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Numbers 22:1-7, 2 Peter 2:15-16

Laurie Zickgraf

Today’s scripture readings are about a king, elders of Moab and Midian, a pagan prophet, an Angel of the Lord, and a donkey.

When you read Numbers chapter 22, we see Balak, the King of Moab who is watching the people of Israel camping in the plains of his country. He and his countrymen were terrified because the Israelites were a huge group of people. The king was afraid they would attack and that his soldiers wouldn’t be able to defeat them. So Balak decides to get some help. He knows a man, some say this man is a prophet and others say he is a sorcerer. Whatever he is, Balaam, is known to bless or curse someone for money and they say the curses and blessings work. So, Balak sends money with the elders of Moab and Midian to hire this man. When the elders talk to Balaam, he asks them to spend the night to see if the Lord will speak to him.

The Lord does speak to Balaam and tells him in no uncertain terms that Balaam is NOT to curse the Israelites. God says these people are blessed. In the morning Balaam tells the elders that “the Lord has refused to let me go with you” (22:13)

The elders return to Balak and like many kings he believes everyone has a price so he sends the elders back to Balaam with more money and they ask again - will Balaam come; will he curse the Israelites?

Now, this is where the story gets interesting. The first time the elders talked to Balaam we got the feeling that Balaam was a prophet because God spoke to him, and he did what God said. But during the second encounter, instead of repeating what God said, Balaam tells the elders I can’t go with you but stay the night and let me see what the Lord says to me. Now we start to wonder if Balaam is more interested in the money that he would earn for this job than doing what God said.

That night, the Lord tells Balaam go ahead, go with the elders but… only say and do what I (God) tell you to do. The next morning Balaam saddles his donkey and he and 2 of his men leave with the elders.  

We now move from interesting to confusing as we read in verse 22 that “God’s anger was kindled because he went”. While it appears that God told Balaam to go and then got mad when he did - there is more to the story. What God knows and we don’t is that Balaam is not a great guy. He is guilty of avarice. This is a man that loves money more than God. He puts money above everything else in his life and God knows this because He knows each of us.

God said go but do and say only what I tell you, Balaam was thinking maybe he could get God to allow him to do the job for the king, get paid and then everyone would be happy.

 The Angel of the Lord enters the story at this point and stands in front of Balaam and his donkey, blocking their way. Balaam can’t see the anything, but the donkey can see the angel with his sword drawn and he turns to the side and goes into the field. The donkey ends up between two walls and once again the angel blocks the way. The donkey is frightened and leans against one of the walls, pressing Balaam’s foot between the donkey and the wall. The donkey sees the angel, still blocking their path and with nowhere to go, the donkey lays down.

 Throughout this ordeal, Balaam, who can’t see the angel is getting really mad at the donkey. Every time the donkey moves away from the angel, Balaam yells at him, trying to get him back on the road.  When the donkey lays down, Balaam gets really mad and hits the donkey with his staff. At this point the donkey begins to speak and asks Balaam “Why are you hitting me?  “I’ve been your donkey for a long time, and I have never disobeyed you before have I?” Balaam agrees that until now he has been a faithful and hard-working donkey.

 And then, the Lord opens Balaam’s eyes, and he sees the angel with his sword. Well, Balaam is beside himself and tells the angel, ‘I have sinned – I’ll go home – I will do anything God wants me to do’.

Since Balaam confessed that he had sinned, the angel tells him to go with the elders, but he repeats the warning that Balaam can only say what God wants him to say.

When Balaam meets the king later that day, he tells the king “I can only say what God wants me to say.’ The next morning Balak takes Balaam to see the Israelites. Preparations are made for sacrifices to God and one point Balaam walks away to wait for instructions from God. When Balaam returns to Balak he repeats what God told him to say. When he is done Balak looks at him and says, what are you doing, you didn’t curse them, you blessed them.

Balak thinks that maybe Balaam was overwhelmed by the number of people that were camping before them so he takes him to another area where they can’t see all of the Israelites. Again, preparations are made for sacrifices then Balaam waits to hear from God.   Balaam then blesses the Israelites for a second time.

 At this point, I’m beginning to think that Balak, the king isn’t too smart, or he doesn’t know our Lord because he takes Balaam to a third place, hoping that God will allow him to curse the people of Israel.  Of course, Balaam blesses the people a third time.

 God has a plan. That plan cannot be changed by mere men. God’s plan will succeed and nothing or no one can stop Him. When someone tries to interfere, God can and will stop them – or he will use them to further His plan. In Balaam’s case God uses him to bless the people of Israel. He uses him to show Balak and his kingdom that the Israelites are blessed by a power so great that they cannot destroy these people.

 I remember hearing this story as a child. Mostly I remember the talking donkey. When I was telling a friend what I was going to talk about today I realized that I didn’t remember the angel in the story. Re-reading these scriptures as an adult I saw so many layers in it that we never see as children.

 We saw how someone can believe in God while still planning on doing whatever they want. Balaam waits for God to talk to him but tries to use the situation to his advantage. His desire for money is greater than his fear of God but the angel makes sure Balaam understands that God is in control.  

 Something else caught my attention. In vs 16 &17 Balaam tells Balak a prophecy about Jesus when he says:

 16 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, (who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened): 17 “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.

This part of the story with Balak ends with Balaam blessing the Israelites and telling Balak about his people and their future. If we didn’t know what happened to Balaam in the future it might have been an uplifting story of a man brought to God. Sadly, this is not the way the story of Balaam ends.

 Later in the book of Numbers we find out that Balaam continued as before and didn’t use the events with Balak as a sign to change his life. Eventually Balaam convinces the people of Moab to hurt the Israelites by causing them to sin against their God. (Num 25:1 and 31:16).

Balaam had a unique opportunity to become a true man of God. A true prophet who could have led people to God and not away from Him. Instead of going home after blessing the Israelites he went to Moab. I can easily believe that the king kept trying to get Balaam to help get rid of these people and that was when Balaam told him to make the Lord angry with His people. Send the women to turn the men away from their God. I wonder how much Balak paid him for his services.

 In the end, Balaam, Balak, the elders, and many others were killed when the Lord told Moses to avenge the people of Israel. God’s plan was not affected. A man, who had the incredible experience to speak with God, who saw an Angel of the Lord and heard a donkey talk. A man who saw a vision from the Almighty, a vision of the promised Messiah, he let this all slip through his fingers. He allowed the sin of avarice to win over his soul. During his life, instead of hanging onto the Lord he based his actions on the here and now, on his love of money and allowed it to rule his life and ultimately cause his death.

 When we read a story like this, we need to decide what it means for us. If an angel stood before you with his sword drawn, what would you do?  Would you be afraid, curious?  Years ago, I met a patient, a man who was having a lot of health problems. He was worried that he wasn’t going to survive his current hospitalization. Then one night he had a dream or a vision or a hallucination. He saw the Archangel Michael holding his sword and standing by his bed. I asked if he had been frightened and he said no, he knew that Michael was guarding him and protecting him and that he would be ok.

 Angels are mentioned throughout the Bible. We are heading into the Christmas season, a time when angels are a big part of the story. From Jesus’ birth, His escape to Egypt, His return to Galilee, His temptation, His death, and His resurrection. There are angels everywhere.

 I believe that angels touch many of us in ways that we aren’t aware of. We may not see the angel, but we may have a ‘gut’ feeling that we need to do something or stop doing something. When we sense something more than we can see, we need to pray and ask if this comes from God. When we know that it’s good, be it angel or God we need to follow it.

 As we look forward to the celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ, look for the angels. Listen to that small still voice inside of you that will guide you in all that you do.

 Amen