#22 -- Joshua -- Sin Brings Weakness

Wouldn't you know it? There's always someone in the crowd to spoil things for everybody. And that was true for Israel as well. The weakest link breaks the chain. Sin brings weakness. There are lessons here for us. Join us as we continue our study with episode 22 in the book of Joshua, chapter 7:1-5

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Are We Paying the Price of Disobedience Today that Moses Warned Israel About? -- Deuteronomy 28:15-68

[ photo from imb.org -- check them out ]

Bottom Line: "Righteousness exhalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people¨ (Prov. 14:34)

WARNING: What you are about to read is not at all fun. It is not intended to scare anyone. It is hoped that by reading it, you will be fully aware of the choices that each nation, each family, each individual has in life. There is a God. He loves us. But He doesn't kid around and will not be taken for a fool. Read on with care.

Yes, this was a warning to Israel. I understand that. But the people of Israel are His chosen people. If God who loves them so much would do that to them because of wilful disobedience, I am not ready to think that He would deal with me differently because of my wilful disobedience.  That is what we are talking about here.  We are not talking about being good enough to earn God's favor and certainly we are not talking about being good enough to earn salvation. That is a free gift. But rejection of that free gift and wilful disobedience of God has its consequences.

If we get nothing else out of all of Deuteronomy 28, let's get the basic law or message that God wanted the Israelites and now us to understand. We are to pursue righteousness, but our sin can destroy us. As long as a nation pursues God, it will be blessed. Stop pursuing, leave God out of the nation's decision-making, and it will be cursed. Many of us, if not all of us, reading this today, are living in such a nation. Perhaps it is time to look a little closer at the kinds of things that may lie ahead for us.

Moses took just 14 verses at the front end of this chapter to go into detail about the blessings a nation can expect if they obey and do God's commandments diligently. But it seems he needed 54 verses to describe the curses that could befall a nation that does not. [If you're in a hurry, at least read the parts below in red.]

As you would expect, many of these verses in this passage are the opposite of the first 14 verses. But there are number of new ideas and thoughts provided and those are the ones we want to look at more closely. If a nation, a family, or a person disobeys God, here are more details of what we can expect:

Note: In the material that follows I have used the personal pronouns "we, us, etc." The text was not written to us. It was written to the Israelites. I know that. But I wanted us to put ourselves in their shoes listening to what Moses is telling them. And in so doing, if we think there's a word of caution or a parallel for us today, let's apply it to us, today.

Verse 20 -- lives will be ones of confusion and rebuke in all we try to do, until we are destroyed, until we perish quickly, on account of our evil by forsaking God.

Verse 21 -- pestilence will cling to us until we can't live on the land God has given us. I don't know about you but I'm starting to feel that now. Pestilence is defined as a fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague. I think considering this passage was written thousands of years ago, I would say "Covid-19" is close enough to that and qualifies.

Verse 22 -- the Lord will smite us with consumption (a wasting disorder not unlike tuberculosis), fever, inflammation, fiery heat, the sword, blight and mildew (two atmospheric influences fatal to grain), all of which will pursue us until we perish.

Verse 23 -- our skies will be bronze (dark with no sunshine which we need) and the earth iron (hard and impossible to work).

Verse 24 -- our rains will be like dust and powder (tornadoes and sandstorms).

Verse 26 -- our carcasses will be food for the vultures and no one will scare them away.

Verse 27 -- we will be smitten with the boils the Egyptians suffered in Egypt, with tumors, scabs, itching, with no healing in site. Is that a reference to cancer?

Verse 28 -- we will be smitten with madness, blindness, and bewilderment of heart. Our mental institutions are full, mental illness cases are out of control, and more and more people are committing suicide.

Verse 29 -- we will grope at noon, fail to prosper, be oppressed, robbed continuously, with no one to save us.

