Who Can Curse the People of God?
Scripture Reading: Numbers 22:5-35
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the
land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See,
they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once,
curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them
and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you
curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand,
and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge
here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of
Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11
‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse
them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’”
12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for
they are blessed.”
13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for
the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.”
14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with
us.”
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 16 And they
came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder
you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say
to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’”
18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me
his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less
or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the
LORD will say to me.”
20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go
with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the
morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand
in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants
were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His
drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So
Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood
in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And
when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed
Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went
further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or
to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so
Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done
to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword
in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I
became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the
way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And
the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times?
Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The
donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from
Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the
way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”
35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak
to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Last week we talked about how to recognize if we are truly in Christ. We came to the
conclusion that we can tell that we are in Christ if we are walking in the Spirit and not
in the flesh. This week we have a fairly long scripture reading but I could really have
made in Numbers 22-24. It is the biblical account of the interaction between Balaam
and Balak. It may seem like something that has very little to do with you and how you
live your life, but as we get to the end I hope you will see that it really has more to do
with our everyday life than you could have imagined.
The passage begins with Balak the king of Moab sending for Balaam to curse the
children of Israel. He sees that this group of people have come out of Egypt
conquering as they went. No doubt that stories of the demise of pharoh have reach
him. He had heard about the defeat of Og the king of Bashan and also the defeat of
Sihon king of the Amorites who had most recently defeated the previous king of
Moab. Balak had every reason to be concerned. These people had just camped
outside of Moab. It was not hard to figure out who they were coming after next. To
his credit, this pagan king of Moab recognized that he was not going to be able to
defeat them because God was quite obviously with them. He got together with the
elders of Midian and they decided that since these people were surely blessed, the
only way their kingdoms would be safe was for them to be cursed. So, into the mix
comes Balaam who evidently has some sort of relationship with God because those
he blesses are blessed and those he curses are cursed.
So the princes of Balak go to Balaam and tell him that Balak will give him his fee to
come curse the Israelites. Balaam does the wise thing and basically says, let me pray
on it. He tells them to hang out for the night to see what God would have him do.
The LORD Yahweh makes it clear that he (Balaam) should not curse the people
because they are blessed. Now, you would think that would be the end of it. Balaam
has said that Yahweh is his God, and God has said that these people are blessed by
Him. You would expect Balaam to come out in the morning and be like, "Hey, guys,
there's no way these people are going to get cursed because they are blessed by my
God." But no, he comes out and says, "Sorry guys, God won't let me." He did not
take a firm, decisive stand. So, Balak does what any respectable pagan leader would
do; he sends more princes with a much bigger offer. Balaam had left the door open
to that possibility by not taking a firm stand.
So, here come the princes again; better princes, with a much better offer. And what
does Balaam say; the right thing! Basically this, no matter how much you offer, I can't
curse them if God tells me not to. See, Balaam is very good at talking the talk but not
as good at walking the walk. His words say one thing but his actions say something
completely different. He goes back to ask God....again. Why? Hasn't God already
told him these people are blessed? What he's really doing is saying, "Come on God,
let me do it!" God has given us free will. He will not force us to do anything. He will
tell us what His will is but it will still be our choice to either do it, or not. This is one of
those times when I really wish I could understand Hebrew because it definitely seems
as if we may lose something in the translation here. It makes it seem like God is
telling Balaam to go with them in verse 20, then getting mad at him for going in verse
22. I believe it goes much deeper than this. I see God's point as being - Go if you
must but you will not curse what I have blessed. Which is why it makes perfect sense
that He would be upset that Balaam chose to attempt to alter His will. Make no
mistake, that was Balaam's intention. Yahweh had made His will clear, yet not only
did he go with the princes willingly, not only does he continue with them even after his
donkey warns him and he sees the Angel of the LORD, but he continues to do
eveything he can to get God to change His will. That's in stark contrast to how
Yeshua handles it when His Father's will was the most difficult of options.
Matthew 26:39-42
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you
not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot
pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Jesus submitted to God's will even as painful as it was. Balaam tries over and over to
get God to submit to his will. How many times do we do that? Hear God's will for us to
do a particular thing and do everything in our not to do it. Pray for Him to do this that
or the other thing in our lives, without ever asking Him what His will is for us. Isn't that
what most people think prayer is? Giving God a laundry list of things for Him to do, as
if He is a genie in a bottle or something. So, even after being told no twice, having his
donkey talk to him, and seeing the Angel of the LORD about to kill him, he still goes
out looking to change God's mind.
Numbers 23:1-4
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven
bulls and seven rams.”
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on
each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps
the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a
desolate height. 4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars,
and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
See, he has Balak build seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams. He's
trying to bribe God. How many times do believers do that. "Oh God, if you get me
out of this trouble I'll go to church every Sunday!" "If you heal me from this disease,
I'll read my Bible." As if God's favor can be bought at a price. So, they sacrifice a bull
and a ram on each altar and Balaam goes off and comes back to give his oracle. Do
you think Yahweh change His mind? Of course not, Balaam pronounces an awesome
blessing over Israel, and Balak gets upset. So, you'd think that would be the end of
it. God will not curse His people. He will not curse whom He has blessed. So, does
that finish it? No, they decide that maybe they can go to another mountain and do
the same thing, seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams. They do this three different
times. Do you think God changed his mind?
Numbers 24:1-4
1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other
times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised
his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon
him.
3 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
This passage tells us a whole lot if we take the time to analyze it. First, it tells us that
he finally figured out that God was pleased to bless Israel. Then it tells us that he did
not go use sorcery like he did the other times. Hold the phone! This guy is a
sorcerer? Doesn't God say He hates sorcery? Why is God talking to and through
this guy? Well, remember, just two chapters back God used a donkey for His
purpose, to deliver the message He wanted spoken. So, if He can have a purpose for
a donkey (notice, I didn't call it what it's called in the KJV), He can use a sorcerer.
There are many people who think that witchcraft, speaking to spirits, pyschics and
things like that are a bunch of nonsense. I totally believe that many of these people
are communicating with spirits. Just not your dead uncle or with spirits of light like
they think. I believe they are communicating with evil, demon spirits; spirits of
darkness. So, Balaam had spiritual eyes and he could see the spiritual rhealm that
most are blind to. In this passage, the Spirit of God says as much but then throws in
a little prophesy that I don't know if you caught. In the oracle he is called the man
whose eyes are opened, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the
Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open. Did you catch that? He just
prophesied his own fall.
Sure, Balaam said all the right things. All the way through this ordeal he says the
right things but he also consistently does the wrong things. He puts himself in a
position to dishonor God by just being there. He ends up blessing Israel again and
this time Balak has had enough, but Balaam say wait, I'll give you a reading. His
motivation through this whole thing has been selfish. We've been talking a lot about
motivation lately and his motivation is all wrong. So he gives the king of Moab and
the elders a prophecy of what these people will do to them. But he also does
something that the book of Numbers doesn't document. In chapter 25, after Balaam
has already gone back to his home, it goes on to tell about the children of Israel
going with the women of Moab to commit adultery and to sacrifice to idols. You may
not see the connection in Numbers but we are told about it later in scripture.
Jude 11, Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of
Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
2 Peter 2:15-16
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of
Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb
donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
We can see that Balaam seems to be greedy but what iniquity is Peter refering to?
Revelation 2:14, But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold
the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
You see, Balaam's motivation was getting paid, and since he realized there was
absolutely no way to curse what God has blessed, he changed his strategy. His
motivation was never love of God, if it was he would never have gone out to try to
curse God's people. Since he knew he couldn't get God to curse them, he taught
Moab how to get them to curse themselves.. See, Balaam really did say all the right
things and do all the wrong things. His eyes were wide open; he heard the words of
God, saw God the vision of God, and still fell with his eyes wide open. How many
believers say all the right things and do all the wrong things? They can quote
scripture but when you look at the life choices they make, you wonder what
happened. What's more important, saying the right thing or doing the right thing?
Matthew 21:28-31
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go,
work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it
and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go,
sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom
of God before you.
It was not the son who simply said he would do the right thing who did the will of the
father. It was the son who actually did the right thing. Let us not be like Balaam,
merely talking the talk. Let us also walk the walk. Being a youth director for six years
showed me a lot of teenager who knew all the right things to say. Yet, when they
went out into the world, they made all the wrong choices. They set themselves up by
putting themselves into situations where making the wrong choices was easy.
Usually, it starts with one little thing that they compromise on. They let themselves be
alone in close contact with someone of the opposite sex. They decide one drink won't
be a problem or they can handle one toke on the joint to fit in. You know, a deadly
avalanche can start with one little pebble being dislodged or one sheet of snow
sliding too far. A spiritual avalanche can start just the same way, with something
really small, with one little compromise. Let us not be children of compromise. Let us
recognize just how slippery the slope we stand on can be.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: February 11, 2007
Scripture Reading: Numbers 22:5-35
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the
land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See,
they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once,
curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them
and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you
curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand,
and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge
here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of
Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11
‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse
them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’”
12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for
they are blessed.”
