Study Desk

"Take your walking stick, and you and your brother Aaron should gather the people. Speak to that rock in front of them so that its water will flow from it. When you bring the water out from that rock, give it to the people and their animals."

So Moses took the stick from in front of the Lord , as he had said.

The Edomites refused to let them pass through their country, so the Israelites turned back.

The Lord listened to the Israelites, and he let them defeat the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed the Canaanites and their cities, so the place was named Hormah.

So the Lord sent them poisonous snakes; they bit the people, and many of the Israelites died.

The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we grumbled at you and the Lord . Pray that the Lord will take away these snakes." So Moses prayed for the people.

So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. Then when a snake bit anyone, that person looked at the bronze snake and lived.

So Israel lived in the land of the Amorites.

So the Israelites killed Og and his sons and all his army; no one was left alive. And they took his land.

And Moab was scared of so many Israelites; truly, Moab was terrified by them.

and they are too powerful for me. So come and put a curse on them. Maybe then I can defeat them and make them leave the area. I know that if you bless someone, the blessings happen, and if you put a curse on someone, it happens."

Balaam said to them, "Stay here for the night, and I will tell you what the Lord tells me." So the Moabite leaders stayed with him.

‘A nation has come out of Egypt that covers the land. So come and put a curse on them, and maybe I can fight them and force them out of my land.'"

So the Moabite leaders went back to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

So Balak sent other leaders—this time there were more of them, and they were more important.

But God became angry because Balaam went, so the angel of the Lord stood in the road to stop Balaam. Balaam was riding his donkey, and he had two servants with him.

Again the donkey saw the angel of the Lord , and she walked close to one wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he hit her again.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord , she lay down under Balaam. This made him so angry that he hit her with his stick.

The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with these men, but say only what I tell you." So Balaam went with Balak's leaders.

So Balaam went back to Balak. Balak and all the leaders of Moab were still standing beside his burnt offering