Verse 30 -- our wives will be violated by strangers, we will build houses but not be able to live in them, we will plant but see no fruit. How many people have had their wives and daughters violated by guerrilla soldiers throughout history, something that still goes on today? And if not soldiers, just evil gangs. How many homes have been taken by illegal immigrants and refugees and migrants in Europe? And how many harvests have not been realized because of the way we treat our world, or the politics that does not allow farmers to produce and freely sell their goods?  We are living in the days of curses.

Verse 31 -- our farmers won't do too well. Their ox will be slaughtered in plain view, they won't be getting any of the meat, their work animals will be taken, and their sheep given to their enemies, and they'll have no one to save them. If this isn't a picture of total anarchy and lawlessness, I don't know what is.

Verse 32 -- now this next one really hurts. The verse says our sons and daughters will be taken from us and given to another people. Hello, is this not going on today as more and more of our children lose their love for God and are given over to other gods worshipped by other people? Think about it. And there's nothing we can do.

Verse 36 -- God says ultimately our leaders (with us) will fall prey to other nations that neither of us knew, to serve other gods. Who will that be -- is it China, Russia, Iran, or is simply Islam?

Verse 43 -- the 'alien' among us will rise higher and higher above us, and we shall go down lower and lower. Isn't that exactly what is happening. Look at the demographics in our business boardrooms, and worse still in our governments. I have no problem with people of all nations who have fully adopted our culture having access to all institutions. But sadly, the majority of those who rise are not fully committed to their new land and they have dreams and visions of bringing their cultures to their new lands. One only need to look at the so called "squad" of Congresswomen in the U.S. Need I say anything more?

Verse 48 -- we will serve our enemies, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and lacking all things, until we perish.

Verse 49 -- the Lord will bring a foreign nation against you from afar with a language we do not understand. Again, who will that be?  China, Russia, Iran?

Verse 50 -- they will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young. The evil powers, the elite, the globalists, the godless, the liberals, and so-called progressives are doing that right now. Look at all the commotion and progress in euthanasia laws to facilitate the elimination of elders. Look at all calls for increased abortion right up and even after the point of birth.  We need to wake up. We have disobeyed. And we're paying the price as a nation.

Verse 53 -- things will get so bad that you will have to end up eating your own offspring.

Verses 54-55 -- those who are richer among us will turn against their own families, giving them nothing to eat to live.

Verses 56-57 -- richer women will behave likewise and end up starving and eating their own children.

Verse 62 -- certainly Israel's numbers would return to a very small number. I think the number of true Christians will be much fewer than all who claim to be Christians today.

Verses 66-68 -- we will not be assured of our lives from morning to night, and we will offer ourselves to be sold as slaves to our enemies in order to survive, but no one will want us.

We cannot become perfect. Nor will we reach that state in this life. But we can diligently seek a continuously improved relationship with God. We can diligently want to love Him more, please Him more, obey Him more, and serve Him more. That we can and must do. I don't know what God will do if we don't with precise accuracy. But through this chapter I know what He promised to do to His own chosen people with whom He had a covenant.

Clearly there is much to be argued here. Does this all apply to us or was it just for the Jews? Am I stretching the point when I draw the inferences to what is going on in the world as I did above? You'll have to decide that for yourself. But let me call on Matthew Henry to come and help us out as we ponder these questions. I can certainly live with his words on the matter of this passage as a whole:

• (1.) The accomplishment of these predictions upon the Jewish nation shows that Moses spoke by the Spirit of God, who certainly foresees the ruin of sinners, and gives them warning of it, that they may prevent it by a true and timely repentance, or else be left inexcusable.
• (2.) Let us all hence learn to stand in awe and not to sin. I have heard of a wicked man, who, upon reading the threatenings of this chapter, was so enraged that he tore the leaf out of the Bible, as Jehoiakim cut Jeremiah's roll; but to what purpose is it to deface a copy, while the original remains upon record in the divine counsels, by which it is unalterably determined that the wages of sin is death, whether men will hear or whether they will forbear?

