June 5, Balaam’s Donkey, II

“Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture’ saith the LORD.” (Jeremiah 23:1)

When pastors of the flock of God’s chosen destroy and scatter the sheep, they can be guaranteed to face the wrath of God. Balaam, who was a prophet of the Lord, was commanded to help God’s chosen, but he shirked his job.

In my youth, people found the story of Balaam’s donkey amazing. As a child, I listened wide-eyed when my mother read it to me. Many preachers have avoided the subject of the talking donkey because it is written on one more page of the Holy Bible that we must believe...one more miracle that we must accept at face value. I have heard ministers say they were glad they did not have to believe the word of God in order to do their jobs. I wonder whether they are doing their work the way Balaam did.

As people have become more aware of the supernatural, they are not really surprised by this story. The sad fact is that people are believing pagan lore instead of the supernatural power of God.

Jesus rebuked the church of Pergamus in the book of Revelation. In Pergamus there was a huge altar to the idol of Zeus, the Greek god of thunder. Some people in the church were mixing their worship of Jesus Christ with the worship of Zeus. (Their pagan worship involved fornicating before the idols. To us in what we consider a more sophisticated era, this practice seems incredible; yet it is not unlike the use of pornography in our culture today.)

This idolatry was similar to that going on in Canaan when the Israelites took the Promised Land. Balaam, used by Satan, was influential in leading the people to worship the crude idols of the Moabites and to forsake God.

It is amazing to think that people could ever be so foolish as to worship idols, and it is astonishing that people were worshiping idols not long ago in history. Actually, idol worship has never stopped, and it is thriving in our churches today as pastors lead congregations into the idolatry of the mystical religions . “Innocent”practices not openly associated with idolatry have deep roots in worshiping statues that cannot think or speak.

I have digressed! Back to the story. King Balak said that he had noticed that if Balaam blessed something it was blessed and if he cursed something it was cursed. The kings said, “Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land”. (Numbers 22:6)

King Balak sent representatives with “the rewards of divination” in their hands to entice Balaam into arranging with God to curse the children of Israel. The greedy prophet bargained with God and found himself in serious trouble. Tomorrow we’ll finish the story.

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June 4, Balaam’s Donkey, Part I

“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” (Revelation 2:14)

In this verse in Revelation, Jesus rebukes the church at Pergamus for following after the doctrine of Balaam.

What is the doctrine of Balaam? It means placing a stumbling block before the people of the church by engaging in practices that keep them from coming to God. These practices centered on including idol worship in their church, thus denying the sovereignty of Christ. Rather than following the pure word as it had been presented, they allowed evil to enter their church.

The history of Balaam is found in Numbers 22. The children of Israel were close to entering the Promised Land, and they were approaching the area of Moab, which was under the control of King Balak (sometimes spelled Balac.) The hoards of Israelites frightened Balak.

---And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, “Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field.”

---And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.” (Numbers 22:3-5)

Balaam was a prophet who communicated with God. Although God clearly told Balaam what he was to do and say, Balaam allowed his greed to turn him away from God while pretending to be a faithful follower of God. He was a man who enjoyed a privileged religious position without giving his heart to the Lord. The leaders of the church at Pergamus, mentioned in Revelation, were like Balaam, and so are many pastors in permissive churches today!

Balak bought Balaam off by giving him mounds of money, by showering him with prestige, and by treating him like royalty. Instead of blessing Israel as God commanded, he went to visit King Balak and show him how to corrupt the hearts of the Israelites. The prophet told the king to send beautiful girls to intermarry with the men of Israel so they would worship false gods.

That’s a summary of what the wicked prophet did. First he bargained with Balak’s men to pay him a good price. Then he bargained with God Himself, who warned him not to do the evil thing that he did anyway. We leave Balaam mounted on his donkey on the way to see King Balak. Tomorrow we’ll talk about the disaster that occurred on the trip. This event is one of the most amazing in the entire Bible.

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