit's guidance, can move us from "huh?" to "ah—I get it."
The Setting: A King's Fear and a Prophet for Hire
As Israel camped on the edge of the Promised Land—tens of thousands strong, fresh from defeating King Og and others—King Balak of Moab grew terrified. He had heard for forty years what the God of Israel had done in Egypt and in the wilderness. So he sent for Balaam, a foreign soothsayer who would serve any god if the price was right. Balak wanted Israel cursed. Balaam, smelling silver and gold, was willing to consider the offer—even invoking "the Lord my God" as cover while keeping one eye on the payday. He was trying to play both sides, looking for a way to obey God's "no" while still pocketing the king's gold. It is uncomfortably close to home: do we ever try to squeeze through God's clear command to get what we want?
The Donkey That Saw What the Prophet Could Not
When Balaam set out, the angel of the Lord blocked his path with a drawn sword. The lowly donkey saw what the so-called seer could not. Three times she tried to save her rider—turning into a field, scraping against a wall, finally lying down beneath him. Three times Balaam beat her in his rage. Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth, and only after that did He open Balaam's eyes Numbers 22.
It is easy to get stuck on the talking donkey. But the God who created the heavens, who hung the planets in their orbits, who sustains every breath we take—of course He can make a donkey speak. The miracle is not the point; it is the means. God used a humble creature to humiliate a proud prophet and bring him to confession: "I have sinned." When we stand before the Lord's will, all our maneuvering eventually runs out of road. Like the donkey pinned in the narrow place, we lay down—because the Lord will do as the Lord will do, and He is good and just.
Blessings Where Curses Were Bought
Balak took Balaam to three different vantage points, offering sacrifices and demanding curses. Three times Balaam opened his mouth and blessing came out instead (Numbers 23; Numbers 24). "God is not a human being, that he should lie… Has he promised, and will he not do it?" By the third oracle, Balaam stopped looking for omens altogether; the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied of a star coming out of Jacob and a scepter rising out of Israel—a foreshadowing of the King who would come through this people: Jesus Christ.
Notice the timing. Israel, on the other side of the Jordan, was still grumbling and complaining—about quail, about water, about everything. They had no idea this drama was unfolding. Yet God was already going before them, turning a hired curse into a sevenfold blessing. He works for His people even when they do not see it, even when they do not deserve it.
Pastoral Takeaway
The point of this strange story is not the miracle of a speaking animal but the unstoppable faithfulness of God. He will accomplish His purposes through whatever means He chooses—through pagan prophets, through stubborn donkeys, through grumbling Israelites, and supremely through His own Son on the cross. When Scripture makes you say "huh?", do not get sidetracked. Look further, and you will see the same truth running through every page: God reigns, God blesses His people, and God has secured the victory for you in Jesus Christ.
Transcript
Lord, we thank you so much for your word. Your word is truth. Lord, we know that sometimes 3s
we do not understand your word and we thank you so much that you teach us and guide us 8s
through your word. We ask that you would use your spirit this morning to lead us through 15s
this story of Bailem and his donkey. Lord, we ask that it would lead us closer to you 20s
and closer to your love for us and your love for all your people. Lord, bless this time 27s
together and bless the rest of our morning with you and with one another through Jesus Christ, 33s
our Lord. Amen. Okay, so have you ever read anything in the Bible? That's not the end of the 40s
question. Have you ever read anything in the Bible where you read it, you put your Bible down 50s
and you go, huh? Okay, right, many times. But we know that God's Word is the infallible, 57s
inherent Word of the Lord. So we know that every word within has a purpose and a reason and we know 70s
that there will be some things that we can't ever fully explain this side of heaven and we trust. 79s
We trust that God is good. We trust that God is merciful. We trust that God is just and that he 87s
knows what he's doing. And so he also does lead us through through matters. Have you ever, okay, 94s
another another question? Have you ever read something in the Bible gone, huh? And then later, 102s
whether it is later that day, later that year, many years down the road, you come back to it and 110s
because of something else that has been opened through God's Word, your huh is taken to, oh, 118s
I get it. I get it. So during these during the fall semester, when we have these four kind of 127s
