20250515 [새벽묵상] 저주를 축복으로 바꾸시는 하나님 | A God Who Turns Curses into Blessings (민/Num 22:41~23:12)

22:41 아침에 발락이 발람과 함께 하고 그를 인도하여 바알의 산당에 오르매 발람이 거기서 이스라엘 백성의 진 끝까지 보니라

41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.

23:1 발람이 발락에게 이르되 나를 위하여 여기 제단 일곱을 쌓고 거기 수송아지 일곱 마리와 숫양 일곱 마리를 준비하소서 하매

23:2 발락이 발람의 말대로 준비한 후에 발락과 발람이 제단에 수송아지와 숫양을 드리니라

1 Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” 2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

23:3 발람이 발락에게 이르되 당신의 번제물 곁에 서소서 나는 저리로 가리이다 여호와께서 혹시 오셔서 나를 만나시리니 그가 내게 지시하시는 것은 다 당신에게 알리리이다 하고 언덕길로 가니

3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” Then he went off to a barren height.

23:4 하나님이 발람에게 임하시는지라 발람이 아뢰되 내가 일곱 제단을 쌓고 각 제단에 수송아지와 숫양을 드렸나이다

4 God met with him, and Balaam said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

23:5 여호와께서 발람의 입에 말씀을 주시며 이르시되 발락에게 돌아가서 이렇게 말할지니라

5 The Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

23:6 그가 발락에게로 돌아간즉 발락과 모압의 모든 고관이 번제물 곁에 함께 섰더라

23:7 발람이 예언을 전하여 말하되 발락이 나를 아람에서, 모압 왕이 동쪽 산에서 데려다가 이르기를 와서 나를 위하여 야곱을 저주하라, 와서 이스라엘을 꾸짖으라 하도다

23:8 하나님이 저주하지 않으신 자를 내가 어찌 저주하며 여호와께서 꾸짖지 않으신 자를 내가 어찌 꾸짖으랴

23:9 내가 바위 위에서 그들을 보며 작은 산에서 그들을 바라보니 이 백성은 홀로 살 것이라 그를 여러 민족 중의 하나로 여기지 않으리로다

23:10 야곱의 티끌을 누가 능히 세며 이스라엘 사분의 일을 누가 능히 셀꼬 나는 의인의 죽음을 죽기 원하며 나의 종말이 그와 같기를 바라노라 하매

6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials. 7 Then Balaam spoke his message:

“Balak brought me from Aram,

    the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.

‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;

    come, denounce Israel.’

8 How can I curse

    those whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce

    those whom the Lord has not denounced?

9 From the rocky peaks I see them,

    from the heights I view them.

I see a people who live apart

    and do not consider themselves one of the nations.

10 Who can count the dust of Jacob

    or number even a fourth of Israel?

Let me die the death of the righteous,

    and may my final end be like theirs!”

23:11 발락이 발람에게 이르되 그대가 어찌 내게 이같이 행하느냐 나의 원수를 저주하라고 그대를 데려왔거늘 그대가 오히려 축복하였도다

11 Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

23:12 발람이 대답하여 이르되 여호와께서 내 입에 주신 말씀을 내가 어찌 말하지 아니할 수 있으리이까

12 He answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

                  여러분 이번주 내내 모압왕 발락과 주술사 발람의 이야기를 나누고 있습니다. 민수기는 총 36장으로 구성되어 있는데요. 민수기 안에 여러 에피소드들이 있습니다. 그런데 발락과 발람의 에피소드는 하나의 이야기인데도 무려 22장, 23장, 24장, 이렇게 총 3장에 걸쳐서 이야기를 하고 있습니다. 지금과 같이 자원이 풍족하여 원하는 만큼 글을 쓸 수 없는 환경입니다. 제한된 양피지에 쓸 내용을 글자 수 하나하나 생각하며 적어야 했을 것입니다. 그런데 총 3장에 걸쳐서 이 에피소드 하나를 적고 있습니다. 그만큼 이 에피소드가 중요한 이야기라는 것이지요. 이렇게 중요한 이야기인데 이상하게도 이스라엘 백성들은 제대로 된 출현도 하지 않습니다. 아마 민수기에 이 내용이 적혀 있지 않다면 그들은 무슨 일이 있었는지도 몰랐을 것입니다. 우리는 발락이 발람을 몇번이나 사람을 보내어 초대했던 일. 평범한 짐승인 나귀가 하나님의 이적으로 말을 했던 일. 또 하나님의 사자가 발람의 길을 막은 일 등, 그 뒤에 기적과 이사가 일어났던 것을 알고 있습니다. 그러나 정작 이스라엘에게는 아무런 일도 일어나지 않았습니다. 뒤에서는 이렇게 엄청난 일들이 일어나고 있었는데도 그들은 아무것도 모르고 있습니다. 어째서일까요? 바로 하나님께서 발람의 저주를 축복으로 바꾸셨기 때문입니다. 하나님께서 당신의 백성을 복 받은 자들이라 하셨습니다. 발람의 입에서 저주를 금하시고 축복만을 허락하십니다. 그분이 바로 저와 여러분의 하나님이신 것입니다. 오늘은 저주를 축복으로 바꾸시는 하나님이라는 제목으로 말씀을 나누기 원합니다.

