This week's portion, Parashat Balak, begins with a fearful king watching Israel camp on his border. Balak, the king of Moab, had seen what happened to the Amorites and understood that Israel was now at his doorstep. What he saw was a threat. What he failed to see was that God was fulfilling promises He had made generations earlier. Scripture tells us,

Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. 
Numbers 22:3

As I read Parashat Balak this year, I cannot help but notice how familiar the story feels. At its heart, this is not merely a story about a king who opposed Israel. It is a story about what happens when people refuse to accept what God has already said. Balak looked at Israel and reached his own conclusions. Then he searched for a way to make reality conform to those conclusions.

Thousands of years later, we continue to see the same pattern today. Once again, Israel finds herself surrounded by voices determined to condemn, isolate, delegitimize, and even deny her right to exist. The methods may look different than they did in the days of Balak, but the underlying struggle remains remarkably similar.

What I find especially interesting is that in our own day we hear two very different claims being made. Some leaders speak as though Israel exists because powerful nations allowed her to exist. Others speak as though powerful nations now have the authority to determine whether Israel should continue to exist. While these positions may appear opposite, they share the same underlying assumption. Both place Israel's future in human hands rather than in the hands of the God who established her.

Balak made a similar mistake. He did not like what he saw, so he tried to change it. Rather than accepting what God was doing, he searched for a way to stop it. Yet Israel's future was never in Balak's hands. God had already spoken.

Balak's fear shaped how he interpreted everything he saw. Instead of asking what God was doing, he viewed Israel only as a threat. Fear has a way of distorting reality. Balak never stopped to ask why God was blessing Israel. He was so consumed by what he feared losing that he could not recognize God's purposes unfolding before him.

Today, many discussions about Israel begin with political assumptions, cultural pressures, or preconceived conclusions rather than with Scripture itself. Once people have reached their conclusions, they often look for ways to reinterpret God's Word so that it supports what they already believe.

One of the common mistakes of our generation is to treat Israel as though she were simply another nation among the nations. Yet throughout Scripture, God consistently speaks of Israel as a people set apart for His purposes and His glory. Israel's uniqueness is not rooted in superiority but in God's sovereign choice and covenant faithfulness. Balaam himself would soon be forced to acknowledge that reality.

So in his desperation, Balak turns to Balaam, a man whose identity is still debated. Was he a prophet? Was he a sorcerer? Was he a man with mixed motives? Whatever the case, Balak believed Balaam had the power to curse Israel and stop her advance.

Here is the irony. Thousands of years later, not much has changed. Out of fear, jealousy, misunderstanding, or outright hostility, people still come against Israel. Sometimes they even do so in the name of the God of Israel. It is a tragic contradiction. They invoke His name while opposing the very people and promises He has established. Yet just as in the days of Balak, God's Word stands. His covenant does not bend to human opinion. What He has blessed no one can undo.

That is where the story takes an unexpected turn. Balak wants a curse, but God has other plans. What Balak did not understand is that you cannot manipulate God. He did not know the God of Israel, His character, His covenant, or His grace. Balak assumed that, like the pagan gods he was accustomed to, Israel's God could be swayed or bought. He believed that through the right man and the right words he could change God's will.

But God is not like man. He does not change His mind. He does not go back on His promises. When He blesses, that blessing stands. Balak assumed that spiritual power worked like politics or warfare and that if you found the right influence, you could shift the outcome. Yet he completely underestimated the faithfulness of the God of Israel. What Balak saw as a threat, God saw as fulfillment. God saw His people walking in the promises He had spoken long ago.

Every time Balaam stood up to curse Israel, something supernatural happened. He opened his mouth, and instead of a curse, out came a blessing. The first time Balaam spoke, he made it clear that he could only say what God placed before him. Instead of a curse, he affirmed God's favor:

How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? 
Numbers 23:8

He went on to describe Israel as a distinct people, set apart and enjoying God's presence among them. The second time, after another attempt to manipulate the situation, Balaam again spoke a word of blessing. This time he highlighted Israel's beauty and strength:

God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox... there is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel. 
Numbers 23:22–23

Balak was furious, but Balaam remained unmoved because he could only say what God put in his mouth.