stand-alone classes together, we're going to be looking at stories or texts within scripture that 135s
just kind of make us go, huh? And hopefully we'll all come away going, ah, that will be good. 143s
So we're having kind of a livestock day today. The the sermon is about the sheep and the shepherd 152s
and now we're talking about a donkey. So this will be fun. Okay, so this this story has anyone ever 158s
read, Bailem and and the donkey in numbers? Okay. Has anyone understood when you read about 165s
Bailem and the talking donkey? You've understood it. Okay, awesome. Well, then you can you don't 172s
sleep through this class, but yes, okay. So it's a very interesting story. So Bailem, Bailem was, 180s
it says that he was he was a prophet, but oh, we're going to be in numbers, the book of numbers. So 189s
this is part of the pen to took. So if you open up and at the beginning of your Bible, you're going 195s
to find Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and then you'll find yourself at numbers. If you go to do 199s
the astronomy, you're too far. So so Bailem makes his appearance in numbers chapter 22. So this is 205s
as the Israelites are going to be entering into the promised land and in numbers, we get we get 214s
the census. We get the numbers and there are tens of thousands of Israelites that are camped 222s
ready to head into the promised land and and there's a king of Moab, King Balak or Balak, who 229s
who sees, who sees this and has heard word of the Israelites defeating King Aug and the king of 240s
the emmel, emmelicate. So so he's spreading, he's spreading and he's he sees that the Israelites are 250s
camped there. He's fearing them and so he sends away for this foreign prophet. Now we hear the word 259s
prophet and we think, oh, of the Lord. But Bailem was a sly to the sly. He was devoted to the gods, 269s
little G god. He believed that he could have word from any god and he would serve any god if the 278s
rice is right. And so so Balak or Balak sends to Moab. He sends sends the messengers to request 288s
that Bailem comes and and curses the Israelite people. He wants them to be cursed. So so if we go to 300s
verse five of chapter 22, we read, he sent messengers to Bailem son of Baeor at Pithor, which is on 313s
the Euphrates in the land of Amma, to summon him saying, a people has come out of Egypt. They have 321s
spread over the face of the earth and they have settled next to me. Come now. Curse this people for 327s
me since they are stronger than I. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land 333s
for I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed. So 340s
Bailem says to those messengers, he says, wait here. Let me check with the Lord. Let me see what he says. 350s
And so over the night, over the night, God comes to Bailem and said, verse nine, who are these men 358s
and Bailem said to God, King Balak son of Zippor of Moab has sent me this message. A people has come 366s
out and he tells tells the message and God said to Bailem in verse 12, you shall not go with them. 372s
You shall not curse the people for they are blessed. Remember the Lord God and this is what King 378s
Balak or Balak knows. He knows and has heard the stories of the Lord God, the God of Israel bringing 385s
them out of Egypt and defeating the Egyptians. So word has has gone out for the past 40 years. They 392s
know that Israel has a God unlike any other and that he is powerful and that he is with the Israel 400s
lights. So God says, God says you're not going with them. You're not going with them. Now remember, 410s
God is speaking to Bailem, but Bailem is not of the Israelite people. Bailem is not part of 419s
that flock. He's not part of that fold. So he got up in the morning and he said to the officials, 428s
go to your own land for the Lord has refused to let me go with you. So the officials got up. 434s
They went back to Balak and they said he's not coming with us and so Balak continues and says, 441s
go again, go again. He is going to be persistent. He does not want the Israelites to defeat him. 447s
And so they came back and realized that here it's a couple of verses and we think this, 456s
you know, their neighbors, they're not. It would take a decent time period for this back and forth. 462s
But they come back and they say, they say, that says, Balak, son of Zippor, do not let anything 470s
hinder you from coming to me. And they give him the spiel again. And Bailem replied to the servants 476s
of Balak. Although Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond 481s
the command of the Lord, my God, to do less or more. Again, he's invoking that money. He knows 488s
that kings will pay and pay a good price for his gift of divination, his gift of serving these 500s
varieties of gods. So he tells them to remain there. He says, let me talk to the Lord. That night, 513s
and go with them, but do only what I tell you to do. So Bailem got up in the morning, saddled his 529s
