There is an account in the book of numbers that I believe has some important applications for us. As Paul told the Corinthians, what happened in the Old Testament, happened for our examples. We learn of a pagan king, a wayward prophet, and we also learn something of the character of the Lord and His heart towards His own people. To give some back-drop, the book of Numbers has been full of several failures by the children of Israel. They murmured and complained against the Lord and against Moses and Aaron, they tried to form a mutiny against them, but probably the most tragic was their failure to believe the Lord and go in to possess the land of Canaan. This resulted in them being stuck wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Near the end of this 40-year period, Israel went to war with three different kings, and soundly defeated them. It was after these wars that Israel moved and encamped in the plains of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.
It was here that Balak, the king of Moab, saw them, and the Scriptures state the whole country was sick with dread because of the Israelites. This is understandable, for if you or I were a king, and we saw a nation of two to three million people encamped nearby who had just swallowed up three nations, we would probably be a bit uneasy as well. However, Balak’s solution to the problem was less than scrupulous. His problem was self-induced, for if he and his people were right with the Lord, Israel would not have been a threat to him.
Upon seeing this threat, Balak, king of Moab, met with the elders of Midian, and said to them, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” After this meeting, Balak sent messengers to a man named Balaam to come curse the nation of Israel. We don’t know for sure where Balaam was from, but it is thought that he came from Syria or from somewhere in the modern country of Jordan which would have been near Moab. Balak sent messengers, saying, “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 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.” The Bible refers to Balaam as a man who genuinely heard from the Lord, however, his heart was not right with the Lord, which will be demonstrated more by his actions than his words.
Well, Balaam told them to stay the night, and he would report back to them what the Lord would tell him. This sounds reasonable, right? Balaam wants to wait to see what the Lord will say. So far so good. The Lord appeared to Balaam that night, and asked him who the men were. Balaam replied that they were messengers from Moab to ask him to come curse the children of Israel. But the Lord said, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” So, in the morning, Balaam told the princes to go back home, for the Lord had refused to give him permission to go back with them. This is speculation on my part, but you can almost hear the disappointment in Balaam’s words, “the Lord has refused to give me permission.”
So, the princes returned home, and told Balak what Balaam had said. Then Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than before, saying, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” Balaam replied that, though Balak would give him his house full of silver and gold, he could not go beyond the word of the Lord, less or more. Again, this sounds good. Then he told them to stay the night also, that he could find out what more the Lord would say to him. Now, this is interesting, for the Lord had already told him very directly and specifically what he was to do. He was not to go with them, and he was not to curse Israel, for they were blessed. This gives us some insight into Balaam’s character. He wanted them to stay, because he was hoping for a different answer. Truthfully, he wanted to go with them, for he wanted the wealth and the honor that was being promised. That night, the Lord appeared to Balaam again. He told him to go with the men if they came to ask him, but he warned him to only speak the word that He told him to speak.
The next day, Balaam saddled his donkey and left with the princes of Moab, and it states the Lord was angry with Balaam for going. “Wait a second,” you say, “didn’t God just tell him to go? So why is he angry with him for going?” I think there are a couple of reasons for this: First, I think the Lord told Balaam to go because he knew the wickedness in Balaam’s heart, and that Balaam was going to go anyway. The second reason I believe the Lord told Balaam to go was that, as we will see, He will use Balaam to pronounce a blessing on His people. The Lord can use whoever He wants to fulfil His will, even if they are in rebellion against Him.
As Balaam was riding on his donkey on the road, the angel of the Lord stood in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, but Balaam did not see him. The donkey, seeing the angel, turned off the road into the field, but Balaam struck her to get her back on the road. Then the Angel of the Lord stood on a narrow path between the vineyards, and when the donkey saw the angel, she pushed against the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot. Then he struck her again. The Angel of the Lord went further, where there was nowhere to turn, and, this time, the donkey lay down under Balaam. Balaam became angry, and struck the donkey a third time with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Now, rather than being shocked or bewildered that his donkey was talking to him, Balaam argues with her. He said, “Because you have abused (mocked) me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” The donkey replied, “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,” or as the King James puts it, “Nay.” It was quite a comical exchange really, except that Balaam was so bent on his mission that the Lord had to use a donkey to correct him. This is not a good place to be, just saying. Peter wrote the following, “but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.” (2 Pe 2:16)
Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing with his sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell flat on his face. The angel of the Lord said, “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. 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.” Wow! The angel was going to kill Balaam, but save the donkey. This was a bad place to be indeed. His way was perverse before the Lord because the Lord already had told him not to go curse a people who were blessed by him, and that he was willing to disobey the word of the Lord for a monetary reward. Balaam told the angel that he had sinned, and that he would go back if he wanted him to. However, the Angel of the Lord told him to go, and to only speak what he was told to speak. When Balaam arrived at the border of Moab, the king of Moab came out to meet him, and asked him why he had not come when he was called, seeing he was able to honor Balaam? Balaam responded that he had no power to say anything but what the Lord would tell him to say.
The next day, Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal so he could observe all the Israelites. Balaam will give four different prophecies concerning the nation of Israel, and each of them will be quite profound. They will have application for the nation of Israel, as well as for you and me.
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