  BALAAM AND BALAK. FIRST READING.
THERE was a prophet called Balaam. A prophet means a man to whom God made His will known, and who was thus much wiser than other men. This prophet one day saw some rich great men come to his house. They brought him a message, that a king named Balak wanted him to come with them, and would give him great rewards for coming. Balaam said he must wait for one night, and God would make known to him what he was to do. And at night God told him he was not to go; for what Balak wanted of him was to curse the children of Israel, and God would not have them cursed. So Balaam said he must not go, and the messengers went away. But Balak sent more princes, still grander men, with larger presents, to fetch Balaam. He answered, "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." But he had not left off wishing. He begged the messengers to stay, and see if God would give him leave to go. And this time God did say he might go, but that he should not say anything about the Israelites but what God put in his mouth. Balaam knew that God was not pleased with him; but he wanted Balak's rewards, and he set off in the morning, riding on his ass. Presently the ass was frightened, and turned out of the road into the field. Balaam was angry at this, and beat the ass. But again the ass turned aside in a narrow walled path, and squeezed Balaam's foot against the wall. He beat her again. Presently, in a very narrow road, the poor ass fell quite down for fear; and Balaam was very angry, and beat her harder. BALAAM MET BY THE ANGEL OF THE LORD.—Num. 22:31. Then God worked a wonder. He made the dumb ass to speak, and ask why he was so cruel to her. He answered that he only wished for a sword to kill her. The ass asked if she had ever been like this before. He said, No. And then, full before him, he saw God's holy angel with a sword in his hand. And he fell down on his face. The poor ass had seen the angel all the time; but Balaam could not see him till God made him able. And now he was afraid, and would have gone back; but the angel said he must go on now, though he would only be able to speak the words which God put in his mouth. Think if, sometimes when you have been told you must not do something, you fret and teaze to do it—is not that like Balaam? And perhaps you teaze till some one gives you leave to do as you wish. Then you get quite cross with eagerness, and are unkind to all that hinders you; and, after all, you do not find that any good comes of getting your own way. QUESTIONS.
SECOND READING.
THERE was a king named Balak, whose land the Israelites were to pass through. They promised not to do any harm to him or his people, if they might go quietly through; but he was afraid and angry, and wanted to have them cursed, hoping to bring God's anger on them. That was a very wicked and foolish notion of King Balak's; and God would not let it bring harm upon His people. They had not deserved to have His anger called down on them, and so He would not be angry with them. And when Balak's friend Balaam tried to speak curses, God turned them all to blessings; and, instead of saying they should come to a terrible end, he could only say how happy and well off they should be, with God to take care of them, and be their King. He even went on to say that a Star should come out of Jacob, and a Sceptre should rise out of Israel—and that meant that our Only think how angry Balak was, when Balaam could not curse, but only blessed. I wish he had been afraid, and seen it was not God's will that he should hurt the Israelites; but instead of that, he went on in his wickedness, and was miserably killed at last; for God took care of His people, and would let no one do them any harm. Now, recollect, bad words and bad wishes do harm to the person that speaks them, not to those they are meant for. If a bad boy came and abused a steady one for going to church, or saying his prayers, it would be very bad for himself; but if the good boy kept on quietly, nothing that the other could say would hurt him one bit. God would take care of him as surely as He took care of the Israelites. QUESTIONS.
THIRD READING.
YOU heard how Balaam went to Balak; and how God made him bless the children of Israel when he wanted to curse them. But even this did not make Balaam good. He wanted Balak to give him a reward; and so he told him that though no harm could happen to the people of Israel while they were good and worshipped their God, yet if he could make them do something wicked, and turn away from their God, then God would be sure to punish them. THE ISRAELITES INVITED TO A GREAT FEAST. So these two wicked men sent a number of women to invite the Israelites to hold a great feast with them, in honor of their idol Baal Peor. Many were so foolish and wicked as to be led away; and they had a great feasting and revelling, and all kinds of bad pleasures that these heathen women said were to do praise to this horrible false god. Then, though Balak might have cursed for ever without hurting them, they had done themselves the harm. God sent a deadly sickness, and in one day twenty-four thousand people died. But Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, did as Moses commanded him. He first put to death the wickedest of the people who had joined themselves to Baal Peor; and then he prayed—and all the people prayed and wept too. So God forgave them, and the plague ceased. Afterwards Phinehas led the Israelite fighting men to punish the wicked Balak and his people; and Balaam was killed in fighting with them. All the wicked women who had tempted the Israelites away from God were put to death too. So Balaam's evil counsel ended in all sorts of misery. It is very sad to think of QUESTIONS.
HIGH PRIEST WITH SIN OFFERING. |
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