I Need Rams and Bulls*

I was reading the first half of Numbers 23:1-3 and I could not help but laugh because of my big, creative imagination. Read this scripture and then I will explain.

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

 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."

etc...

First of all Balaam tells Balak, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” First I am assuming he has to get the animals before he can sacrifice them.  I am picturing Balak trying to catch seven bulls and seven rams..  He decides to gather some of his friends to help him. Some of them chickened out and asked, "Are you crazy or what?" Yet Balak insisted that he needed these animals so he can hear from God.

So he gathers about 5 of the strongest men he knows.  

(photobucket.com)

"One by one they capture the rams. Okay 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7...yes they are all here. We have captured 7 rams. Okay now we need 7 bulls." 

He and his friends head over to where the bulls are.

Have you seen a bull lately? They are not the most gentle animals out there. And you must never make them mad, is what I gathered when watching a bull fight on TV awhile ago.  

(wikipedia.org)

Picture Balak getting ready. He has made a loop in his rope and has it ready to catch the big bull. He throws the lassoed rope and misses the bull. He gathers up the rope again and throws it again. Missed again.

The next thing you know, the bull is running towards him. Balak is getting all hot and sweaty...He is gritting his teeth because this bull won't cooperate and he is thinking as he is running down the field: "Man, I have to get seven of these." He yells for his macho friends to help...They are doing the best they can by lassoing their own ropes and swinging them toward the bull. Yet they keep missing.

The next thing you know is that there are 10 bulls running down the field in their direction.  All the men are scattered in the field running for their lives. They each finally get to the same spot, yet out of breath. The older guy asks Balak how badly does he need these bulls...Balak tells him that he really needs them. Another guy pipes in and says that he knows of a place in the city next over where they can buy the 7 bulls. They all decided unanimously that they will just go buy the 7 bulls in the next city over.

Balak finally presents the 7 rams and 7 bulls to Ballam to sacrifice.

I have just given you a picture of what might have happened at the beginning of Numbers 23... Some of the stories in the Bible, we have to speculate what happened because, they do not tell all of the details. Like this story you just read, Ballam tells Balak to sacrifice 7 rams and 7 bulls; he doesn't say how he was going to get the animals that he had to sacrifice. Just picture yourself in that situation and see where it takes you.

The rest of the story you will have to read on your own to find out what happened...

Check out Numbers 23 from www.biblegateway.com