Alright, brothers and sisters, let's dive into the Word this morning. We've been walking through the story of King Balak of Moab and that sorcerer Balaam all week long. Now, the Book of Numbers, it's got 36 chapters packed in there, and you know there are all sorts of stories within it. But this account of Balak and Balaam? It stretches across three whole chapters – that's Numbers chapters 22, 23, and 24.

Now, back in those days, they weren't just whipping out paper whenever they wanted. Writing on those precious scrolls, they had to count every single letter. So, for them to dedicate three entire chapters to this one story? That tells you something. This is a big deal!

But here's a strange thing: the children of Israel, God's chosen people, they hardly even make an appearance in this part of the story. If this wasn't written down right here in Numbers, they probably wouldn't have even known what was going on!

But we, we know the backstory, don't we? We know how Balak kept sending messengers, inviting Balaam over and over. We know about that ordinary donkey, how God worked a miracle and gave it the power of speech. And we know about the angel of the Lord standing in Balaam's way. Behind the scenes, miracles and wonders were happening! But for Israel? Crickets. They were completely in the dark about all this.

Why is that? It's because God turned Balaam's curse into a blessing! God declared His people blessed. He wouldn't let those curses come out of Balaam's mouth; instead, He filled it with blessings. And that, my friends, is the God we serve! Today, I want to speak to you on this: A God Who Turns Curses into Blessings.

                  41절을 보니 발락은 발람을 데리고 이스라엘 백성의 진 끝을 내려다 볼 수 있는 높은 곳에 세웁니다. 말씀에는 “진 끝까지 보니라”라고 되어있지만 실은 이스라엘 백성 전체가 아닌 그들의 진 끝부분을 보았다라고 해석하는 것이 맞는 표현입니다. 즉, 발락은 발람에게 이스라엘 백성의 일부분만을 보게 하였습니다. 아마도 발락은 두려웠던 것 같습니다. 이스라엘 백성들이 많아도 너무 많았던 것이지요. 발람이 이스라엘 전체를 보게 되면 그도 자신과 같이 마음이 꺾여서 제대로 된 저주를 퍼붓지 못할 것이라 생각했던 것 같습니다. 온갖 금은 보화를 약속하고 발람을 데려온 발락입니다. 겉으로 보기에는 세상 전부를 가진 것 처럼 보일 수 있습니다. 그러나 정작 자신이 저주해야 할 대상을 제대로 마주하지도 못합니다. 이것이 하나님의 복을 받은 백성입니다. 대적이 일어나 저주를 하려고 하여도 그 모습을 제대로 보는 것 조차 어려워 하는 것입니다. 하나님의 축복이란 이렇게 강력한 것입니다.  

Now, if you turn with me to verse 41, we see that Balak took Balaam up to a high place where they could see the edge of the Israelite camp. Now, the Scripture says, "from there he could see even the outskirts of the Israelite camp," but the truth is, they only saw a portion, the edge of the camp, not the whole thing. It seems like Balak was scared. Those Israelites, they were a mighty big crowd! Balak probably figured if Balaam saw the whole multitude, his heart would sink just like his, and he wouldn't be able to deliver a proper curse.

Think about it. Balak had promised Balaam all sorts of silver and gold, bringing him there with the promise of worldly riches. On the outside, it might have looked like Balak had it all. But when it came down to it, he couldn't even bring himself to fully face the people he wanted cursed! That's the power of being blessed by God! Even when the enemy rises up to curse you, they can't even get a clear look at the fullness of God's favor upon you. God's blessing is that powerful!

