Balaam Encounters the Sovereign Lord

22.10.05

When Abram and his nephew Lot came up from Egypt, “their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.”¹ So they departed, and Lot chose the valley of Jordan² and settled near the city of Sodom. When God destroyed the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, He remembered³ Abraham’s intercession and spared Lot’s life. So having lost their fiancees to the brimstone, Lot’s daughters preserved their family line by sleeping with their drunken father. Lot’s oldest daughter had a son, and named him Moab.⁴ The Moabites served the war-like god Chemosh,⁵ as portrayed by the Moabite Stone.⁶

Centuries later, Abraham’s descendants came up from Egypt under the leadership of Moses. In time they came to the plains of Moab and camped there.⁷ Now Balak, the king of Moab saw how Israel took possession of the Amorites’ land⁸, putting king Sihon to the sword. King Sihon had taken land from Moab’s former king,⁹ so it is understandable that Balak dreaded Israel.

Balak sent messengers to a prophet named Balaam, requesting that he put a curse on Israel. He provided fees for divination¹⁰ – a practice which is against the command of God¹¹ – so we know Balaam wasn’t a prophet of God. As a pagan prophet, it is possible that he considered Yahweh to be one of the many gods, and consulted with Him just as any other. Yet he knew that he “could not do anything… contrary to the command of the LORD”¹² Still Balaam’s way was contrary to God.¹³ This seems much like the story of Job, where Satan could bring no harm to Job without first consulting with God.¹⁴

In 1967, an excavation at Dier ‘Alla revealed 119 fragments of a plaster wall text. The text begins with “Warnings from the Book of Balaam the son of Beor. He was a seer of the gods.”¹⁵ That is the same Balaam son of Beor mentioned in the Bible as residing in Pethor.¹⁶ The name “Pethor” was also found¹⁷ in Dier ‘Alla, suggesting that it is the same town with a different name. Unsurprisingly, his prophesy makes no mention of the LORD God, rather the gods come to Balaam one night with a vision of impending doom.

It would seem that Balaam was obedient to fear, so it is fitting that he encounter the angel of the LORD – sword drawn and ready to take Balaam’s life. Despite being renowned for pronouncing blessings and curses¹⁸, Balaam was blind to the angel in his path. The donkey he rode was more spiritually aware than the prophet.¹⁹

The “LORD opened the eyes of Balaam”²⁰ so that he saw the angel of the LORD. The angel reinforces God’s previous statement, “speak only the word which I tell you,” which is exactly what Balaam does. In a series of oracles, Balaam pronounces blessings over the people of Israel, infuriating king Balak.²¹ God establishes His sovereignty as King²² over all, turning the curse of Balaam into a blessing for Israel.²³ Balaam follows Balak to three places, making sacrifices, and attempting to curse Israel. Utterly failing to do so, he instead advises Balak²⁴ as to what Israel will do to the Moabites.

The daughters of Moab invited the people of Israel to make sacrifices to their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.²⁵ This invitation was according to the counsel of Balaam.²⁶ It could be that the proclamation of doom at Dier ‘Alla was the motivation for the daughters of Moab to increase sacrificial and promiscuous activity, as a means to appease their gods. The building the wall text was found on could even be one of the establishments where God’s people turned away and worshipped other gods.

Jesus denounces those who hold to the teaching of Balaam, “who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” The similar false prophets of Peter’s time had “eyes full of adultery that never cease from sin”²⁷ – lusting after every woman they saw – and their hearts were “trained in greed.” Such ways are contrary to God, but to those who repent, Jesus promises a new name as well as hidden manna²⁸ – that is a new character and the heavenly provision of what we need to replace what we once sought.

Like Balaam, it is possible to believe in God, and even communicate with God, while still living contrary to His ways. The demons also believe, and shudder.²⁹ To live outside of salvation and outside the power of the Spirit is no life at all. The story of Balaam is not merely history, the same greed and immorality pre-existed him with Sodom and with the descendants of Cain, and continues to exist today. I fear, this time God may not provide a talking donkey or angel of the LORD to wake us up to this reality. We who put our lives in Christ’s hands are the new generation of messengers to a lost and dying world.

As we play our roles in God’s mission, don’t lose sight of the Sovereign rule of God. God proclaims “I was not willing to listen to Balaam. So he had to bless you, and I delivered you from his hand.”³⁰ To Balaam that may have been upsetting, but to those who count themselves children of God, it is a very comforting thought. While other gods (demons) do exist, and even have the power to curse, it is God who has the final Word. When God allows testing or temptation, do not fall into sin like Israel, but look to God for the way out.³¹