donkey and went with the officials of Moab. It's very interesting that he rides a donkey that is not 536s
an animal of stature. We see Jesus entering into Jerusalem on a donkey. We see Mary heading to 545s
Bethlehem on a donkey. And what is the story of Jesus and his ministry and his time this 557s
side of heaven? He was humble and he lived a very humble existence of a humiliated existence, 564s
right? And so here we have Balak, who is on a donkey and he's going with the officials. 572s
And God's anger was kindled because he was going. God's anger was kindled because he was going, 580s
and the angel of the Lord hooked his stand in the road as his adversary. Was Bailem going for righteous 592s
reasons? Was Bailem going to serve the Lord God Almighty? Absolutely not. Bailem was going for 601s
Bailem's sake, hoping to line Bailem's pocket. Bailem was serving whoever would serve him, 610s
whoever would pay him to serve them. So God is angered because Bailem was going to figure out a 622s
way to go with these men. And he said, you can pay me all you want, but I can only speak what the 630s
Lord tells me to speak. So he's giving himself an out in both scenarios. He's giving himself 641s
that way out or that excuse. Okay, and I don't know, that just for a second, I kind of went, 652s
oh, does that hit close to home? But do we ever try to play both sides or figure out how we can 661s
squeeze in and beat fine? So God's anger was kindled. The angel of the Lord takes his stand in the 670s
road as his adversary. Now Bailem was writing on the donkey and his two servants were with him. The 679s
donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. So the donkey 684s
turned off the road and went into the field. So the donkey, this lowly creature, this lowly creature 692s
can see the angel of the Lord. He can see that the Lord is Bailem's adversary. He can see that this 701s
is a dangerous path. Bailem cannot. Bailem does not recognize the danger that he's headed into. He 708s
doesn't recognize what he's doing. And so he gets angry at this donkey and he strikes the donkey to 717s
turn it back onto the road. Verse 24, then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the 724s
vineyards with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against 731s
the wall and scraped Bailem's foot against the wall. So he struck it again. So first the 737s
donkey tries to get Bailem out of danger, going to a field. He sees the angel of the Lord again 744s
after or she, after being struck and squeezes up against a wall. So now Bailem has not only been 753s
attempted to be led away, but now he has a physical action happening where he should take notice. 762s
And yet he doesn't. He strikes the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and 772s
instead, oh, nope, this is right. Okay, sorry, I thought I had gotten backtracked. Anyway, 780s
the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either 785s
to the right or to the left. So now the donkey and Bailem on her back are stuck before the Lord. 790s
There is no way to turn around. There is nowhere to go if they continue moving forward. It's certain death. 797s
And you know, I apologize. I don't know if donkeys can back up. Can donkey, donkeys back up? 808s
Probably. But they're stuck before the Lord. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, 815s
it lay down under Bailem. It gives up. When we are before the Lord and the Lord's will, 820s
we can try and try to squeeze around it. We can try and try to work our way through what we are 831s
before the Lord and before his will. We lay down. We lay down because the Lord will do as the Lord 840s
will do. And we know that the Lord is right and just. And this is where we have that great blessing 849s
that we can trust. So the donkey lays down under Bailem. Bailem's anger was kindled and he 857s
struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and it said to Bailem, 865s
what have I done to you that you have struck me these three times? Bailem said to the donkey, 873s
because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand. I would kill you right now. 881s
But the donkey said to Bailem, am I not your donkey which you have ridden all your life to this day? 888s
Have I been in the habit of treating you this way? And he said no. 895s
There is a talking donkey. 901s
And Bailem is not even remotely banned by the talking donkey. This is where we 908s
have the...huh? But notice that time after time after time, the donkey was trying to protect 921s
Bailem. Bailem answers to the donkey that he has never, never been treated poorly by the donkey 937s
and that he has always been able to trust the donkey. But he hasn't been made such a fool of this donkey 946s
first by the donkey wandering off then by the donkey scraping his leg then of all things the 955s
donkey laying down in the middle of the pathway. Bailem is humiliated. He's been made a fool. 961s
And he is so sain-tracked by the cause of this foolishness that he doesn't 970s
