When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!

And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor.” And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’? And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

A most interesting passage for we find the Holy Spirit descending upon someone who was not of the Chosen people, but definitely a heathen. Balaam was not a child of God. Would we expect the same thing today? I don’t think so; we almost tend to think of the Holy Spirit as our personal possession.

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Reading

Morning Psalm 108, Noon Psalm 119:9-16 , Evening Psalm 39 , If you follow this regimen, you will pray through the Psalms every 47 days or just under 8 times per year.

An alternate Reading Plan is based on 7 chapters/day from 7 sections of the Scriptures. My groupings are: Genesis-Joshua, Judges to Esther, Job to Song of Solomon, Psalms breaking 119 into convenient sets, Isaiah to Malachi, Matthew to Acts, Romans to Revelation. This plan, over a several year period will result in an average reading of the entire Bible in slightly over twice per year. I've been following this plan since 1989 and still find the mixture of Scriptures presented each day to be a delightful way to end my day. The NLB app has a scheduling tool that assists greatly in keeping track of the reading list.

Or set your own reading schedule up in convenient groupings as fits your study habits. But a daily time in the Word of the LORD is an absolute.

Suggested Supplementary Reading

The Christian’s Creed: Embracing the Apostolic Faith by Dr. Stanley D. Gale. There is also a workbook available.