Balaam

I remember as a child hearing of Balaam and his talking donkey (I know, the KJV says ass, but – again as a child – we found using that word sufficiently funny that it distracted somewhat from the story.)

We thought more about Dr. Dolittle or Dr. Seuss and wondered which of our favorite animals would talk to us and what they might say … what, we’re off the track again? Balaam’s story has the ability to become distracted easily.

Well, our pastor preached on this very subject Sunday night – and we had that short moment of laughter as we wondered what our animals might say, but he returned us to the correct subject each time we allowed ourselves to be distracted. We covered Balaam’s story from Numbers to Revelation.

Did you know that Balaam covered so much territory? Numbers hold the story, and it covers several chapters. But you must read of him in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Nehemiah, Micah, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation before you get to the last reference.

And it took almost all of those 59 verses to get a perspective on a man who had a great reputation: …I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed. (Numbers 22:6b)

Yep, Balak had a job that needed done: Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: (Numbers 22:6a); so Balak sent for a man that he knew could get the job done. God had told Balaam how to handle that job:

And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed. (Numbers 22:12)

Used to being treated as the king he was, Balak tried again. Balaam asked God again, and the answer remained:

And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. (Numbers 22:20)

To me, Balaam missed one step of the instructions in Numbers 22:20 – he did not wait for the men to call him, he just rose up in the morning and went. God gave him an inch, and he took a mile.

His only protection was his transportation’s ability to see God’s angel. Being a good protector of its owner, it turned aside, taking blows for that effort. Finally Balaam pays attention and sees the problem.

Sounds a bit like us in some of our decisions? Well, it gets worse. Balaam gives God every opportunity to allow him to earn Balak’s wages and honor. How do we know he wanted those? He kept pushing for God to allow him to curse Israelites. Consistent in His plan, God said “No.”

For all of this time, Balaam did not leave Balak. The result of this sticking around was written:

And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword. (Numbers 31:8)

The lesson? We can know what God has told us, but not complete what He has told us to do. We take the chance on becoming an example used through the ages of one who failed God by building stumblingblocks instead of showing His way.