Tag Archives: Balaam

The Prophet Who Wouldn’t Bless — and Couldn’t Stop

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“I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near:
a star shall come out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel…”
Numbers 24:17

Balaam is one of the most perplexing figures in the Old Testament. He was a prophet for hire, famous for his spiritual reputation and willing heart. Balak, king of Moab, summoned him to curse Israel, convinced that spiritual weaponry would succeed where the military failed. Balaam was happy to accept the commission, there was gold to be earned, provided that God permitted it.

And this is the great tension of Balaam’s story: he longed to curse, but was only able to speak what God gave him to say.

Three times from the mountaintop he opened his mouth hoping to condemn Israel, and three times blessing poured out instead. Not because Balaam loved Israel. Not because his heart was pure. But because God had set His favor upon His people and would not allow their blessing to be reversed.

Then, in one of the most remarkable moments in Scripture, this compromised prophet becomes the mouthpiece of one of the clearest Messianic prophecies of the Pentateuch.

“A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”

Balaam, hired to destroy Israel, ends up proclaiming Israel’s greatest glory: the coming of the Messiah King.

There is holy irony here, the kind only God can write. A prophet driven by greed is compelled to announce a Savior driven by grace. A man seeking personal gain announces the triumph of the true King who will reign not through conquest but through sacrifice. Balaam foresaw the rise of a scepter, yet never bowed to it himself.

This moment teaches us something essential about God’s sovereignty: the Lord accomplishes His purposes not only through willing servants, but even through unwilling vessels. Balaam spoke better than he believed. His lips preached Christ while his heart remained unchanged.

And yet God’s Word came forth unhindered.

The coming Christ is described as both Star and Scepter, radiant glory and royal authority. The Star that would guide Gentiles centuries later to Bethlehem. The Scepter that would establish not merely an earthly kingdom, but a dominion of righteousness, peace, and everlasting life.

Ironically, Balaam stood among the Gentiles and spoke of the Jewish King sent for the salvation of the world, including men like Balaam himself. And still he walked away.

This is where the account grows sobering. It is possible to speak the truth of Christ without loving Him. It is possible to proclaim the gospel while missing the grace of it altogether. Balaam reminds us that proximity to truth does not equal saving faith. Ministry knowledge is not the same as a transformed heart.

Yet even this does not dim the glory of God’s purposes. If God could use a prophet motivated by profit to announce the promise of Christ, how much more will He use ordinary, stumbling believers yielded to His Word?

The Messiah does not need perfect servants, only faithful proclamation. The power is not in the messenger, but in the message.

Balaam meant to curse — God compelled blessing.
Balaam sought gold — God revealed glory.
Balaam spoke Christ — but never trusted Him.

And still the Star rose. Still the Scepter reigns. Still the gospel advances, unstoppable by human sin, weakness, or hypocrisy.

God will accomplish every word He has spoken, even when His servants do not understand the weight of what they proclaim.

May we not be like Balaam, content to speak truths we will not submit to. Instead, may we behold the Star not only with our lips, but with faith, and bow before the Scepter not only with words, but with our lives.

“We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed… until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” (2 Peter 1:19)

SDG

3 Warnings and a Funeral

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“Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain
and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error
and perished in Korah’s rebellion.”
Jude 11

There are certain stories in the Scriptures that you would like to have represent your life. My name being a Biblical name, I have always hoped to be characterized like the Ethans of the OT, one was a singer in David’s assembly as they brought the ark of the covenant into Jerusalem (1 Chron 15:19), another was one of the wise men in Solomon’s court (1 Kings 4:31), one Ethan composed Psalm 89. Go Ethan!

Of course who wouldn’t want to be counted as one of the of the faithful servants in the Parable of the Talents, hearing from our Lord, “Well done good and faithful servant…” (Matthew 25:21). Apart from the grace of God, however, we’d all end up like the other servant who hid the master’s talent, “You wicked and slothful servant…” (Matthew 25:26).

