AND, IN THE END, THERE WAS NO ONE THERE TO BAIL 'IM OUT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFsngpOkLaU
The defining moment, Ideally for every human on the planet, it is that one where they accept Christ as savior. But there are other defining moments ones every day. when the saved one makes the decision to follow Christ more completely or to keep following. But some saved ones can, apparently, make a decision to turn from the way, to follow the lure of the world,.either for a second or for a decision of greed, anger, sexuality. They follow the way of the false believer.
Of all the false prophets that appear, Balaam seems to stand out. He's the first person of fallen nature actually designated as a prophet. The prototypes for antichrist from Lamech to Nimrod to the Pharaoh seem to be more plentiful than false prophets at the start. At times in the wilderness, we had Aaron turn false as with the creation of the golden calf which he built for false worship while Moses was away on the mountain, but that turn was temporary. For her betrayal of Moses, Aaron's wife faced withering leprosy but had it healed when she turned back to God as well. So a moment of going astray can be forgotten when the failure is repented.
But Balaam creates another problem.
Nu 22:1 Then the children of Israel, journeying on, put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab, on the other side of Jordan at Jericho.
2 Now Balak, the son of Zippor, saw what Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel.
4 Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab.
5 So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me:
6 Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed.
7 So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.
8 And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night.
9 And God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you?
10 And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me, saying,
11 See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land.
12 And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.
13 In the morning Balaam got up and said to the chiefs of Balak, Go back to your land, for the Lord will not let me go with you.
14 So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us.
15 So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others.
16 And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me:
17 For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people.
18 But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God.
19 So take your rest here this night, till I have knowledge what more the Lord has to say to me.
20 And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you.
21 So in the morning Balaam got up and, making his ass ready, went with the chiefs of Moab.
22 But God was moved to wrath because he went: and the angel of the Lord took up a position in the road to keep him from his purpose. Now he was seated on his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord waiting in the road with his sword in his hand; and turning from the road, the ass went into the field; and Balaam gave the ass blows, to get her back on to the road.
24 Then the angel of the Lord took up his position in a narrow road through the vine-gardens, with a wall on this side and on that.
25 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and went near the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against the wall; and he gave her more blows.
26 Then the angel of the Lord went further, stopping in a narrow place where there was no room for turning to the right or to the left.
27 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord and went down on the earth under Balaam; and full of wrath, Balaam gave her hard blows with his stick.
28 Then the Lord gave the ass the power of talking, and opening her mouth she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you have given me blows these three times?
29 And Balaam said to the ass, You have made me seem foolish: if only I had a sword in my hand I would put you to death.
30 And the ass said to Balaam, Am I not your ass upon which you have gone all your life till this day? and have I ever done this to you before? And he said, No.
31 Then the Lord made Balaam's eyes open, and he saw the angel of the Lord in the way with his sword in his hand: and he went down on his face to the earth.
32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you given your ass blows these three times? See, I have come out against you to keep you back, because your purpose is not pleasing to me.
33 And the ass saw me, turning to one side from me three times: if she had not gone to one side, I would certainly have put you to death and kept her safe.
34 And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have done wrong, for I did not see that you were in the way against me: but now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will go back again.
35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men; but say only what I give you to say. Then Balaam went on with the chiefs of Balak.
36 Now Balak, hearing that Balaam had come, went to the chief town of Moab, on the edge of the Arnon, in the farthest part of the land, for the purpose of meeting him.
37 And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you, requesting you with all my heart to come to me? why did you not come? am I not able to give you a place of honour?
38 Then Balaam said to Balak, Now I have come to you; but have I power to say anything? Only what God puts into my mouth may I say.
39 And Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-huzoth.
40 And Balak made offerings of oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and the chiefs who were with him.
41 And in the morning Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and from there he was able to see the outer limits of the people.
(BBE)
Balaam is a prophet but of what god we are not at first sure . He seems to have had some success in cursing God's enemies and blessing His friends. But Pharaoh's magicians seem to have had that kind of power. Still, a Moabite, one of God's enemies knows this man and his power and clearly believes he can be bought. Balak also clearly does not know what God powers Balaam because, when he gets the prophet by his side, he takes him to the alter of Baal. Baal was a heathen god.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity
Notice first that Balaam knows they are bribing him. Openly. it raises the question if he was taking money for his services before or if Balak is just used to buying off his magicians and priests of Baal and thinks Balaam is the same as them. Balaam knows, too, that he is not supposed to be the same as them. He is to act on God's provocation, not on his own or any other human's demand. But temptation, the offer of riches, leads him to listen to the "responsible men".
Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says;
God makes it perfectly clear what He wants of Balam:
You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.
Numbers 22:22. God's anger was kindled because he went--The displeasure arose partly from his neglecting the condition on which leave was granted him--namely, to wait till the princes of Moab "came to call him" [Nu 22:20], and because, through desire for "the wages of unrighteousness" [2Pe 2:15], he entertained the secret purpose of acting in opposition to the solemn charge of God.
And there follows that great talk between the man and his mule. The so-called "man of God" can't see Jesus in Angel form ready to slay him, but his mule can and moves to save itself and him three times. I recently had something happen that reminded me of this. I left my phone in my locker at work, brought it home the next day and discovered it had lost its charge. I let it charge while i did y laundry and grocery shopping preparing to head out of town for my house and to see my family.
