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?” 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!” 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.” Numbers 22: 28-30, NKJV.
Heavenly Father, Please open our eyes to our true condition; and help us to see ourselves as You see us. Then “lead us in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139: 24). This we pray in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our all in all. Amen.
As my husband and I were having our morning worship, and were studying the lesson of the week from the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, we came upon this story. We had read this story so many times before, yet, all of a sudden, it dawned on us, in a special way, just how crazy the behavior of the prophet was! We could not stop laughing! We began to envision this unusual scene through our mind’s eye and it seemed, oh, so crazy!
But when the laughter was over, and we were summarizing our study, we could not help but conclude, that sin does exert an unhealthy influence upon our minds, which is reflected in our behavior! Let us analyze for a few moments what had led to this moment in the prophet’s life. If we should look at his life scene by scene, it would reveal the step by step decline, in the life of this man who was supposed to be, God’s mouthpiece (Numbers 22: 6, 8; 23: 16).It is so sad, because he started out well!
Scene No 1: The elders of Moab come to Balaam with money to pay him to curse the Israelites. Balaaam informs them that he has to receive instruction from God before he can do anything: “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. And he said to them, ‘ “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me” ‘ (7, 8b, emphasis provided). In other words, “My response to your request will depend upon what the LORD says to me.” But how true was that?
Scene No. 2: Balaam “obeys the LORD,” by refusing to go with the men. Perhaps there is a clue of his decline in his answer to the messengers of Balak, “the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you” (22: 13b). Do I hear, between the lines, “If it was up to me, I would go with you, but it is the LORD, who is against me going! Indeed, out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths do speak (Luke 6: 45).
Scene No. 3: Balak has obviously caught sight of Balaam’s price tag, because he sends Balaam an offer he can hardly resist. In fact, Balaam does not want to resist his offer! Listen to what takes place in this scene: “Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 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; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’” 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. Now therefore, (but) please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me” (15-19, emphasis provided). This sounds as if Balaam is speaking through two opposite sides of his mouth!
Balaam, God has already spoken! He already told you not to go with the elders, because the people are blessed! What else do you need to hear? My friends, sometimes God will let us hear what we want to hear. Sometimes God will let us have the things He already told us were not good for us, at our insistence, but it will cost us! The prophet’s madness is already becoming apparent. His mouth is following his heart, while his body is trying (?) to follow the LORD. A divided will could be an early sign of madness. Beware Balaam!
We will continue.