Isn’t interesting, then, so see which Biblical narratives Jude uses to describe the false teachers who have crept into the church, twisting the grace of God into sensuality and rejecting our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Already Jude has compared them to the unfaithful Hebrews who died in the wilderness, the angels who fell from glory, and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah in their immorality and unnatural desires.

In our reading from Jude today, the Biblical analogies continue. Each warning is taken from key stories from Israel’s history, each ending in death (thus the title).

  • They have walked in the way of Cain.  It was Cain who killed his brother Abel in jealousy over the fact that God honored Abels overing over his own. Keep in mind, it was Abel who brought the firstborn of is flock, while Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. Many speculate that the difference in the offering was that Abel brought the firstborn while Cain brought something lesser, but that misses the point. The bigger issue here is the heart of the worshipper. As Romans 14:23 teaches, “whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” As Abel’s offering was accepted, we must understand that he gave his offering in faith in the Lord. Cain offering was rejected, so we may surmise that he did not bring it in faith, but merely out of duty or religious custom. His heart, as we see in Gen 4, was filled with hatred for his brother, and he walked in darkness (1 John 2:11).
    This is the hypocrisy of the false teachers. They came to the Lord through religious customs, but they had not part or lot in the Lord.  Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The ‘way of Cain’ is the way of religion without faith, righteousness based on character and good works. The ‘way of Cain’ is the way of pride, a man establishing his own righteousness and rejecting the righteousness of God that comes through faith in Christ.” They said they worshiped the Lord, but they did not come in faith, but their teachings would lead to the destruction (murder) of many. In this way they were walking in the way of Cain.
  • They abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error. Balaam’s story is a cautionary tale. He was hired by Balak to proclaim curses on Israel as they were in the wilderness. Now anyone claiming to be a prophet could do this, and get paid well for it. But something unexpected happened.  God actually spoke to Balaam. God warned him not to say anything that God didn’t tell him to say. So 4 times Balaam set out to curse Israel and get his reward, but God prevented him, turning the curse into a blessing.
    But that didn’t stop Balaam. If he couldn’t curse Israel directly, he could work indirectly to bring a curse upon them. He set up altars to Baal, and brought the women of Moab to Israel. In Numbers 25, we read that “the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal at Peor.” This incident at Peor is said to have been the device of Balaam (Num 31:16), he was paid well for it, and many thousands of Israelites died from the plague from the Lord.
    This is the corruption of the false teachers. While some are brazen enough to proclaim heresy in the name of Christ and profit from it, others are more subtle. They will nuance the message of the Gospel in the name of inclusivity, re-interpreting Scripture according to cultural demands, and soften the radiance of the glory of God to make Him more approachable. They do this for their own profit (financial, social, etc), all at the expense of the lives of those who follow their teaching.
  • They perished in Korah’s rebellion. Korah was a Levite who raised a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. This was their claim, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourself above the assembly of the Lord” (Num 16:3).
    This didn’t happen overnight. You can imagine this had been brewing for a while, with quiet whispers, secret meetings, and outright plotting to oust Moses and Aaron. In rejecting Moses and Aaron as God’s appointed leaders, Korah was rejecting God’s authority, and was rejecting God himself. All involved were swallowed up when the ground opened beneath them – the teachers, and those that followed them.
    This is the attitude of the false teachers. They come as their own authority, ignoring the authority of the elders, flaunting the authority of called pastors, and ultimately, despising the authority of God and His Word over their lives. They reject our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ (Jude 4).

As we consider our own lives in the light of God’s Word, let us ask ourselves, could these stories be applied to our own lives? Jude’s letter helps us to identify the false teachers who would lead us astray, but it also serves as a mirror to help us to see how we have already been compromised, so that we may repent and turn to the Lord Jesus and contend for the faith.

We walk in the way of Cain anytime we come to God through the self-righteous works empty religion. We fall into Balaam’s error anytime we say I know what God says, but I choose to do this instead. We perish with Korah when we grumble and gossip against those whom God has given in our lives as spiritual authorities.

So let us “walk in the light, as He is in the light, having fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus [God’s] Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

SDG