God Can't Be Bought: Blessed Because You Belong

Jul 13, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Apologies Aren’t Enough: God’s Unbribable Blessing

We often try to negotiate with God, offering prayers, service, or penance to earn His favor. But just as Israel’s blessing couldn’t be overturned by Balaam’s curses, God’s commitment to His people isn’t swayed by human bargaining. His promises stand firm not because we deserve them, but because He chooses to call us His. No amount of effort can make Him love us more or less. His grace is sealed not by our merit, but by Christ’s sacrifice. Rest in the freedom of a love that cannot be bought. [02:50]

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”
(Galatians 3:13–14, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you been trying to “bargain” with God through actions or rituals instead of resting in His unchanging grace? How might your daily life shift if you fully believed His blessing over you is unshakable?

Day 2: The Donkey Sees the Sword: Spiritual Blindness and Divine Protection

A donkey saw the angel’s sword; Balaam, the “seer,” remained blind. Sometimes God uses humble, unexpected means to protect us from dangers we cannot perceive. Our limited vision often distracts us from His sovereign care. Like Israel, unaware of Balak’s plot, we are shielded by a God who sees what we cannot. Trust His unseen interventions, even when His methods surprise you. [26:39]

“Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, ‘Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.’”
(Numbers 22:31–33, NIV)

Reflection: What “donkey moments” has God used in your life to redirect or protect you? How can you cultivate humility to recognize His guidance in unexpected places?

Day 3: Blessed Not Because of Behavior, But Belonging

Israel repeatedly disobeyed, yet God declared them “blessed” to Balaam. Their identity wasn’t rooted in their actions but in His covenant. Similarly, our failures don’t nullify God’s claim on us. His blessing flows from His character, not our performance. You are His not because you’ve earned it, but because He chose you. [12:48]

“The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors.”
(Deuteronomy 7:7–8, NIV)

Reflection: When have you felt unworthy of God’s love because of your mistakes? How might embracing your identity as “chosen” reshape your view of His grace?

Day 4: Blank Checks and Unshaken Promises: God’s No to Bribery

Balak offered Balaam wealth to curse Israel, but no amount of money could sway God’s decree. Human power, wealth, or influence cannot override divine promises. God’s “no” to manipulation is a “yes” to His faithfulness. His plans for you remain firm, untouched by worldly schemes. [18:35]

“But Balaam answered [Balak’s messengers], ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God.’”
(Numbers 22:18, NIV)

Reflection: What “blank checks” tempt you to compromise trust in God’s timing? How can you anchor your heart in His promises when quick fixes appeal to you?

Day 5: Sovereign Over Swords and Donkeys: God’s Unseen Protection

Balaam’s donkey saved him from an angel’s sword, proving God’s protection often works invisibly. Just as He guarded Israel from curses and Balaam from self destruction, He shields you in ways you may never perceive. His sovereignty isn’t limited by your awareness. Even in chaos, His purposes prevail. [30:32]

“He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”
(Psalm 121:3–4, NIV)

Reflection: What fear or uncertainty keeps you awake at night? How might surrendering control to a God who “never slumbers” bring you peace today?

Sermon Summary

Numbers 22 opens with Israel taking a pit stop in Moab on the way to Canaan, and the story asks, who is this God? Balak sees the people of Israel, sees that they are many, hears what they have done to other nations, and gets filled with dread. Balak’s fear does not move him toward prayer and fasting like the king from last week. Balak’s fear moves him toward evil.

Balak calls for Balaam, a seer, a diviner, a man believed to have power to bless and curse. The text does not treat that world like a joke. Spiritists, mediums, sorcerers, necromancers, and people reaching for power beyond what the eyes can see are taken seriously, but Numbers 22 shows that every one of those powers is still subject to the God of the Bible. Balak sends a check in hand, trying to buy a curse on God’s people.

God answers Balaam plainly: “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people because they are blessed.” Israel is not blessed because life is easy, the bank account is full, or behavior has been perfect. Israel is blessed because they belong to God. Just one chapter earlier, Israel had sinned, and after this episode they will sin again. Yet God still says they cannot be cursed because they are his.

Balak doubles down and adds more zeros to the check. Balaam is staring at a blank check with his name on it, but the money that may move Balaam never moves God. God cannot be bribed. God cannot be manipulated. God’s word over his people cannot be bought off by somebody else’s fear, somebody else’s money, or somebody else’s spiritual games.