After charging, I couldn't get it to start, so I took it down to our battery store to see if I could buy a new battery for it. The clerk there said he had never been able to get a battery for that brand of phone, but he took the battery out, put it back in and the phone turned on. But if had a message showing that it had no stim card. I asked if he had lost the card when he took out the battery, but he said it wasn't there. I took the phone to a provider and they said something must have happened since the phone was working before the charge failed. I bought a new stim card and tried to pay with my debit card. The check out computer refused the card, which i figured was just a sign of my day and, since the system with shut down on your card f you try it three ties and it fails, I paid cash. I was still fuming over the phone not working, something like Balaam was fuming at his donkey for not taking him forward. I wanted nothing more for the day but to go home, do my chores clean my apartment and sleep since I had been up all night and was now into by twenty-fourth hour of no sleep because of the phone. I decided to head out of town for the evening and go home and cool down. Then figure out how to put the new stim card in. I first stopped at my credit union because I figured there was just a glitch in the system, that I hit a wrong number on my pin code but it turned but I had misfigured my deposits and only had a dollar and change left in the account after my shopping and laundry. If I had written a check any larger for groceries, I would have overdrawn the account and i had a check out, that if it came in, would have overdrawn the account. which it did the next day, the day BEFORE my work check was deposited. I would have paid much more than the $10 for the stim card in fees if that had happened. The whole mess actually saved me from a major embarrassment. god saved me from my own error and I was NOT thanking Him for my day while it was going on, only after. It doesn't take a complete fool to miss out on His warnings, but I'm sure, if I owned a mule, she'd have given me a good talking to.
Oh, the stim card is located UNDER the battery, in a clip, and it was right where it was supposed to be, but it wasn't reading in the phone any more. The new one works fine.
I say this to point out we are all as bad as Balaam sometimes, not paying attention in our lives and God has to get out attention letting the ass talk to us because we are behaving as bullheadedly as one.
Balaam has been given a miraculous warning and the portents are obvious. Jesus again comes into the life of the People as protector, as warning a prophet NOT to betray his trust.
"NO, you go ahead and you remember to do what I tell you to do."
Balaam is on the wrong road. He's been shown again and again that the path is wrong but he's gone that way and God will make the best of it for His purposes.
God's people need to always remember that God might not be stopping them from going the wrong way because their error can also be used to glorify Him. He allows Balaam to make a huge mistake in his life, one which will cost him dearly later on so he can show Balak the error of opposing Israel. Also so He can show generations to come that even those who are blessed as prophets, in leadership positions can be seduced into following money or the lure of power, into supporting the wrong leader or helping an enemy succeed even without blessing him or cursing their own people.
Nu 23:1 And Balaam said to Balak, Make me here seven altars and get ready seven oxen and seven male sheep.
(Not only does Baal have his alter there, Balaam asked for multiple alters, referring to multiple gods of Balak's familiarity. He's now mixing God worship with other worship ways and insuring he will not be listened to. W.)
2 And Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam made an offering on every altar of an ox and a male sheep.
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, Take your place by your burned offering, and I will go and see if the Lord comes to me: and I will give you word of whatever he says to me. And he went to an open place on a hill.
4 And God came to Balaam, and Balaam said to him, I have made ready seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.
5 And the Lord put words in Balaam's mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.
6 So he went back to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with all the chiefs of Moab.
7 And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, From Aram Balak has sent for me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: come, put curses on Jacob for me and be angry with Israel.
8 How may I put curses on him who is not cursed by God? how may I be angry with him with whom the Lord is not angry?
9 From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations.
10 Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his!
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing.
12 And in answer he said, Am I not ordered to say only what the Lord puts into my mouth?
13 And Balak said to him, Come with me now into another place from which you will not be able to see them all, but only the outskirts of them; and you will send curses on them from there.
14 So he took him into the country of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and there they made seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.
15 Then he said to Balak, Take your place here by your burned offering, while I go over there to the Lord.
16 And the Lord came to Balaam, and put words in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.
17 So he came to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with the chiefs of Moab by his side. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said?
18 And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, Up! Balak, and give ear; give attention to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, to say what is false; or the son of man, that his purpose may be changed: what he has said, will he not do? and will he not give effect to the words of his mouth?
20 See, I have had orders to give blessing: and he has given a blessing which I have no power to take away.
21 He has seen no evil in Jacob or wrongdoing in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the glad cry of a king is among them.
22 It is God who has taken them out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox.
23 No evil power has effect against Jacob, no secret arts against Israel; at the right time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel, See what God has done!
24 See, Israel comes up like a she-lion, lifting himself up like a lion: he will take no rest till he has made a meal of those he has overcome, drinking the blood of those he has put to death.
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing.
26 But Balaam in answer said to Balak, Did I not say to you, I may only do what the Lord says?
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take you to another place; it may be that God will let you put a curse on them from there.
28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, looking down over the waste land.
