The book of Numbers narrates the chequered history of the people of Israel after their escape from Egypt. Having received the Law, they set off for the Promised Land, only to get cold feet, refusing to enter the land when their twelve spies bring back an account of a rich and fertile land, but which is populated by strong, ferocious people (Numbers 13). They advised that the Hebrews would never be able to conquer it. Only two spies – Joshua and Caleb recommended immediate entry. Consequently, the nation incurred the wrath of God and spent the next forty years wandering around the Sinai Peninsula. We read of continual murmuring and dissent, until finally, there was some good news to celebrate. The nation defeated the King of Arad, in the Negev desert. And having set off eastwards, around the land of Edom, they approached Moabite territory, situated in present day Jordan. Here, they defeated two more kings, Sihon and Og - two victories that must have made quite a lasting impression, as they are referred to several times in later scriptures. At last, it seemed as if the Israelites have got their act together. They were on a winning roll. The territory of King Balak was all that stood between them and the Promised Land.
And then we reach a strange little scene, a story within a story: it features Balak: king of the Moabites; Balaam: a prophet; and a talking donkey.
Israel was on the march - they had become a force to be reckoned with. 'This horde is going to lick up everything around us,' declared the Moabites (Numbers 22:4). The nation was striking fear into its enemies. A terrified Balak turned to one of his prophets, Balaam, sending for him to come and put a curse on the Israelites, to ensure that his territory would be safe.
Balaam was asked to give Balak re-assurance that all would be well. But Balaam heard otherwise:
But God said to Balaam, ‘Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.’ (Numbers 22:12).
But Balak was persistent, sending yet more messengers, pleading with Balaam to go to his aid. Initially refusing to go, eventually Balaam was directed by God to set off, but the road was blocked by an angel, although Balaam himself could not see it. Three times the donkey refused to move forwards, earning a severe beating from his master for his refusal to go on. Finally, the donkey spoke to Balaam:
Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?’ (Numbers 22:30).
Balaam’s eyes were opened, he saw the angel, who impressed upon him the importance of only doing what the Lord commanded him to do. The angel granted permission for Balaam to proceed, but he has learned his lesson. When he finally reached Balak, he declared, ‘ I must speak only what God puts in my mouth’ (Numbers 22:38).
Balak continued to press Balaam to curse the Israelites, but in a series of messages, Balaam proceeded to give blessing to Israel, whilst cursing the surrounding tribes.
How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced? (Numbers 23:8)
‘No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against[c] Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, “See what God has done!” (Numbers 23:21-23)
This strange episode ended with Balaam going home, and Balak ‘going his own way’. But there is a postscript. In Numbers 31, we learn that Balaam was killed in the ensuing battle between the Israelites and the Midianites (allies of the Moabites), and worse, that he had actually enticed many Israelite men to commit sexual sin with the Moabite women (Numbers 25 and 31:16).
It’s a strange story. Whatever does it mean for us?
This is a tale of mixed motives. Initially, Balaam appears to be a man who is committed to serving God, but his failure to ‘see’ the angel, followed by his enticement of the Israelite men to sin, suggests that he had mixed motives. Even though he asserted the importance of obedience to God, his ulterior motive was to find a way around God’s command, and so reap the financial reward for himself that Balak was offering.
So the most immediate lesson of this story is the importance of obedience to God. Just as Israel was called to obey God, so too Balaam had no option except to obey God. Balak summoned him to court, but Balaam responded by saying 'Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God' (Numbers 22:18). It was only when the Lord commanded him to go to Balak that he responded.
How easy it is to miss what the Lord says to us! Jesus himself urged his followers, 'Let he who has ears hear what the Spirit is saying' (Mark 4:9). The obstinance of the donkey should have provided due warning that Balaam was in danger of disobeying God. We must remain ever vigilant to hear what the Lord has to say.
The moral is clear: be alert to what the Lord is saying.
How does God speak to us? Perhaps it is not through the mouth of an ass, but the principle remains true. The Lord does not always choose to speak through the wise or the well educated. He does not always choose the way that appears to us to be the most rational or reasonable. He may just as easily speak through something simple and straightforward. St. Paul writes, 'If anyone fancies himself wise by the standards of this present age, he should become a fool so that he may become wise’ (1 Corinthians 3:18).
