BETWEEN THE NUMBERS
MOTIVATION
Numbers 22:21-41
-Back in Bible College I had one of the best possible jobs.
-I was a disc jockey at the college’s FM radio station and I worked the 6pm to Midnight shift.
-I was in this little sound-proof room where we played the CDs, talked through the microphone, and in addition to all the rest of my duties, and homework…I watched TV.
-We didn’t have cable at my house, but we had it in the studio and the one things I watched almost every night was the Law and Order reruns.
-If you ever watch trial shows you’ll know that the cops and prosecutors are trying to identify the “motive” for the crime.
-Part of making a case against someone who is a suspect in a crime is determining their motive: did they have a reason for committing that crime?
-OUR MOTIVES ARE WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO.
-And motives are tricky. Especially when we’re dealing the motivation of our own hearts.
-This morning we’re looking at one of the strangest passages in the Bible.
-We’re looking at the story of Balaam and his donkey! Numb 22
-If you weren’t here last week let me catch you up to speed.
-The Israelites were camped near the border of Moab.
-The Moabite King Balak was convinced that Israel would attack, so he tried to hire the sorcerer Balaam to put a curse on Israel.
-It’s important to understand the sequence of events here:
-Balak sent word to Balaam offering to pay him.
-Balaam asked God what to do, and God said, “Don’t do it.”
-So Balaam told King Balak, “Even if (you) Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the Lord my God.”
-So in essence he said it’s not about the $ “I can’t go against God”
-King Balak sent another contingency to Balaam and again Balaam asked God about what to do.
-But this time God said “you can go with them, but only say what I tell you to say.”
-Our passage today begins with Balaam heading to see King Balak.
21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.
-You can picture the scene here. Balaam and the Moabite bigwigs are setting out to meet the king riding a donkey.
-Donkeys were like the Ford Taurus of the ancient world.
-Practical, affordable, and sometimes Found On Road Dead.
-On the outside things seem ok: Balaam was obeying God.
-But then things take an interesting turn.
22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way.
-People scratch their head at this passage! “God said he could go, but then why was he angry with Balaam for going?”
-At first glance, with no other explanation given, this seems a bit strange. Why was God angry with Balaam?
-Was God being unfair with Balaam? Did God change his mind?
-Was God being deceitful and plotting harm against an innocent man?
-These are some of the thoughts people have when they read this kind of passage in the Bible.
-Why is it, that when we don’t understand what God is doing, He’s the one that must be at fault?
-In this case, why would some people doubt God’s goodness while giving the benefit of the doubt to a pagan sorcerer?
-Instead of asking what was going on with God, a more informed person might ask “what was going on with Balaam?”
-Doesn’t it seem more likely that Balaam (the sorcerer for hire) might have been the one at fault?
-But on the outside we don’t see anything wrong:
-He asked if he could go. God said yes. Balaam went.
-It seems as though everything was going according to plans.
-But what about on the inside?
GOD KNOWS WHAT IS IN THE HEARTS OF ALL PEOPLE.
-We’ve seen this throughout Numbers.
-When Miriam and Aaron questioned Moses…God saw the contempt in their hearts and punished them for it.
-When Korah and his followers rebelled under the pretense of equality and fairness, God exposed them as jealous & critical.
-When Moses struck the rock and water came out, God saw the anger and the pride in his heart.
-God knows what is in our hearts.
-We may not be very excited about that!!!
Psalm 139:1-4 “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.”
-Just how much does God see when he examines our hearts?
-He knows all about us, everything there is to know; inside/out
-We can tell other people what they want to hear, while secretly thinking something else.
-We can present an outside image which allows people to see only what we want them to see.
-We may even be able to fool people and convince them that we are something we’re not…but we cannot fool God.
-He knows what lies beneath the surface…and our hearts are laid bare before our all-knowing God.
-As I read this story I wanted to know, “What was going on in Balaam’s heart?”
-I suspect his heart’s desire; HIS MOTIVES were responsible for God’s sudden reaction.
As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.
-Apparently Balaam’s donkey could see the angel in the road and he noticed that the angel had a sword in his hand.
-Remember that thing about God being angry with Balaam?
-Apparently he was very angry with Balaam, and had sent an angel to tune him up with a flaming sword!
-Why did the donkey see the angel? No idea.
-Can animals normally see angels? I don’t think so.
-But whatever the case, Balaam didn’t see it, his donkey did, and it scared him.
-He went off the road and Balaam, showed his true colors here and beats the donkey to get it back on the road.
-(side note about animal abuse) Proverbs 12:10 “The godly care for their animals, but the wicked are always cruel.”
-Though everyone could get frustrated with their animals this may be our first glimpse into the heart of Balaam.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.
-Poor donkey. Trying to save Balaam’s life & taking a beating for it.
-OR maybe…it was trying to save its own life & didn’t really care
about Baalam!
26 Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.
-Balaam has had it up to here with his donkey when it literally just sat down on the road and would not move.
-Then the craziest thing happened.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. Like Shrek! -Sometimes people get hung up on stories like this.
