Numbers 24

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[upbeat music] Come and study the Holy Scriptures with us as Father Stephen DeYoung teaches verse by verse on the podcast, The Whole Counsel of God. Father Stephen holds a PhD in Biblical Studies and is an Orthodox priest serving at Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Stephen De Young· Host0:19

Chapter 24, "Now when Balaam saw it was good before the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as he was accustomed to do, to see if he could find omens, but he turned and set his face toward the desert." So again, if he was talking to the real God before, why would he stop doing it now? That tr- that interpretation makes no sense. Sorry, Orthodox Study Bible. Right? Clearly he was not. Clearly he was talking to other spirits, and at least Balaam has figured out, like, "Why am I wasting my time? I end up saying [laughs] what- what Yahweh wants me to say anyway," so. He says Elohim. He uses Elohim, through most of this, which could be gods, plural. It could be... All right. So here, right, he is talking about, he's saying it's before the Lord, it's gonna- before Yahweh, to bless Israel, so he says, "I'm not gonna bother going and consulting," right? "Then Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes, and the Spirit of God came upon him. Then he took up his parable and said,