Balaam says the right words, but God sees the split between his mouth and his heart. God sends an angel to intercept him, and the plot twists hard. The man with supposed spiritual sight cannot see the angel, but the donkey can. The animal with no spirituality sees what the prophet misses, and then God opens the donkey’s mouth. The irony is rich: Balaam beats the donkey in anger, while God, who is angry with Balaam, patiently protects him.

God protects Israel through a spiritually blind prophet, and God protects Balaam through a donkey whose eyes he opens. Neither Israel nor Balaam even knows the danger they are in. Christ finally bears the curse so that God’s people can be called blessed. God’s disposition is not bought with a check. It is bought with blood and sealed by the empty grave.

Key Takeaways

1. Fear can move toward evil Balak’s fear did not make him humble, prayerful, or dependent on God. Balak’s fear made him reach for control through a curse, a check, and a prophet for hire. Fear becomes dangerous when it starts looking for power without submission. [06:26]
2. Blessing means belonging to God Israel’s blessing was not proof that Israel had been behaving well. Israel had sinned before this moment and would sin after it, yet God still called them blessed. The deepest blessing is not ease, money, or clean circumstances, but God’s claim over a people who belong to him. [12:48]
3. God cannot be bought off Balak increased the reward, sent bigger people, and put a blank check in front of Balaam. The money may have stirred Balaam’s heart, but it did not move God one inch. God’s promises do not bend under pressure from wealth, fear, influence, or spiritual manipulation. [18:21]
4. Spiritual sight can still be blind Balaam looked like the man with spiritual insight, but the donkey saw what he could not see. The story warns that religious language and spiritual reputation do not guarantee a heart aligned with God. God may use the lowly, the ignored, and the unexpected to expose blindness in the impressive. [26:39]
5. Christ bore the final curse Israel deserved judgment, and the human heart stands in that same place. Yet the curse does not finally fall on God’s people because Christ bore it on the tree. God’s word over those in Christ is not “getting what is deserved,” but “forgiven,” “mine,” and “blessed.”

## [32:22]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:18] - Plot Twist and the God of the Bible
[01:05] - Using Influence to Escape Wrath
[02:50] - Trying to Change God’s Mind
[04:18] - God’s Commitment Cannot Be Bought
[05:07] - Balak Sees Israel and Fears
[06:26] - Fear That Runs to Evil
[08:52] - Spiritual Powers Under God’s Rule
[11:57] - Israel Is Blessed Because They Belong
[16:52] - Balak Offers a Bigger Check
[20:09] - Stop Buying What God Promised
[22:57] - Balaam’s Words and Heart Divide
[25:08] - The Donkey Sees the Angel
[29:02] - God’s Patient Protection
[32:22] - Christ Bore the Curse

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Numbers 22:1-12 (NIV)
The Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho. Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites, and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. [...] Then God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”

Galatians 3:13 (NIV)
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.”

Observation Questions

In Numbers 22, why did Balak want to curse Israel, and how did he try to achieve this? [05:23]
What was God’s direct response to Balaam’s first inquiry about cursing Israel? [11:01]
What irony does the story highlight about Balaam’s “spiritual sight” versus the donkey’s actions? [26:39]
According to the sermon, why was Israel considered “blessed” despite their repeated failures? [12:48]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think God protected Israel from being cursed even though they had a history of disobedience (e.g., Numbers 21)? How does this challenge common assumptions about “blessing”?
Balak increased his offer to Balaam, assuming more money or influence could change God’s mind. What does this reveal about human attempts to manipulate spiritual outcomes? [18:21]
The donkey saw the angel, but Balaam did not. What might this say about how God exposes spiritual blindness or uses unexpected means to protect His purposes? [26:18]
How does Galatians 3:13 redefine the concept of “curse” for believers, and how does this connect to Israel’s story in Numbers 22?

Application Questions

Balak’s fear drove him to seek control through curses and bribes. When have you seen fear push you or others toward unhealthy solutions instead of dependence on God? [06:26]
Israel’s blessing was rooted in belonging to God, not their behavior. How might remembering “I am blessed because I belong to God” shift your perspective during seasons of failure or doubt?
The sermon warns against treating faith like a transaction (e.g., giving, serving, or confessing to “buy” God’s favor). Where have you subtly tried to “bargain” with God, and how can you rest in His unchanging promises instead? [20:29]
Balaam’s words and heart were divided. What practical step could help you align your actions more closely with what you claim to believe about God?
Christ bore the curse so we could be called “blessed.” How does this truth free you from the pressure to earn God’s approval or fear spiritual “bad luck”? [32:22]
The donkey was an unexpected instrument of God’s protection. Who or what has God used in your life to redirect you when you were spiritually unaware of danger?

