Reading along in Numbers, I noticed that the weird story of Balaam the prophet was going to start in Numbers 22. At the same time, I was reviewing scripture verses in The Navigators’ Topical Memory System and came upon the well-known “God is not a man that he should lie…”

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, KJV)

I was shocked. That’s in the story of Balaam? I had thought it was something God said to Moses or Isaiah. For example:

Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. (Isaiah 59.1, KJV)

But no, it’s in one of Balaam’s “oracles.” As I say, a weird story. Who is this guy?

Balak, king of Moab, had just seen Israel defeat several neighboring kingdoms, and so he goes to Balaam:

…So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 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. 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.” (Numbers 22.4 – 6, ESV, emphasis mine)

We’re not told how Balaam, not an Israelite, had this power – this relationship with the true God.

On the first visit, God clearly tells Balaam not to go, and he doesn’t go. Then:

Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’” 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. (Numbers 22.15 – 18, ESV)

This time he goes, but God is not happy, and we have the well-known story of the angel of the Lord and the talking donkey which ends this way:

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?” 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.” 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.” 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. 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. 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.” (Numbers 22.28 – 33, ESV)

This moves us into chapter 23 where Balaam blesses Israel instead of cursing them. (You can read the whole story in Numbers 22 – 24.) What I found interesting is that twice Balaam goes through an elaborate ritual of offering sacrifices: seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams, and God gives him words of blessing for Israel. Of course, Balak, king of Moab, is very upset about this, so in chapter 24, Balaam decides to skip all that, perhaps thinking that if he doesn’t go through the ritual, God won’t speak, and Balaam can say what Balak wants to hear. However…

When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him… (Numbers 24.1, 2, ESV)

“The Spirit of God came upon him.” Really? Balaam is clearly not much of a guy. But God puts his Spirit on him to not only bless Israel again (Numbers 24.3 – 9) but also to give an important Messianic prophecy:

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.” And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 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. (Numbers 24.14 – 17, ESV, emphasis mine)

The story ends simply:

Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way. (Numbers 24.25, ESV)

Actually, the story of Balaam does NOT end here. Stay tuned.

But today’s lesson? God can and will use anyone or anything – a money-motivated prophet or a talking donkey – if that’s what’s required to get his word out.

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” (Luke 19.37 – 40, NIV)

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. (Philippians 1.15 – 18, ESV)

But it would be better if we did it in cooperation with God, yes?

But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!” (Numbers 11.29, ESV)