29 And Balaam said to Balak, Make me seven altars here and get seven oxen and seven male sheep ready for me.
30 And Balak did as Balaam said, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.
(BBE)
They kept it up, God keeps saying, "NO!" and they keep not taking it for an answer. Balak is like the future kings of Israel and later Judea, too, who don't listen to prophets. Don't follow the road of the Lord because they want their way and things to always go their way because they are kings. Kings and princes who don't pay attention to God get their way right up to the point where God merely stifles their every plan. A false prophet can be false if he has no connection with God, but one who has a connection with God can only do what the Lord allows or face death. Balaam WANTS his money and wealth and position but he can't get there this way and he even keeps making false sacrifices hoping god will just let him get his money. God continues on His way.
Nu 24:1 Now when Balaam saw that it was the Lord's pleasure to give his blessing to Israel, he did not, as at other times, make use of secret arts, but turning his face to the waste land,\
(So we see that Balaam has indulged in mystic arts, that his sacrifices were a part of that indulgence. How could a prophet of god think that would work or influence God in any way? How could money so blind him? His desire for some sort of position, some sort of wealth in this world seduced him. And only now when he does nt indulge his urges and his mysticism does the Spirit come to him.)
2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel there, with their tents in the order of their tribes: and the spirit of God came on him.
3 And moved by the spirit, he said, These are the words of Balaam, son of Beor, the words of the man whose eyes are open:
4 He says, whose ears are open to the words of God, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down, but having his eyes open:
(At Last, he will speak God's word.)
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your houses, O Israel!
6 They are stretched out like valleys, like gardens by the riverside, like flowering trees planted by the Lord, like cedar-trees by the waters.
7 Peoples will be in fear before his strength, his arm will be on great nations: his king will be higher than Agag, and his kingdom made great in honour.
8 It is God who has taken him out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox; the nations warring against him will be his food, their bones will be broken, they will be wounded with his arrows.
9 He took his sleep stretched out like a lion, and like a she-lion: by whom will his rest be broken? May a blessing be on everyone who gives you blessing, and a curse on everyone by whom you are cursed.
10 Then Balak was full of wrath against Balaam, and angrily waving his hands he said to Balaam, I sent for you so that those who are against me might be cursed, but now, see, three times you have given them a blessing.
11 Go back quickly to the place you came from: it was my purpose to give you a place of honour, but now the Lord has kept you back from honour.
12 Then Balaam said to Balak, Did I not say to the men you sent to me,
13 Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to go outside the orders of the Lord, doing good or evil at the impulse of my mind; whatever the Lord says I will say?
14 So now I will go back to my people: but first let me make clear to you what this people will do to your people in days to come.
15 Then he went on with his story and said, These are the words of Balaam, the son of Beor, the words of him whose eyes are open:
16 He says, whose ear is open to the words of God, who has knowledge of the Most High, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down and having his eyes open:
17 I see him, but not now: looking on him, but not near: a star will come out of Jacob, and a rod of authority out of Israel, sending destruction to the farthest limits of Moab and on the head of all the sons of Sheth.
18 Edom will be his heritage, and he will put an end to the last of the people of Seir.
19 And Israel will go on in strength, and Jacob will have rule over his haters.
20 Then, turning his eyes to Amalek, he went on with his story and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his part will be destruction for ever.
21 And looking on the Kenites he went on with his story and said, Strong is your living-place, and your secret place is safe in the rock.
22 But still the Kenites will be wasted, till Asshur takes you away prisoner.
23 Then he went on with his story and said, But who may keep his life when God does this?
24 But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction.
25 Then Balaam got up and went back to his place: and Balak went away.
(BBE)
But then Israel is seduced and God turns his back on them only to return because of the act of a righteous man.
Nu 25:1 Now when Israel was living in Shittim the people became false to the Lord, doing evil with the daughters of Moab:
2 For they sent for the people to be present at the offerings made to their gods; and the people took part in their feasts and gave honour to their gods.
3 So Israel had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor: and the Lord was moved to wrath against Israel.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, hanging them up in the sun before the Lord, so that the wrath of the Lord may be turned from Israel.
5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Let everyone put to death those of his men who have had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor.
6 Then one of the children of Israel came to his brothers, taking with him a woman of Midian, before the eyes of Moses and all the meeting of the people, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of meeting.
7 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand,
8 And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel.
9 But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease.
10 And the Lord said to Moses,
11 Through Phinehas, and because of his passion for my honour, my wrath has been turned away from the children of Israel, so that I have not sent destruction on them all in my wrath.
12 So say to them that I will make with him an agreement of peace:
13 And by this agreement, he and his sons after him have the right to be priests for ever; because, by his care for the honour of his God, he took away the sin of the children of Israel.
14 Now the man of Israel who was put to death with the woman of Midian was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of one of the families of the Simeonites.
15 And the woman of Midian who was put to death was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was the head of a family in Midian.
16 Then the Lord said to Moses,
17 Take up arms against the Midianites and overcome them;
18 For they are a danger to you with their false ways, causing sin to come on you in the question of Peor, and because of Cozbi, their sister, the daughter of the chief of Midian, who was put to death at the time of the disease which came on you because of Peor.
(BBE)
The plan to seduce them into following false gods has now completely failed. And now the enemies of God must pay a price for opposing Him even as the enemies of god in the end times will finally be destroyed. by Jesus himself.
Nu 31:1 Then the Lord said to Moses,
2 Give the Midianites punishment for the wrong they did to the children of Israel: and after that you will go to rest with your people.
