The Teaching of Balaam

 

Thus, Jesus rebuked the church in Pergamum, because there were some among them who held to the teaching of Balaam. And concerning the teaching of Balaam, He said that Balaam taught Balak, king of Moab, to cast a stumblingblock before Israel, causing them to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit fornication.

 

Numbers 31:15-16 “15And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? 16Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against Jehovah in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of Jehovah.”

 

As this passage says, when Balaam could not curse the children of Israel because God had strictly forbidden him (Num. 22:12, Num. 24:13), he devised a scheme involving the Moabite women, causing the men of Israel to commit fornication and thereby making them join themselves to “Peor,” that is, Baal-peor, the god of the Moabites.

 

Numbers 25:1-3 “1And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab: 2for they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods; and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3And Israel joined himself unto Baal-peor¹: and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel.”

[¹Joined himself: to be attached or joined to something as belonging to it.]

 

God’s wrath concerning this came in the form of a “plague.” Thus, a plague came upon the children of Israel, and it is written that twenty-four thousand died by that plague.

 

Numbers 25:5-9 “5And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one his men that have joined themselves unto Baal-peor. 6And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting. 7And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand; 8and he went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel¹, and the woman², through her body. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel. 9And those that died by the plague were twenty and four thousand.”

[¹The Israelite man who died was “Zimri,” the son of Salu, a prince of a fathers’ house among the Simeonites (Num. 25:14). ²The Midianite woman who died with him was “Cozbi,” the daughter of Zur; and Zur was a head of the people of a fathers’ house in Midian (Num. 25:15).]

 

This tragic result came about through the teaching that Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness, gave to Balak—that is, through the counsel of Balaam. Naturally, Balaam also was killed with the sword when the children of Israel avenged themselves on Midian, because the elders of Midian had been involved in this matter from the beginning (Num. 22:4-7).

 

Numbers 31:1-8 “1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 2Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites... 6And Moses sent them, a thousand of every tribe, to the war, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7And they warred against Midian, as Jehovah commanded Moses; and they slew every male. 8And they slew the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain: Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.”

 

Balaam was the son of Beor, from Pethor in Mesopotamia. He was a man who used enchantments (Num. 24:1), and he was recognized as one with power, to the point that Balak king of Moab sent high-ranking princes and costly rewards to bring him to himself.

 

Numbers 22:5-6 “5And he sent messengers unto Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to 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. 6Come 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; for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”

 

God first told Balaam not to go to Balak king of Moab, and later He told him to go.

 

Numbers 22:9-12 “9And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? 10And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying, 11Behold, the people that is come out of Egypt, it covereth the face of the earth: now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out. 12And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed.”

 

Numbers 22:15-20 “15And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. 16And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me... 20And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men are come to call thee, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak unto thee, that shalt thou do.”

 

However, we must understand that when God permitted him the second time, He was not pleased with Balaam’s going to Balak king of Moab. Rather, knowing Balaam’s heart, which loved honor and money, God was acting in another way.

 

Jeremiah 17:9-10 “9The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it? 10I, Jehovah, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.”

 

We must know through the following event that God allowed Balaam to go not because He was pleased with it, but because He was carrying out another purpose.

 

Numbers 22:22-35 “22And God’s anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of Jehovah placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23And the ass saw the angel of Jehovah standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 24Then the angel of Jehovah stood in a hollow way between the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25And the ass saw the angel of Jehovah, and she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall: and he smote her again. 26And the angel of Jehovah went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27And the ass saw the angel of Jehovah, and she lay down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with his staff. 28And Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times? 29And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed thee. 30And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden all thy life long unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay. 31Then Jehovah opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of Jehovah standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. 32And the angel of Jehovah said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because thy way is perverse before me: 33and the ass saw me, and turned aside before me these three times: unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain thee, and saved her alive. 34And Balaam said unto the angel of Jehovah, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again. 35And the angel of Jehovah said unto Balaam, Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.”

 

Also in this word, we see the absurd conduct of Balaam. Though he himself was going to Balak king of Moab in disobedience to the word of God, he beat his donkey three times because it resisted him, and even said that if there had been a sword in his hand, he would have killed his own donkey with the sword. I pray in the name of Jesus that this may not become our own image today.

 

At last, God allowed Balaam to go to Balak king of Moab. Balak tried three times to make Balaam curse the children of Israel, but each time God met Balaam, put His word in Balaam’s mouth, and instead made him bless the children of Israel.

 

Numbers 23:4-5 “4And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. 5And Jehovah put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.”

Numbers 23:16 “And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus shalt thou speak.”

Numbers 24:1-2 “1And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.”

 

Numbers 24:10 “And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together; and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.”

 

However, even though God met Balaam, put the word of God in his mouth, and the Spirit of God came upon him, the reason we cannot regard Balaam as a true prophet is this: as we have seen above, he forsook the right way, loved the wages of unrighteousness, and followed after them. In the end, he devised a scheme and caused the children of Israel to commit fornication and join themselves to an idol. Therefore, we must never hold the teaching of Balaam. Truly, the end of the way of Balaam, that is, the perverse way of Balaam, is “destruction.”

 

2 Peter 2:12-17 “12But these, as creatures without reason, born mere animals to be taken and destroyed, railing in matters whereof they are ignorant, shall in their destroying surely be destroyed, 13suffering wrong as the hire of wrong-doing; men that count it pleasure to revel in the day-time, spots and blemishes, revelling in their deceivings while they feast with you; 14having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; enticing unstedfast souls; having a heart exercised in covetousness; children of cursing; 15forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; 16but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man’s voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. 17These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved.”

 

Jude 1:10-11 “10But these rail at whatsoever things they know not: and what they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason, in these things are they destroyed. 11Woe unto them! for they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah.”

 

Amen.