God Uses Balaam Desire For Bad To Give Good And A Prophecy

And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, 

upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was 

thine unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so

 unto thee? And he said, Nay. then the 

LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw

the angel of the LORD standing in the way, 

and his sword drawn in his hand: and he 

bowed down his head, and fell flat 

on his face. And the angel of the LORD 

said unto him, Wherefore have thou smitten 

thine ass these three times? Behold,

 I went out to withstand thee, because 

thy way is perverse before me:

Numbers 22:30-32

     On the surface it seems as though Balaam was doing good by not going to curse Israel, and even spoke with God about this request by Balak: but was he? NO! For he was doing what he wanted and that want was to have profit, in the of gifts from Balak and to do this he was using Jehovah in his plot to fill his pockets and his pride. Was Balaam not a seer of the gods of the Mesopotamian people? Yes! Did not Balaam know about the gods of Mesopotamia and how they were perceived to operate? Yes! It seems as though Balaam was of the belief that the God of the Hebrews was not all that different from the gods of his country: he believed that in some way he could get the answer from God that he wanted. Those three meetings by Balaam witht the dignitaries from Balak reveals Balaam real reason to even consider to go and curse Israel. God said: "do not go" and Balaam was intent on going so God said: "Go." Did God relent on His earlier words to Balaam? NO! Do you want to do wrong? Ok! Go, do it, God will not stop you albeit He may or will put roadblocks, reasons, why you should not but did He not already give His will for our lives? YES! 

     Balaam now in the presence of Balak did what again may seem godly but was it? NO! Balaam had seven altars built to offer burnt sacrifice and again God thwarted the plans of Balaam to get from God what would benefit him: but once again why continue to seek out God when God had already spoken? There must be another reason to do so and that reason is apparent: Balaam wanted profit, fame, power, position. God then opened Balaam eyes in such a way as to convince him that God had blessed Israel and not cursed them: "How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied" (Numbers 23:8)? Furthermore: "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" (Numbers 23:19)? Balaam finally learns his lesson: "And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as it other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness" (Numbers 24:1). What does it mean: enchantments? This word means to be under magical influence, to place a spell, to bewitch, to delight utterly. In this case to cause Balak to be pleased with him so that he might gain from Balak's pleasure and pleasing. Balaam now understood that Jehovah the God of Israel was not to be used as he used the gods of Mesopotamia. God now used Balaam to give a prophecy, not only against the Moabites and Ammonites, but to the future event whereby God would send a redeemer. 

     This vision from God to Balaam was once again God using a bad thing for the good. Did this mean that Balaam became converted and now Jehovah was his God? NO! History tells of what Balaam taught and believe would continue would be for him to follow after pagan gods. God does not need a person to be a believer to be used by God to implement His will. Balaam wanted then and after to fulfill his greed. Balaam wanted to use God in a wrong way, God used Balaam in a right way. 
     Here is the vision God gave to Balaam: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth" (Numbers 24:17). Balaam in this vision spoke of the destruction of many nations: (Numbers 24:18-24). Then Balaam returned to his homeland. There is no evidence that Balaam brought back to his homeland a new belief in the God of Israel. Yet, what Balaam had done was to give to Balak a way to destroy Israel by the use of women (Read Numbers 25). 
     I spent a lot of time over this doctrine of Balaam but I did so because too often when studying this narrative in Revelation it is lightly spoken about without actually teaching about the Doctrine of Balaam and that doctrine was now infecting the Church. It is and has infected our current day Churches, the people of the Church. Greed, fame, power, the need to be seen as something special above all those who attend their meetings. God has allowed this and taking away our sin by doing so, but God will bring out of all this chaotic sin the good. The good that only Authentic Christians will be given, that is eternal life when all sin and sinners are destroyed as God promised through Balaam what would happen to those nations who opposed God. 
     Conclusion: Motive is what God sees, not just action. What is your motive to be a Christian? What do you expect God will do for you other than eternal life? Are you using Christianity as did Balaam, to get, to get, to get, and are your prayers like Balaam who approached God those three times and seven altars to attempt for God to give you what you think you should have. God opposes the doctrine of Balaam and all who follow after that doctrine. Examine all things, hold fast to that which is good" (1Thessalonnians 5:21).

Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place,
     and forgive, and render unto every man  
according to all his ways, whose heart 
     thou knowest: (for thou only knowest the 
hearts of the children of men:) that they 
     may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, 
so long as they live in the land which 
     thou gavest unto our fathers.
              2Chronicles 7:30-31     

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom

Richard L. Crumb  

The Talking Donkey: What We Can Learn From This Narrative

...Now he was riding upon his ass, 

and his two servants were with him. 

