Balaam
Balaam’s story is found in Numbers 22-24. It’s a pretty easy read and it’s one of the better parts of Numbers, so if you can, read it before you continue.
Interesting story, no? We have this guy, Balaam, whose name means “Baal [lord] of the people”. Now, he’s pretty popular, and he’s well-known for being a sorcerer, so we know that he’s not exactly right with God. But he is well-known; so much, in fact, that the king of Moab, Barak, sent for him. Even though Balaam was 400 miles away (picture walking across the state of Pennsylvania), Barak’s messengers made the trek to try and get Balaam to come to Moab and curse the Israelites.
However, God has other ideas. He appears to Balaam and tells him not to go with the messengers. Balaam obeys and sends the messengers away, but Barak is undeterred. He sends princes of Moab, more prestigious men, to go and convince Balaam to curse Israel, and this time he offers great wealth. Baalam basically says that he’s only going to do what God says. This time, God talks to Balaam and says that he can go, but he’s only allowed to speak what he is given by God.
So Balaam departs. But the Bible says that God was angry with him because he went. Why is this? I mean, he’s consulted God and God even told him it was okay to go! Reading commentaries yielded two answers. One was that God’s condition was that he had to be asked by the men but Balaam didn’t wait and just saddled up the next morning. I find this explanation inadequate because Balaam seems to be asked in 22:17. Another explanation is that even though God gave permission, that doesn’t mean that Balaam should have taken it. This is in the vein of saying that God doesn’t stop us from sinning but isn’t happy when we do so, but God’s permission to go to Moab doesn’t seem to align with that point of view. I would like to propose a third explanation, that something would have to be wrong in Balaam’s heart. See, we can only judge man’s outward appearance, but God searches the heart. It’d be like if I asked God for permission to go to a strip club to witness to people, getting permission, but going with the intention of enjoying the entertainment. God would be ticked, right? To me, same story here.
Continuing on, Balaam is riding to Moab on his donkey, and along the path there is this angel of the Lord, invisible to Balaam, sword drawn, ready to kill. However, the donkey sees the angel and tries to get out of the way three times, and three times Balaam beats the donkey for walking off the path. Finally, the God allows the donkey to talk, and he asks Balaam what his problem is. An angry Balaam replies. The donkey asks if he’s ever been like this before. When Balaam finally takes a breath and realizes that, even though a donkey is talking to him, the donkey is right, he says no. At that instant, God opens his eyes to the angel, who was ready to kill Balaam cause his heart was wrong. The NIV says that Balaam’s path was ‘reckless,’ which in the Hebrew is figurative talk for sliding down a deep ravine. Balaam’s heart is set straight, and God again says to not say anything but what He gives him.
Balaam goes to Moab and has a bunch of oracles about Israel, and all of them turn out to be blessings instead of curses, because he’s only saying what he hears from God. After the first two, he even stops using sorcery because he doesn’t need it - God is talking to him!
So you’d think that’s the happy ending, right?
Wrong.
Check out Numbers 25:1-3. Idolatry in Israel, surprise surprise. However, go to Numbers 31:16. The fault for leading Israel astray is placed on Balaam!
To go even further, look at 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, and Revelation 2:14 - the last of which are the words of Jesus himself. This guy had some problems. Now some of his problems were greed and an improper heart…he was motivated by the treasure offered by Moab. But once he was set straight, he had problems with idolatry, and even swayed the Israelites into immorality.
Sad ending. But what can we take from this story?
- God can use anyone. This guy was a sorcerer, and a big one too. Picture some famous celebrity who does stuff that God doesn’t like all of a sudden coming out and proclaiming the word of God. This guy even has prophecy about Jesus attributed to him. So just remember that good or bad, people can be used for the greater glory of God!
- Watch your heart and check your motives. Balaam seemed to be good on the outside, and he said all the right things. But God saw right through this facade, and therefore we shouldn’t put one up! Be hot or cold, but don’t be in the middle. Plenty of people will say they’re Christian but in their heart are a mess.
- Fear God and ditch your pride. The angel wasn’t revealed to Balaam until he made an admission of error. I think that his admission led to the revelation, though I could be wrong. Regardless, the best way to connect to God is to fear (revere) him and humble yourself.
- Don’t be guided by money. Cliche almost, we’ve heard it so much. But it was probably the possibility of wealth that motivated Balaam to go along with the Moabites. Don’t let that stuff get in your way.
- Anyone can lose what they’ve got. Balaam was hearing God talk to him, and he died at the hands of Israelites whose brothers and sisters had sinned because of Balaam’s doing. That’s a big fall, but it can happen to anyone, no matter how well off you are. Humble yourself and pray that you do not fall into temptation. See Luke 11:24-26 to know what Jesus has to say about this subject.
- Don’t “go back to Moab”. Corny phrase, but check it. Balaam was riding high after his oracles; he kept talking after the Moabites had given up on him. What if he had gone to Israel’s camp instead of Moab’s after the fact? If he went to the Israelites and said “I just talked to God without using my divination!” they’d respond “Awesome!” or “That’s how God works!”. But if he would say the same thing to a Moabite, he’d probably say “Well if it wasn’t sorcery then it was probably just a hallucination” or something else that would cause Balaam to doubt what had happened to him. Think this is unrealistic? I’ve felt the same way sometimes, and without people to affirm some of the things I’ve discovered and felt then I could have fallen by the wayside as well. If you exclusively hang out with people who get drunk all the time, you’ve got a bigger chance of getting drunk with them. Constant temptation wears down; that’s why Paul says to flee temptation. Balaam wasn’t in a God-friendly environment, and this pressure coupled with the pressure of being a popular sorcerer was likely what did him in.
Grace and Peace,
Brendan