3 So Moses said to the people, Let men from among you be armed for war to put into effect against Midian the Lord's punishment on them.
4 From every tribe of Israel send a thousand to the war.
5 So from the thousands of Israel a thousand were taken from every tribe, twelve thousand men armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them out to war, a thousand from every tribe, and with them Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, taking in his hands the vessels of the holy place and the horns for sounding the note of war.
7 And they made war on Midian, as the Lord gave orders to Moses; and they put to death every male.
8 They put the kings of Midian to death with the rest, Evi and Reken and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian: and Balaam, the son of Beor, they put to death with the sword.
9 The women of Midian with their little ones the children of Israel took prisoner; and all their cattle and flocks and all their goods they took for themselves;
10 And after burning all their towns and all their tent-circles,
11 They went away with the goods they had taken, man and beast.
12 And the prisoners and the goods and everything they had taken, they took to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the people of Israel, to the tent-circle in the lowlands of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Then Moses and Eleazar the priest and the chiefs of the people went out to them before they had come into the tent-circle.
14 And Moses was angry with the chiefs of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds who had come back from the war.
15 And Moses said to them, Why have you kept all the women safe?
16 It was these who, moved by Balaam, were the cause of Israel's sin against the Lord in the question of Peor, because of which disease came on the people of the Lord.
Patrick, Lowth, Whitby, Lowman commentary
Balaam – they slew with the sword. He had seen such good success of his wicked counsel (which he gave either as he went home, or returning again to them: see Nu 24:1-25 ult.) that, presuming the Israelites were forsaken of their God, he adventured to go along with the Midianites unto this battle; hoping he might curse the Israelites, now that iniquity (i. e. idolatry) was found among them; which he could not do while they were free from it. Thus he perished by his own wicked devices; and was so far from having his wish, that he might “die the death of the righteous” (that is, live long), that (as the Jews say) he was slain in the thirty-fourth year of his age. The doctors in the Gemara of the Sanhedrin (cap. 11, sec. 11) ask, “What did he here?” To which R. Jonanan makes answer, “He went to receive his reward for the death of the twenty-four thousand Israelites which he had procured (Nu 25:9). And thus, saith another, “it happened unto him, according to the proverb, The camel went to desire horns, and they cut off his ears.”
Balaam got his wish for riches and a place at the king's side by teaching them to send their women to seduce the men of Israel into worshiping false gods. His plan gave the Midianites victories and they would surely have destroyed all Israel if not for Phinehas and his action. But Balaam has been so completely seduced by his greed, by an association with the false gods, that he has forgotten the words the Lord gave him for Balak. He knows, he knows God will destroy the enemies of Israel. He was there when God predicted it through him. His actions become even more odd when you see that. He was so blinded by greed, by seeking power in this world, by the urge to be by the leader, the glamour of being an adviser, of being "the man" for the king, that he succumb to it and forgot God would have His will.
God's people were seduced by sexual desire and led to their almost downfall. One who knew his own desires for the world, knew too the way to bring down other people of God. One who turned his back on the Spirit, who later spoke it's truth but still turn due to seduction of one kind, saw how to seduce in another way on God's statement of finding nothing wrong with Israel.
The USA in claiming itself as God's country, needed to stay in God's will and not fall into believing their will was God's will, not believing that having wealth was all that God's will has for us. Supporting a man who has been portraying himself as a prophet by claiming victory and having his false predictions and misstatements ignored and thinking a victory in the Electoral College after a popular loss is a call for all the plans of conservatives is folly. God placed Balak as well as Phinehas. God placed Balaam as well as Moses. Who the people followed decided the fate of their countries. Of their families. of their eternity.
Balaam got obsessed with wealth. There is another way to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cel_O-qy0i0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFsngpOkLaU
The defining moment, Ideally for every human on the planet, it is that one where they accept Christ as savior. But there are other defining moments ones every day. when the saved one makes the decision to follow Christ more completely or to keep following. But some saved ones can, apparently, make a decision to turn from the way, to follow the lure of the world,.either for a second or for a decision of greed, anger, sexuality. They follow the way of the false believer.
Of all the false prophets that appear, Balaam seems to stand out. He's the first person of fallen nature actually designated as a prophet. The prototypes for antichrist from Lamech to Nimrod to the Pharaoh seem to be more plentiful than false prophets at the start. At times in the wilderness, we had Aaron turn false as with the creation of the golden calf which he built for false worship while Moses was away on the mountain, but that turn was temporary. For her betrayal of Moses, Aaron's wife faced withering leprosy but had it healed when she turned back to God as well. So a moment of going astray can be forgotten when the failure is repented.
But Balaam creates another problem.
Nu 22:1 Then the children of Israel, journeying on, put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab, on the other side of Jordan at Jericho.
2 Now Balak, the son of Zippor, saw what Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel.
4 Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab.
5 So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me:
6 Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed.
7 So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say.
8 And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night.
9 And God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you?
10 And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me, saying,
11 See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land.
12 And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.
13 In the morning Balaam got up and said to the chiefs of Balak, Go back to your land, for the Lord will not let me go with you.