And the ass saw the angel of the LORD

 standing in the way, and his sword drawn

 in his hand: and the ass turned aside out 

of the way, and went into the field: 

and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her

 into the way. But the angel of the LORD 

stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being 

on this side, and a wall on that side.

Numbers 22:22b-24 

      Balaam is a man of opportunity as can be seen that he opposed the will of God, first by continuing to seek some new word for God, and second by wanting enrichment from King Balak and to do this he went solidly against what God had said to him, "not to go." Balaam was not to take no even from God. God then allowed Balaam to get on his ass and to go if this is what he wanted to do, but not by approval from God. So then, Balaam go up and started the trip to see King Balak. Balaam was not alone for he took his two servants along with the dignitaries and their entourage of servants. Balaam must have been basking in all this celebrity acclaim towards him, to think that he was getting all this attention from King Balak. The real Balaam is now manifested that he was not a believer in Jehovah, even though he must have known something about him, in fact Balaam was not a believer, nor a Hebrew, but a seer of false gods. Balaam was using God for profit. God then, even though allowing Balaam to go to King Balak became an adversary to Balaam. 

     Now this story becomes a very interesting story that many do not believe or give it only some analogy. Think upon this: A donkey speaks! Really? A donkey speaks? Yes! Hard to believe? Yes! Is it really true? Well, let us examine this to see if it is possible to be true. 

     Balaam does not see the angel of the LORD but the ass does and even is frightened so that he jerked to one side to get away. This angered Balaam for he had not seen the angel so he beat the donkey to get her, for it was a female donkey so the word "ass" to get her back on track. Then the donkey saw the angel of the LORD again and did damage to Balaam's foot: "And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself against the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again" (Numbers 22:25). If this was not enough the angel of the LORD went further and stood in a narrow place to hinder the progress of Balaam. The ass saw the angel of the LORD again and fell down under Balaam and Balaam was very angry and smote the ass again. 

    Now the story turns weird: "And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times" (Numbers 22:28)?   

     This is a lesson for us: it is an amazing and terrifying thought to deliberately and purposefully oppose the will of God. Balaam had received the truth from God but would not accept it carte blanc. If we keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of God of the truth, God will remove His hand from you and will not allow any further sacrifice for sin: (Hebrews 10:26). This does not mean you lose your salvation, but it does mean that you have made God your adversary and you can only expect judgment from Him. How much punishment should you expect from God for making Him your adversary? God put to death those who rejected the law of Moses if there was testimony from two or three witnesses. Think on this: to make God your adversary is to "spit" on the blood of the covenant, to have contempt for Jesus Christ who died, paid your punishment on the cross. The writer of Hebrews succinctly gave us this: "26 For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, 27 but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God’s enemies. 28 Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the son of God, and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy, and insults the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the one who said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31).

     Balaam began his journey to King Balak but God sent His angel to stop him. Who is this angel of the LORD? At best we can say that he was sent by God, and this God had done several times before to the nation of Israel to speak in behalf of God. We who are Authentic Christians are an angel of the LORD and we too are sent to speak in His behalf, to go into the world bringing the truth about Jehovah and Jesus Christ, the Gospel. Some will say that this angel is the preincarnate Jesus Christ. There are arguments to be made on both sides, I prefer to just read and know that God sent an angel to oppose Balaam.

     Balaam does not see the angel of the LORD but the donkey does. I know this: my German Shepherd dog sees things long before I do, smell things before I do, seems to know about things that I cannot see. He stops, listens, even at times barks at things that I cannot see. Animals seem to have a special sense that man does not have so as to be able to survive in a harsh world. Just because an animal becomes domesticated does not mean that he has lost this sense. God uses the donkey to speak to Balaam and Balaam must have been very surprised: a donkey is speaking to him? God is God and can use living and non-living things to accomplish His purposes and in this case He uses a donkey to bring a word to Balaam. Balaam would not listen to God when God spoke to Him, now God uses a donkey: this got Balaam's attention. God will use whatever means that will be affective to oppose you in your sin: do not make God your adversary, you will not be blessed, and furthermore, you will suffer not only chastisement but harm. For instance: Be a man who has sexual union outside of marriage with anyone who will have that union with you and you will have a high probability to have at least one of the 22 STD's. Did God give that to you? NO! You gave it to yourself by your sin. Can God use this to bring you back into the fold of God? Yes! If you will let Him. 

     The Doctrine of Balaam is becoming clear: Greed, false use of God, not following the commands of God and even more associating with those who oppose God or even worse want you to speak against God. Balaam feigned that he knew God but he did not, but he did know something about Jehovah as did all those who know the history of the Hebrews. Knowing something about God is not enough for God to save you, you must in true faith convert to God and follow His commands. This we are coming to understand why this narrative is in the Bible: to teach us something of what it means to be an Authentic Christian, a child of God, to be of the bride of Christ. 

Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD;

    that walketh in His ways.

                      Psalm 128:1

Do not make God your adversary: follow His commands

Richard L. Crumb

 

The Slight Hand Of Balaam

And Balaam rose up in the morning, 

and saddled his ass, and went with the 

princes of Moab. 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. And the ass saw the angel of the 

LORD standing in the way, and his sword

 drawn in his hand: and the as turned aside 

out of the way, and went into the field: 

and Balaam smote the ass,

 to turn her into the way.

Numbers 22:21-23

     This study about Balaam and about the Doctrine of Balaam takes a very surprising turn a turn that many dispute, is very controversial, it even seems preposterous that a donkey would speak and speak so that he could be heard. Maybe you question this about a talking donkey and cannot understand how and why God would use a donkey to speak. So, then, let us look at this story and see how it too will lead us to understand why God speaks against the Doctrine of Balaam.

      First, God told Balaam not to go with the dignitaries from King Balak. God was clear: do not go and do not bring a curse upon Israel. Pretty clear: would you not agree? Remember, Balaam was a seer of a pagan cult from the Euphrates River area and now was being hired to curse Israel by King Balak. Why would Balaam undertake this job? Money, prestige, greed would be the driving force for Balaam to travel some 370+miles just to bring a curse upon Israel. Could not he, as a seer, do this from his home town? Did he have to go to Balak to do what Balak wanted? No! So there must be another reason and that reason can be found that Balaam did not follow the command of God and three times spent time with the men from Balak. Balaam's refusal, as he said, to not even take those gifts offered to him by Balak is a ploy to get even more from Balak, so he feigned to not want anything from Balak. Sort of reminds me of the story about Bre Rabbit when he said to those who wanted to harm him: "do not throw men into the briar bush" but what those men did not know was the Bre Rabbit could go into the briar bush and not be harmed. Bre Rabbit said one thing when he meant another: this is what Balaam was doing for if not then he would immediately obey the words of God. Balaam was not a believer in Jehovah god and only understood God from his belief in the gods of his land that were not supreme gods and could change their mind, etc.

    God said "do not go." But Balaam was intent on going and receiving a better reward from Balak. It seems that God saw the intent of Balaam and then if Balaam wants to go against His will then He will let him. God will do the same for you too! So, Balaam rose up in the morning to go to King Balak, but God reminded him that he was to do what God had already told him to do. There is a bull-headedness in Balaam so he persisted in getting what he wanted from Balak and was willing to use the words of God to get that which he wanted. Why else would Balaam keep returning to get new instruction from God?     

     It is clear what God forbade Balaam to do but Balaam was unwilling to simply do the will of God. We too must be careful to do exactly what God has commanded. Is God changing His mind? No! Remember, Balaam knew the will of God, he just did not want to do it. Balaam wanted to disobey God and go with the men from King Balak for if he went to King Balak he would receive a reward, and knowing that Balak already offered a large gift and reward it seem that Balaam was intent on getting more so he had to go around the will of God.

     Let me remind you: God does not approve of everything He allows. God does not approve of murder and yet millions of unborn babies are murdered every year under the word "abortion." God is not pleased with this or with Balaam and his desire to get his way and his way was and is evil. When God allowed Balaam to go to King Balak it was God's permissive will and God's permissive will is to allow men o do those things which He has forbidden. Just because God allows men to sin does not mean that He approves of sin. 

     Why does God allow sin? God allows you to be human and to use your human brain and to do that effectively, God has revealed what pleases Him. God will use whatever, even sin, to fulfill His purposes. God does not do this so that He will receive glory for God does not need glory from you but you need to glorify God in your life and to that you must follow His commands as He as commanded: nothing added. God may hold back His punishment for a time but there will be a time that God will act against sin. The Great Flood is a good example of God's patience and then His action to destroy sin and if God was not merciful, you would not be here.

     Balaam feigned that He was following God's commands but in reality that was not true. Balaam was using God to gain rewards. Greed was in the heart of Balaam. Use God to get and this is done in so many ways even in some so-called Christians today. It seems as those Christians are doing the will of God but their motive belies there words and actions. 

 So now, Balaam gets up on his donkey and here the story gets strange so I will address this in tomorrows blog God willing.

And they said unto him, Ask counsel,

     we pray thee, of God, that we may

know whether our way which we go 

    shall be prosperous. And the priest

said unto them, Go in peace: before

    the LORD is your way wherein ye go.

                        Judges 18:5-6

God has given you the way: go in it

Richard L. Crumb

.