The look of God

Balak said : "Curse me this people." God said : "You will not curse the people, for it is blessed." Numbers 22: 6-12

After the episode of the burning serpents (Num. 21), the people of Israel acknowledged that they had sinned against God and against Moses. After having confessed sin before God, the people sang and won great victories over Sihon king of the Amorites and over Og king of Bashan. Balak, king of Moab, is terrified at the idea of ​​suffering the same fate. As he does not feel the strength to defeat Israel, he imagines a stratagem: he hires Balaam, a diviner of great fame, to curse Israel. But God obliges Balaam to bless the people four times !

1. "Behold, it is a people that dwelleth alone (apart, and separated), and it shall not be numbered among the nations" (Numbers 23: 9). God is sovereign in his choices. He reserved Israel for himself, to do him good. It is the same for the people of God today, the Church made up of all true Christians. She is separated from the world and continually under divine protection : "He who is born of God ... the Evil One does not touch him" (1 John 5:18).

2. "He did not see iniquity in Jacob, nor did he see injustice in Israel ; The LORD his God is with him, and a song of royal triumph is in the midst of him" (Numbers 23:21). God no longer sees the injustices of a people justified, sanctified by His presence. The children of God today are "more than conquerors by him who loved them" (Romans 8:37). At the cross, the Lord Jesus was "made sin" for them, therefore there is no more condemnation possible for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8: 1).

3. "How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob ! And thy dwellings, O Israel ! As valleys they stretch out like gardens by a river" (Numbers 24: 5, 6). God looks at his people with pleasure and sees it already in full prosperity. God "has filled us in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1: 6). God sees the Church in His Son, united to Him, as He considers His Beloved Himself !

4. "A star will arise from Jacob, and a scepter shall arise from Israel, and shall destroy all the sons of tumult" (Numbers 24:17). The Lord announces the Messiah and promises a victorious and glorious future to Israel. Likewise, the Church is assured of divine protection and awaits the return of the Lord.

Let us rejoice in the wonderful glance of the "God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus" (1 Pet. 5:10).

Source (To pleasing the Lord)