[audio]
Numbers 22-24 and assorted scriptures
Preached 6/8/2014
INTRODUCTION
Who is God? That is the most important question of all time. And, although it seems almost blasphemous to say it this way, the real question is “who is God to you?” There are certainly an almost unlimited number of human concepts of God: Cosmic policeman, grumpy uncle, Santa Claus, banker, bank teller, Satan, uninvolved creator, mysterious thunderer, the universe trying to figure out what it is, lenient grandpa, harsh judge, magic genie, abusive parent, nitpicking lawyer or just “the big guy upstairs that I’d like to have a beer with”. God is portrayed as an exalted human or animal (or combination of the two) or as an impersonal force of nature, as fate, as “all that is”, or as that which is unknowable by nature (or design). He (or she) is either portrayed as a part of the universe, or as its creator, or as a local powerbroker among peers. God is seen as sovereign over everything (everything is determined) or as one with some level of foreknowledge, or as a complete victim of what happens. God is portrayed as loving or as callous. Or god is just an psychological extension of our parents. In a novel by Isaac Asimov, the universe was created so that his 9 billion names could be written down.
Paul himself made an interesting speech to the Greeks in Athens. After noting how “religious” they were, he proclaimed to them about the God who was seemingly unknown to them:
Act 17:24-29 ESV 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, "'For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
Though the Greeks had filled their city with idols, Paul said they were missing the boat. God is the creator, and the one that Hebrews 14:13 describes as the one “with whom we have to do” (or “to give account to”). He is the inescapable one. And, though his obvious presence is very seldom perceived by our senses directly, He is very concerned with our relationship to Him and our concept of Him drives that directly. In Genesis, we see Eve choosing disobedience because the fruit would make her “like God”. In other words, to borrow from Paul (in Philippians 2), she “regarded equality with God a thing to be grasped”. When presented with the choice to obey God or follow her example, Adam chose the latter. Therefore God “highly judged” them and their progeny, “to the point of death”. (The last Adam, Jesus, would “not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped”, and would be “highly exalted”) Theology (at least true biblical theology) is therefore the most important endeavor of all!
Though the Old Testament is full of warnings about idolatry, Paul, in Romans 1 put the full issue very clearly:
Romans 1:18-23 ESV 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
So the bottom line is – God is God. He exists quite independently of our approval or even knowledge or theology. He is the un-created, eternal, self-existent one. His glory is unsearchable. He created us not for our fun, but for his own pleasure and glory. He has a will, and a plan, and unchangeable principles. He does not change but is the same yesterday, today and forever. His wisdom is infinite and unsearchable. His love and his justice are both infinite and meet at the cross. He does not ask us for advice, and He needs nothing – not matter, or time, or knowledge.
The real issue is not just an intellectual question-and-answer session, though. As we will see, it is possible to have a correct theology epistemologically but a lousy theology experientially. Paul to Titus speaks of those who “profess to know God, but they deny him by their works.” (Titus 1:16a) To please God, we know that we must “believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb 11:6) If someone believes that God (a) wants us to obey Him, (b) will judge us eternally if we don’t, (c) has the right to judge us, but (d) loves us and can be trusted to have our best interests at heart even more than we do, we are on the road to joy and blessing. But it doesn’t seem to work out that way, does it? In the end, we have our own agenda in life, and it affects even our religious service and our prayers. God is so often an afterthought, even among those that know Him or say that they know Him. We hope He fits into our agendas, and when He doesn’t, we become unhappy. We must be like David, who God described as “a man after my own heart”. We must weep when He weeps, rejoice at what He rejoices over, want what He wants.
Next week we will talk about how Christians can fall into the trap of “it’s all about me”, but this week we will follow Romans 1 and Acts 17 a bit and look at the attitude of the unsaved. Next week will be about family relations with our heavenly Father (a good topic for Fathers’ Day I hope) but this week we will see what we were before salvation (and hopefully not now – are are we?)
The story we will look at is found in Numbers 22-24, which one commentary refers to as ‘The “Balaam” Incident’.
The “Balaam Incident” is remarkable for many reasons:
- The entire narrative is completely outside of Israel and God’s people (the only such case?)
- It shows a non-Jewish prophet having actual dealings with the true God
- There is a strong contrast between Moses’ intercession and Balaam’s
- It is one of only two places in the Bible where an animal uses human speech (a la Disney)
I - BALAK’S PREDICAMENT
The scene is very dramatic. Imagine what it is like for the nations in the middle east.
Millions of people miraculously cross a natural geographical barrier – the Red Sea – and are marching in your direction to find a new home, with a powerful God and his prophet leading them. Stories begin to circulate of pillars of fire and other miracles, even of the ground opening up to consume this God’s enemies.
In chapter 21 three of Moab’s neighbors – the king of Arad, king Sihon of the Amorites, and king Og of Bashan – each attack Israel to try to turn them away. Each of their well-trained armies are defeated by this roving band of slaves and they are all destroyed and their land taken. The mood of the people of Canaan is given later by the prostitute in Jericho who helped the spies in Joshua’s day:
Joshua 2:9-11 9 [she] said to the men, "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.
Cursing an enemy was a common practice in those days. Each country had it’s own gods and battles were often considered battles between each countries’ gods.
1 Kings 20:23 And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.
2 Kings 3:26-27 26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 700 swordsmen to break through, opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his oldest son who was to reign in his place and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel. And they withdrew from him and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 19:11-12 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar?
Balak spares no time or expense, but sends an envoy to the seer:
Num 22:1-7 1 Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, "This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field." So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, "Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message.
Note the “fees for divination”. Balaam evidently gets good rates for his services. I can only imagine what a desperate king like Balak might send!
Balaam receives the official delegation and tells them
Num 22:8 And he said to them, "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
Num 22:9-12 9 And God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?" 10 And Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 'Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.'" 12 God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
Well, that shoots down any hope Balaam has for profit and good advertizing. Where his heart was is obvious from his response to the princes of Moab:
Num 22:13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you."
At least Balaam is obedient, though we can imagine that he sulked a lot after they left. Balak is not about to accept this answer. Imagine! Some little hillside prophet refused the summons (and money and honor) of a KING! “You’ll never work in this town again” might have been the response, but Balak is desperate, so he humbles himself and tries again
2- The Covetous Heart of Balaam
Num 22:14-17 14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us." 15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: 'Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.'"
Num 22:18-19 18 But 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 command of the LORD my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me."
So Balaam saddles his trusty donkey and sets off. But danger is before him:
Num 22: 22-23 22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road.
Num 22:28 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?"
Note that at this point Balaam is in such a fit of pique that the fact that his donkey is having a conversation with him does not seem to phase him in the least. Instead he goes on with his rebuke, but now verbally, admitting that his vanity is wounded, which he would kill for:
Num 22:29-30 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you." 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" And he said, "No."
Now the mighty prophet gets a shock, as God makes it clear that his abilities as a seer are not his own, but only God’s grace to him. Indeed, his donkey was a better prophet than he was, evidently (though just as stubborn)
Num 22:31-33 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live."
Num 22:34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back."
Balaam seems contrite and ready to obey, right? One word, though, shows that his heart is broken and even this obvious object lesson does not make a crack in it. How God’s heart must have been broken at this point. The lesson is lost, and so is Balaam. The only thing left is for Balaam to play his part to deliver God’s messages at this point (he will at least be good for that) but after that, we will see that Balaam fulfills Proverbs 29:1
Pro 29:1 NASB A man who hardens his neck after much reproof will suddenly be broken beyond remedy.
3- The Steadfast Love and Purpose of God vs Human ‘Spirituality’
We will go through the next part of the story rather quickly, because we are not so much chronicling the story of Israel and God’s protection of them as we are the interplay of these two ungodly men and their false images of God. Certainly we begin to see the pictures of their two hearts:- Balak is that type of person who suddenly calls on
God when situations go beyond his control. We suddenly remember God when we are
hit by calamity that we can’t fix in our own strength and our stubborn
self-sufficiency is momentarily challenged. Suddenly the God we have been ignoring
or avoiding becomes our “ace in the hole” or “insurance policy”. Sometimes God uses calamity to turn our
hearts back to Him, and sometimes it just reveals our unbelief. It seems that to Balak,
God is someone that you hire by giving money to hire “the god guy”. Not much more than hiring a magician to
put a spell on somebody. Sometimes
we approach prayer like that, don’t we?
