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Sometimes when you\u2019re watching a serial drama on Netflix they\u2019ll take an episode to tell a back-story or a spin-off from the main story to give context to the overall narrative. That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening in today\u2019s passage. The king of Moab, whose name is Balak, hires a man named Balaam who is some kind of diviner or priest, to put a curse on Israel. As Balaam goes to visit king Balak, the Lord speaks to Balaam using a donkey, and if the Lord can use a donkey to speak to a man, he can certainly use Balaam to prophesy to the king. Though not from the nation of Israel, Balaam faithfully proclaims the Lord\u2019s message three times, disregarding the king and his reward. Sadly, by contrast, Israel rushes into idolatry as soon as they can.