'Chosen by the King'

  There is a story that many simply pass over because it seems completely crazy, but I have never been able to get this story out of my head, and let me explain why. In the book of Numbers, there is an account of a man named Balaam who is trying to get from one place to another on a donkey. Nothing weird so far, right? People definitely rode donkeys' back in those days. Balaam is a prophet of the Most High God. He is one whom people truly believe can hear from God. Balak, the king of Moab, however, realizes that God's people are powerful because of their God, and he believes that the people will overtake him, so he decides the only way to deal with them is to curse them. He then sends someone to find Balaam and bring him to him so that he can speak to him about cursing God's people. Balaam literally tells them to wait, and he will speak to the Lord. So far, all of this sounds pretty crazy. Why would a man who is close enough to and used by God even contemplate cursing God...