but I would not listen to Balaam. So he blessed you again and again, and I delivered you from his hand. but I would not listen to BalaamIn this phrase, the emphasis is on God's sovereignty and His protective nature over Israel. The Hebrew root for "listen" is "שָׁמַע" (shama), which means to hear or obey. God is asserting His authority by choosing not to heed Balaam's intentions. Historically, Balaam was a prophet hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse Israel (Numbers 22-24). However, God intervened, demonstrating His control over the situation. This highlights the theme of divine intervention and protection, reminding believers that God’s plans cannot be thwarted by human schemes. so he blessed you again and again
The repetition of blessings underscores the abundance and persistence of God's favor towards Israel. The Hebrew word for "bless" is "בָּרַךְ" (barak), which conveys the idea of bestowing favor or prosperity. Despite Balaam's original intent to curse, God transformed the situation into one of repeated blessings. This serves as a powerful reminder of Romans 8:28, where God works all things for the good of those who love Him. It inspires believers to trust in God's ability to turn adversities into blessings. and I delivered you from his hand
The phrase "I delivered" is rooted in the Hebrew "נָצַל" (natsal), meaning to snatch away or rescue. This reflects God's active role in the salvation and preservation of His people. The historical context here is crucial; Israel was vulnerable to the curses of Balaam, yet God intervened decisively. This deliverance is a foreshadowing of the ultimate deliverance through Christ, emphasizing God's faithfulness and power to save. It encourages believers to rely on God's deliverance in times of trouble, reinforcing the assurance of His protection and care. Persons / Places / Events 1. JoshuaThe leader of Israel after Moses, who is delivering his farewell address to the Israelites in this chapter. 2. BalaamA non-Israelite prophet who was hired by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the Israelites. However, God intervened, and Balaam ended up blessing Israel instead. 3. BalakThe king of Moab who feared the Israelites and sought to curse them through Balaam. 4. IsraelitesThe people of God, whom Joshua is addressing, reminding them of God's faithfulness and deliverance. 5. MoabThe region ruled by Balak, representing opposition to Israel during their journey to the Promised Land. Teaching Points God's SovereigntyGod is in control and can turn intended harm into blessings for His people. This should encourage believers to trust in God's plans and purposes, even when facing opposition. Faithfulness of GodJust as God delivered Israel from Balaam's curse, He remains faithful to His promises today. Believers can rely on God's unchanging nature and His commitment to His people. Spiritual WarfareThe account of Balaam reminds us that spiritual battles are real, but God equips and protects His people. Christians should remain vigilant in prayer and trust in God's deliverance. Obedience and RemembranceJoshua's recounting of God's past deliverances serves as a call to obedience and faithfulness. Believers are encouraged to remember God's past faithfulness as motivation for present obedience. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the account of Balaam and Balak illustrate God's ability to protect His people from spiritual and physical harm? 2. In what ways can we see God's sovereignty at work in our own lives, similar to how He turned Balaam's curse into a blessing? 3. How can the faithfulness of God in Joshua 24:10 encourage us in times of doubt or fear? 4. What are some practical ways we can remember and recount God's past faithfulness in our lives, as Joshua did for the Israelites? 5. How does the theme of spiritual warfare in Joshua 24:10 connect with the New Testament teachings on spiritual armor and prayer? Connections to Other Scriptures Numbers 22-24These chapters provide the detailed account of Balaam's encounters with Balak and how God intervened to turn curses into blessings. Deuteronomy 23:5This verse reiterates that God turned Balaam's intended curse into a blessing because of His love for Israel. Romans 8:31This New Testament verse echoes the theme of God's protection and favor, stating that if God is for us, who can be against us? People Aaron, Amorites, Balaam, Balak, Beor, Canaanites, Egyptians, Eleazar, Esau, Girgashite, Girgashites, Hamor, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jebusites, Joseph, Joshua, Nachor, Nahor, Nun, Perizzites, Phinehas, Seir, Serah, Terah, ZipporPlaces Canaan, Egypt, Euphrates River, Gaash, Gibeah, Jericho, Jordan River, Moab, Red Sea, Seir, Shechem, Timnath-serahTopics Balaam, Bless, Blessed, Blessing, Deliver, Delivered, Ear, Expressly, Greatly, Hearken, Kept, Listen, Safe, WillingDictionary of Bible Themes Joshua 24:7 4230 desert
5230 beggars Joshua 24:5-7 7223 exodus, significance Joshua 24:6-7 4810 darkness, natural Library February the Tenth Registering a Verdict
"The Lord our God will we serve, and His voice will we obey." --JOSHUA xxiv. 22-28. Here was a definite decision. Our peril is that we spend our life in wavering and we never decide. We are like a jury which is always hearing evidence and never gives a verdict. We do much thinking, but we never make up our minds. We let our eyes wander over many things, but we make no choice. Life has no crisis, no culmination. Now people who never decide spend their days in hoping to do so. But this kind of life …
John Henry Jowett—My Daily Meditation for the Circling YearA Summary of Israel's Faithlessness and God's Patience
'And an angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. 2. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? 3. Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture Jesus Sets Out from Judæa for Galilee.
