Tag Archives: Balaam

There are two ways in which humans have responded to the certainty that they are the people of God. The first is to see this as justification for rejecting or oppressing all those not considered to be God’s people, claiming that this is God’s will. In one of Balaam’s prophecies he says, ‘God, who brings [Israel] out of Egypt, is like the horns of a wild ox for him; he shall devour the nations that are his foes and break their bones. He shall strike with his arrows.’ (Numbers 24:8) We know the damage done throughout history, the destruction still happening today, because people believe that their foes are God’s foes and that God fights in their wars. Continue reading →