7/31/19 

Numbers 22:7  II Peter 2:15-16

⁷ So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message. 

¹⁵ Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing,

¹⁶ but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

There are many strange people in the Old Testament and a few in the New.  But for me the strangest of all is Balaam.  There are many questions surrounding Balaam.  The first is who is he?

Balaam knows the name Yahweh, the name of the Covenant God of Israel.  And he seems familiar with the tribes of Israel.  He seems to have some kind of familiar relationship with the Lord.  But both the Old and New Testament make it plain that he was a wicked, greedy false prophet.  There is nothing redeeming in Balaam.

There are three plain warnings.

1.       Balaam is told not to go with the men who came after him.  No matter how alluring the offer, Balaam should have, if he didn’t, know that God does not change His mind.

2.      Balaam had enough opportunity to know not to go.  And he was given a way to turn back at the last moment but did not take it.

3.      Nothing happened to Balaam that he did not deserve.  He was a wreck looking for a place to happen.