Note to reader: If you like the way we are studying scripture, why not subscribe to our posts by providing us just with your email? You can do that to the right of this column in the "Subscribe to" section.  You can also search our earlier studies in the "Blog Archive" section below that.  Finally, please encourage others to study along with us by sharing this link with your family and friends. Thank you and God bless.  Ken G.

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You will get God angry says Moses, and you will die. But Israel will not be destroyed.

Deuteronomy Chapter 4: Part 4: Moses foretells Israel’s difficult future.

Deuteronomy 4:25-31 -- The Passage and Some Thoughts

In verses 25 and 26 Moses tell the sons of Israel that by the time they become grandfathers, they will act corruptly, and make a graven image or idol to worship and God will be so provoked to anger. That would be in the future, but in the present, he wants them, as well as heaven and earth, to witness today that when that happens, they will soon thereafter die; they will be utterly destroyed.

David Guzik says this reference to heaven and earth was like saying, “Creation itself would testify against an idol-worshipping Israel.”

What a message to give a people – a people who know that you talk with God. Or was this so far away that it didn’t faze them at all? When we are warned about what God will do to the wicked, does it faze us, does it bother us, or is it too far away to worry about it right now – after all, we have a life to live.

In verses 27 to 28, he continues his predictions of what will happen to them:
The Lord will scatter them.
They will be few in number in any nation that God drives them to.
There they eventually will serve gods (small g), made by man, out of wood and stone; gods that don’t see them, nor hear them, nor eat, nor smell. Guzik says, “If Israel wanted idols; God would put them in the middle of a land where there were idols galore.” When we disobey God by wanting something we should not have, He often gives it to us – at our own peril.

And all these things have happened to the sons of Israel – both in the rest of the Old Testament (some 550 years later at the time of the Babylonian exile of Judah) but in many ways right up to 1947 when they were finally recognized as a nation by most, but still hated by so many.  Why even today, as I write this, one store owner in Toronto had posted that “Zionists are not welcomed here”. You can read all about it and see the video at Foodbenders, Toronto. In fact, anti-Semitism continues to grow again all over the world.

This is very sad for us Christians who know how much God loves the Jewish People and the plan that He has for them. However, others reading the scriptures, even these here today, could easily say, “Well, they deserve it -- I mean, after all, the Bible says they will ‘serve other gods’ again.  Well, this is what happens when you serve other gods. Here’s my take on this: I don’t think that my foolishness before God allows you to treat me in a way where you take on punishing me on behalf of God.  Enough said on that here.

Chuck Smith has an interesting take on all this. First, he calls Moses’ foretelling “prophesy”. And we could agree with that, as we know that Moses almost always spoke after he consulted with God.

Secondly, Smith says we need to marvel at the fact that when the Israelites were scattered and left without a homeland, they remained an ethnic group, if not a nation. That is amazing because no other group has been able to do that.

Then in verses 29 to 30, he describes and foretells what the Israelites will do at that point when they come to their senses.
They will seek God.  (I think we all eventually will seek God. I know I do when I’ve sinned.)
They will find Him if they search with all their hearts and all their souls. (And we do.)

These things will happen in the latter days after they have once again been in distress.
Then they will return to the Lord their God and listen to His voice. (What he does not tell them, and what we don’t know when it comes to our own lives is when exactly will be our “latter days”.  And maybe that’s the whole point of it. Maybe we’re supposed to seek God, find Him, and stay close to Him right now.)

Robert Jamieson wisely suggests that these latter days may indeed mean:

“. . . either towards the destined close of their captivities, when they evinced a returning spirit of repentance and faith or in the age of Messiah, which is commonly called ‘the latter days,’ and when the scattered tribes of Israel shall be converted to the Gospel of Christ. The occurrence of this auspicious event will be the most illustrious proof of the truth of the promise made in Deu 4:31.”

