Numbers 22: The unintended prophesy of Balaam, part 1

Skeptics like to poke fun at this story because of the talking donkey. Yet sometimes, our way is so set upon evil that a talking donkey doesn’t even phase us and give us pause to turn away from our direction.

Balaam wasn’t ignorant of the identity of the Creator God. He knew YHWH by name, and Balak, the king of Moab knew of Him too. If he knew that, then he knew that God had the power to make a donkey talk. Balaam didn’t fully understand the error of his way until one of the most powerful angels in God’s hosts, the Angel of the Lord, confronts him with a sword in his hand.

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Texts: Numbers 22; Jude 8-11

Balaam’s name is not transliterated accurately in most English translations. A more accurate transliteration is Bilam (בִּלְעָם, Strong’s lexicon No. H1109a), which can mean “not a people.” It’s a reference to the fact that he was not numbered among God’s covenant people, even though God used him from time to time to speak prophesy.

The name of Balak (בָּלָק, Strong’s lexicon No. H1111), the king of Moab, means “devastator, destroyer,” an apt name or nickname for a king who set his sights to destroying God’s people.

Bilam is the “son of Peor” and later we are told he lives in Pethor near “the River” in Aram. The river is most likely the river Euphrates. Aram is the land of Terah, Abraham (before he was called to move to Canaan) and Laban, Jacob’s father in law. This land knew who YHWH was, even though they were not called as God’s unique people.

We also find out that Bilam comes from a family of seers and prophets. The fact that Bilam’s family had lived in the land of Aram and worked as seers communicating YHWH’s word with the people shows us that God did not leave the non-Israelite peoples without His guidance in the world. But it was due to Bilam’s profound connection to YHWH that he was very famous, even all the way to Moab, for his spiritual insights.

This is why Balak sent his own messengers to Bilam to ask him to come to Moab to curse the Israelite people. He was afraid of the large group of people on the edges of his territory.

When Bilam entertains the first round of visitors from King Balak, he specifically tells them that he is going to pray to YHWH, which means he knew the name of the God who was speaking to him and guiding his prophesies. He was going to ask YHWH for His advise.

It was typical in this time for soothsayers to be paid a wage for giving their prophetic advise, so for the people to offer Bilam money for his services was not a bribe or indiscreet.

Balak also knew who Elohim was because he had enough sense to offer rams and cows to God and to feed Bilam and the princes, rather than pork, which was a common pagan practice in later times.

God came to Bilam at night in a vision or dream. He told Bilam to go with the men if asked but commanded Bilam to only speak His words. The next day, Bilam goes and it says that God got angry with Bilam. It seems a contradiction for God to be angry with Bilam for going with them since God had given Bilam permission to go.

God sent the Angel of YHWH as a “satan” or an adversary to go after Bilam and try to dissuade him from his path. The Angel was sent to kill Bilam and the Angel would have killed him if the donkey had not intervened. The Angel said Bilam’s way was “perverse”, meaning that Bilam was planning to say what God did not tell him to say. This why God was upset. God wasn’t upset at Bilam for going with the men of Moab. He was upset because Bilam was conspiring in his mind to get out of speaking God’s word.

Speaker: Richard Agee. Summary: Tammy.