                  이제 발람과 발락이 바알의 산당에서 일곱 제단을 쌓고 하나님께 번제를 드립니다. 번제를 마친 후 발람은 제단 옆에 서있는 발락을 떠나 홀로 언덕길로 갑니다. 그 때에 하나님께서 발람에게 임하셔서 그의 입에 말씀을 주시며 발락에게 돌아가면 이렇게 말을 하라고 지시하십니다. 6절 함께 보시겠습니다. “그가 발락에게로 돌아간즉 발락과 모압의 모든 고관이 번제물 곁에 함께 섰더라” 자 여러분, 여러분이 발람이라고 한 번 생각해보십시오. 저주를 의뢰받았어요. 온갖 대접을 극진하게 받았어요. 지금까지는 어떻게든 얼버무릴 수 있었어요. 그런데 이제는 결과를 내야해요. 자 눈 앞에 발락과 모압의 모든 고관들이 서있습니다. 여러분이 퍼부을 저주를 기대하면서 눈이 막 반짝반짝해요. 그런데 여러분은 저주가 아닌 축복만을 전해야 합니다. 이 말도 안되는 상황. 발람에게는 정말 미치고 팔짝 뛸 상황이 바로 하나님께서 지금까지 만들어오신 상황입니다. 발람을 막으실 수도 있었습니다. 그러나 하나님께서 발람의 길을 허락하셨죠. 그 뿐만이 아닙니다. 하나님이야말로 발람에게 미끼를 던지셨습니다. 하나님이 발람에게 세 번 나타나셨을 때에 말씀하셨던 것이 무엇입니까? 요약하면 “내가 네게 이르는 말만 말할지니라” 입니다. 저주를 금하신 적은 있어도 축복을 하라고는 한마디도 하지 않으셨습니다. 그래서 혹시나 하는 마음에 하나님의 신탁을 받았는데 아뿔싸, 이제는 빠져나갈 구멍이 없습니다. 자신을 고용한 발락과 모압의 모든 고관들 앞에서 그는 축복을 전해야만 합니다. 이것이 바로 하나님의 아이러니, 발람의 입의 저주를 축복으로 바꾸시는 놀라운 설계였던 것입니다. 대적의 입으로 자신의 백성을 축복하게 하시는 하나님. 바로 그 분이 저와 여러분의 하나님이십니다.

Now, we see Balaam and Balak build seven altars on the high places of Baal and offering burnt offerings to the Lord. After completing the burnt offerings, Balaam leaves Balak, who is standing beside the altar, and goes alone up the hilltop. At that moment, God comes to Balaam, puts words in his mouth, and commands him to return to Balak and speak the message He gives. Let’s look together at verse 6:“When he returned to Balak, he was standing beside his burnt offering with all the officials of Moab.”

Now everyone, imagine that you are Balaam. You have been hired to curse. You have been treated with the utmost hospitality. Until now, you’ve managed to dodge giving a clear answer. But now, the moment of truth has arrived. Standing before you are Balak and all the officials of Moab. Their eyes are gleaming with anticipation, expecting a powerful curse from you. But instead of a curse, you must now deliver a blessing.

What an absurd situation. For Balaam, this is truly a maddening and bewildering moment—one that God Himself has orchestrated. God could have stopped Balaam. But instead, He allowed Balaam to proceed. More than that, it was God who actually baited Balaam.

What did God say when He appeared to Balaam three times? To summarize: “You must only say what I tell you.” God prohibited cursing, but never once did He instruct Balaam to bless. So perhaps Balaam held on to a sliver of hope—but alas, now there is no escape. Before Balak and all the Moabite officials who hired him, Balaam must pronounce a blessing.

This is the divine irony of God—His brilliant design that transforms the curses from Balaam’s lips into blessings. God, who makes the enemy’s mouth declare blessings over His people—that is the very God who is your God and mine.