Then in verse 31, Moses tells us what the Hero of the story (the Hero of every story in the Bible – God Himself) will do and why.
He starts off with the need for them to know that their God is a compassionate God.
He will not fail you.
He will not destroy you.
He will not forget the covenant He had made with their fathers.

Can you imagine being the sons of Israel about to enter the Promised Land and told that in just two generations you will have failed miserably, and you will be back at square one – again. How defeating. How honest.

Yet how wonderful to hear from Moses what the end of the story for the children of Israel will look like.

This is without a doubt, another jam-packed little passage in this Old Testament book.

Wrap-up

Check out this passage in regard to your own life right now. And I’m asking myself these same questions: (my personal answers in brackets)
1. Have you forgotten God recently or at some point in your life?  (Yes.)
2. Have you found something else to worship? (Yes.)
3. Have you realized you made God angry in doing so?  (Yes.)
4.
Did God, in a sense scatter you? (Yes. In my case, He left me with an avenue of service for a long time.)
5. Did you feel very alone because of it all? (Yes.)
6. Did you become a servant to something or someone else?  (Yes; the devil himself and the people he worked through.)
7. Did you seek God again? (Yes.)
8. Did you find Him because you searched with all your heart and all your soul?  (Yes.)

9. Do you realize that your “latter day” could be any day now?  (Yes.)
10. Do you believe your God is a compassionate God?  (Yes.)

11. Has your God ever failed you?  (No.)

12. Do you believe your God has not, nor will He, utterly destroy you?  (Yes, because He loves me; and because He will not forget His Old Covenant with Abraham and His New Covenant through Jesus Christ.)

This morning our pastor preached on Enjoying God (part one of a ten-part series) and his key passage was Ephesians 1:3-6. The particular part of that passage that I enjoyed the most was the last two words of verse 4 and all of verse 5: “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”

God had His eyes on the children of Israel through all their sinning and falling away to this day and forever. Moses tells us that. The Apostle Paul tells us that God has His eyes on His sons and daughters that have been adopted by Him now and forever. Now that’s cause for rejoicing. Even through these days of the Covid.

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For Some a Time to Regret, for Others a Time to Hope, for All a Time to Remember.

Deuteronomy Chapter 1: The Preamble of the Covenant and the Start of the Review of What God has done for Israel

The Passage and Some Thoughts

The first 5 verses give us the time of this first sermon – it was the 1st day, of the 11^th month, in the 40^th year since leaving Egypt. They also give us the place where the sermon was delivered to the “new generation of the children of Israel” – across the Jordan in the land of Moab. It was there Moses tried to make the law clear and understandable.

In verse 8, he reminds them (while still in Horeb) of the promise God made to give them the land before them, way back in Genesis.

In verses 9-15, he tells them how he had realized that he could not bear the load of leadership alone, especially since God was allowing them to grow in number, and how leaders from each tribe were appointed to help him. Even that growth in their population was the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise made to Abraham (Genesis 155,6) much earlier about them being blessed and multiplying greatly. This was happening even in the wilderness.

In verses 16-19, he talks about the judges that were appointed for each tribe and how they were to judge matters impartially. Verse 17 has some gems in it. For starters there is no ‘small’ and ‘big’ cases – they are all to treated alike. And the latter part of the verse tells them not to fear “men in making their judgment” because the judgment is really God’s. Oh, that we would have judges like that today.

In verse 19, Moses reminds them that they went through that “great and terrible wilderness” on their way to Kadesh-barnea. That’s what the Christian does as well – God often leads us through a “great” and yet sometimes “terrible” period of experiences in a very lonely “wilderness”.  Have you been there? Do you know what I mean? Keep in mind, that there is a promised land still ahead.

In verses 20-25, he reminds them of how they sent spies into the promised land to check it out. He may even have regretted sending the spies in the first place as since God had promised the land, there was no need to find out if they could conquer it – God was able to do it with for them without a reconnaissance expedition.