So the message is: be alert to what the Lord is saying, whatever source it may come from. The Lord will use whomsoever He chooses. Balaam was not even a Hebrew. The donkey was just a simple old donkey, yet these were the characters through whom the Lord chose to work. God will often do the unexpected. God’s people are standing on the threshold of the Promised Land, and we may well think, 'At last, a story of the chosen people coming good'. But then, a foreign prophet is used to bring God’s message, just as later in the story a pagan prostitute (Rahab) will be the means by which the people take Jericho, and later still, a foreign woman (Ruth) will be chosen to be an ancestor of David, the greatest of all the Jewish kings. And ultimately, as the Jews look forward to the coming of a Messiah who will deliver them, he will come, not as they expected, as a mighty warrior, but as a tiny baby, born to a young peasant girl from a remote village.
So let's not be surprised by the story of a talking donkey. It's entirely within keeping with the rest of the biblical epic that God should use a humble ass to bring His message.
Balaam came to Balak, who didn't mince his words. 'Curse this nation. I want rid of them.' 'Can't be done' said Balaam. 'How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?' A frustrated Balak responded, 'What have you done? I brought you here to curse my enemies, and instead, you have blessed them!'
Four times this happens. Four times Balak implored Balaam to curse the Hebrews. Four times Balaam uttered the word of the Lord and blessed them. 'The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.' That which the Lord blesses will be blessed. We can't stand in His way. The Lord will prevail.
Balaam appears in these chapters to be a brave man. Despite Balak’s power and position, he stands firm: 'I must do whatever the Lord says.' How easily, we can be tempted, or flattered to say what our audience wants to hear, simply to gain short-term popularity. But let's never forget the lesson of Balaam and his donkey - do what the Lord requires of us: no more, no less.
The story ends in chapter 24 with Balaam continuing to prophesy Israel’s greatness, despite Balak’s growing anger. His oracles reach their crescendo with a great Messianic prophecy: ‘a star will come out of Jacob, a sceptre will rise out of Israel… a ruler will come out of Jacob.’ (Numbers 24: 17–18). The hand of the Lord is upon the story, which will reach its climax with the star of Bethlehem.
The message thus far, is simple and direct. It is about obedience to God. Faith, unless it leads to renewed vigour to live in a particular way, becomes meaningless. If our faith is to be sincere, we must do something with it. Like Balaam, we must be prepared to hold firmly to that which comes from the Lord. This may not make us popular. It could well lead to rejection, or even dismissal - as it does for Balaam, but which is the more important, to keep one's popularity with man, or to maintain one's integrity with God?
Psalm 27 begins by asserting: ‘The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?’
The challenge of this story is to put faith in God before any other consideration - fear God, not man!
If only the story ended here! Sadly, we must continue to Numbers 31. Balaam is killed, along with Israel’s other enemies, following a battle against the Midianites. Here, we discover that Balaam must have interfered again in Israel’s affairs. In referring to some captured Midianite women, Moses says:
‘They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people.’ (Numbers 31:16)
Peor was the site of Balaam’s final prophecy to Balak (Numbers 23:28), but Moses implies that something else must have occurred after that prophecy. It would seem that having told Balak to leave the Israelites alone because the Lord’s hand was upon them, he then resorted to a more insidious way of causing the Israelites to stumble. He thought that he could manipulate events to bring about favour with Balak. So Balaam yielded to the age-old folly of temptation. Using the very human failing of lust, he encouraged the Israelite men to sleep with their enemies’ women.
Here we gain a different insight into Balaam’s personality. Although appearing to champion the Israelites, and proclaiming the fear of the Lord, his plan B was to find a way around this by causing the Israelites to sin, in a deliberate attempt to make them lose favour with God. Small wonder then, that in the New Testament, despite his seemingly God-fearing pronouncements, Balaam is cited as one who actively led people away from God.
2 Peter 2:15 condemns those who have wandered away from God to live in wickedness:
They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness (2 Peter 2:15).
Jude similarly uses ‘Balaam’s error’ (Jude 11), to describe those who have deliberately adopted sinful practices.
Perhaps most tellingly, writing to the church in Pergamum, St John berates Balaam for condoning those who deliberately continue to wallow in sin:
Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: You have people there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality. (Revelation 2:14).
So, the lesson of Balaam’s experience is double edged. Whilst the presenting message of Numbers 22 – 24 is one of obedience to God, and refusing to go against God’s message, the hidden message of Balaam’s story is the danger implicit in deliberate sin, and even more especially the responsibility that we bear for leading others into sin. What influence do we have on those around us? How do we use our influence – for good or for evil? How easy it is to entice people around us into sin.
We must always be aware of our responsibilities towards other people and be alert to the influence that we can bring to bear on them – for evil or for good.
‘Balaam was rebuked for his wrong-doing by a donkey – a beast without speech – who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.’ (2 Peter 2:16)
Let us ensure that we are open to hear the voice of God, however He may speak to us.
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