14 So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us.
15 So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others.
16 And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me:
17 For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people.
18 But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God.
19 So take your rest here this night, till I have knowledge what more the Lord has to say to me.
20 And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you.
21 So in the morning Balaam got up and, making his ass ready, went with the chiefs of Moab.
22 But God was moved to wrath because he went: and the angel of the Lord took up a position in the road to keep him from his purpose. Now he was seated on his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord waiting in the road with his sword in his hand; and turning from the road, the ass went into the field; and Balaam gave the ass blows, to get her back on to the road.
24 Then the angel of the Lord took up his position in a narrow road through the vine-gardens, with a wall on this side and on that.
25 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and went near the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against the wall; and he gave her more blows.
26 Then the angel of the Lord went further, stopping in a narrow place where there was no room for turning to the right or to the left.
27 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord and went down on the earth under Balaam; and full of wrath, Balaam gave her hard blows with his stick.
28 Then the Lord gave the ass the power of talking, and opening her mouth she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you have given me blows these three times?
29 And Balaam said to the ass, You have made me seem foolish: if only I had a sword in my hand I would put you to death.
30 And the ass said to Balaam, Am I not your ass upon which you have gone all your life till this day? and have I ever done this to you before? And he said, No.
31 Then the Lord made Balaam's eyes open, and he saw the angel of the Lord in the way with his sword in his hand: and he went down on his face to the earth.
32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you given your ass blows these three times? See, I have come out against you to keep you back, because your purpose is not pleasing to me.
33 And the ass saw me, turning to one side from me three times: if she had not gone to one side, I would certainly have put you to death and kept her safe.
34 And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have done wrong, for I did not see that you were in the way against me: but now, if it is evil in your eyes, I will go back again.
35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men; but say only what I give you to say. Then Balaam went on with the chiefs of Balak.
36 Now Balak, hearing that Balaam had come, went to the chief town of Moab, on the edge of the Arnon, in the farthest part of the land, for the purpose of meeting him.
37 And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send to you, requesting you with all my heart to come to me? why did you not come? am I not able to give you a place of honour?
38 Then Balaam said to Balak, Now I have come to you; but have I power to say anything? Only what God puts into my mouth may I say.
39 And Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath-huzoth.
40 And Balak made offerings of oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and the chiefs who were with him.
41 And in the morning Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and from there he was able to see the outer limits of the people.
(BBE)
Balaam is a prophet but of what god we are not at first sure . He seems to have had some success in cursing God's enemies and blessing His friends. But Pharaoh's magicians seem to have had that kind of power. Still, a Moabite, one of God's enemies knows this man and his power and clearly believes he can be bought. Balak also clearly does not know what God powers Balaam because, when he gets the prophet by his side, he takes him to the alter of Baal. Baal was a heathen god.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Baal-ancient-deity
Baal, god worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communities, especially among the Canaanites, who apparently considered him a fertility deity and one of the most important gods in the pantheon. As a Semitic common noun baal (Hebrew baʿal) meant “owner” or “lord,” although it could be used more generally; for example, a baal of wings was a winged creature, and, in the plural, baalim of arrows indicated archers. Yet such fluidity in the use of the term baal did not prevent it from being attached to a god of distinct character. As such, Baal designated the universal god of fertility, and in that capacity his title was Prince, Lord of the Earth. He was also called the Lord of Rain and Dew, the two forms of moisture that were indispensable for fertile soil in Canaan. In Ugaritic and Hebrew, Baal’s epithet as the storm god was He Who Rides on the Clouds. In Phoenician he was called Baal Shamen, Lord of the Heavens.
Ugaritic texts tell of other fertility aspects of Baal, such as his relations with Anath, his consort and sister, and also his siring a divine bull calf from a heifer. All this was part of his fertility role, which, when fulfilled, meant an abundance of crops and fertility for animals and mankind.
But Baal was not exclusively a fertility god. He was also king of the gods, and, to achieve that position, he was portrayed as seizing the divine kingship from Yamm, the sea god.
The myths also tell of Baal’s struggle to obtain a palace comparable in grandeur to those of other gods. Baal persuaded Asherah to intercede with her husband El, the head of the pantheon, to authorize the construction of a palace. (As an aside, remember that Superman is from the House of El, hence Kal-el. W.) The god of arts and crafts, Kothar, then proceeded to build for Baal the most beautiful of palaces which spread over an area of 10,000 acres. The myth may refer in part to the construction of Baal’s own temple in the city of Ugarit. Near Baal’s temple was that of Dagon, given in the tablets as Baal’s father.
Notice first that Balaam knows they are bribing him. Openly. it raises the question if he was taking money for his services before or if Balak is just used to buying off his magicians and priests of Baal and thinks Balaam is the same as them. Balaam knows, too, that he is not supposed to be the same as them. He is to act on God's provocation, not on his own or any other human's demand. But temptation, the offer of riches, leads him to listen to the "responsible men".
Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says;
God makes it perfectly clear what He wants of Balam:
You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing.
Do you notice any wiggle room there? Do you see a "maybe" or a "if you feel like it" or anything other than a definitive statement? God doesn't come with the word "maybe" in his commands.
But Balak persists. There is the story of Loretta Lynn and her husband arranging her first recording. They scraped together the cash to pay for it then, after hearing her sing, the producer stopped the action and said, "I have to get some more musicians." Lynn's husband began to protest about how they didn't have any more money and the producer cut him off, saying "I mean more better. That little girl can sing up a storm." Balak sends his more better men and bribes and Balaam talks to God again. He warns he can't do it for any amount of God says, "No." but he does ask again.