blink when his donkey talks to him. And the Lord is using this humble animal for his good purpose and will. 979s
He is using this humble animal to bring Bailem into check. 996s
It's really easy when we read about Bailem. It's really easy for us to get stuck here. 1010s
We get stuck on the donkey because it is out of anything we can imagine. 1023s
God is the God, the creator of all that exists, that ever has existed, ever will exist. 1034s
God is God, who controls the thieves. God is God, who controls the orbits of the planets. 1042s
God is God, who controls the very breath that we take every single moment. Could the God of all 1052s
gods, could the creator of creation? Could he make his creation speak? Yes. 1060s
We cannot doubt the power of God. We cannot doubt the Almighty's sovereignty and the Almighty will of God 1072s
because of a donkey talking donkey. The talking donkey is not the main purpose of this text. The 1085s
donkey talking donkey that is really hard to say together. The talking donkey is not to trip us up. 1098s
It's to propel us forward, seeing what God does for the people of Israel and what he does opening up 1109s
Bailem's eyes. So this donkey speaks to Bailem. Bailem is really ticked off at the donkey. He has beaten 1119s
this thing. He has been made a fool of by this donkey and the donkey responds and you know, 1127s
okay, time out for just a second. When you are really heated and you're ready to just lay into 1134s
someone and you're just angry and they say, hey, let's think about this rationally. 1141s
Is there anything more infuriating? And yet the donkey here, the donkey here really brings the 1150s
ration to Bailem. He really brings or she really brings that word of calm to the situation. 1159s
Have I ever mistreated you? Have I ever let you down? All Bailem can answer is no. 1168s
Verse 31, then the Lord opened the eyes of Bailem and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road 1177s
with his drawn sword in his hand and he bowed down falling on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, 1187s
why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary because your way 1196s
is perverse before me. What way is perverse? That Bailem is trying to figure out a way to get to 1203s
Balak, Bailek. He wants to serve where he can get paid. He is going even though he has been told no, 1214s
he is going trying to figure out a way that he can make it okay, that he can justify why he is going 1225s
to this man. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away 1234s
from me surely just now I would have killed you and let it live. Then Bailem said to the angel of the 1243s
Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now 1250s
therefore if it is displeasing to you I will return home. I'm picturing this site where it is he 1258s
is stuck. He cannot turn in any direction. He is before the angel of the Lord. He finally sees 1266s
the angel of the Lord. He's sitting on the donkey. Finally sees the angel of the Lord. 1274s
And what do we read? Any time anyone encounters the Lord, the angel of the Lord, it strikes great 1280s
fear and awe. It's too much, too much. So he falls to his face. He's confronted with his sin. He's 1288s
confronted with his perverse ways and he can do nothing but confess his sin and he confesses it 1297s
and he says I won't go. If you want me to turn back I will turn back. He knows that he's been caught. 1304s
He's been caught trying to live this double, double existence, this having it both ways. So he is 1311s
convicted and the angel of the Lord said to Bailem in verse 35, go with the men but speak only what 1321s
I tell you to speak. So Bailem went on with the officials of Bailem. When Bailem heard that he had 1330s
come he went out to meet him on the boundary formed by the Arnon at the farthest point of the 1337s
boundary. Bailem said to Bailem, did I not send to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not 1342s
able to honor you? Again, Bailem or Bailem is appealing to that very worldly scent. He's 1349s
appealing to the pocket of Bailem. He's saying I would pay you anything and you didn't rush to get 1356s
here. Normally Bailem would rush. And Bailem said to Bailem, I have come to you now but I do 1364s
but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say. 1373s
Then Bailem went with Bailem and they came to Kiryat, he was he was off. Bailek sacrificed 1381s
Oxen and sheep and sent them to Bailem and to the officials who were with them. So then we have 1385s
we have Bailem and Bailek and Bailem has been given permission by the Lord to go to Bailek. 1392s
But that does not mean that the Lord is abandoning Israel. It does not mean that he will not have 1403s
his will done. He's going to use this sinner, Bailem, for his purpose. Now this does not mean that 1409s
Bailem is a prophet of the God of Israel. In this moment he will be used but Bailem is that 1420s
Suithsayer. Bailem is the Suithsayer. That being a Suithsayer, practicing divination, 1430s