In verses 26-33, he reminds them how they would not trust God and feared taking the land, even though He had carried them so far, and still went before them on their way to seek out a place for them to camp at night, and to show them the way – via a cloud by day and a fire by night.

In verses 34-36, he tells them how that made the Lord angry and he promised that none of them would enter the promised land except Caleb who did trust the Lord and wanted to take the land before them.

Remember that verses 35-40 (except for 37a) are spoken by God and Moses is just retelling them, remembering God’s words to them. How heavy must Moses’ heart have been knowing what he knew. And yet at the same time, he had to stay focused on the rest of his mission and to be ‘up’ for the sake of those that would enter the promised land.

Verse 37 describes a very sad fact for Moses. He tells them that God was angry with him as well “on their account” and as a result he would not see the promised land. While Moses was forbidden to enter the land because of his own disobedience, that very defiance was on behalf of the anger that the children of Israel had aroused in God and thus in him. While we can sympathize with him, in the end we cannot blame others for the consequences that we bring upon ourselves for disobedience to God. Adam tried to do so in the garden, but he bore his own penalty afterwards, as did Eve. I wonder how ashamed the Israelites felt (on behalf of their parents) when Moses was telling them that his loss was due to their disobedience, or the disobedience and lack of faith of their fathers. The tragedy of disobedience – be it towards a godly father or mother, a just judge, a learned doctor, and especially God Almighty – is a tragedy that has no bounds in life.

Verse 38 tells them that Joshua would lead them to the promised land, as he was the other one that God said would make it. And here Moses tells the sons of Israel that God wants them to “encourage him” as their new leader. New leaders need encouragement.  And they need prayers just as much as the old leaders.

In verse 39, Moses tells the people that God had said their little ones that they had all feared would “become prey” to their enemies, would indeed enter the promised land. That theme of children being precious to God continues all the way through the Bible. Yes, there are events where children suffer – but they are not brought on by God Himself. They are either a consequence of gross disobedience or the work of the Enemy.

And then comes verse 40 – what a verse. Moses reminds them how God had told any of those that were still alive and had come out of Egypt with Moses, that they were to “turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea”.  Are you kidding me, God? No, God wasn’t kidding anyone. God meant what He had said. We note that this instruction of God’s was ignored by the people who felt they could still appease the Lord.

In the last six verses of the chapter, Moses reminds them how the people had repented and wanted to go ahead and fight their enemies. But that God had said, “No, because I won’t be with them.” You would think that would have stopped them, but it didn’t. And many were crushed. The rest wept before God, but He didn’t listen, causing them to stay many days at Kadesh.

Now we see why this book of Deuteronomy is also known as the book of Remembrances.

Wrap-up

If this first chapter of Deuteronomy is any indication of what we’ll find as we go through the rest of the book, our study time will have been well spent.

My main takeaways are as follows:

1.     For those who serve God, there will always be some regret due to our disobedience to God at various times in our lives. There may also be regret on behalf of the disobedience of others – because we know that disobedience to God has its consequences.

2.     Our job is to be faithful with God’s instructions to the very end. Moses was 120 when he was delivering this “Remembrance” sermon as a warning to those entering the promised land.

3.     God is faithful. When He takes us through rough waters or arid rugged wilderness, He will see us through. He will also guide us both day and night and protect us. And in the scheme of our own lives, because of Who God is, He has already been where I will be tomorrow, and He’ll lead the way.

May that be true for all of us.

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

When a Donkey is More Spiritual than her Owner.

Numbers Chapter 22: Balaam is Sought by Balak

Numbers 22:1-41

Day 75. Last night was not a good night with respect to riots across America. I believe the President has had enough and he’s calling for Law & Order. We’ll see what happens. The world is watching. Meanwhile God is waiting on individual hearts to turn to Him. Today’s study involves a talking donkey. You heard me right. God is waiting for people to believe that He has the power to make donkeys talk. It’s that simple. He either is God and can do so or He’s not. I know where I stand. Read on.

