Word of Salvation – September 2013

 

Numbers 22 – WHO’S THE REAL DONKEY?

By Rev. John Westendorp

(Sermon 22 in a series on Numbers)

Scripture reading: Numbers 22.

Singing: Book of Worship 111 / 425 / 404 / 525

 

Introd: Some people see things that other people don’t see.

For example an art critic will see things in an abstract painting… that I don’t see.
Where I just see random splashes of colour she will see a design that contains a story.

An interior decorator sees things in a home that’s for sale… that I don’t see.
He will see a certain ambience and mood while I just spot the cobwebs in the corner.

Sometimes the ability to see what others do not see carries over into the spiritual realm.
I once knew a lady who could sometimes see things happening before they did.
One day I drove past her street and on impulse decided to visit. Her greeting blew me away.
She said, “I had to go out but decided to stay home because I knew you were coming.”

The big question of course is whether those things are from God or from demons.
This lady was married to a Hindu and had dabbled in occult stuff before becoming a Christian.
She had prayed for God to take away from her those cultivated psychic abilities.
But there were still moments in her life when she saw clearly what others didn’t see.

We live in a world where clairvoyants and astrologers claim to see what you don’t see.
And in magazines and in your daily newspaper they offer to predict your future.
Although I’m always surprised why they need to ask for your credit card number.
If they were genuine you would think they would already know the details.
So there are certainly charlatans and fakes amongst them.
But the point is that there are also those who genuinely see things others don’t see.

Balaam, the son of Beor, was one of those people.
Twice he later introduces his prophecies with the words:
“The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly…!”

A] THE MAN HIRED TO CURSE ISRAEL.

1. In Numbers 22 Balaam is sent for by Balak, the king of Moab… obviously out of fear.

And we are told the reason for his fear:
There’s this massive encampment of Israelites on Moab’s borders.
So the Moabite elders call on Midian to form an alliance with them.
They speak of Israel as a “horde that will lick up everything as an ox licks up the grass of the field.”

And there’s a further problem that adds to Moab’s terror.
King Sihon had earlier defeated Moab and taken away a huge part of Moab’s territory.
But now Israel had decisively defeated Sihon in battle and taken his territory.
That makes Israel a superpower to be feared.

Ancient kings generally thought they had two options when it came to defeating enemies.
One option was war: to defeat them in battle… a rather futile undertaking in this case.
Even with Midian’s help Moab sees no chance of defeating Israel in battle.
A second option was religious: to curse the enemy and so to cancel out their power.
So Balak sends for Balaam who has a reputation for success with curses.

Balaam is what we would call a psychic… a soothsayer… a clairvoyant.
Notice that in vs.7 Balak’s messengers take with them what it calls “the fee for divination”.
Divination consists of occult rituals and practices that were forbidden by God.
In Deut.18:14 God warns Israel not to involve themselves in these pagan practices.
It’s very clear in Scripture that God does not approve of psychics and clairvoyants.

2. That makes it all the more surprising that Balaam seems to be a worshipper of God.

Repeatedly he takes the name of Israel’s God, Yahweh, on his lips.

Notice how he speaks of Yahweh as his God in vs.18.

And yet Balaam is condemned repeatedly elsewhere in Scripture.

In the NT he is specifically condemned on three counts.
In 2Peter 2:15 he is spoken of as being greedy… greedy for financial gain.
He wanted that nice Moabite money… that fee for divination… that reward from Balak.

As this chapter unfolds we see how keen Balaam is for that money.

At this point some have compared Balaam to a politician who schemes to get his way.

So as with all politicians it’s not just a matter of what he says, it’s also important what he doesn’t say.

The messengers come… and Balaam tells them he’ll first have to ask God’s view on the matter.
Next morning he tells them that the Lord has refused to let him go with them.
Something that sounds like: “Sorry guys, I’d love to come and help out but God won’t let me.”

Does he tell them that the Lord’s first question was: “Who are these men with you?”
No! Hey… why does God ask that anyway…?
Did God need to find out from Balaam who they were? Of course not!
God asked that question to make Balaam think: These are just men… Moabite men.
Messengers from the Moabite king who wants you to curse these special people…?

Does he tell the messengers that he mustn’t curse these people because they are blessed?
No! Balaam is silent about all of that… because deep down he really wants to go to Balak.

And look at Balaam’s reaction when Balak sends a more honourable, a more high ranking deputation.
He again asks them to stick around while he talks to God about it again that night.
Why? What part of “Do not go with them!” did Balaam not understand?
He’s hoping God might change his mind so that he can still get his hands on that reward money.
And when the Lord then gives a qualified okay… he can’t get there fast enough.
First thing in the morning he saddles his donkey and he’s off.

Balaam is a guy who is keen to make money out of his religion.
And that makes Peter’s warning about Balaam and greed very relevant for us today.
We live in an age when many television preachers preach wealth and prosperity.
Hillsong’s Brian Houston has written a book “You need more money”.
In contrast Paul warned Timothy of those who think godliness is a means of financial gain.

