Chapters 22-36

Recent Lessons for Israel Look to the Savior & Live! Who are you Following? Look to the Savior & Live!

Welcome to Numbers 22-24 Balaam Balak The Bargain & the Angel of God Read Skit -Role Play Balak, Balaam and the Donkey Role Play/Skit Balak:—Wow, there sure are a lot of Israelites camping out in my backyard. And they just wiped out the neighbors. This is looking a little threatening. What should I do? Hmm, I know. Hey Servant come in here. Servant—Yeah? Balak:—I want to you go find Balaam and tell him I’ll give him lots of money and gold and silver if he will put a curse on the Israelites. Servant—Hey, that’s a great idea! He’s that guy who can bless and curse anything, right? Balak:—Yes. Servant—OK, I’ll be right back. Balak:—This better work or I’m in big trouble. Servant (to Balaam) : Hey Balaam, have I got a deal for you. The king says he’ll give you lots of money and stuff and all you gotta do is put a curse on those tent dwellers out there. How about it? Balaam: He wants me to curse Israel? Servant: Yeah, no problem, right? Balaam: I’ll have to check. Hang on. Narrator: Balaam goes to check with the Lord then returns to Balak’s servant. Servant: Well. . . Balaam: Nope, I can’t do it. Servant: Why not? Just think of all that money! Balaam: Even if the king gave me all the money in the world, I can only say what God says and He says no. Servant: Really? Balaam: Really, now go away. Narrator: The servant goes back to Balak and gives him the bad news. Balak: Balaam said no? Doesn’t he know who I am? Servant: Well I told him but maybe he didn’t hear. Balak: Did you tell him about the money? Servant: Yeah Balak :Well . . . Servant: He said it didn’t matter. Balak: Hmm. This is very puzzling. But I have to do something about those campers out there. I know—offer him honor and power. That should do it. Go tell Balaam he will have great honor if he will curse Isreal. Narrator: The servant returns to Balaam with the new message Balaam—Hey, back again? Servant—Yep. The King says you can have honor and power if you come and curse Israel. Balaam—Honor and power, huh? Servant—Yep. Sounds like a good deal to me, what do you say? Balaam—I’ll have to ask, hang on. Narrator: Balaam goes to ask God again then returns to the Servant. Servant—Well. . . ? Balaam—You want to spend the night? I’ll tell you in the morning. Servant—Sure, whatever you say. Want me to wake you up? Balaam—OK. Goodnight Narrator: God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, you can go ahead and go with them; but only say what I tell you to. So the next day Balaam prepared his donkey to go on the trip. Balaam—OK Donkey, you heard Balak’s servant wake me up. And God said I could go if he wakes me up. Let’s head on out. Power and honor and tons of money—here we come. Donkey—Eee awww Balaam—OK, I know. I can’t take it. But, it sure would be nice. Let’s go. Narrator: As Balaam heads out an Angel of the Lord stands in the road blocking the donkey. Balaam doesn’t see the Angel. Balaam—Hey, that’s the wrong way. (hits the donkey with a stick) Donkey—Eee awww. Balaam—What are you doing now? Turn around. Ouch!! That hurt. You ran me right into the wall. (hits him with a stick) Balaam—Turn around, and go the right way now. Narrator: The donkey collapses and Balaam continues hitting the donkey. In order to get Balaam’s attention, the Lord makes it possible for the donkey to talk Donkey—Why are you hitting me. What have I done? Balaam—Well let’s see—you turned the wrong way and then you smashed my foot into the wall and then you just sat down. And if I had a sword I’d . . . Donkey - Hey now I’ve been loyal all these years to you. Haven’t I done everything you’ve asked me to all these years!! Narrator: Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam and he sees the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with a sword in his hand and, now fearful, Balaam falls on his face. Angel—Why are you hitting your donkey? You aren’t supposed to be going this way unless you will say what God wants you to stay. Your donkey tried to stop you so I wouldn’t kill you with my sword. Balaam—Oops. I think I made a mistake. Angel—Yes, you did! Balaam—What do I do now? Angel—You can go on, but you must only say what God tells you to say. Balaam—OK, I promise, I promise, I really really promise Narrator: When Balak heard that Balaam was coming he went out to meet him in a city by the coast of Moab. Balaam: Hi, King. How’s it going? I hear you’re having a little problem with the neighbors. Balak Just look at them all. They’re out there just hanging out waiting to come and take over our city. Give them a curse, will you? That should take care of them. Balaam: Well, I have a little problem with that. Balak: What? Balaam: Yeah, well, see, these people are sort of special and God has blessed them. I can’t curse them if He blesses them. In fact, I’ll have to bless them. Balak: What!!! I brought you here to curse the Isrealites and you bless them!! Balaam: Yeah, well I can only say what God tells me to say. Balak: Here, let’s look over here. See all those people? They are messing up the land. I’ll give you a bunch of oxen and sheep if you curse them - maybe just a little curse. Balaam: Let me check. Narrator: Balaam leaves and checks with the Lord and then returns to Balak with the bad news. Balaam: Okay King, first build me 7 altars and prepare 7 oxen and 7 rams and offer one on every altar. Then stand aside and I’ll see what the Lord says. Narrator: God met Balaam and put words in his mouth and told him to return to Balak and speak unto him a parable and bless Israel. Balaam returns to the King and gives him the bad news. Balaam: No can do, King. I can’t lie and God commanded me to bless them, so I have to. It’s permanent, can’t be reversed. Sorry. Balak: Are you telling me that I brought you all this way and offered you money and power and honor if you’ll curse these people—just a little itty bitty curse—and not only are you not going to curse them, but you’ve blessed them? Aaaaaagh! Balaam: Hey give me a break!! I have to take heed and speak what the Lord puts in my mouth. Balak: Okay – come with me to another place where you can see better what my problem is with all these people and maybe you can curse them from there. Narrator: Balaam and Balak go to the filed of Zophim at the top of Mt Pisgah. Balaam- Okay King, now stand over there by the burnt offering while I meet the Lord over yonder. Narrator: The Lord again tells Balaam to bless Israel and Balaam returns to the King. Balak: Okay, what did the Lord say this time? Balaam: Sorry King! But I gotta bless them again and I cannot reverse it. Balak: Just stop!! I can’t believe this!! Don’t curse them, don’t bless them, just don’t do anything at all!! Balaam: Hey it’s not my fault I told you I could only do what the Lord would tell me to do. Balak: Okay, okay!! Let’s try one more time. Let’s go to the top of Mt. Peor and look at things from that angle and see what happens. Narrator: So they go to the top of Mt. Peor and build 7 more altars and prepare 7 more sacrifices. 
Before even asking the Lord, Balaam receives a vision of the destiny of Israel and took up a parable and in front of the King he again blesses Israel. By this time Balak is furious and starts to hit things. Balak: I can’t believe this!!! I brought you here to curse my enemies and you have totally blessed them not once but three times!!!! You’re fired!!! Go away!!! Flee this place!! I was gonna promote you to great honor but your God obviously doesn’t want you to have any good things or rewards or honor so just GET OUT!! I am doomed!! Narrator: Balaam leaves the King and then returns to offer him a deal. Balaam: Hey, King? Balak: What now? Are you going to curse me and my people before you go? Balaam: No. But I have an idea . . . Balak: Yeah? Balaam: Yeah! Answer questions - • What did King Balak say Balaam had lost because he had chosen to obey the Lord? • How is King Balak’s response similar to what Satan does to tempt us? • According to verses 12–13, how did Balaam respond to King Balak? Commentary from Institute manual regarding Balaam It is difficult to determine from the record whether or not Balaam was a true prophet of God holding the powers of the priesthood authority. He lived in an area known as Aram, probably named after the son of Kemuel and grandson of Nahor, a cousin of Abraham. Haran, the place of Abraham’s first settlement after he left Ur, was a seat for the worship of Jehovah and was also in Aram. Therefore, Balaam could have been one of the few scattered people such as Jethro, who held the priesthood and exercised its power. The Bible suggests that he had a true knowledge of God and was susceptible to revelation from Him. Regardless of their origin, the Lord raises up inspired men to all nations (see Alma 29:8). It is significant that Balaam is referred to as a soothsayer or diviner, somewhat on the order of Simon of the New Testament (compare Joshua 13:22; Acts 8:9–24). Although he acknowledged Jehovah and professed his dependence on Him, Balaam was willing to go against the Lord’s counsel and accompany the men of Balak. To assure his responsiveness to God’s will, the Lord sent an angel to threaten him with death should he curse Israel. Balak Numbers 22-24 The Bargain & the Angel of God