13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for
the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.”
14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with
us.”
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 16 And they
came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder
you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say
to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’”
18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me
his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less
or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the
LORD will say to me.”
20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go
with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the
morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand
in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants
were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His
drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So
Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood
in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And
when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed
Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went
further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or
to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so
Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done
to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword
in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I
became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”
And he said, “No.”
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the
way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And
the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times?
Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The
donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from
Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the
way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”
35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak
to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
Last week we talked about how to recognize if we are truly in Christ. We came to the
conclusion that we can tell that we are in Christ if we are walking in the Spirit and not
in the flesh. This week we have a fairly long scripture reading but I could really have
made in Numbers 22-24. It is the biblical account of the interaction between Balaam
and Balak. It may seem like something that has very little to do with you and how you
live your life, but as we get to the end I hope you will see that it really has more to do
with our everyday life than you could have imagined.
The passage begins with Balak the king of Moab sending for Balaam to curse the
children of Israel. He sees that this group of people have come out of Egypt
conquering as they went. No doubt that stories of the demise of pharoh have reach
him. He had heard about the defeat of Og the king of Bashan and also the defeat of
Sihon king of the Amorites who had most recently defeated the previous king of
Moab. Balak had every reason to be concerned. These people had just camped
outside of Moab. It was not hard to figure out who they were coming after next. To
his credit, this pagan king of Moab recognized that he was not going to be able to
defeat them because God was quite obviously with them. He got together with the
elders of Midian and they decided that since these people were surely blessed, the
only way their kingdoms would be safe was for them to be cursed. So, into the mix
comes Balaam who evidently has some sort of relationship with God because those
he blesses are blessed and those he curses are cursed.
So the princes of Balak go to Balaam and tell him that Balak will give him his fee to
come curse the Israelites. Balaam does the wise thing and basically says, let me pray
on it. He tells them to hang out for the night to see what God would have him do.
The LORD Yahweh makes it clear that he (Balaam) should not curse the people
because they are blessed. Now, you would think that would be the end of it. Balaam
has said that Yahweh is his God, and God has said that these people are blessed by
Him. You would expect Balaam to come out in the morning and be like, "Hey, guys,
there's no way these people are going to get cursed because they are blessed by my
God." But no, he comes out and says, "Sorry guys, God won't let me." He did not
take a firm, decisive stand. So, Balak does what any respectable pagan leader would
do; he sends more princes with a much bigger offer. Balaam had left the door open
to that possibility by not taking a firm stand.
So, here come the princes again; better princes, with a much better offer. And what
does Balaam say; the right thing! Basically this, no matter how much you offer, I can't
curse them if God tells me not to. See, Balaam is very good at talking the talk but not
as good at walking the walk. His words say one thing but his actions say something
completely different. He goes back to ask God....again. Why? Hasn't God already
told him these people are blessed? What he's really doing is saying, "Come on God,
let me do it!" God has given us free will. He will not force us to do anything. He will
tell us what His will is but it will still be our choice to either do it, or not. This is one of
those times when I really wish I could understand Hebrew because it definitely seems
as if we may lose something in the translation here. It makes it seem like God is
telling Balaam to go with them in verse 20, then getting mad at him for going in verse
22. I believe it goes much deeper than this. I see God's point as being - Go if you
must but you will not curse what I have blessed. Which is why it makes perfect sense
that He would be upset that Balaam chose to attempt to alter His will. Make no
mistake, that was Balaam's intention. Yahweh had made His will clear, yet not only
did he go with the princes willingly, not only does he continue with them even after his
donkey warns him and he sees the Angel of the LORD, but he continues to do
eveything he can to get God to change His will. That's in stark contrast to how
Yeshua handles it when His Father's will was the most difficult of options.
Matthew 26:39-42
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
40 Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you
not watch with Me one hour? 41 Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot
pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Jesus submitted to God's will even as painful as it was. Balaam tries over and over to
get God to submit to his will. How many times do we do that? Hear God's will for us to
do a particular thing and do everything in our not to do it. Pray for Him to do this that
or the other thing in our lives, without ever asking Him what His will is for us. Isn't that
what most people think prayer is? Giving God a laundry list of things for Him to do, as
if He is a genie in a bottle or something. So, even after being told no twice, having his
donkey talk to him, and seeing the Angel of the LORD about to kill him, he still goes
out looking to change God's mind.
