October 4th, 2009 
jojoagot-RF 
It was a scene that looked more like a sequence in a Harry Potter movie and not a Bible narrative. One sorcerer by the name of Balaam was limping over a hilltop before sunrise, burning witchcraft ingredients in seven altars where 14 slaughtered animals were on fire. He was preparing to launch his deadliest sorcery against a group of people sleeping soundly on the valley below. The stakes were high. His reputation as celebrity sorcerer among all Middle Eastern kingdoms was on the line. Plus a horde of silver and gold far beyond his imagination await him if he can successfully curse this wandering tribe of Hebrews. (Num. 22- 24)
The wizard invoked a curse but something weird happened. He could not pronounce his spells properly, in fact, he couldn’t speak a word at all. His tongue was locked out of its evil incantations and when he really tried to speak, blessings upon blessings poured out of his lips. Astounded, he realized that the people he was cursing was covered by a protective shield that (excuse my imagination) looked like an energy field in a Sci-Fi movie, a kind of protection that his black magic couldn’t get through. Someone more powerful was exerting a stronger power. The God of the Hebrews was opposing his magic!
Meanwhile, the Israelites, oblivious of the battle being fought in the air just above them, laid there sleeping soundly on their tents. Not a care in the world, not a bit disturbed by anything unusual, not loosing sleep over security issues.
I’m guessing that the Israelites woke up that morning fully rested and calm like any other mornings. They had no idea that in the previous night while they were having dinner, or having family conversations or putting babies to sleep, evil people were hatching evil plans to destroy them. They had no idea that while they were sleeping, the angels of heaven were in an all-out war against the powers of evil hovering over their tent roofs. Psalms 34: 7 gives us the clue: The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Balaam gave up cursing the Hebrews after three futile attempts. He went away to devise another plan but in those mornings when he tried to ruin God’s people, he learned that God is very protective of them that He shouts, literally screams, at anyone who tries to harm them. “The shout of the King is among them!” Balaam’s report to his employer is a source of encouragement for all of us:
No misfortune is seen in Jacob,
no misery observed in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them;
the shout of the King is among them…
There is no sorcery against Jacob,
no divination against Israel.
(Numbers 23: 21, 23)
One major lesson I learned from this story is that even when we don’t know it, God is working round the clock to keep us safe and protected. Calamities, evil attacks and even witchcraft can happen around us anytime but with God on our side, we can still wake up to peaceful mornings.
Just because nothing particularly good is happening to us doesn’t necessarily mean that God isn’t doing anything. He could have just been quite busy covering us from something evil and that, in itself, is one great blessing we will never fully understand.
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You may have heard of artists who shoot to fame for one breakaway performance and after the hype dies down, they retreat back to oblivion, never to be heard of again. They’re called the One Hit Wonders. People don’t call them stars because they don’t shine anymore. They’re more like meteors. They blaze through the tabloids for a short period of time and then they’re gone.
You’ve read it many times already. When God introduces himself to his servants in the Old Testament, he goes into name dropping three ancient people- Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For example, in Exodus 3: 6, God told Moses, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
