Balaam
The story of Balaam includes more than a talking donkey. Although a talking donkey is spectacular, God's lesson for us is illustrated through more than just Balaam's interactions with his beast of burden. Let's take a look at this very strange fellow who found himself in a very strange circumstance.
It appears that Balaam was a gentile who lived in the area of Aram in a town called Pethor. He practiced divination and was considered by the people of the day to be a prophet. From the book of Numbers, we understand that Balak, king of Moab, believed the same. Toward the end of Balak's reign, he ran into a major problem. The Jewish people had no nation and were wandering in the wilderness close to Moab's border. If you're a king, having two million refugees at your border is a major problem. But the danger for Balak and his country was compounded by the fact that these Israelites had just totally destroyed Arad, the king of Canaan, in the Negev desert.
Balak knew he did not want to mess with the Jewish people in battle, so he sent for Balaam. Why did he need Balaam? To curse the Jews, which leads us to the first major character flaw of Balaam: greed. It was not enough that God had given Balaam the ability to hear His voice and know what God would do in the future. This rogue prophet insisted on using his gift for profit and even delved into curses on people. Balaam could either be considered a witch doctor who heard from God or a prophet who practiced divination. In either instance, God used Balaam, and Balaam used God's gift for his own benefit.
Unfortunately, the use of God's gifts for unethical personal profit is common throughout history, even up to current times. Leaders, as well as regular folk, both religious and secular, have used their God-given talents to immorally profit. It is so prevalent that one begins to wonder if it is sinful. Later, we will see the penalty Balaam paid for his misstep in this area. Let me know what you think in the comments section.
After being beaten three times by Balaam for simply avoiding the Angel with drawn sword, the donkey finally spoke up.
Back on our subject, King Balak sent emissaries to entice Balaam to come to Moab and curse the Jewish nation. The prophet received the visitors and told them to stay overnight while he asked God about it. The Bible says that "God came to Balaam." It does not say that Balaam conjured up God as if that would be possible. God's Word says that God came to the prophet and asked him "Who are these men with you?" God knew intimately what was going on in Balaam's life. The witch doctor told God about Balak and the requested curse. God told him not to go with the men or even consider cursing Israel.
So the Moabites were sent away. Balak responded by sending another group with even more important people and better gifts. They offered the prophet whatever he wanted. Again an overnight stay while Balaam went to seek God's thoughts on the matter. Now we enter a Twilight Zone type scenario. The Bible says that God responded, "Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you." The witch doctor gave the Moabites the yes and saddled up his donkey. However, on the way to King Balak in Moab, Balaam talks with his donkey. I will not go into details about it. But, it seems that God was concerned about something He saw in Balaam's heart.
Even though God told him to go, the Bible tells us that an angel was sent to block Balaam's way the very next day. Unfortunately, the prophet could not see the angel, but his donkey could. That donkey was smart enough to steer clear of a heavenly being holding a sword. It veered off the path over and over again. Each time the witch doctor beat the donkey until God had enough and "opened the mouth" of the animal. The donkey and Balaam had a conversation! Then God opened the prophet's eyes and he saw the angel of the Lord! So the witch doctor had a conversation with God's messenger who tells Balaam that his "path is a reckless one before me." Interestingly, the angel of the Lord is personalizing the offense. Maybe this was not just an angel of the Lord, but rather The Messenger of God, Jesus Christ.
The Hebrew word for "reckless" used in this scripture is "yarat" which means precipitate or push headlong. God saw in Balaam’s heart a reckless nature that was walking a tightrope choice between listening to God or doing what would make some money. Inside Balaam there was a witch doctor who wanted to be able to curse Israel; while the prophet inside the man would only say what God wanted to be said. At the end of the discussion between Balaam and his donkey and the angel of the Lord, Balaam continued, with permission, on his way to Moab.
The prophet arrived and spent the night in Moab. The next morning King Balak took Balaam to Bamoth where they built seven altars and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one. Then the witch doctor left Balak standing with the sacrifices while he went off to talk with God. A message was delivered from the Almighty, and the prophet came back to Balak and BLESSED Israel! The king was furious. This was not what he brought Balaam here to do. He needed a curse.
So the king decides to take his enigmatic contractor to another spot overlooking the people of Israel. Maybe a different perspective could conjure up a curse. Another seven altars and fourteen more animals were sacrificed, and once again the king was standing next to the sacrifice and the witch doctor was back talking to God. With the message received, the prophet returned to the king. This time Balaam BLESSED Israel! The king was coming undone. Strike two on the curse.
But the king was a stubborn sort. He took Balaam to a third spot. This time it was at the top of Mount Peor. They were overlooking the "wasteland" and Balaam had another seven altars raised and more sacrifices made. This time the witch doctor did not have the opportunity to go off to talk with God. God inspired the prophet, and Balaam immediately spoke over the wilderness as the Spirit of God instructed him. King Balak went ballistic. But Balaam just reminded him that he was a prophet who could only say what God told him to say.
The prophet delivered four more messages to the king of Moab. One even described how the Jewish people would "crush the foreheads of Moab." In all the messages Balaam delivered, Israel was blessed. God spoke through the prophet. It would be kind of clear-cut if that were the end of the story. Unfortunately, it is not.
This man was mentioned in the books of Joshua, Nehemiah, Micah, Jude, and Second Peter. Balaam is used to exemplify people rushing for-profit and false teachers' hunger for the "wages of wickedness." But ultimately the prophet/witch doctor's legacy was sealed by the biggest error he made. The second major character flaw this eccentric "holy" man had was pride. Balaam reveled in being important, being summoned by kings and those in power. The man desired to be in the spotlight.
The intervention with the king of Moab was a perfect scenario to influence Balaam's pride. While the collaboration ended with blessings on Israel, it also produced long-lasting harm for the Jewish people and contributed to them turning their backs on God. We learn in chapter thirty-one of Numbers that Balaam was killed by Israel as the final act of Moses' leadership of the new nation. But before he died we learn from the book of Revelation that this witch doctor/prophet “taught Balak to entice Israel to sin.” Balaam could not curse the Jews, but he did teach the Moabites how to cause them to fall out of God’s favor. For this action, he is referred to by Jesus Christ as the example of those who would lead others into sin, particularly through idolatry and sexual immorality.
Thus ends the story of Balaam. In the end, we understand that Balaam’s ass had more sense than its master, and one’s character is far more important than one’s gifts.
For the specific reference to how the Moabites seduced Israel read Numbers chapter twenty-five.