Numbers 22

Numbers 22

Even in the darkest days that Israel faced, God was still making Himself known to all the nations. After Israel’s victories over Arad and Og, the people of Moab began to worry that the Israelites would defeat them next. They labeled the Israelites as “a group of people that came out of Egypt.” They recognized the power that they had, but did not know its source. So they prepared to defend themselves for an attack, an attack that was not even coming. In doing so, they called up Balaam to give a curse against Israel. Balaam went to God for advice. Now notice that Balaam was not an Israelite, but he was speaking with God, the same God of Israel. Many times we think that the Old Testament is only about the Israelites and that all the other nations are enemies. But God worked in the other nations as well. He worked in Egypt, drawing many Egyptians to Himself when Joseph was there. He later used Rahab in Jericho. He also chose to use Ruth, a Moabite. This instance is no different. So He commanded Balaam to not place a curse on the Israelites, for they were a chosen nation.

As a result, Balaam found himself in a situation that we are in every day. He was caught between God’s commands and the command of his earthly king Balak. He had to choose who he would serve and obey, and he told Balak that nothing in this world (money or anything) would cause him to disobey God’s commands. Once God knew where he stood, He commanded Balaam to go ahead and travel with Balak, but he was to be sure and only follow God’s commands. Now I am not really sure why God condemns Balaam in the next verse, because it appears as if Balaam followed his command to go with Balak. The only thing I can figure out is that God told him to go if they asked him to. Since there is no record of the servants coming back to him, then maybe he was not supposed to go. This part of Numbers 22 is fairly confusing, but the story that follows shows explicit disobedience on Balaam’s part.

This is the famous story of the talking donkey. Balaam’s donkey saw an angel in the road directing them another way, for Balaam was not supposed to go with Balak at this time. Although the donkey obeys the angel’s commands, Balaam does not, and he strikes the donkey. The question is why did Balaam not see the angel as well? I think this helps clarify what happened previously and suggests that Balaam was not fully following God at this time. Maybe he was blinded by some sin in his life, and because of that sin, he was not listening to God’s commands. It took a talking donkey to set him straight. Imagine that, a talking donkey! What if God chose to speak to us through an animal? Would that get your attention? Despite the confusion in this passage, the point is clear, we are to obey God. God should never have to use some dramatic act, such as a talking donkey, to grab our attention. This is a charge for us to check up on ourselves, see if we are obeying God in our lives, and choose to live for Him if we are not.

Matt