-Sounds too far-fetched, sounds too weird to be true.
-But if God spoke the universe into existence and can raise the dead back to life, talking donkeys is no big deal! But it is weird.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam. 29 “You have made me look like a fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!”
-We see another little glimpse into Balaam’s heart. He’s proud.
-He’s embarrassed that this entourage of important officials is watching him struggle with his disobedient mule.
-He’s so mad that he’s ready to kill the donkey, and he’s so mad he apparently didn’t notice that he was talking to a donkey!!!
-Then the donkey says: 30 “But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted.
-They say donkeys are stubborn but this donkey seems to be very reasonable. Even Balaam couldn’t argue with him.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him. –Oh! That’s why you wouldn’t go! Angel w/flaming sword!
32 “Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. 33 Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.”
-Now we get to the heart of the matter: Balaam’s heart.
-The angel says, “Balaam was stubbornly resisting God”
-Why would God be threatening Balaam this poor innocent man?
-Who practiced sorcery -Beat his animals
-Struggled with pride -resisting God
-And…he was going over to talk with the money wielding King Balak to hear his offer, but then…not curse Israel.
-I think it goes back to his motives. And unfortunately we are not privileged to know the motives of Balaam.
-But many suggest that the thing which changed in Balaam.
-The reason for this bizarre encounter with a sword-wielding angel…had something to do with the money.
-It always comes back to money…doesn’t it?
-The experts suggest that on this road trip, Balaam was entertaining the notion of taking the money and cursing Israel.
-Even though he said “no” to the money.
-Even though he hadn’t originally planned to take it.
-That on the back of his mind he was hatching a plan on how to still make out with the cash. And God knew it.
-GOD KNOWS OUR TRUE MOTIVES.
-That while we are outwardly saying one thing, our inner motivations can be leaning another direction.
-That what we tell others, what we tell ourselves, and what we tell God…is sometimes simply not true.
-That when you tell yourself you’re just talking to that nice looking lady who is not your wife…there could be another layer of thought running through your mind.
-That while we’re just objectively sharing the facts about another person and not gossiping, that another part of you delights in sharing that tasty morsel.
-That while you’re telling your parents one thing, you’re secretly plotting to do just the opposite.
-That while we’re searching the web for something legitimate, you may be scanning for something pornographic.
-That while we’re pretending we’re not in it for the money, we are really in it for the money. I think that was Balaam.
-And God saw it, exposed it (in a rather unusual way) and Balaam almost paid the price for it then and there.
1 Cor 4:5 says, “For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.”
-Who knows why people do what they do?
-Who knows what people are really up to?
-Who knows what is going on in the recesses of our hearts and what we’re thinking in the backs of our minds?
-God does. God knows. All of it. Every detail. He sees everything.
-There are no secrets from God. There is no masking our true intentions. God has never said, “I never saw that coming!”
-He’s never been surprised! Not one time.
-But not only does God see, he calls us to see our hearts the way that he sees them.
-As Christians God wants us to be honest about our motives, and to search our own hearts for impure motives.
-He calls on us to adopt his standards, to align our hearts and minds with his heart and mind.
-To not just outwardly conform to “look righteous on the outside” but to inwardly pattern ourselves after him.
-GOD WANTS US TO HAVE PURE MOTIVES.
-If you turn to Matthew you see a passage that we call the Beatitudes…this is essentially Jesus stating his core theology.
-In 8 statements he told his followers what he thought, and how he wanted us to be... 6 of those statements deal with our inside
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. And in his core theology in includes this in vs 8:
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
-So often people who find Christ mistakenly turn a saving faith into dead religion.
-They believe that they can just act good and they will be good.
-They work a lot on image; controlling what they do, and what they allow people to see them do.
-And in doing so they exchange a heart-changing faith, for a faithless façade.
-We don’t God to be a fake-Christian. To be an impostor. Poser.
-But to have a pure heart, the heart that God desires for us, we must have the assistance of his Holy Spirit.
-Exposing false motives. Revealing impure thoughts and plans.
-Calling us to repentance, and transforming our hearts, to beat and pulse for the things of God.
-In our own lives, even today, many of us are struggling with our motives. We know that facts…we know what we’re supposed to do…but as the saying goes…our heart isn’t in it.
-We know we need to love our wife like Christ loved the church…but our hearts are harboring unforgiveness.
-We know we should obey our parents…but we our hearts resent their authority.
-We know we ought to help buy foods for needy kids…but our hearts our cynical….thought I’d work that in.
-We know we should care about missions, share our faith, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves…but the motives of our hearts don’t always guide us that way.
-When we deciding things, wrestling with things, feeling turmoil over things…we must ask ourselves truthfully: What are my motives here?
-And we should turn to God and say like David in Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
34 Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my going.” 35 But the angel of the Lord told Balaam, “Go with these men, but say only what I tell you to say.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s officials.
-When we’re off track and our motives are exposed by God, we confess, we making the adjustment, and we get back on the road.