The Passage

22 Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.

² Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. ³ So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. ⁴ Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this ^[a]horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. ⁵ So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the ^[b]River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. ⁶ Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too ^[c]mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to ^[d]defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

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 ^[e]repeated Balak’s words to him. ⁸ He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the Lord may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. ⁹ Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” ¹⁰ Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me, ¹¹ ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” ¹² God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” ¹³ So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” ¹⁴ The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”

¹⁵ Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than ^[f]the former. ¹⁶ They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; ¹⁷ for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’”¹⁸ Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the ^[g]command of the Lord my God. ¹⁹ Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord will speak to me.” ²⁰ God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”

²¹ So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.

²² But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. ²³ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. ²⁴ Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. ²⁵ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. ²⁶ The angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. ²⁷ When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. ²⁸ And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” ²⁹ Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.” ³⁰ The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”

³¹ Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed ^[h]all the way to the ground.³² The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was ^[i]contrary to me.³³ But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” ³⁴ Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” ³⁵ But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I ^[j]tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.

³⁶ When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, ^[k]at the extreme end of the border. ³⁷ Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?” ³⁸ So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.” ³⁹ And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. ⁴⁰ Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

⁴¹ Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to ^[l]the high places of Baal, and he saw from there ^[m]a portion of the people.

Footnotes

a.     Numbers 22:4 Lit assembly

b.     Numbers 22:5 I.e. Euphrates

c.     Numbers 22:6 Or numerous

d.     Numbers 22:6 Lit smite

e.     Numbers 22:7 Lit spoke

f.      Numbers 22:15 Lit these

g.     Numbers 22:18 Lit mouth

h.     Numbers 22:31 Lit and prostrated himself to his face

i.      Numbers 22:32 Lit reckless

j.      Numbers 22:35 Or speak to

k.     Numbers 22:36 Lit which is at

l.      Numbers 22:41 Or Bamoth-baal

m.   Numbers 22:41 Lit the end of the camp

Thoughts on the Passage

Balak was the king of Moab and he saw how the Israelites had conquered the Amorites. We note that he acted out of fear of the people (the Israelites but may also have been his own people). We also learn that the plight of the Israelites and their history was well known throughout the area.

He sends word to Balaam [who appears to be a prophet of God although not an Israelite] asking him to come and curse the Israelites so that Moab would be able to defeat them, because he knew that whomever Balaam blessed was blessed, and whomever he cursed was cursed. Chuck Smith says it seems “that he was used to creating enchantments or curses” and “had a reputation for power” because of these curses.

Balak’s men go to Balaam to ask for help. But God asks Balaam a question, in verse 9: “Who are these men with you?” Don’t think God didn’t know. He wanted Balaam to remember that they were evil men representing an evil leader. And Balaam knew that. He knew who Balak was, but did he know that he was needed to curse God’s people? I don’t think so. He knew of God, but not of God’s plan for His people.  And God tells Balaam not to go, [that was God’s direct command] and Balaam doesn’t, causing the men to go back to Balak with the news. We also note that he told them (in verse 13) that “God has refused to let me go with you.” The message he sent was clearly, “I would go, but God . . .”  I am reminded of my children when they were growing up, or even my grandchildren now, “I want to go to your wild party, but my parents won’t let me.” We know where Balaam’s heart was.

Matthew Henry points out that the messengers did not tell their sponsor the truth about what Balaam had told them God had said, saying only that Balaam likely just wanted more reward than what was offered. I guess they figured they could get another road trip with expenses paid out of it although they too were foiled as others more prominent than them were sent. Balak doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer and sends other men back, this time promising even more rewards to Balaam. He says he can only do it if God tells him to. What is interesting here is what Balaam says in verse 18. Look at that verse. The day may come when many of will face such a choice. “If you want to eat, to live, to buy and sell, do so and so.” Will we respond like Balaam did here?

