TEXT: Numbers 22:1-38 (READ)
INTRO: How many of you would agree with me that God’s ways are best? OK…How many of you that agree God’s ways are best can also say with me that knowing God’s ways are best hasn’t always meant you chose God’s way over your own way? (Even tho you would admit God’s way was best, you chose your own way anyway.) There’s a BIG difference between "saying" and "doing"?
Most of us have good intentions about serving God. But when it comes to sin and the subject of obedience, good intentions don’t cut it. Someone once said, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." This story is about a semi-religious man who had some good intentions but poor follow-through. He had one foot in religion and one foot in the world. He reminds me of Paul’s prophetic description of those who will be living in the last days,
2 Tim 3:5 - "…having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
A little background info on Balaam is crucial to your understanding of "the rest of the story." The more you know about him, the more insight it will give you concerning why he made the decisions he made and why God dealt with him the way he did. Let me give you his brief bio:
Balaam was not a Jew. He was a foreigner from Mesopotamia. As a boy, when I read/heard this story, I figured Balaam was a righteous man. That isn’t true. Many people in his day considered him a prophet, but he was not. At least not in the Biblical sense. He was a sorcerer. A sort of Far Eastern "witch doctor." Someone called upon to place curses on people. Religion was his business, not his life-style. Belief in curses and blessings was common in OT times. Sorcerers were thought to have power with the gods. So the king of Moab wanted Balaam to use his powers with the God of Israel to place a curse on Israel - hoping that, by magic, God would turn against His people. Obviously, neither Balaam nor Balak had any idea who they were dealing with!
Interestingly enough, Balaam was willing to acknowledge that Jehovah (the God of the Israelites) was indeed a powerful God. But he did not believe He was the only true God. His story exposes the deception of maintaining an outward facade of spirituality over a corrupt inward life. Balaam was ready to obey God’s command as long as he could profit from doing so. (Does any of this sound familiar to you?) Although he realized the awesome power of Israel’s God, his heart was occupied with the wealth he could gain in Moab. Reading this story by itself might lead us to believe he turned completely to God, but later passages in the Bible show that Balaam couldn’t resist the tempting pull of money and idolatry. This mixture of motives - obedience and profit - eventually led to Balaam’s death.
"...having a form of godliness but denying its power..." That was Balaam. So close, yet so far away. He had some knowledge of God, but not enough to forsake his magic and turn wholeheartedly to God. He knew God’s way was the best way, but he had his own agenda. One other thing about Balaam before we move on. If you’re like me, you might read this story and scratch your head wondering why God would speak through or use a sorcerer like Balaam. Here’s why:
* First, God wanted to give a message to the Moabites, and they had already chosen to employ Balaam. So Balaam was available for God to use much as he used the wicked Pharaoh to accomplish his will in Egypt, or Caesar A. to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem so His son could be born there according to prophecy. God’s plans will be accomplished no matter what! God can use someone who could care less about him to accomplish his purposes.
* Second, I believe God was giving Balaam a chance, as he does with every one of us, to turn to him. Throughout the course of our lives God will try numerous times to get our attention because he loves us. The question is; will we be listening when he calls. Balaam had a direct encounter with God himself. An incredible opportunity to get his life on track. But he blew it. God had a plan and he was in it, but Balaam had his own plan.
PROPOSITION: There are some definite reasons why a person gets out of the Will of God.
Sometimes we wouldn’t recognize God’s Will if it hit us square in the face because we aren’t paying attention or just plain aren’t interested. - OR - We see it, but choose to ignore it because we have our own agenda.
INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE: What does a story about a man and his talking mule have to do with God’s Will? God used a Donkey and a Detour to teach Balaam a lesson in Divine Direction - and I believe as we look in on their story, those same lessons can help us.
LESSON #1: WHEN GOD ASKS YOU TO DO SOMETHING, HE IS LOOKING FOR ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE. (v. 12)
God gave Balaam a clear directive: "Don’t go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed." God did not stutter. He gave his instruction in a way that Balaam could easily understand. There was no question about what God meant/wanted. Reminds me of Jonah. Jonah 1:1-2 - The word of the LORD came to Jonah: "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me."