3. But Balaam is condemned in Scripture for another two reasons as well.

Balaam later discovers the truth of the fact that God will not let him curse Israel.
So he leaves king Balak with some advice to throw a Baal-party for Israel.
We’re told about that later in Numbers 25… and the sad consequences it had for Israel.

Well, Jesus condemns Balaam for that in Rev.2:14 – in His letter to the church at Pergamum.
Balaam taught Balak to entice Israel to eat food offered to idols… at a party to Baal.
And because Baal worship included sensuality, to involve Israel in sexual immorality.

Balaam talks nicely about “the Lord my God” but he also dabbles in other religions.
Hey… what’s wrong with combining some Baal worship with Yahweh worship?
We call it ‘syncretism’… you take a bit of this religion and something else from another religion.
And so there are people today who believe in Jesus… but also in reincarnation.
What’s wrong with combining things? A little syncretism doesn’t hurt. But it does!
Baal worship was associated with prostitution and it almost destroyed Israel.
And the person responsible for that was Balaam. He later coached Balak for money.

B] THE DONKEY WHO TEACHES A MAN.

1. This story in the Bible is famous of course for its scene with the donkey.

Donkeys are known for their pig-headed stubbornness – and that’s appropriate isn’t it?
Balaam is almost just as stubborn in his determination to get his hands on Balak’s reward.
Or maybe you’re inclined to think of donkeys as a picture of stupidity.
Well, it’s hard to beat Balaam’s stupidity in trying to go against God.
It makes us wonder who the real donkey is in this story.

I began by saying that some people see things that other people don’t see.
And that Balaam was one of those people.
These people… in OT times were therefore often call seers. They saw things.
But now the fascinating thing is that this donkey sees what the ‘seer’ cannot see.

The donkey sees an angel with an outstretched sword standing in the road.
So it takes evasive action and heads off into the field only to get a beating for its troubles.
The angel then stands in a place where there is no room for the donkey to leave the road.
In between two walls. As the donkey squeezes past the angel she squashes Balaam’s foot.
And again she gets a beating for her troubles.

Finally the angel stands in a place where there is no room to get past the angel.
So the donkey ends up lying down under Balaam and this time she really cops it.
For a third time she is beaten… this time we’re specifically told Balaam beat her with his staff.

That’s quite a scene when you think about it.
For people like Balaam that staff was very special… it was like the staff Moses carried.
You’ll remember that back in Egypt all the magicians had staffs.
They threw them on the ground just as Aaron threw his staff on the ground.
And they all turned into snakes.
A staff like that was part of a magician and soothsayer’s tools of trade.
They were often ornately carved and even inlaid with precious stones.
And now Balaam uses that staff to give his humble donkey a good beating.

2. It’s at that point that God opens the mouth of the donkey to rebuke the prophet.

Let me take you once more to 2 Peter 2 where the apostle condemns Balaam for his greed.
Peter says: He was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey – a beast without speech –
who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

God pulls Balaam up in his tracks by making this animal speak.

It seemed a little odd to me, at first, that Balaam doesn’t find this at all strange.
If I’d been there I would have freaked out. Wow! A talking donkey! What’s going on here?
I can think of two possible explanations.
One possibility is that Balaam is so angry that it doesn’t even sink in that his donkey is talking.
He’s just so furious that he’s not going to get to Balak and all that lovely money.

The other possibility comes from the fact that Balaam is a dabbler in the occult.
Remember… he’s the soothsayer… the diviner… the clairvoyant.
And in his days he’s seen other strange things… nothing surprises him anymore.
And so he accepts the reality that his animal has just told him off.

This talking donkey has led some folk to doubt that this story every really happened. It’s a myth.
In real life donkeys don’t talk… this is not true history. Wrong! It is!
If we believe in God we have no trouble with this story… in fact God has a special purpose here.
In our schools we often have teachers who concentrate on special education to needy kids.
Well, here God gives Balaam some “special education” but He does that through this donkey.

3. So what lessons are there to be learnt here? What is God teaching through Balaam’s donkey.

I was curious what other preachers did with this story so I checked some sermons on the Internet.
One drew the conclusion that animals are really intelligent… they just can’t talk.
Your dog… your cat has been created by God as an intelligent being.
And the speaking of Balaam’s donkey is supposed to prove that.
This preacher forgot the possibility that God not only gave the donkey speech.
But it seems most likely to me that the Lord also gave it the words to say.

Another preacher drew the conclusion that we need to be kind to our animals.
And we as Christians ought to be into animal rights.
He suggested that we must watch the extremes that put animals above humans.
But he argued that the donkey’s rebuke of Balaam basically supports animal rights.

None of that is even close.
The talking donkey is only the means God uses to pull Balaam up in his tracks.
In fact it’s simply to prepare Balaam for that encounter with the ‘Angel of the Lord’.