Numbers 23:1-4
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven
bulls and seven rams.”
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on
each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps
the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a
desolate height. 4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars,
and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
See, he has Balak build seven altars and prepare seven bulls and seven rams. He's
trying to bribe God. How many times do believers do that. "Oh God, if you get me
out of this trouble I'll go to church every Sunday!" "If you heal me from this disease,
I'll read my Bible." As if God's favor can be bought at a price. So, they sacrifice a bull
and a ram on each altar and Balaam goes off and comes back to give his oracle. Do
you think Yahweh change His mind? Of course not, Balaam pronounces an awesome
blessing over Israel, and Balak gets upset. So, you'd think that would be the end of
it. God will not curse His people. He will not curse whom He has blessed. So, does
that finish it? No, they decide that maybe they can go to another mountain and do
the same thing, seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams. They do this three different
times. Do you think God changed his mind?
Numbers 24:1-4
1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other
times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised
his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon
him.
3 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
This passage tells us a whole lot if we take the time to analyze it. First, it tells us that
he finally figured out that God was pleased to bless Israel. Then it tells us that he did
not go use sorcery like he did the other times. Hold the phone! This guy is a
sorcerer? Doesn't God say He hates sorcery? Why is God talking to and through
this guy? Well, remember, just two chapters back God used a donkey for His
purpose, to deliver the message He wanted spoken. So, if He can have a purpose for
a donkey (notice, I didn't call it what it's called in the KJV), He can use a sorcerer.
There are many people who think that witchcraft, speaking to spirits, pyschics and
things like that are a bunch of nonsense. I totally believe that many of these people
are communicating with spirits. Just not your dead uncle or with spirits of light like
they think. I believe they are communicating with evil, demon spirits; spirits of
darkness. So, Balaam had spiritual eyes and he could see the spiritual rhealm that
most are blind to. In this passage, the Spirit of God says as much but then throws in
a little prophesy that I don't know if you caught. In the oracle he is called the man
whose eyes are opened, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the
Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open. Did you catch that? He just
prophesied his own fall.
Sure, Balaam said all the right things. All the way through this ordeal he says the
right things but he also consistently does the wrong things. He puts himself in a
position to dishonor God by just being there. He ends up blessing Israel again and
this time Balak has had enough, but Balaam say wait, I'll give you a reading. His
motivation through this whole thing has been selfish. We've been talking a lot about
motivation lately and his motivation is all wrong. So he gives the king of Moab and
the elders a prophecy of what these people will do to them. But he also does
something that the book of Numbers doesn't document. In chapter 25, after Balaam
has already gone back to his home, it goes on to tell about the children of Israel
going with the women of Moab to commit adultery and to sacrifice to idols. You may
not see the connection in Numbers but we are told about it later in scripture.
Jude 11, Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of
Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
2 Peter 2:15-16
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of
Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb
donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
We can see that Balaam seems to be greedy but what iniquity is Peter refering to?
Revelation 2:14, But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold
the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
You see, Balaam's motivation was getting paid, and since he realized there was
absolutely no way to curse what God has blessed, he changed his strategy. His
motivation was never love of God, if it was he would never have gone out to try to
curse God's people. Since he knew he couldn't get God to curse them, he taught
Moab how to get them to curse themselves.. See, Balaam really did say all the right
things and do all the wrong things. His eyes were wide open; he heard the words of
God, saw God the vision of God, and still fell with his eyes wide open. How many
believers say all the right things and do all the wrong things? They can quote
scripture but when you look at the life choices they make, you wonder what
happened. What's more important, saying the right thing or doing the right thing?
Matthew 21:28-31
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go,
work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it
and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go,
sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?”
They said to Him, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom
of God before you.
It was not the son who simply said he would do the right thing who did the will of the
father. It was the son who actually did the right thing. Let us not be like Balaam,
merely talking the talk. Let us also walk the walk. Being a youth director for six years
showed me a lot of teenager who knew all the right things to say. Yet, when they
went out into the world, they made all the wrong choices. They set themselves up by
putting themselves into situations where making the wrong choices was easy.
Usually, it starts with one little thing that they compromise on. They let themselves be
alone in close contact with someone of the opposite sex. They decide one drink won't
be a problem or they can handle one toke on the joint to fit in. You know, a deadly
avalanche can start with one little pebble being dislodged or one sheet of snow
sliding too far. A spiritual avalanche can start just the same way, with something
really small, with one little compromise. Let us not be children of compromise. Let us
recognize just how slippery the slope we stand on can be.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: February 11, 2007
