"Aviod Being Cursed"
Parashat HaShavua Balak / Balak
This Week's Reading List:
BaMidbar / Numbers 19:1-25:9
Mikhah / Micah 5:6-6:8
Korintim Aleph / 1 Corinthians 1:20-31
Bamidbar {22:2} Balak ben (son of) Zippor saw all that Yisrael (Israel) had done to the Amorites. {22:3} Moav was so afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moav was distressed because of bnei Yisrael (the children of Israel). {22:4} Moav said to the elders of Midian, Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. Balak ben Zippor was king of Moav at that time. {22:5} He sent messengers to Bilaam ben B'or, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the bnei (children) of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Mitzrayim: behold, they cover the surface of the earth, and they abide over against me. {22:6} Please come now, therefore, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.
Bamidbar {23:7} He took up his parable, and said, From Aram has Balak brought me, The king of Moav from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Ya'akov, Come, defy Yisrael. {23:8} How shall I curse, whom G-D has not cursed?
We know from reading the entire parasha, parasha Balak, that even though greedy Bilaam tried as hard as he could, he was unable to curse bnei Yisrael. In fact as we see from verse 8 above he conceded that he was unable to curse whom HaShem had blessed. I think this is a lesson everyone of us should learn and understand. Satan is not in control of who gets cursed and who does not! Obviously HaShem is in complete control of who is blessed and who is cursed. The fact is that Satan can not do anything without G-d’s prior approval. If you think for a minute that anyone can put a curse on a born-again child of G-d any time they want, then you are greatly mistaken.
Sadly, in the years I have been a Messianic leader I have encountered people who have claimed that a curse had been placed on them. Now certainly you can be cursed and under certain conditions a curse can be placed upon a person, but only, as I said, under certain conditions. What are those conditions? The first and most obvious one is if you are not a believer in Yeshua HaMashiach and you have not made Him your L-rd and Saviour. The second is if you are a Believer in Yeshua HaMashiach and you have intentionally or inadvertently sinned without repenting.
There is only one of two camps that a person can be in -- either in G-d’s camp or in Satan’s camp! Satan is the ruler of the powers and principalities of the earth. In other words, he controls the world system as we know it today. That is why there is so much evil on the earth.
At the fall of man, when Adam and Eve disobeyed G-d, sin entered into the world and with sin humankind became slaves to Satan, the lord of sin. G-d, who can not look upon sin because he himself is sinless, therefore, turned His back on mankind and man was no longer under G-d’s protection – they were cursed. The korban (draw near offering / sacrifice) system, as inaugurated by G-d, and outlined in the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus), remedied that situation with the use of substitutionary offerings. Through confession and repentance, a man’s sin was transferred to a sinless animal and that animal’s blood was shed instead of the sinners.
Vayikra {17:11} For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you on the mitzbe’ach (altar) to make Kapparah (Atonement) for your nef'shim (souls) : for it is the blood that makes Kapparah by reason the life.
This korban system was a shadow of the korban that eventually G-d Himself provided by coming to earth as a human being. Only G-d could fulfill the requirements of His own law of sin equals death by dying on our behalf. Whoever, therefore, receives and associates himself with what HaShem has done for us, by receiving Yeshua HaMashiach as the Lamb of G-d who takes away our sins, becomes a child of G-d and, therefore, is under His control and protection.
Bnei Yisrael was covered by the korban system while on the plains of Moab. So long as they remained in a state of confession and repentance they were under HaShem’s protection and, therefore, unable to be cursed. However, as soon as they entered into the realm of sin, as we will see in next week’s Parasha, HaShem’s protection was lifted from them and they entered into Satanic territory where HaShem allowed them to be cursed. This resulted in thousands dying. Pay attention and learn from the following passage of Scripture:
Shmuel Alef (1 Samuel) {18:9} And Saul looked at David with suspicion from that day on. {18:10} Now it came about on the next day that an evil spirit from G-d came mightily upon Saul, and he raved in the midst of the house, while David was playing the harp with his hand, as usual; and a spear was in Saul's hand.
King Saul had been a believer and was, therefore, under the protection of HaShem but as soon as he sinned that protection was lifted and he was under the influence of Satan. Notice the underlined portion of the verse. The evil spirit was from G-d. That tells us, as I said before, that Satan can not do anything without being allowed to by G-d. And G-d will not allow Satan to curse a believer in Yeshua HaMashiach so long as they remain in a state of confession and repentance.
How can you avoid being cursed? Receive Yeshua HaMashiach as your L-rd and Saviour, then live a life of confession and repentance and be transformed from a sinner into a saint.
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Baruch HaShem
Rabbi Ya'acov Farber
Hallelujah for our Lord, our Teacher,our Rabbi, "YESHUA" King Messiah for ever and ever!!!
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