Subdivision B. At Jacob's Well, and at Sychar. ^D John IV. 5-42. ^d 5 So he cometh to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 and Jacob's well was there. [Commentators long made the mistake of supposing that Shechem, now called Nablous, was the town here called Sychar. Sheckem lies a mile and a half west of Jacob's well, while the real Sychar, now called 'Askar, lies scarcely half a mile north of the well. It was a small town, loosely called …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel Meditations for Household Piety.
1. If thou be called to the government of a family, thou must not hold it sufficient to serve God and live uprightly in thy own person, unless thou cause all under thy charge to do the same with thee. For the performance of this duty God was so well pleased with Abraham, that he would not hide from him his counsel: "For," saith God, "I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Promise to the Patriarchs.
A great epoch is, in Genesis, ushered in with the history of the time of the Patriarchs. Luther says: "This is the third period in which Holy Scripture begins the history of the Church with a new family." In a befitting manner, the representation is opened in Gen. xii. 1-3 by an account of the first revelation of God, given to Abraham at Haran, in which the way is opened up for all that follows, and in which the dispensations of God are brought before us in a rapid survey. Abraham is to forsake …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Sovereignty and Human Responsibility
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12). In our last chapter we considered at some length the much debated and difficult question of the human will. We have shown that the will of the natural man is neither Sovereign nor free but, instead, a servant and slave. We have argued that a right conception of the sinner's will-its servitude-is essential to a just estimate of his depravity and ruin. The utter corruption and degradation of human nature is something which …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God And for Your Fearlessness against them Hold this Sure Sign -- Whenever There Is...
43. And for your fearlessness against them hold this sure sign--whenever there is any apparition, be not prostrate with fear, but whatsoever it be, first boldly ask, Who art thou? And from whence comest thou? And if it should be a vision of holy ones they will assure you, and change your fear into joy. But if the vision should be from the devil, immediately it becomes feeble, beholding your firm purpose of mind. For merely to ask, Who art thou [1083] ? and whence comest thou? is a proof of coolness. …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' Exod 20: 3. Why is the commandment in the second person singular, Thou? Why does not God say, You shall have no other gods? Because the commandment concerns every one, and God would have each one take it as spoken to him by name. Though we are forward to take privileges to ourselves, yet we are apt to shift off duties from ourselves to others; therefore the commandment is in the second person, Thou and Thou, that every one may know that it is spoken to him, …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making "The Carnal Mind is Enmity against God for it is not Subject to the Law of God, Neither Indeed Can Be. So Then they that Are
Rom. viii. s 7, 8.--"The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." It is not the least of man's evils, that he knows not how evil he is, therefore the Searcher of the heart of man gives the most perfect account of it, Jer. xvii. 12. "The heart is deceitful above all things," as well as "desperately wicked," two things superlative and excessive in it, bordering upon an infiniteness, such …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Gen. xxxi. 11
Of no less importance and significance is the passage Gen. xxxi. 11 seq. According to ver. 11, the Angel of God, [Hebrew: mlaK halhiM] appears toJacob in a dream. In ver. 13, the same person calls himself the God of Bethel, with reference to the event recorded in chap. xxviii. 11-22. It cannot be supposed that in chap xxviii. the mediation of a common angel took place, who, however, had not been expressly mentioned; for Jehovah is there contrasted with the angels. In ver. 12, we read: "And behold …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Manner of Covenanting.
Previous to an examination of the manner of engaging in the exercise of Covenanting, the consideration of God's procedure towards his people while performing the service seems to claim regard. Of the manner in which the great Supreme as God acts, as well as of Himself, our knowledge is limited. Yet though even of the effects on creatures of His doings we know little, we have reason to rejoice that, in His word He has informed us, and in His providence illustrated by that word, he has given us to …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Joshua 24:10 NIVJoshua 24:10 NLTJoshua 24:10 ESVJoshua 24:10 NASBJoshua 24:10 KJV
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