                  7절과 8절은 인간의 노력과 능력을 뛰어넘는 하나님의 주권을 보여줍니다. 아무리 인간이 모든 힘을 다해 계획할지라도 하나님께서 허락하지 않으시면 아무것도 이루어지지 않는 것이지요. 특히 하나님의 복을 받은 백성에게 위해를 가하는 것은 하나님께서 허락하지 않으심을 보여줍니다. 이는 하나님이 단순히 이스라엘의 수호신이 아니라 그들의 대적들 조차도 주관하시는 전능자이심을 다시 한번 보여주는 것이지요. 이는 발람이 선포한 축복에도 잘 나와있습니다. 9절입니다. “이 백성은 홀로 살 것이라 그를 여러 민족 중의 하나로 여기지 않으리로다” 이것이 첫번째 축복입니다. 이스라엘은 하나님의 복을 받은 사람들이었습니다. 그들은 하나님께서 자기 백성으로 삼으신 사람들입니다. 그들은 홀로 떨어진 거룩한 하나님의 제사장 나라였습니다. 그렇다면 모압은 어떻습니까? 여러 민족 중 하나 아닙니까? 모압의 왕인 발락이 미디안 장로들과 함께 아람사람 발람을 사주하여 하나님 백성을 저주하려하지 않습니까? 하나님께서는 당신의 백성을 복 받은 백성, 거룩한 백성으로 삼으셔서 여러 민족들로 부터 따로 구분하셨습니다. 그래서 10절 말씀에 발람조차도 이스라엘 백성을 의롭다고 말하고 있는 것입니다. 두번째 축복은 10절 “야곱의 티끌을 누가 능히 세며 이스라엘 사분의 일을 누가 능히 셀고” 라는 말씀입니다. 하나님께서 아브라함과 맺으신 언약에 대한 언급입니다. 창세기 13:16에서 하나님께서 이렇게 말씀하십니다. “내가 네 자손이 땅의 티끌 같게 하리니 사람이 땅의 티끌을 능히 셀 수 있을진대 네 자손도 세리라” 그리고 이 말씀을 하실 때에 하나님께서는 13:15에서 그의 눈에 보이는 가나안 땅도 함께 약속하셨습니다. 발람은 아브라함과 하나님사이의 언약을 알지 못하였을 것입니다. 그러나 하나님께서는 대적인 발람의 입을 통하여 하나님의 언약의 성취를 선포하게 하십니다. 이미 하나님께서는 이들을 티끌같이 많게 하셨습니다. 그렇다면 남은 것은 무엇입니까? 바로 약속의 땅, 가나안이 아브라함의 자손에게 주어지는 것입니다. 발람은 자기도 모르는 사이에 자신의 대적인 이스라엘에게 가나안 땅을 내어주는 축복을 하고 만것입니다. 이것이 하나님께서 하시는 일입니다. 전능자이시며 주권자이신 하나님. 대적의 입을 통하여 당신의 백성을 축복하시는 하나님. 당신의 약속의 성취를 선포하시는 하나님이 저와 여러분의 하나님이신 것입니다.

Verses 7 and 8, they show us God's sovereignty, how it goes beyond human effort and ability. No matter how much we plan and strive, if God doesn't allow it, it won't happen. And especially when it comes to harming God's blessed people, He will not permit it. This shows us that God isn't just some local deity for Israel; He's the Almighty, ruling even over their enemies. This truth rings out in the blessing Balaam proclaims in verse 9: "The people live alone; they do not consider themselves reckoned among the nations." That's the first blessing! Israel was a people blessed by God. They were the people God set apart for Himself, a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, set apart from all the other nations.

And what about Moab? Wasn't it just another nation among many? Wasn't King Balak of Moab conspiring with the elders of Midian, hiring Balaam the Aramean to curse God's people? God had set His people apart as blessed, as holy, distinguishing them from all the other nations. That's why, in verse 10, even Balaam himself declares the righteousness of Israel. The second blessing is in verse 10: "Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel?" This is a reference to the covenant God made with Abraham. In Genesis 13:16, God said, "I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring can also be counted." And when He said this, in verse 15 of that same chapter, God also promised him the land of Canaan that he could see.

Now, Balaam probably didn't know about the covenant between Abraham and God. But God, in His sovereignty, used the mouth of Israel's enemy, Balaam, to declare the fulfillment of His promise. God had already made them as numerous as the dust. So what was left? The Promised Land, Canaan, being given to Abraham's descendants. Balaam, without even realizing it, was prophesying a blessing upon his enemy, Israel, handing them the land of Canaan! That's the kind of God we serve! An Almighty God, a Sovereign God, a God who uses the mouths of our enemies to bless His people, a God who declares the fulfillment of His promises!

                  말씀을 맺습니다. 드디어 오늘 발람이 저주를 선포해야하는 날이 되었습니다. 그러나 그는 발락과 모압의 고관들 앞에서 축복만을 선포할 수 있었습니다. 이는 전적인 하나님의 계획이었습니다. 하나님께서는 대적 발람의 입을 사용하셔서 당신의 복된 백성을 축복하십니다. 저주를 축복으로 바꾸시는 하나님이신 것입니다. 당신의 백성뿐만아니라 당신의 대적들까지도 사용하셔서 복을 내리기 원하시는 하나님. 전능자이시며 만물의 주관자이신 하나님께서 우리의 하나님이십니다. 우리 이시간 그 하나님을 의지하여 기도하시겠습니다.              

In closing, brothers and sisters, the day finally arrived for Balaam to pronounce a curse. But instead, standing before Balak and all the Moabite officials, he could only speak blessings. This was entirely God's plan. God used the mouth of the enemy, Balaam, to bless His chosen people. He is a God who turns curses into blessings! A God who desires to pour out blessings, not only on His people but even using their adversaries. The Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of all, He is our God! Let us now, in this moment, rely on Him and lift our voices in prayer.