Sermon Clips

58s

#BoughtByBlood

“``Israel deserved judgment and so do we. But instead of the curse falling on us, instead of the curse falling on Israel, Christ bore the the curse. He he bore the curse so that you can be called blessed. Galatians three says that Christ died on a tree, therefore, becoming a curse on our behalf. This is why God's promise over you. This is why God's disposition towards you cannot be easily changed. This is why God's disposition towards you cannot be bought or cannot be changed with a check because it's already bought with blood. It's already sealed by the empty grave.”

40s

#ForgivenAndBlessed

“It's a no. As we bring this to a close friends, that you don't need to send neighbors to apologize to God on your behalf. Jesus already stood in your place. And because of him, God's word over you is not you are getting what you deserve. That could have been his word over Israel. That could have been his word over Balaam in those two moments, but but that was not the case. And and his word over you this morning is not that you are getting what you deserve. His word over you because of Jesus is that you are forgiven. It's that you are mine. It's that you are blessed.”

72s

#FaithNotTransaction

“Hear me this morning. You can stop trying to buy what God has already promised. You can stop trying to buy what God has already promised. And we live in a a very transactional society where almost anything we want, we can buy. And some of us, if we are honest, some of us have carried that thinking. We've carried a a Christianized version of that into our relationship with God. We treat our giving like a bribe. We treat our attendance like a transaction. We we punish ourselves for for past sins thinking that we are making God happy. And when life gets hard, or when things don't go the way we want them to go, we we begin to wonder if we've paid enough. Have I given enough money? Have I been to church enough? Have I served enough? Have I confessed enough? Are you filling the blank enough?”

48s

#CannotBeBribed

“Balaam is staring at a blank check with his name on it. Restoration family, what amount of money will cause you to question what God has said? What amount of money will cause you to question what God has said? You see, this money may, may be enticing to Balaam. This money may be moving Balaam, but but it never moved God. That's why church, because God cannot be manipulated nor can he be bribed. He called his people blessed and and no amount of bribery will make him change that.”

48s

#PromisesNotForSale

“For Balaam, it was money. But for you, what do you try to offer God to get him to do what you want? Or what do you think is significant enough for God to break his word over of his promise over your life? What do you think is significant enough for God to to break his his word of promise over your life? His promise to to never leave you nor forsake you. His promise to that nothing can separate you from his love. His promise that is, if he's for you, then nothing can be against you. What do you think this morning? It's significant enough for God to break that word of promise over your life?”

50s

#BlessedAndUnstoppable

“Israel could not be cursed because they were blessed. And and you this morning, you have that same blessing hanging over you because of Jesus. Because Jesus died, you can have confidence that if God is for you, then nothing and no one can ultimately stand against you. Whether things that are sin or things that are unseen. Whether the the powers that you know are the powers that you do not know. Because Jesus died, you don't have to live in fear. No one can curse the person whom God has blessed.”

62s

#SovereignAndSteadfast

“Just as he is sovereign over what happens to Israel, just as he is sovereign over what happens to Balaam, he is sovereign over what happens to you. He's sovereignly protects, and he's sovereignly patient. you believe in Jesus this morning, here's what I want you to know, that nothing about your life catches God by surprise. Nothing about your life catches God by surprise. The good and the not so good, the blessings and the mornings, the the joys and the sorrows, and and no amount of money can change God's commitment to you. No. No. No. No amount of confessed sins can can surprise him. No. No. No regret places you beyond his reach of grace.”

49s

#WaitOnGod

“It is easy to run to other people and to run to other things when fear is present than it is to go to God. It is easy to look for comfort in psychics and mediums and sages and and crystals or or anything else that that's promising quick answer especially when you are tired of waiting on God. I know this church because I have been there. I've been tempted to get answers by any means necessary. But let me tell you this this morning, if you are in a position where you have been waiting on God, let me just tell you right now that you are not a fool for waiting on God.”

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