By the third time, something remarkable happened. Balaam no longer attempted his spiritual manipulations. He realized that God had determined to bless Israel and that there was nothing he could do to change it. The Spirit of God came upon him, and under the Spirit's power Balaam spoke one of the most powerful blessings in Scripture:

How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river... Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.
Numbers 24:5–9

Instead of weakening Israel, Balaam ended up proclaiming her beauty, security, and future victory. What began as an attempt to curse became a divine revelation of God's unwavering commitment to His people. Balaam became an unwilling prophet of blessing.

By the third attempt, Balaam finally understood something that Balak never grasped. God's purposes could not be manipulated, negotiated, or overturned. Balak would have to confront the reality of what God had already declared. What God had blessed remained blessed, and what God had promised remained secure.

One of the defining spiritual challenges of our generation is that many people begin with conclusions and then search for ways to reinterpret Scripture in support of those conclusions. Instead of allowing God's Word to shape their beliefs, they ask God's Word to conform to beliefs they have already embraced.

Parashat Balak reminds us that truth does not originate with us; our responsibility is not to reshape God’s Word but to submit to it. Both Balak and Balaam knew what God had said, yet Balak rejected the answer because it did not align with his desires. His problem was not a lack of information but an unwillingness to accept God’s clear instruction. In the same way, believers today must ask themselves whether they will submit to Scripture when it challenges their assumptions, politics, or preferences, or whether they will continue searching for someone willing to affirm what they already want to hear.

This is not merely a story from the past. It is a picture of what is happening today. There are still loud and persuasive voices trying to speak against Israel. The attacks may come through politics, the media, international institutions, or even from within those who consider themselves followers of the one true God.

In moments like these, we must ask ourselves whether we will join the crowd, remain silent, or stand firmly on the truth of God's Word.

I want to be clear. Supporting Israel does not mean agreeing with everything the Israeli government does. Like any government, it is made up of flawed people and imperfect policies. Honest criticism of leaders and decisions is both legitimate and necessary.

However, there is an important distinction between criticizing policies and questioning God's covenant purposes. Governments rise and fall, leaders come and go, and policies change. God's promises do not. The debate ultimately becomes larger than politics. It becomes a question of whether we will accept God's perspective or insist on our own.

That is exactly what we see in the Haftarah as well. In Micah 6:5, God says to Israel,

My people, remember what Balak king of Moab plotted and what Balaam son of Beor answered... that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.

God is not merely calling His people to remember the story. He is calling them to remember who He is. He defended them, silenced every attempt to curse them, and continues to do so today.

Micah continues with a verse we ought to know by heart:

He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love grace, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Justice, grace, and humility are not in conflict with standing for truth. They are the manner in which we stand for truth. We do not stand with arrogance but with clarity. We do not compromise in order to be accepted. We remain faithful to what God has said regardless of the cost.

The God who spoke through Balaam is the same God who later inspired Sha'ul to write concerning Israel that "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). God's faithfulness did not end in the wilderness, nor did it end in the first century. The same faithful God continues to fulfill His purposes today.

We are living in a time of growing pressure and compromise. Voices from every direction urge believers to redefine truth and reinterpret Scripture to fit the spirit of the age. Yet the message of Parashat Balak remains unchanged. God's Word remains true whether people accept it or reject it. The question for our generation is not whether God has spoken, because He already has. The real question is whether we are willing to believe Him.

As followers of Yeshua, may we be people who allow God's Word to shape our understanding of current events rather than allowing current events to shape our understanding of God's Word. May we walk in justice, grace, and humility. May we remain faithful to what He has said, even when doing so is unpopular.

May we never forget that the God who defended Israel in the days of Balak remains faithful to His promises today, and may we be found faithful in this generation as well.

Shabbat Shalom,
Moran