Balaam - Divinator or Prophet?

Numerous Accounts – Balaam’s Error

     The story of Balaam can cause much confusion as we put the pieces in place that describe the full story.  Aspects of this story can be found in Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, 2 Samuel, 2 Chronicles, Nehemiah, Psalm, Proverbs, Isaiah, Hosea, Micah, 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelations.  In trying to comprehend this story more fully, I uncovered a 580-page dissertation written by a theological student in 1973.  I might question how very shallow my understanding of a few chapters in Numbers might be when I try to explain the story in a handful of pages.  But because I have invested a better part of a week in following the rabbit trail through Scriptures, and I promised to write a part two, here goes.  Like any reasonable Bible student, I scrolled to the conclusion of this 580-page dissertation, and I read the final pages.  As much as I might desire to know the full meaning behind this story, I have a nagging reminder that I have dishes in the sink, laundry in the bin, bills to pay, and dinner to prepare.  I know that you will understand why I opted for a more shallow offering in this brief article.    

Balaam’s Demise

     One should note that Balaam died by the sword.  Might we conclude that even though God’s Words passed through his lips, Balaam had lost favor with God?  It wouldn’t be the first time that man had planned an evil scheme and God used it for good.  This story will help us understand that God judges the motivations of the heart regardless of our actions.  In Numbers 31:8 we see the account of five kings of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba) who were slain, and then we read, Balaam, the son of Beor, was also killed with a sword.  Then in verse sixteen, we read, “Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.”

Balaam’s Reputation Proceeded Him     

     We learn that Balaam’s reputation proceeded him, as Balak, the king of Moab, had heard of him and desired the use of his skills.  He sent men (princes) with fees of divination to hire him to curse the people of Israel.  Balak was in fear of the people who, in his own words, ‘covered the face of the earth,’ and he was aware of the demise of other kings before him when he contacted Balaam to curse the Israelites.  The divination fee that his princes had in hand shows us the way that Balaam would operate, although one might like to convince themselves that he was a true man of God.  In Joshua 13:22 ESV, we read, ‘Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain.’  

The Practice of Divination was Forbidden

     The word ‘divination’ comes from the Latin word divinare meaning “to foresee” or “to be inspired by a god,” according to an article entitled, “What does the Bible say about Divination” on the website Gotquestions.com.  In Deuteronomy 18:10, we read, “There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer.”  Yet that is the business we see Balaam has become known for, so much so that princes are sent from Moab to Mesopotamia seeking his services.

     Even though God told Balaam at his very first request that He would not allow Balaam to curse the Israelite’s, one must wonder what was going through Balaam’s mind when he embarked on the journey to Balak.  Why would someone travel miles and miles from home to speak the same message he had given to the original princes who sought his services?  Somewhere within Balaam’s heart, his scheme of opposing Gods’ wishes had taken root.  The talking donkey wasn’t enough of a sign to Balaam that God could read his motivation.

Balak’s Motivation and Balaam’s Response    

       We can see that Balak did not make one request of Balaam, but four.  He was highly motivated to convince Balaam to do what he desired for reasons of self-preservation.  With each attempt that Balak called Balaam to curse the Israelites, God’s Word proceeded from ‘the seers’ mouth and produced blessings.  From three high vantage points, Balak tried to convince Balaam that the vast number of people that crouched at his borders spelled harm to his kingdom.  The first location, Bamoth-Baal, the second near the field of Zophim, the top of Pisgah, and the last place, the top of Peor, all represented sites for pagan worship.  Later you will see how Pisgah is recognized as a significant location concerning Moses.    

     At each location, they built seven altars where they prepared an offering of bulls and rams, seven each.    By the end of the story, forty-two animals would have been slaughtered.  So why would a prophet of the LORD use a pagan location to offer sacrifices to God and not consider it an insult to the Almighty?  Could it be that this was just an elaborate display of holiness to convince Balak that he was tight with the God of Israel?  O should we consider this a true act of worship?  I will pause the story long enough to have us consider what spiritual rituals we may observe today that give the appearance of our devotion to the LORD, even when our hearts are far from God.  The ritual of requesting prayer on social media may sometimes resemble this example.  Have you ever noticed people who cannot have a meaningful conversation about faith, nor give credit to God when prayers are answered. Yet, they want to appear to be using a spiritual practice that resembles that they walk with Jesus?  What about programs that refer to God as a higher power, but refuse to use the name of Jesus?  Even when the motivations of our heart is unclear to us, God can see what is behind our words or actions.    

How We Might View Balaam

     If one were to read the four oracles of Balaam, one might credit him with high moral standing with God.  “How can I curse whom God has not cursed?  How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?” (Oracle #1 – Numbers 23:8) “Behold, I received a command to bless:  he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.  He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel.  The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them.” (Oracle #2 – Numbers 23:20-21).   Did you notice that Balaam doesn’t claim the LORD to be his God, but theirs?  The third and fourth oracles begin with the phrase, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God,” (Numbers 24:3b-4a and Numbers:15b-16a).   In both the third and fourth oracle we read, “to see visions of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered,” which describes the trans-like state that Balaam received information from God with his eyes open.  

A Closer Look:

• In the third oracle he is describing peace and tranquility “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!  Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.  Water higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.” (24:5-7)  
•  In the fourth oracle, Balaam claims to have knowledge of the Most High.  Can you see where Balaam’s fourth oracle isn’t as much prophesy as it might be fortune-telling?  Numbers 24:14 says, “And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”   No longer motivated by pronouncing a curse, Balaam was now displaying his practice of foreseeing the future.  If one were satisfied that the fourth oracle was Balaam’s final word, then it would be easy to hold him blameless as an ambassador for the Almighty; however, other revelations within Scripture tell us otherwise.   

How We Should View Balaam

     Early in the story, as we are introduced to Balaam, we see God’s first instruction is ‘don’t go, don’t curse’ (Numbers 22:12), then he is given qualified permission to ‘go’ in verse 20.  Then we can recognize that God is displeased with Balaam’s departure in verse 22.  The story of the donkey allows us to see a ‘seer’ who is blinder than the stubborn mule on which he rides.  Then God tells Balaam that He has found his ways perverse (see verse 32).  Balaam acknowledges his sin.  God sees his heart and reveals it to us through Balaam’s admission.  God tells Balaam to continue on his journey but reminds him to ‘speak only the Word that I tell you’ (verse 35).  One might wonder if he could have done otherwise.  Although Balaam doesn’t test his ability to speak without Gods’ Word in the first three oracles, one might wonder whether the fourth oracle was God-ordained.    

     It appears that God is using an unclean vessel to communicate His plan.  Balaam initiates his conversation with Balak, letting him know that he will not speak from his own accord, but only the Word that God puts in his mouth (Numbers 22:38).  Then God puts Word into the mouth of Balaam in the following passages (Numbers 23:5; 23:16; 24:2b).  We do not see the Spirit of God come upon Balaam before he speaks his last discourse.  Although it appears that Balaam has some knowledge of future events, why did he not dispel information about the future fall of 24,000 Israelites?  Could it be that the 'seer' truly could not see that far into the future?  Wouldn't Balak have enjoyed knowing that some Israelites would indeed be destroyed?  

The Israelite’s Perspective

     From the Israelite’s perspective, it appears that this story takes place in between Shittim and Gilgal (see Micah 6:5).  This is what the Word reveals about this incident.  “Remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”  Deuteronomy 23:5-6 also weighs in by saying, “But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you.  You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.”  Whose peace and prosperity?  This passage comes right after Moses has declared that ‘no Ammonite, or Moabite may enter the assembly of the LORD’ (even to the 10th generation).  The reason for their destruction was tied to the way they treated the Israelites as they passed their way.  The same was true of the Edomites.  All three people groups mentioned are distant relations to the Israelites, but they had followed another path and worshipped images rather than God.  The Ammonites and Moabites were offspring from Lots’ daughters (the nephew of Abraham), and the Edomites were descendants of Esau, Jacob’s twin brother.  

The Sins of Peor

     Following the account of Balaam and Balak, we read the account of Israelite’s sins in Numbers 25:1-4, “While Israel lived in Shittim, 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 of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.  And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”  We learn from this account of God’s judgment where 24,000 Israelites were killed by a plague God sent.  It was through Phinehas’ son of Eleazar, actions that God’s anger was appeased, and the plague stopped.  Immediately following this incident, God instructs Moses to take a census in preparation for moving the Israelite’s into the land of their inheritance.  

Joshua Succeeds Moses

     On the heels of this event, Joshua is beginning to take on the leadership of the Israelite’s.  He reminds the Israelite’s of their sin, “Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD,” (Joshua 22:17).  Psalm 106:28–31 (ESV) confirms this story, “Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor, and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds, and a plague broke out among them.  Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and the plague was stayed. And that was counted to him as righteousness from generation to generation forever.”  He reminds them of their long journey from Egypt including the account of Balaam the son of Beor, “Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel.  And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you, but I would not listen to Balaam.  Indeed, he blessed you, so I delivered you out of his hand.” (Joshua 24:9).  He goes on to warn the people against forsaking the LORD to serve other gods.  He says, “If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you after having done you good.”  Joshua 24:20 (ESV).  He makes a covenant with the people and said, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words of the LORD that he spoke to us.  Therefore, it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God” (Joshua 24:27). Through Numbers 31:16, we see how Balaam was involved in this incident.  “Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.”

     Moses' death came upon the heels of this incident.  We see that God only allows Moses to view the Land of Promise before his death.  He climbs to the top of Pisgah, which is opposite Jericho, to view the land of Gilead as far as Dan.  (Deuteronomy 34:1) Moses is buried in the valley of the plains of Moab opposite Beth-Peor. (Deuteronomy 34:6), although the exact location is not known.

New Testament Accounts

     In 2 Peter 2:15–16 (ESV), we read, “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.”  Peter is warning the early church of false prophets when he uses this passage to support that false teachers have been a part of Jewish history.  He said of them, “They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin.  They entice unsteady souls.  They have hearts trained on greed,” all of which was supported by the story of Balaam.  Jude, coining the expression of Jesus himself, “Woe to them.”  He talks about Cain, Korah, and Balaam.  Lastly, in Revelation 2:14,  we read, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”  Spoken through the Word of Jesus, the validity of the original account in Numbers 22-24 is shown to go beyond the fourth oracle; there was more to this story of Balaam.  We see this story spans from Old Testament to New, so prominent in the Bible is it that even a 580-page dissertation shouldn’t scare us away from learning about it.