Now we have a moment of confusion. God tells hi he can go, but to ony say what God tells him. THEN when he goes, God gets angry.
Jamieson, etal. commentary.
And there follows that great talk between the man and his mule. The so-called "man of God" can't see Jesus in Angel form ready to slay him, but his mule can and moves to save itself and him three times. I recently had something happen that reminded me of this. I left my phone in my locker at work, brought it home the next day and discovered it had lost its charge. I let it charge while i did y laundry and grocery shopping preparing to head out of town for my house and to see my family.
After charging, I couldn't get it to start, so I took it down to our battery store to see if I could buy a new battery for it. The clerk there said he had never been able to get a battery for that brand of phone, but he took the battery out, put it back in and the phone turned on. But if had a message showing that it had no stim card. I asked if he had lost the card when he took out the battery, but he said it wasn't there. I took the phone to a provider and they said something must have happened since the phone was working before the charge failed. I bought a new stim card and tried to pay with my debit card. The check out computer refused the card, which i figured was just a sign of my day and, since the system with shut down on your card f you try it three ties and it fails, I paid cash. I was still fuming over the phone not working, something like Balaam was fuming at his donkey for not taking him forward. I wanted nothing more for the day but to go home, do my chores clean my apartment and sleep since I had been up all night and was now into by twenty-fourth hour of no sleep because of the phone. I decided to head out of town for the evening and go home and cool down. Then figure out how to put the new stim card in. I first stopped at my credit union because I figured there was just a glitch in the system, that I hit a wrong number on my pin code but it turned but I had misfigured my deposits and only had a dollar and change left in the account after my shopping and laundry. If I had written a check any larger for groceries, I would have overdrawn the account and i had a check out, that if it came in, would have overdrawn the account. which it did the next day, the day BEFORE my work check was deposited. I would have paid much more than the $10 for the stim card in fees if that had happened. The whole mess actually saved me from a major embarrassment. god saved me from my own error and I was NOT thanking Him for my day while it was going on, only after. It doesn't take a complete fool to miss out on His warnings, but I'm sure, if I owned a mule, she'd have given me a good talking to.
Oh, the stim card is located UNDER the battery, in a clip, and it was right where it was supposed to be, but it wasn't reading in the phone any more. The new one works fine.
I say this to point out we are all as bad as Balaam sometimes, not paying attention in our lives and God has to get out attention letting the ass talk to us because we are behaving as bullheadedly as one.
Balaam has been given a miraculous warning and the portents are obvious. Jesus again comes into the life of the People as protector, as warning a prophet NOT to betray his trust.
"NO, you go ahead and you remember to do what I tell you to do."
Balaam is on the wrong road. He's been shown again and again that the path is wrong but he's gone that way and God will make the best of it for His purposes.
God's people need to always remember that God might not be stopping them from going the wrong way because their error can also be used to glorify Him. He allows Balaam to make a huge mistake in his life, one which will cost him dearly later on so he can show Balak the error of opposing Israel. Also so He can show generations to come that even those who are blessed as prophets, in leadership positions can be seduced into following money or the lure of power, into supporting the wrong leader or helping an enemy succeed even without blessing him or cursing their own people.
Nu 23:1 And Balaam said to Balak, Make me here seven altars and get ready seven oxen and seven male sheep.
(Not only does Baal have his alter there, Balaam asked for multiple alters, referring to multiple gods of Balak's familiarity. He's now mixing God worship with other worship ways and insuring he will not be listened to. W.)
2 And Balak did as Balaam had said; and Balak and Balaam made an offering on every altar of an ox and a male sheep.
3 Then Balaam said to Balak, Take your place by your burned offering, and I will go and see if the Lord comes to me: and I will give you word of whatever he says to me. And he went to an open place on a hill.
4 And God came to Balaam, and Balaam said to him, I have made ready seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.
5 And the Lord put words in Balaam's mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.
6 So he went back to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with all the chiefs of Moab.
7 And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, From Aram Balak has sent for me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East: come, put curses on Jacob for me and be angry with Israel.
8 How may I put curses on him who is not cursed by God? how may I be angry with him with whom the Lord is not angry?
9 From the top of the rocks I see him, looking down on him from the hills: it is a people made separate, not to be numbered among the nations.
10 Who is able to take the measure of the dust of Jacob or the number of the thousands of Israel? May my death be the death of the upright and my last end like his!
11 Then Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I sent for you so that my haters might be cursed, and see, you have given them a blessing.
12 And in answer he said, Am I not ordered to say only what the Lord puts into my mouth?
13 And Balak said to him, Come with me now into another place from which you will not be able to see them all, but only the outskirts of them; and you will send curses on them from there.
14 So he took him into the country of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and there they made seven altars, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.
15 Then he said to Balak, Take your place here by your burned offering, while I go over there to the Lord.
16 And the Lord came to Balaam, and put words in his mouth, and said, Go back to Balak, and this is what you are to say.
17 So he came to him where he was waiting by his burned offering with the chiefs of Moab by his side. And Balak said to him, What has the Lord said?