that was paganistic. That is outside of what the Israelites would be in contact with. 1438s
So while the Israelites are on the other side and they have not yet crossed into the land, 1449s
God is already working for them according to his purpose. And remember, these are the Israelites 1455s
that have up until this chapter 22, up until this chapter we read constantly of the Israelites 1464s
mumbling and grumbling and moaning and groaning. They had just recently in numbers, just recently 1472s
wind about not having quail and God says, I'm going to give you quail, I'm going to give you so 1479s
much quail it comes out your nose and you're going to be sick of quail. And even before they're done 1484s
eating, they're grumbling again. And yet God has gone before them, has gone before them to make sure 1490s
that the promised land is prepared for them. So Bailem and Bailek go in and they are going to 1501s
they are going to have the word of the Lord. Bailek is very sure that Bailem is going to 1513s
go ahead and curse the Israelites for him. But he doesn't. He doesn't. Bailem says to Bailek, 1521s
we're in chapter 23 now, build me seven altars here and prepare seven bowls and seven rams for me. 1528s
Bailek did his Bailem said, Bailek and Bailem offered a bowl and ram on each altar. Then Bailem said 1535s
to Bailek, stay here beside your burnt offerings while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me 1541s
and whatever he shows me, I will tell you. So all along here right now, he keeps telling Bailek, 1547s
I'm only going to show you what the Lord shows me. I can only tell you what the Lord tells me. So God 1555s
comes to Bailem and he says he's going to put a word in Bailem's mouth. So at this point, he is using 1562s
Bailem to speak his word, to speak his word. And so Bailem gives this first oracle and he says, 1574s
Bailek has brought me from Aram the king of Moab from the Eastern mountains come, curse Jacob 1583s
for me, come, denounce or Israel. How can I curse whom God has not cursed? 1589s
How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced? From the top of the crags I see him, 1596s
from the hills I behold him, here is a people living alone and not reckoning itself among the nations. 1604s
Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the dust cloud of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright 1611s
and let my end be like his. He did not utter a curse against Israel. Instead, he's speaking of the 1617s
numbers of Israel that they will continue to go forth. He's talking about the dust of Jacob, 1627s
the dust cloud of Israel that it's going to continue to go forth. It's going to march into the Holy 1637s
land and no one will stop it. No one will be able to stop it. Bailek doesn't like this. 1644s
And so he takes Bailem to another place and he says, okay, let's go over here so you can see them 1655s
from from here and then you'll be sure you'll be sure to curse them. And so again, 1662s
the Lord put his word into Bailem's mouth and he says, go back in the second or oracle in chapter 23 1674s
in verse 18 or beginning in verse 18, then Bailem uttered his oracle saying, 1685s
rise, Bailek, and here, listen to me of son of Zippor. God is not a human being that he should lie 1690s
or immortal that he should change his mind. Has he promised? And will he not do it? Has he spoken 1697s
and will he not fulfill it? See, I receive a command to bless. He has blessed and I cannot revoke it. 1705s
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is 1714s
with them acclaimed as a king among them. God who brings them out of Egypt is like the horns of a 1721s
wild ox for them. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel. Now it 1727s
shall be said of Jacob in Israel, see what the Lord God has done. Look, a people rising up like a 1735s
lioness and rousing itself like a lion. It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey and drunk 1742s
the blood of the slain. I love Bailek's response. He says, do not curse them at all and do not bless 1748s
them at all. He is asked for curses and he keeps getting blessings upon Israel and now he is just saying, 1756s
shut up. I don't want to hear this. I want you to curse them. So again, verse 27, 1764s
Bailek said to Bailem, come now. I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that 1773s
you may curse them for me from there. So they move again. Bailek continues to move Bailem 1780s
around offering sacrifices just hoping that maybe Bailem will come to his senses at some point 1789s
and curse this great horde of people, the Israelites. So they go and Bailem sees that it pleases the 1796s
Lord to bless Israel. So he didn't go in verse 24. It says he did not go as in other times to look 1809s
for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. Bailem looked up and saw Israel camping tribe by 1819s
tribe. Then the spirit of God came upon him. So these other oracles, he had gone out. Anytime he 1826s
had served a lowercase G-God, he had looked for omens, he had looked for signs, he had done that 1838s
