A God who is determined to bless

A very amusing story here. 

Balak the king of Moab is desperate to curse the Israelites. 

Balaam desperately wants to help him. 

But God intervenes each time. 

Balak said, “Curse the whole nation!” 

Balaam answers, “Sorry, gotta bless them.”

Balak takes him to a place where they can see only some of the people, and says, “Okay, well, if you can’t curse all of them, at least curse some of them.” 

And at that point, God gives Balaam these words.

God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?

I have received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot change it. (Numbers 23:19-20)

In other words, God doesn’t change.  He always keeps his word toward us; he always keeps his promises. 

And his love for us is such that he greatly desires to bless us. 

People may change, but God does not.

What kinds of blessings does God give his people? 

His presence. (Numbers 23:21)

His salvation. (Numbers 23:22)

Spiritual protection from evil forces. (Numbers 23:23)

Victory over our enemies. (Numbers 23:24; 24:8-9)

An abundant life. (Numbers 24:5-7)

Honor. (Numbers 24:7).

What is the only thing that can keep us from that blessing? 

A heart that strays from God. 

The Israelites would learn that soon enough. 

But if we keep our heart in God’s hands, he will bless us. 

And no one on this earth, nor any spiritual forces above can keep that blessing from us.