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Scripture Reading: Num. Num. 22:1-40; 2 Pet. 2:15-16; Jude 1:11
Chapters twenty-two through twenty-five of Numbers deal with the harassment by Balak and Balaam. In this message we will consider the matter of Balak's evil intention (22:1-40).
In Numbers 22 the enemy changed not only his way of fighting but also his mode of fighting. At first, in Exodus, Satan used the Egyptian army to frustrate the children of Israel. When they were about to cross the Red Sea, the Egyptians were right behind them. Later, in the wilderness, God's people had to fight against Amalek (Exo. 17:8-16). As we saw in the last message, the Israelites also fought and defeated the kings of Arad, the Amorites, and Bashan, destroying their cities and taking possession of their land (Num. 21:1-3, 21-35). After defeating these three kings, the children of Israel were ready to cross the Jordan and enter into the good land. The enemy, therefore, changed his mode of fighting against Israel.
"Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moab was distressed because of the sons of Israel" (vv. 2-3). Balak, the king of Moab, was terrified by the children of Israel and their victories. He was afraid that they would defeat him and take over his territory. "Moab said to the elders of Midian, This congregation will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field" (v. 4a). Balak seemed to be saying, "This mighty people will devour me and my land. What can I do to fight against them?" Realizing that he could not defeat Israel militarily or politically, Balak decided to take the religious way.
As Numbers 22 indicates, the religious way is linked to both Moab and Midian. Moab was a son born of Lot and one of his daughters through incest (Gen. 19:30-38). Hence, Moab represents the fruit of fleshly lust. Midian was very close to the children of Ishmael, who represents the flesh, in contrast to Isaac, who represents that which is born of the Spirit. Midian, no doubt, also signifies the flesh. Balaam had much to do with Moab and Midian, for Balak used them to induce Balaam to come and curse Israel. These four — Balak, Moab, Midian, and Balaam — became one.
When the elders of Moab and Midian came to Balaam, he said to them, "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as Jehovah speaks to me" (Num. 22:8a). Balaam was saying that he would speak to God and see what God would say. Balaam seemed to be quite spiritual. At the least, he was quite religious. Balaam, however, was definitely wrong. He knew that Balak wanted him to curse God's people, the children of Israel (v. 6). If Balaam had been faithful to God, he would have said, "Balak, as long as you are planning to destroy Israel, I can have nothing to do with you. I love God, and the children of Israel are God's people." But even though Balaam knew that Balak's evil intention was to damage God's people, Balaam nevertheless told the messengers that he would ask God whether he should go with them or not. How ridiculous!
We today may do something that is just as ridiculous as what Balaam did. For example, suppose someone suggests that you participate in a certain kind of worldly entertainment, and you tell that person that you would like to consider the matter before the Lord and see whether or not the Lord would agree with such participation. In principle, this kind of considering before the Lord would be the same as Balaam's in Numbers 22.
Let us take as another illustration the way we style our hair. Is the Lord happy with your hair style? Suppose a sister wants to style her hair in a very worldly way. She knows that the Lord does not agree with this style, but she tries to pray about it anyway. Her consideration is the same in nature as Balaam's.
There may be many occasions when we know that doing a particular thing is not of the Lord, yet we still try to seek the Lord's leading in the matter. Although we know that the thing is wrong, we may ask the Lord whether we should do it or not. This can lead to self-deception. In Numbers 22 Balaam was actually engaging in self-deception.
In 22:9-14 God stopped Balaam from going. God said to him, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed" (v. 12). Balaam then told the officers of Balak that the Lord would not allow him to go with them.
Balak was really devilish. When the officers told him that Balaam had refused to come with them, Balak again sent officers, more in number and more honorable than they, to induce Balaam to come (vv. 14-15). These officers might have come to Balaam with presents from Balak. They spoke to Balaam on Balak's behalf, urging Balaam to curse the children of Israel for Balak.
"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 word of Jehovah my God, to do less or more. Now, therefore, stay here tonight also, that I may know what more Jehovah will speak to me" (vv. 18-19). If Balaam had been faithful, he would have told Balak's officers that the Lord would not let him go with them. Instead, he told them that he would go to the Lord again and seek His leading. This also was a matter of Balaam's self-deception.
God allowed Balaam to go, and Balaam went (vv. 20-21; 2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11). God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only what I tell you, that shall you do" (Num. 22:20). Balaam, therefore, went with the rulers of Moab (v. 21).
Balaam might have taken the Lord's word to him as the basis for saying that in going with Balak's officers he was doing God's will. Actually, Balaam was pursuing his own will, not God's will. Because he desired to go with Balak's officers, God told him to go. Our situation today may be similar. If we want to do a certain thing and even insist on doing it, the Lord may eventually allow us to do it.
"God's anger burned because he went; and the Angel of Jehovah took His stand in the way as his adversary" (v. 22a). When the ass on which Balaam was riding saw the Angel of Jehovah, she pushed against the wall (v. 25). When she saw the Angel of Jehovah again, she lay down under Balaam (v. 27). Eventually, because Balaam was striking the ass with his staff, God opened the mouth of the ass, and she spoke to Balaam (vv. 28-30). This was a genuine miracle. Then "Jehovah unveiled the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of Jehovah standing in the road and His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face" (v. 31).
Notice that in our text the Angel of the Lord is capitalized to indicate that this angel is Christ. In the Old Testament the expression "the Angel of Jehovah" refers to Christ. For example, when Moses was called by God, he was called directly by the Angel of Jehovah, directly by Christ (Exo. 3:2, 4). If we read Numbers 22 carefully, we will see that the Angel of Jehovah here is the very God Himself. The Lord Himself was dealing with this greedy prophet.
Although Balaam came to know the real situation, seeing that the Angel of Jehovah was standing in the road in front of him, he did not go back. Instead, he kept on going. Balaam knew that it was wrong to go. He said to the Angel of Jehovah, "I have sinned, for I did not know that You stood against me in the road. Now therefore, if it is evil in Your sight, I will go back again" (v. 34). However, the Angel of Jehovah allowed him to go but said to him, "Only the word which I will speak to you, that shall you speak" (v. 35).
When Balaam appeared, Balak welcomed him at the capital of Moab (vv. 36-40). As we will see in the following messages, Balak did not get what he wanted, but God gained what He wanted. Although Balaam was a greedy prophet, he was still under God's control.
The record concerning Balaam in Numbers 22 contains a valuable lesson that we all need to learn today. The lesson here is that we should not seek the Lord's will as long as we have the desire to do certain things. If we have a particular desire, yet still want to seek God's will, the result may be self-deception. We need to learn to seek the Lord's will without having any other desire. This means that we should be able to pray in simplicity, "Lord, I am here seeking Your will. My only desire is to know Your will and do it." If this is our situation, we will eventually know the Lord's will. However, if we seek the Lord's will but are actually inclined to carry out our own desires, we may deceive ourselves, even as Balaam deceived himself.
