Chapter 23

Balaam and Balak offer seven bulls and seven rams on seven altars.  Balaam goes forward, and God speaks to him, and then he returns to tell Balak and the princes of Moab what word God has given him.

Balaam blesses them instead, though it seems to me in a roundabout way.  Not directly a blessing.  Here is an interesting phrase, that ties in with the various rules and regs of the Mosaic Law:

9 ...a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! [Num 23:9b ESV]

Israel's rules, customs, diet, sacrificial system, priesthood, and on and on, served to distinguish them from any other nation.  This should have culturally isolated them and kept them pure..  Sadly, it did not.

Balak is upset about it.  He asked Balaam to come with him to another place and curse the ones he can see from there.  7 7 7 again, Balaam goes forward and comes back with the word.  One of the verses is this:

19 God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? [Num 23:19 ESV]

This is the verse that tears down what the Mormons say about each man eventually being a god himself and having his own planet.  They say they believe the Bible, and all that is in it, they just have some extra info.  But their extra contradicts this verse.

The verse also implies that ALL men lie, and all men go back on their word at some time.  No one is like God, who never goes back.

2023 - I memorized this verse a very long time ago, but I never really noted the context.  This was Balaam, of all people, who said this.

This second blessing is somewhat more direct and predicts conquest and victory for Israel in a mighty way.  Balak is a very slow learner.  He takes Balaam to yet a third place, and they do the 7 7 7 thing for the third time.