GTCOTR/ws101012
Numbers 22 KJV
1 And the children of Israel
set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by
Jericho.
2 And Balak the son of Zippor
saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was sore afraid of
the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of
the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto the
elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round
about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of
Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 He sent messengers
therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river
of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there
is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and
they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray
thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure
I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive
them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed,
and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and
the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and
they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
The
story … The Prophet; The Ass; The Angel; & The King
verse
9: And Balaam said to God … (there is a difference between what we say to God
and what God might say back to us!)
12 And God said unto Balaam,
Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are
blessed.
13
…for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
15 And Balak sent yet
again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
Balak
sent more numerous and more honorable …
reconsider your promotion and all the honor you be given …
18 … I cannot go beyond
the word of the LORD my God …
Balaam
declared that no matter what, he could not go against the Word of God.
But
… wait right here while I go and ask God again – maybe He will let me go this
time, seeing as how I have this chance to be rich and famous.
Psalms 81
11 But my people would
not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.
12 So I gave them up unto
their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.
There
is such a danger in going to God over and over again trying to get Him to
support your selfish pursuits which violate His known Word … the danger is – He
might just tell you to go ahead with your plans …
Ezekiel 14
When a person sets up idols in his own heart and stumblingblocks
before his own face, then inquires of the Lord what he should do ... the Lord
will answer him according to the multitude of his idols.
Well,
this is exactly what happened to Balaam – God allowed him to walk in the
delusion of his own counsel. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)
* the voice of God will sound like the
voice of your idols
* you cannot tell the difference
* God will confirm your delusion
God
told Balaam that if the men came to call him again, go ahead and go with them
but do not do anything that I don’t want you to do … so Balaam got up early,
saddled his donkey and went with them.
Numbers 22:22 And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the
angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was
riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
Explain
the encounters between the angel and the ass:
· v. 23 – the ass
turned out of the way
· v. 25 – the ass
dodged and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall
· v. 27 – the ass
ducked down under the angel’s sword
How is it that you can get yourself in such a fix that God’s angels
are trying to kill you and your only friend in the whole world is an ass?
Numbers
22:32 And the angel of the LORD said
unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I
went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
After
all of this Balaam misses the big picture, the whole boat! Evidently Balaam was
not the sharpest knife in the drawer … Balaam agrees to quit but not to change
– however – the angel does not alter the word of God to Balaam. From that time
forth the only right thing Balaam does is in what he speaks, not in what he is,
not in what he wants, not in what he ultimately does and causes to be done …
but – he has his speech down right!
Balaam
is the epitome of someone who is committed to their singular focus and selfish
pursuits. He somehow imagines that he is going to be alright if he does not
“technically” disobey God.
“Technically”
speaking, Balaam did not disobey the strict word of Almighty God or the angel.
However, God is not the One with whom you wish to mince words or parse
intentions. Balaam knew what God meant … and in the end, there is no playing
dumb with God – not even if you are really dumb …
Chapter
22 ends and chapter 23 begins with King Balak and the Prophet Balaam making
offerings, building altars and sacrificing oxen and rams to God.
Sacrifice won’t change the Word of God …
Sacrifice
all you want but you’re still not going to change the Word of God.
Three
times Balaam stood high above the Children of God and three times Balaam spoke
blessings, including the much quoted:
Numbers 23
19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or
hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received commandment
to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
This
infuriated Balak who said to Balaam: “I was going to promote you and make you
great, now you will get nothing … get out of my sight and get back to your
place.”
When
Balaam realized that doing things God’s way was going to get him nothing for
himself – he decided to make an end run … after all … he was not “technically”
disobeying God – he said what God said – that’s technically all God and the
angel told him to do … other people have a will – can he help it if the
Israelites want to go over to Moab … I mean, he is not making them … he’s just
offering a little incentive – why not … does God really expect Balaam to not
get anything for all his years of service?
Numbers 24:14 … come and I will advise you …
The
rest of the story: You know, Balaam had a problem … he loved money! This is how
the New Testament remembers Balaam:
Jude 11 Woe unto them! for
they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam
for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
1. The Error of Balaam
1 Peter 2:15 Which have
forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the
son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
2. The Way of Balaam
Revelation 2:14 But I have a
few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.
3. The Doctrine of Balaam
1
Timothy 4:16 says that we must not only take heed to ourselves but also to the
doctrine, continue in them to save yourself and those who follow you. Even
though Balaam did not “technically” curse the Israelites, nonetheless he did
teach Balak how to get the Israelites to remove themselves from the blessings of
God. Neither Balak nor Balaam had clean hands or pure hearts before the Lord,
although neither one technically disobeyed God.
Balaam
only taught Balak how to cast a stumbling block, present a temptation … enticements
… what some might even call an opportunity – after all … it was the Israelites
who made their individual choices to depart from God’s will for their lives …
Balaam claimed he had obeyed the Lord and no doubt Balak paid handsomely for
Balaam’s counsel.
· Technically, Balaam
did not disobey God’s Word
· Technically, Jonah
never told God no
· Technically, Simon
(Acts 8) only wanted more of the Holy Spirit
· Technically, Judas
only did what Jesus encouraged him to do
Technically
won’t cut it with God … it’s the motivation of the heart …
Three
concluding thoughts:
1.
Error unchecked, unchallenged and unchanged becomes a way of life
2.
Continuing on the wrong way without repentance promotes doctrines of
life
3.
Doctrines of life define us so that the voice of our doctrine
becomes the voice of our God
Beware of the idols of life … they can often
sound like the voice of God!