Is God just a cosmic bellboy waiting to serve us if our room needs
another pillow for us?
- Balaam is like the false teacher described in 1 Timothy 6, who supposes that “godliness is a means of gain”. His ‘spirituality’ is a business, God is his silent partner, who puts up the funds but is supposed to stay out of the everyday running of the business. “Unfortunately’ He is a rather strong partner and sometimes messes things up for him. We come to church for the ‘benefits’ and the good name it gives us. We are there because we are godly, not the other way around. Isn’t God lucky to have someone savvy like us running his business?
Num 22:37-38 37 And Balak said to Balaam, "Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?" 38 Balaam said to Balak, "Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak."
How totally sad. Imagine if we shared the gospel like this. How would we word it? “God loves you, I guess – I don’t - but he made me tell you this.” How would that go over, and what heart would it reveal.
Nonetheless, Balak takes Balaam to a high mountain to look at the Israelites (it must be easier to curse people if you are at a higher altitude). Balaam has Balak offer a sacrifice, and then gets his message from God. Sure enough, God blesses Israel instead of cursing them – and what a blessing it is, ending with the words “let my end by like his!” Balak, who is not used to having his ‘requests’ refused, is dumbfounded. Balaam’s warning has not even entered his mind. All he knows is that he has been betrayed by the man that he promised lots of money and honor to:
Num 23:11 And Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them."
It is amazing at this point that Balaam is not killed for his affront to the king. He nearly is:
Num 24:10-11 10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, 'I will certainly honor you,' but the LORD has held you back from honor."
Balak uses biting irony to condemn Balaam. “You blamed God for not doing what I ask, well I blame the same God for not letting me honor you! SO THERE!”
4- The Evil of Hidden Idolatry
24:1 tells us that “Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel”. He KNEW what God wanted. He KNEW! But it made no difference. Now the evil in Balaam’s heart came to the surface. He had lost his honor and his divination fees, and he had lost face before a king, probably damaging his livelihood, certainly his pride. Instead of rejoicing in God’s love for Israel, he now works to undo what God had done.
Num 24:12-14 12 And Balaam said to Balak, "Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 'If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak'? 14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days."
Note that what follows immediately is a great list of prophesies about what is going to happen to Israel and many other nations, including the eventual defeat of Moab at the hands of Israel:
Num 24:17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
If we stopped at chapter 24, it would seem that Balaam was reconciled with God’s will. There is even some revelation about the coming Jewish Messiah. But if we go on to the next chapter, we see God sending a plague on Israel. As we look more deeply we see a sinister plot. The story goes like this:
Num 25:1-3 1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
While the Israelites camped next to Moab, they began to have “cultural exchanges”, eventually intermarrying with the Moabites (in direct disobedience to the law of Moses) and joining in their pagan religious activities – a direct affront to God. There is human and divine judgement, and in the end:
Num 25:9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Amazingly, in chapter 31 Moses himself points to the ultimate cause of this:
Num 31:16 Behold, these [the Moabite women], on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
Do you realize what that means? Balaam, who professed to be a prophet of the true God, who was given his words to speak, and who KNEW what God wanted, nonetheless found a way to make God’s curse come on the people. He KNEW about God’s holiness and gave Balak advice on how to get the nation to be cursed by God. How deep was the evil in his heart! Could we conceive of such black-hearted villany as that? Peter, through the Holy Spirit, gives insight into the heart of Balaam when describing the false prophets in the church in his day:
2 Peter 2:15-16 (NASB) 15 forsaking the right way, they have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he received a rebuke for his own transgression, for a mute donkey, speaking with a voice of a man, restrained the madness of the prophet.
CONCLUSION – IT’S NOT ABOUT ME
The real point of all of this is that we go astray when “It’s all about me”. All of our plots and plans, all of our unrighteous anger, all of our church splits and marriage breakups and broken friendships and shattered testimonies – all of it comes from elevating self above God. In the end, the big judgment point is whether we are on God’s side or our own – just bringing God into the picture to get something we want rather than humbly discerning what is important to Him. To close I want to read the application made by the prophet Micah:Micah 6:5-8 5 O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD." 6 "With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
(next)
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