God opens Balaam’s eyes and suddenly… instantly he sees the terrible danger he is in.
There just in front of him is that awesome supernatural being in all his glory.
And he’s carrying a sword that is probably just an arm’s length away from Balaam’s chest.

Incredible. Balaam is so angry that he wished he had a sword to kill his donkey.
And in the instant his eyes are opened he sees a sword pointing directly at him.
What a mercy of God that the donkey evaded the angel.

Only in this way was Balaam now ready to really listen to God.

John Calvin said about Balaam:
“Having made some progress in the school of the donkey he begins to listen to God.”

C] THE GOD WHO PROTECTS HIS CHURCH.

1. And that’s the heart of the story and the real lesson of the story.

The heart of Numbers 22 is not Balaam… and it’s not his donkey.
We must remember that God is always the hero of every Bible story. And that applies here too.

Sure… we can draw all kinds of ‘side’ lessons from Balaam’s talking donkey.
Maybe we could concede that animals have a certain amount of intelligence.
And sure… even our animals should know by the way we treat them that we’re Christians.
But that is not why this story is in the Bible.

This story is in the Bible to show that God is working out his purposes.
And when God works out his plans and purposes He can even use a donkey.
How encouraging is that?
I’ve often drawn comfort from this story in moments when my words seemed inadequate.
If God can communicate His will through a donkey then He can certainly do that thru me.
If the Lord can pull up a mad prophet by making this dumb animal talk…
then He can certainly use your speech to get the attention of an unbeliever at work.

Paul spoke about the strange ways of God to the Corinthians.
Paul said: The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men.
A speaking donkey… it’s foolishness. Many even say: It’s too foolish to be believed.
But in Numbers 22 we see God using what is foolish to work out His wisdom.

Of course when Paul spoke about the foolishness of God he was speaking about the gospel.
He was referring to our preaching of Christ crucified – which is foolishness to unbelievers.

2. That brings us to the heart of the matter in Numbers 22. What is this chapter really all about?

The central teaching of this chapter is that the Lord protects His church.
And everything that happens in this chapter… the king of Moab… Balaam… Balaam’s donkey…
all serve to highlight this wonderful teaching:
That when God blesses His people nothing can possibly undo that blessing.
No one can curse those whom God blesses.
It would be ludicrous for Balaam to even try to undo that blessing.

So we have this very interesting scenario:
There on the Plains of Moab the whole nation of Israel is spread out.
They are almost at the border of the Promised Land.

But as they are camped there, at that stage, they are blissfully ignorant of what is happening.
They don’t know that a psychic has been hired to curse them.
They don’t know about this greedy seer… this diviner… who badly wants his reward.
They don’t know about that angel of the Lord confronting Balaam’s donkey.
And they don’t need to know those things either… because God is their protector.

Way back in Genesis 12 God made a covenant with Abraham.
And God pronounced His blessing on Abraham and on his descendants.
And now no one can ever turn that blessing into a curse. No one can undo God’s blessing.

What an encouragement that is for us today in an age when many curse the church of Jesus.
We don’t have a Moabite king trying to destroy the church. But…!
In Gujarat, Indian, Hindu extremists have burnt churches and persecute Christians.
In China the government keeps trying to close down house churches.
In Indonesia thousands of enraged Muslims attacked Christians and burnt buildings.
And in Australia too opposition to the church is growing.
Yet Jesus said that the gates of hell will not overcome His church. How encouraging.

3. I want to close by coming back to that mysterious figure of the Angel of the Lord.

An angel is a messenger sent by God… in fact… the word ‘angel’ means messenger.

So angels are spirit beings who do God’s bidding. Here it’s to warn Balaam.

But sometimes it seems that there is more to this special “angel of the Lord”.
In Numbers 22 this angel actually speaks as God. He doesn’t say, “Thus says the Lord….!”
No! He even says in vs.32: Your path is a reckless one before me!

There’s a strong theory that this Angel of Yahweh is really the Lord Jesus Christ.
Before Jesus took on a human nature from the virgin Mary He would appear as an angel.
I have a lot of sympathy for that theory of this being a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ.
That would mean then that this is Jesus in a temporary visible appearance.
And it would mean that Jesus is restraining the prophet’s madness.

And that gives an added angle on this whole story of Balaam and his donkey.
Why does God bless that vast crowd of people camped there in the Plains of Moab?
Why is God so intent in protecting them and preventing them from being cursed.
Because this nation is entrusted with the good news of Jesus’ coming.
These are the people of Messiah.
It is into this people that Jesus the Son of God will be born.
And God blesses His people especially in and through His Son.

Why does God protect you and pronounce His blessing over you? Because you are Messiah’s people.

That means that today we are the seers. We see what others don’t see.

We see our awesome God in the gospel of His Son who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Today we revel in that love of God… and we rejoice in it and praise Him for it. Amen.

Written by Rev. John Westendorp