HE HATH BLESSED
“Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.” Numbers 23:20
Balak, the king of the Moabites, had employed Balaam, hoping that Balaam might curse the people of God. God directly said to Balaam, “thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12). What a great thing it is to know that God has commanded a blessing on His people! Balak then sent another group of messengers to Balaam, offering him greater compensation if he would curse Israel. Attracted by this proposal, Balaam went to God the second time about the possibility of cursing Israel. Of course, God was angered by this action on Balaam’s part. The Lord repeatedly confirmed to Balaam that Israel was blessed and should not be cursed.
In another place, Balaam declared to Balak, “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?” (Numbers 23:8). Also, concerning Israel he said, “Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee” (Numbers 24:9). Balak’s anger was fierce against Balaam. Instead of cursing Israel, Balaam had blessed them. Balaam’s message in our text is worth considering, “Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.”
It is good to know that others cannot remove God’s blessing from our lives. Balaam could not curse the people whom God had blessed and would be blessing. Even though Balak wanted them cursed, and Balaam for a fee was willing to curse them, God would not allow these men to withdraw His blessing from those He loved.
This does not mean that Israel themselves could not forfeit blessings or disqualify themselves from being fully blessed. We know that this can occur, and most certainly it has occurred. By our disobedience or lack of faith, we may miss out on some of God’s great blessings for our lives. Someone may, as was seen in Balak, want to see us cursed instead of being blessed. But when God has blessed, others “cannot reverse it.”
There is an additional helpful message in this passage. We must be careful not to want to curse those God has blessed. Satan would attempt to use us, as Balak wanted to use Balaam, to curse those whom God has blessed. We should not cooperate with the enemy’s desires to verbally attack those that God has pronounced blessing upon.