Bible Reading Plan – Day 44

₂₂God was angry that Balaam was going, and as Balaam was riding along on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants, the angel of the LORD stood in the road to bar his way. ₂₃When the donkey saw the angel standing there holding a sword, it left the road and turned into the fields. Balaam beat the donkey and brought it back on to the road. ₂₄Then the angel stood where the road narrowed between two vineyards and had a stone wall on each side. ₂₅When the donkey saw the angel, it moved over against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against it. Again Balaam beat the donkey. ₂₆Once more the angel moved ahead; he stood in a narrow place where there was no room at all to pass on either side. ₂₇This time, when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down. Balaam lost his temper and began to beat the donkey with his stick. ₂₈Then the LORD gave the donkey the power of speech, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you? Why have you beaten me these three times?”

₂₉Balaam answered, “Because you have made a fool of me! If I had a sword, I would kill you.”

₃₀The donkey replied, “Am I not the same donkey on which you have ridden all your life? Have I ever treated you like this before?”

“No,” he answered.

₃₁Then the LORD let Balaam see the angel standing there with his sword; and Balaam threw himself face downwards on the ground. ₃₂The angel demanded, “Why have you beaten your donkey three times like this? I have come to bar your way, because you should not be making this journey. ₃₃But your donkey saw me and turned aside three times. If it hadn't, I would have killed you and spared the donkey.”

₃₄Balaam replied, “I have sinned. I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me; but now if you think it is wrong for me to go on, I will return home.”

₃₅But the angel said, “Go on with these men, but say only what I tell you to say.” So Balaam went on with them.

₃₆When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at Ar, a city on the River Arnon at the border of Moab. ₃₇Balak said to him, “Why didn't you come when I sent for you the first time? Did you think I wasn't able to reward you enough?”

₃₈Balaam answered, “I came, didn't I? But now, what power have I got? I can say only what God tells me to say.” ₃₉So Balaam went with Balak to the town of Huzoth, ₄₀where Balak slaughtered cattle and sheep and gave some of the meat to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

₄₁Next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, from where Balaam could see a part of the people of Israel.

₂Balak did as he was told, and he and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. ₃Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I go to see whether or not the LORD will meet me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.” So he went alone to the top of a hill, ₄and God met him. Balaam said to him, “I have built the seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each.”

₅The LORD told Balaam what to say and sent him back to Balak to give him his message. ₆So he went back and found Balak still standing by his burnt offering, with all the leaders of Moab.

₇Balaam uttered this prophecy:

₁₁Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but all you have done is bless them.”

₁₂He answered, “I can say only what the LORD tells me to say.”

₁₃Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come with me to another place from which you can see only some of the Israelites. Curse them for me from there.” ₁₄He took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Mount Pisgah. There also he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each of them.

₁₅Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, and I will meet God over there.”

₁₆The LORD met Balaam, told him what to say, and sent him back to Balak to give him his message. ₁₇So he went back and found Balak still standing by his burnt offering, with the leaders of Moab. Balak asked what the LORD had said, ₁₈and Balaam uttered this prophecy:

₂₅Then Balak said to Balaam, “You refuse to curse the people of Israel, but at least don't bless them!”

₂₆Balaam answered, “Didn't I tell you that I had to do everything that the LORD told me?”

₂₇Balak said, “Come with me, and I will take you to another place. Perhaps God will be willing to let you curse them for me from there.” ₂₈So he took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor overlooking the desert. ₂₉Balaam said to him, “Build seven altars for me here and bring me seven bulls and seven rams.” ₃₀Balak did as he was told, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

₁By now Balaam knew that the LORD wanted him to bless the people of Israel, so he did not go to look for omens, as he had done before. He turned towards the desert ₂and saw the people of Israel camped tribe by tribe. The Spirit of God took control of him, ₃and he uttered this prophecy:

₁₀Balak clenched his fists in anger and said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but three times now you have blessed them instead. ₁₁Now go off home! I promised to reward you, but the LORD has kept you from getting the reward.”

₁₂Balaam answered, “I told the messengers you sent to me that ₁₃even if you gave me all the silver and gold in your palace, I could not disobey the command of the LORD by doing anything of myself. I will say only what the LORD tells me to say.”

₁₄Balaam said to Balak, “Now I am going back to my own people, but before I go, I am warning you what the people of Israel will do to your people in the future.” ₁₅Then he uttered this prophecy:

₂₀Then in his vision Balaam saw the Amalekites and uttered this prophecy:

₂₁In his vision he saw the Kenites, and uttered this prophecy:

₂₃Balaam uttered this prophecy:

₂₅Then Balaam got ready and went back home, and Balak went on his way.

₁When the Israelites were camped in the Valley of Acacia, the men began to have sexual intercourse with the Moabite women who were there. ₂These women invited them to sacrificial feasts, where the god of Moab was worshipped. The Israelites ate the food and worshipped the god ₃Baal of Peor. So the LORD was angry with them ₄and said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of Israel and, in obedience to me, execute them in broad daylight, and then I will no longer be angry with the people.” ₅Moses said to the officials, “Each of you is to kill every man in your tribe who has become a worshipper of Baal of Peor.”

₆One of the Israelites took a Midianite woman into his tent in the sight of Moses and the whole community, while they were mourning at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD's presence. ₇When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up and left the assembly. He took a spear, ₈followed the man and the woman into the tent, and drove the spear through both of them. In this way the epidemic that was destroying Israel was stopped, ₉but it had already killed 24,000 people.

₁₀The LORD said to Moses, ₁₁“Because of what Phinehas has done, I am no longer angry with the people of Israel. He refused to tolerate the worship of any god but me, and that is why I did not destroy them in my anger. ₁₂So tell him that I am making a covenant with him that is valid for all time to come. ₁₃He and his descendants are permanently established as priests, because he did not tolerate any rivals to me and brought about forgiveness for the people's sin.”

₁₄The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the head of a family in the tribe of Simeon. ₁₅The woman's name was Cozbi. Zur, her father, was chief of a group of Midianite clans.

₁₆The LORD commanded Moses, ₁₇“Attack the Midianites and destroy them, ₁₈because of the evil they did to you when they deceived you at Peor, and because of Cozbi, who was killed at the time of the epidemic at Peor.”