18 And in the words which the Lord had given him he said, Up! Balak, and give ear; give attention to me, O son of Zippor:
19 God is not a man, to say what is false; or the son of man, that his purpose may be changed: what he has said, will he not do? and will he not give effect to the words of his mouth?
20 See, I have had orders to give blessing: and he has given a blessing which I have no power to take away.
21 He has seen no evil in Jacob or wrongdoing in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the glad cry of a king is among them.
22 It is God who has taken them out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox.
23 No evil power has effect against Jacob, no secret arts against Israel; at the right time it will be said of Jacob and of Israel, See what God has done!
24 See, Israel comes up like a she-lion, lifting himself up like a lion: he will take no rest till he has made a meal of those he has overcome, drinking the blood of those he has put to death.
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, If you will not put a curse on them, at all events do not give them a blessing.
26 But Balaam in answer said to Balak, Did I not say to you, I may only do what the Lord says?
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, Come now, I will take you to another place; it may be that God will let you put a curse on them from there.
28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, looking down over the waste land.
29 And Balaam said to Balak, Make me seven altars here and get seven oxen and seven male sheep ready for me.
30 And Balak did as Balaam said, offering an ox and a male sheep on every altar.
(BBE)
They kept it up, God keeps saying, "NO!" and they keep not taking it for an answer. Balak is like the future kings of Israel and later Judea, too, who don't listen to prophets. Don't follow the road of the Lord because they want their way and things to always go their way because they are kings. Kings and princes who don't pay attention to God get their way right up to the point where God merely stifles their every plan. A false prophet can be false if he has no connection with God, but one who has a connection with God can only do what the Lord allows or face death. Balaam WANTS his money and wealth and position but he can't get there this way and he even keeps making false sacrifices hoping god will just let him get his money. God continues on His way.
Nu 24:1 Now when Balaam saw that it was the Lord's pleasure to give his blessing to Israel, he did not, as at other times, make use of secret arts, but turning his face to the waste land,\
(So we see that Balaam has indulged in mystic arts, that his sacrifices were a part of that indulgence. How could a prophet of god think that would work or influence God in any way? How could money so blind him? His desire for some sort of position, some sort of wealth in this world seduced him. And only now when he does nt indulge his urges and his mysticism does the Spirit come to him.)
2 And lifting up his eyes, he saw Israel there, with their tents in the order of their tribes: and the spirit of God came on him.
3 And moved by the spirit, he said, These are the words of Balaam, son of Beor, the words of the man whose eyes are open:
4 He says, whose ears are open to the words of God, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down, but having his eyes open:
(At Last, he will speak God's word.)
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your houses, O Israel!
6 They are stretched out like valleys, like gardens by the riverside, like flowering trees planted by the Lord, like cedar-trees by the waters.
7 Peoples will be in fear before his strength, his arm will be on great nations: his king will be higher than Agag, and his kingdom made great in honour.
8 It is God who has taken him out of Egypt; his horns are like those of the mountain ox; the nations warring against him will be his food, their bones will be broken, they will be wounded with his arrows.
9 He took his sleep stretched out like a lion, and like a she-lion: by whom will his rest be broken? May a blessing be on everyone who gives you blessing, and a curse on everyone by whom you are cursed.
10 Then Balak was full of wrath against Balaam, and angrily waving his hands he said to Balaam, I sent for you so that those who are against me might be cursed, but now, see, three times you have given them a blessing.
11 Go back quickly to the place you came from: it was my purpose to give you a place of honour, but now the Lord has kept you back from honour.
12 Then Balaam said to Balak, Did I not say to the men you sent to me,
13 Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to go outside the orders of the Lord, doing good or evil at the impulse of my mind; whatever the Lord says I will say?
14 So now I will go back to my people: but first let me make clear to you what this people will do to your people in days to come.
15 Then he went on with his story and said, These are the words of Balaam, the son of Beor, the words of him whose eyes are open:
16 He says, whose ear is open to the words of God, who has knowledge of the Most High, who has seen the vision of the Ruler of all, falling down and having his eyes open:
17 I see him, but not now: looking on him, but not near: a star will come out of Jacob, and a rod of authority out of Israel, sending destruction to the farthest limits of Moab and on the head of all the sons of Sheth.
18 Edom will be his heritage, and he will put an end to the last of the people of Seir.
19 And Israel will go on in strength, and Jacob will have rule over his haters.
20 Then, turning his eyes to Amalek, he went on with his story and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his part will be destruction for ever.
21 And looking on the Kenites he went on with his story and said, Strong is your living-place, and your secret place is safe in the rock.
22 But still the Kenites will be wasted, till Asshur takes you away prisoner.
23 Then he went on with his story and said, But who may keep his life when God does this?
24 But ships will come from the direction of Kittim, troubling Asshur and troubling Eber, and like the others their fate will be destruction.
25 Then Balaam got up and went back to his place: and Balak went away.
(BBE)
But then Israel is seduced and God turns his back on them only to return because of the act of a righteous man.
Nu 25:1 Now when Israel was living in Shittim the people became false to the Lord, doing evil with the daughters of Moab:
2 For they sent for the people to be present at the offerings made to their gods; and the people took part in their feasts and gave honour to their gods.
3 So Israel had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor: and the Lord was moved to wrath against Israel.
4 Then the Lord said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, hanging them up in the sun before the Lord, so that the wrath of the Lord may be turned from Israel.
5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, Let everyone put to death those of his men who have had relations with the women of Moab in honour of the Baal of Peor.
6 Then one of the children of Israel came to his brothers, taking with him a woman of Midian, before the eyes of Moses and all the meeting of the people, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of meeting.
7 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand,
8 And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel.
9 But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease.
10 And the Lord said to Moses,
11 Through Phinehas, and because of his passion for my honour, my wrath has been turned away from the children of Israel, so that I have not sent destruction on them all in my wrath.
12 So say to them that I will make with him an agreement of peace:
13 And by this agreement, he and his sons after him have the right to be priests for ever; because, by his care for the honour of his God, he took away the sin of the children of Israel.
14 Now the man of Israel who was put to death with the woman of Midian was Zimri, the son of Salu, a chief of one of the families of the Simeonites.
15 And the woman of Midian who was put to death was Cozbi, the daughter of Zur; he was the head of a family in Midian.
16 Then the Lord said to Moses,
17 Take up arms against the Midianites and overcome them;
18 For they are a danger to you with their false ways, causing sin to come on you in the question of Peor, and because of Cozbi, their sister, the daughter of the chief of Midian, who was put to death at the time of the disease which came on you because of Peor.
(BBE)
The plan to seduce them into following false gods has now completely failed. And now the enemies of God must pay a price for opposing Him even as the enemies of god in the end times will finally be destroyed. by Jesus himself.
Nu 31:1 Then the Lord said to Moses,
2 Give the Midianites punishment for the wrong they did to the children of Israel: and after that you will go to rest with your people.
3 So Moses said to the people, Let men from among you be armed for war to put into effect against Midian the Lord's punishment on them.
4 From every tribe of Israel send a thousand to the war.
5 So from the thousands of Israel a thousand were taken from every tribe, twelve thousand men armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them out to war, a thousand from every tribe, and with them Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, taking in his hands the vessels of the holy place and the horns for sounding the note of war.
7 And they made war on Midian, as the Lord gave orders to Moses; and they put to death every male.
8 They put the kings of Midian to death with the rest, Evi and Reken and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian: and Balaam, the son of Beor, they put to death with the sword.
9 The women of Midian with their little ones the children of Israel took prisoner; and all their cattle and flocks and all their goods they took for themselves;
10 And after burning all their towns and all their tent-circles,
11 They went away with the goods they had taken, man and beast.
12 And the prisoners and the goods and everything they had taken, they took to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the people of Israel, to the tent-circle in the lowlands of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Then Moses and Eleazar the priest and the chiefs of the people went out to them before they had come into the tent-circle.
14 And Moses was angry with the chiefs of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds who had come back from the war.
15 And Moses said to them, Why have you kept all the women safe?
16 It was these who, moved by Balaam, were the cause of Israel's sin against the Lord in the question of Peor, because of which disease came on the people of the Lord.
Patrick, Lowth, Whitby, Lowman commentary
Balaam – they slew with the sword. He had seen such good success of his wicked counsel (which he gave either as he went home, or returning again to them: see Nu 24:1-25 ult.) that, presuming the Israelites were forsaken of their God, he adventured to go along with the Midianites unto this battle; hoping he might curse the Israelites, now that iniquity (i. e. idolatry) was found among them; which he could not do while they were free from it. Thus he perished by his own wicked devices; and was so far from having his wish, that he might “die the death of the righteous” (that is, live long), that (as the Jews say) he was slain in the thirty-fourth year of his age. The doctors in the Gemara of the Sanhedrin (cap. 11, sec. 11) ask, “What did he here?” To which R. Jonanan makes answer, “He went to receive his reward for the death of the twenty-four thousand Israelites which he had procured (Nu 25:9). And thus, saith another, “it happened unto him, according to the proverb, The camel went to desire horns, and they cut off his ears.”
Balaam got his wish for riches and a place at the king's side by teaching them to send their women to seduce the men of Israel into worshiping false gods. His plan gave the Midianites victories and they would surely have destroyed all Israel if not for Phinehas and his action. But Balaam has been so completely seduced by his greed, by an association with the false gods, that he has forgotten the words the Lord gave him for Balak. He knows, he knows God will destroy the enemies of Israel. He was there when God predicted it through him. His actions become even more odd when you see that. He was so blinded by greed, by seeking power in this world, by the urge to be by the leader, the glamour of being an adviser, of being "the man" for the king, that he succumb to it and forgot God would have His will.
God's people were seduced by sexual desire and led to their almost downfall. One who knew his own desires for the world, knew too the way to bring down other people of God. One who turned his back on the Spirit, who later spoke it's truth but still turn due to seduction of one kind, saw how to seduce in another way on God's statement of finding nothing wrong with Israel.
The USA in claiming itself as God's country, needed to stay in God's will and not fall into believing their will was God's will, not believing that having wealth was all that God's will has for us. Supporting a man who has been portraying himself as a prophet by claiming victory and having his false predictions and misstatements ignored and thinking a victory in the Electoral College after a popular loss is a call for all the plans of conservatives is folly. God placed Balak as well as Phinehas. God placed Balaam as well as Moses. Who the people followed decided the fate of their countries. Of their families. of their eternity.
Balaam got obsessed with wealth. There is another way to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cel_O-qy0i0
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