Like Jonah, Balaam didn’t get into trouble because God didn’t give good directions. He got in trouble because he didn’t follow them. There wasn’t a problem with misunderstanding or misinterpretation. There was a problem with obedience. When God says do it, DO IT! And don’t ask questions or try to manipulate things to suit you.
Balaam understood God perfectly. Let me show you what really happened. The first time Balak’s delegation came and tried to hire him, Balaam had no problem doing the right thing. (READ vs. 13)
Now, notice some key pieces of information that are easy to overlook (READ vs’s. 15 & 17). The second time around, Balak sweetened the deal, sent a larger group, a more distinguished group, and he sent his top agent and offered to re-negotiate Balaam’s contract with incentive clauses and a special signing bonus that would make him the highest paid sorcerer in the NSA (National Sorcerer’s Association).
Look what Balaam said. (vs. 19) "I tell you what fellas, why don’t you spend the night and I’ll go find out what else the Lord has to say..." Now, it doesn’t tell us what Balaam said to God, but I have a feeling it was one of those arm-twisting kind of prayers where you act like you’re interested in doing the right thing, but in reality, you’ve already made up your mind about what you’re going to do. You know what I’m talking about! One of those prayers where you let God in on your plans and tell him what’s best for your life. Trying to get God’s will to line up with yours. There was no need to pray! God’s plan was already perfectly clear. He had not changed his mind.
"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind."
Guess who made that quote? Balaam, one chapter later (Num. 23:19) as God spoke through him to Balak. When God asks you to do something he is looking for your obedience, not your interpretation. Don’t be surprised if the enemy comes to test your resolve when God gives you direction. Satan is smart. If he doesn’t succeed at first in trying to get you to compromise, he’ll come back later and sweeten the deal. He’ll try to make you believe you can have God’s way and your way at the same time. Don’t buy it! When God asks you to do something, he is looking for absolute obedience. If you compromise on God’s will, don’t complain about the final outcome.
"Sometimes God punishes us by allowing us to have our own way." - Anonymous Quote. How many of you would be honest and admit with me that there have been times when you have compromised God’s Will for your life? TRANSITION: Even when we compromise and "do our own thing", God loves us enough that he doesn’t give up on us.
LESSON #2: WHEN WE GET OUT OF GOD’S WILL, HE WILL OFTEN PUT ROADBLOCKS IN THE WAY TO GET OUR ATTENTION. (v. 22)
God let Balaam go with Balak’s messengers, but he was angry about Balaam’s greedy attitude. Balaam claimed that he would not go against God just for money, but his resolve was beginning to slip. His greed for the wealth offered by the king blinded him so that he could not see how God was trying to stop him. Though we may know what God wants us to do, we can become blinded by the desire for money, possessions, or prestige.
Sometimes God, like he did with Balaam, will "stand in the road to oppose us" if he doesn’t like the way we’re doing/handling things. He loves us so much that He tries to get us to turn around if we’re going the wrong way or to re-think things if our approach is wrong. He doesn’t just abandon us when we disobey. He keeps trying to get through to us before we hurt ourselves. If you get out of the Will of God, he won’t let you go without putting a couple of "STOP" signs in the road to try and get your attention. Problem is, if you’re already in "cruise control", you may not even see them. And if you do, they may only irritate you.
Here comes old Balaam down the road, so sure of himself. So confident of his mission. (Perhaps I should say "so over-confident"). And God wants to have a little talk with him. But he doesn’t have time for it. Ever notice how we always have time for God when we want/need something? Now God wants a minute of his time and Balaam’s about to get perturbed. (irritated. ticked off. miffed) He’s got places to go, things to do and people to see.
How many of you get frustrated when things don’t go according to plan? Especially when you’re traveling. There’s nothing worse than being in a hurry to get somewhere and you run out of gas...make a wrong turn...get lost...or you have car trouble. Car problems can really get you upset. Know what I’m talking about? They take you out of your comfort zone. You’re no longer in control. Embarrassed. Sweating. Worrying. (Questions) What am I gonna’ do? How much is this gonna’ cost? Who can I call for help? How are we gonna’ get there? More than 1 person has lost their religion over a flat tire! Balaam is about to experience transportation problems, and for a supposedly spiritual guy, he doesn’t handle it too well. In fact, he’s about to make a real donkey of himself.
