Balak, the king of Moab, is afraid of the Israelites without cause. They are camping near his territory but have no intention of attacking him. Balak, however, wants to "fight them and drive them away" according to a message he sent to Balaam the prophet in yesterday's study. He wants to pay Balaam a fee in exchange for Balaam pronouncing a curse upon Israel that renders Israel unable to successfully fight back.
When the messengers and the money reach Balaam at Pethor, he hears their request. Instead of immediately refusing to curse Israel, as any prophet of God should have done without even thinking about it, he delays providing the men with an answer. "'Spend the night here,' Balaam said to them, 'and I will report back to you with the answer the Lord gives me.' So the Moabite officials stayed with him." (Numbers 22:8) Balaam is not an Israelite but he evidently knows the Lord and has served Him faithfully as a prophet in the past. We know he has a relationship with the Lord because the two of them have a conversation in the night and it's clear they are familiar with each other. What is not clear is why Balaam isn't the one who initiates the conversation. He told the men from Moab that he planned to consult the Lord overnight but instead of asking the Lord what he should do we find the Lord coming to ask him a question.
"God came to Balaam and asked, 'Who are these men with you?'" (Numbers 22:9) Of course the Lord knows exactly who the men are. The Lord isn't in need of information; Balaam is in need of confession. The Lord asks a question in order to draw Balaam into a conversation that's intended to reveal to Balaam the greed in his heart so he can repent of it. Balaam is tempted by the money. He may also be tempted to be of valuable service to the king in hopes that the king, out of gratitude once he has driven Israel away, will heap special honors and privileges upon him. Balaam is more concerned with himself than with the entire nation of Israel. The Lord knows what's in his heart and that's why the Lord poses a question: to get Balaam to admit he's harboring sin in his heart. Do you recall how that, after Adam sinned, the Lord came to the Garden of Eden and asked Adam where he was? The Lord knew Adam was hiding in the shrubbery but He was giving Adam a chance to step forward and admit his sin so it could be dealt with. Nothing is gained by hiding our sin from God. Sin can't be dealt with and resisted unless we get it out in the open before the only One who can help us with it.
"Balaam said to God, 'Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent me this message: 'A people has come out of Egypt covers the face of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. Perhaps then I will be able to fight them and drive them away.' But God said to Balaam, 'Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.'" (Numbers 22:10-12) Could Balaam have pronounced an effective curse upon Israel so that Israel would have been unable to defend herself against Balak's forces? No, I don't think so. God is on Israel's side and no prophet can thwart the will of God. If the Moabite army attacked Israel, God would defend Israel no matter what Balaam said. I don't think there's any danger of Israel being defeated by Moab but the danger is that Balaam will be defeated by greed. He's in danger of putting fortune and fame ahead of his relationship with God and if he does that then the Lord has the right to defrock him as a prophet. Balaam has a lot to lose and the Lord instructs him to remain at Pethor to give him a chance to think about how cheaply he's regarded his faith and his calling in life.
Balaam seems regretful when he speaks with the Moabite messengers in the morning. But his regret stems from his inability to accompany them, not from feeling remorseful over his greed of the previous day. "The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak's officials, 'Go back to your own country, for the Lord has refused to let me come with you.'" (Numbers 22:13) How do we know he's not in a repentant frame of mind? He doesn't admit he was wrong. He doesn't make any kind of statement about it being a sin to curse people the Lord intends to bless. He doesn't say something like, "I'm sorry I wasted your time and kept you here overnight. When you came to me yesterday I should have said no right away. I should have stood on my principles instead of letting myself be tempted to do wrong for money or recognition. I am a man of God and I didn't behave like a man of God and I owe you an apology for not behaving in a godly manner in your sight. The Lord talked with me in the night and showed me my error. I repented and made things right with Him when He reminded me that anyone who blesses Israel will be blessed and anyone who curses Israel will be cursed. That's the promise He made long ago to their forefather Abraham and God never breaks a promise. I would be fighting against the God who called me to be a prophet if I spoke a curse against Israel. I don't want to be on the wrong side of God so my answer to your king is no and this is my final answer. Please accept my apology and go your way in peace."
If Balaam had responded in this manner I think King Balak would have accepted his answer. Instead the king senses weakness. He smells greed. He believes (and rightly so) that Balaam has a price. If Balak meets the price he will have what he wants: a curse pronounced upon Israel by a prophet of Israel's God. In tomorrow's study we'll find Balak sending even more impressive officials to Balaam with an even more impressive offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment