Num. 31-33
It seems there is more to the story of Balaam that what was told a few chapters ago, and it seems that, although God spoke to Balaam, Balaam was not exactly a man of God. I am getting the impression that, even though Balaam was not able to curse Israel, he counseled Balak on other ways to bring trouble to the people. It’s a curious thing to me that a man could receive word from God and could know that he was powerless to speak anything other than what God put in his mouth and yet not serve this God.
Luke 1:39-56
When Mary went to visit Elizabeth, the Holy Spirit put words in Elizabeth’s mouth. One of the statements that she made was, “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” (vs 45). I don’t know if Elizabeth said these things before or after Mary told her story, but what struck me about this statement in particular is the acknowledgment of Mary’s acceptance of what the Angel told her. We read yesterday that Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (from vs 38).
How many times in just the few chapters we have read through to this point, have we seen people doubt a word from God? But Mary just humbly says to let it be so. She did not focus on the impossibility of the promise but, instead, simply made herself available to God. May I have the faith to do the same.