Numbers 25 What’s going on now? Skit Followup - Look at Numbers 25: What’s going on now? Apparently out of nowhere Israel has begun hanging out with the Moabites, worshiping their god – Baal-peor – whose worship included immoral acts and prostitution, human sacrifice and child sacrifice as well then burying their children in the foundation of a building What was the consequence? Num 25:5 How did Israel get to that point? The following verses make it clearer what happened: Num. 31:16, Rev. 2:14. Jude 1:11 and 2 Pet. 2:15-16 What were Balaam’s mistakes? -- a result of not heeding the word of the Lord the first time the Lord told him not to go to Balak. Balaam became a symbol of those who use their callings and gifts to get gain and pervert the Lord’s people We put ourselves in danger when we ignore the Lord’s instructions and warnings. When did Israel start hanging out with the Moabites?

There is safety in following the Lord When you go contrary to the will of the Lord, disaster will surely follow. The Lord finally allowed Balaam to use his agency to go to Balak, and the results were indeed disastrous. The Lord is the only one who surely knows our hearts and can see what will happen if we venture to counsel the Lord. Sometimes the answer to our prayers is “No”! It is much safer to take “No” for an answer than to “push it” and keep asking, cause sometimes the Lord will say “Okay, go ahead!” This is reminiscent of Joseph Smith approaching the Lord in behalf of Martin Harris and the 116 pages of manuscript. What an important lesson for us to learn: There is safety in doing the Lord’s will; we can’t expect all to turn out well if we “push the envelope”.

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/guided-safely-home?lang=eng Guided safely home 2:43 https://www.lds.org/youth/video/guided-safely-home?lang=eng

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/within-bounds?lang=eng Within Bounds 6:25 https://www.lds.org/youth/video/within-bounds?lang=eng

Numbers 26-29 Joshua to lead Israel into the Promised land the men of Israel who were at least 20 years old were numbered again. Only Caleb and Joshua remained from the group of men who had been numbered at Sinai. Moses was told that he would not enter the promised land The Lord directed Moses to call Joshua and set him apart to lead Israel. You may want to suggest that students mark Numbers 27:18–20,