Yet, Balaam asked the men to stay overnight and he’d give them an answer in the morning. The temptation had returned, and Balaam doesn’t sent it away. David Guzik says this was Balaam’s first mistake – a compromise with Balak’s agents allowing them to stay overnight. It revealed his heart and put him on a dangerous course. Perhaps, thinking of all the rewards he would get, he begged God to let him go. 

He also utters these words, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”  That’s not God changing His mind; that’s God allowing us to follow our way at our peril, but outside His will. The consequences are on us.

And in the morning, Balaam gets up, saddles his donkey (known more familiarly to bible readers as Balaam’s ass) and goes to Balak with the men that he had sent to get him. Did you notice that the men did not come to call him in the morning; but instead he got up on his own and went to them? That’s not following God’s direction and we know what had happened to Moses when he didn’t exactly follow God’s directions fully. We also note here, with Smith’s help, that God may have given in to Balaam’s plea, gives him permission to go, but clearly it was not His will for him to go. Smith calls this entering into the “permissive will of God. Yes, God will permit you to do it but He doesn’t want you to do it.” Think of how we parents sometimes exercise that permissive will with our children who whine and plead and cry until they get their way. And then the story takes an interesting twist as Balaam moves out of the center of God’s will.

Verse 22 tells us that “God was angry because he (Balaam) was going. So, God sends the angel of the Lord to stand in his way as “an adversary against him”. The next few verses relate several moments when the donkey he was riding on seemed to refuse to move forward and Balaam kept striking him. Because of the donkey’s actions, Balaam’s leg get caught against a stone wall which further infuriates Balaam. At some point, the angel of the Lord becomes visible to the donkey but not to Balaam and the donkey sat down with Balaam on her. Balaam hits her again at which point God “opens the mouth of the donkey” and she speaks to Balaam. Basically, asking him why he has been striking her three times. Balaam explains that it was because she was making a mockery of him and tells her that if he had a sword, he would have killed her. Now it’s bad enough that the donkey is talking to Balaam, but to have Balaam converse with her is really special. How mad do you have to be to talk with a donkey? Can you and I identify with that? God blocks our desire and we get angry, not at Him, but at others, perhaps our pet, or at things. Smith suggests that once you are out of the will of God, your whole personality is at risk.

Balaam finally realizes his mistake and then God opens his eyes so he can see the angel of the Lord standing in the way, causing Balaam to bow all the way to the ground.

The angel now speaks to Balaam asking him the same question as the donkey asked him with regard to hitting the animal, and tells him that he (the angel) has come as an adversary because Balaam’s way “was contrary to me” [some texts say ‘perverse’] and that had the angel had his way, he would have killed Balaam and let the donkey live. When we go against God’s preferred will for our lives, we are being ‘perverse’ before God, or put another way, we are “going the wrong way in a rash manner”.

Balaam realizes his sin and offers to turn back home. But notice what he says to God in verse 34, “If this is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” Are you kidding me, Balaam? You really don’t know that this is indeed displeasing to God?! How much more evidence do you need? God speaks to you and tells you so. Your donkey shows you. And God sends His angel to tell you. And you’re still wondering if this pleases God! Have you ever been there – have you ever been Balaam?

The angel of the Lord says, “No, go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.”  As if to say, “Listen, Balaam, you’ve come this far; you know you want to go.” God gave him over to his sinful desire. So Balaam proceeds to go to Balak, who upon hearing that he was coming, goes out to meet him and asks him why he didn’t come earlier? Balaam tells him that he can only speak to him what God tells him to say. Balak accepts that and together they go to Kiriath-huzoth where they Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep and shared that with Balaam. And in the morning, Balak to Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and there he saw some of the Balak’s people.

What happens next is most interesting and we’ll look at that in our study of Numbers 23.

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