previously, he had done that with Bailek. And this third time, he sees the people of Israel, 1845s
he sees the tens of thousands of them and he's not searching for signs. He's not searching for any 1853s
omens, he's not searching for an answer from the universe. And this is where the spirit of the 1863s
Lord is with him. The spirit of the Lord came upon him and he uttered his oracle, saying the 1870s
oracle of Bailem son of Baile, the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, the oracle of one who 1879s
hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down but with eyes 1886s
uncovered. How fair are your tents O Jacob, your encampments O Israel? Like palm groves that stretch 1893s
far away like gardens beside a river, like allows that the Lord has planted, like theater trees 1899s
beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets and his seed shall have abundant water. 1905s
His king shall be higher than egg-ag and his kingdom shall be exalted. God who brings him out of Egypt 1912s
is like the horns of a wild ox for him. He shall devour the nations that are his foes and break their 1918s
bones. He shall strike with his arrows. He crouch, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness who will 1925s
rouse him up. Blessed is everyone who blesses you and cursed is everyone who curses you. He is 1931s
speaking a blessing once again upon the people of Israel. He is saying that the Lord goes before them 1939s
like a wild ox that is demolishing all who stand in their way, all who stand against them. 1948s
And he goes on saying that everyone who blesses you will be blessed. Everyone who curses you will 1959s
be cursed. Now imagine being Baelic standing there. What has he been trying to do? 1969s
Curse Israel. Curse Israel. He has given sacrifices to the cursing of Israel and time and time and 1978s
time again. They're not cursed but they are blessed. They are blessed. And so Baelic says go away. 1987s
Just go away. He wasn't asking for another oracle. He wasn't asking for any further word from 1997s
Baelic. But Baelic gives one. Remember the spirit of the Lord has come upon him. In verse 15 of 2006s
chapter 24 he says so he uttered his oracle saying the oracle of Baelic son of Baelic, 2015s
the oracle of the man whose eye is clear, the oracle of the one who hears the words of God and 2021s
knows the knowledge of the most high, who sees the vision of the Almighty who falls down but with 2028s
his eyes uncovered. I see him but not now. I behold him but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob 2033s
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. It shall crush the borderlands of Moab and the territory 2044s
of all the sheathides. Edom will become a possession seer, a possession of its enemies while 2050s
Israel does valiantly. One out of Jacob shall rule and destroy the survivors of Er. Then he looked 2056s
on Amalek and uttered his oracle saying first among the nations was Amalek but its end is to 2064s
perish forever. Then he looked on the key night and uttered his oracle saying enduring is your 2070s
dwelling place and your nest is set in the rock. Yet Cain is destined for burning. 2076s
How long shall Asher take you away captive? Again he uttered his oracle saying a last who 2082s
shall live when God does this but ships shall come from Kiddam and shall afflict Asher and Eber 2088s
Eber and he shall also perish forever. Then Baelic got up and went back to his place and Baelic 2094s
also went his way. He sees the full victory in the Lord. He sees the one coming through or up out 2101s
Israel and tells of the sure victory. We get sidetracked with the Tonky Hucking Donky 2120s
but the point of this text the point of Baelum and his prophesying the point is that 2131s
God is persistent. God's will is persistent and God ultimately will reign. He ultimately will have 2143s
the victory through Jesus Christ. We hear and we talk about how the Old Testament points us to 2155s
Jesus the New Testament shares Jesus and brings us right back into the life that we have in Jesus. 2162s
This is pointing us to Jesus. It points us to the victory that God has given to us in Jesus. 2169s
A lot of history happens after Baelum is the Israelites enter into the promised land. 2182s
But consistently we see that regardless of the sin, regardless of the rebellion that Jesus 2189s
that God himself will prevail always. I never think that I'm going to even have enough to fill a class 2196s
and we're always like scurting on time. I am so sorry. So sorry. So we trust that God indeed is sovereign 2204s
and almighty and can make a Donky talk. We're not going to get sidetracked and we're going to see 2215s
that God will always work through and by whichever means He chooses. 2222s
And He has chosen to work for the good of you, for the good of the world through His Son, 2229s
Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins and has called us to be His own. Amen. 2235s