Let’s review: Balaam has heard but disobeyed God. It appears he’s doing the right thing but he’s doing it the wrong way and for the wrong reasons. It’s called compromise. He’s covering up his own agenda with a spiritual "game plan". So God "opposes him", and in an attempt to get his attention, sends an angel as a roadblock (vs. 23). The donkey sees the angel standing in the road, sword drawn - and goes off the road. What does Balaam do? He gets down, kicks up some dirt with his toe, and proceeds to beat her! I wonder what he said while he tried to change that flat!?!?
TRANSITION: The more we develop a "secular mindset" (through disobedience), the more God’s Will, and His attempts to get us back "on course" - become a source of irritation.
LESSON #3: WHEN GOD PUTS A ROADBLOCK IN YOUR PATH, DON’T GIVE SOMEONE ELSE A BEATING FOR IT!! (vs. 23, 25 & 27)
Many times, God tries to get our attention and we just won’t listen so He backs off and allows something to happen we aren’t too thrilled about hoping we’ll come back and say, "Hey God, what’s going on? Did I do something wrong?" (Eurkel - "Did I do that?") But instead of listening to reason, pride and anger well up, we get irritated by our problems and take it out on some innocent victim. Someone’s just standing around minding their own business, an innocent bystander - and you blow in! In a rage...and without even thinking, you go off on them!!
"You lousy low-life! Why’d you do such-n-such?!? I had a stinkin’ flat tire on the way to work this morning and it’s your fault! Yeah, you heard me…it’s your fault!!! You should have checked it before I left. If you weren’t so lazy if wouldn’t have happened!!!" How many times have you "beat the wrong horse" when God was specifically trying to get your attention? When we strike out at innocent people who get in our way, it can be a sign that something is wrong with us. Don’t let you own hurt pride/disobedience lead you to hurt others.
Donkeys were all-purpose vehicles (ATV’s) for transportation, carrying loads, grinding grain, and plowing fields. (Kind of like a pick-up for a farmer). They were usually highly dependable, which explains why Balaam became so angry when his donkey refused to move. (It is often a dependable friend who "sticks their neck out" perhaps risking their friendship, to say the difficult thing to us when we are drifting.) Look at this: 3x’s Balaam beat’s up his reliable old donkey because he was too wrapped up in himself to see the roadblock God put right in front of him. (vs. 23, 25 & 27) By the 3rd time, he’s got his staff out and he’s going nuts!!! Going off on her!! Red-in-the-face! Spitting! Cussing!
"You cotton-pickin’, good-for-nothin’, stupid-lookin’ mule! Take that!! I’ll kill you and make you into glue you ignorant piece of junk! You’re dead, you hear me!!?? My kids will be gluing school projects together with you when I get home! I knew I should have gotten that newer model!!!" And right there in the middle of Balaam’s little donkey-beatin’ hissy fit, God opens that donkey’s mouth and it starts talking. I wish I could have been there for this one! The original "Mr. Ed". And he says,
"Eeeyah!! What on earth have I done to you to make you beat me these 3 times?" And Balaam, one of the wisest of men, proceeds to have a conversation with one of the most ignorant animals on the face of the earth. (vs’s. 29-30) When his counseling session was concluded, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes do he could see what he’d been missing. Wonder who felt like a donkey then? TRANSITION: When God "opens our eyes" and we see how far off course we’ve gotten, we are faced with a crucial decision: turn back to God - or - defy him and go further down the road to destruction.
LESSON #4: ONCE YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR MISTAKE: HUMBLE YOURSELF (v. 31), ASK FORGIVENESS OF THOSE YOU HAVE HURT (v. 33), REPENT (v. 34), AND NEXT TIME AROUND - DON’T BE SO MULE-HEADED!!!
HUMBLE YOURSELF (v. 31) Balaam "bowed low and fell facedown." Balaam learned an embarrassing lesson at the hands of a donkey that had greater spiritual insight than he. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Pride will separate you from God. In defiance you will stand against his Will for your life. Refusing to back down. Refusing to admit you’re wrong. Refusing to humble yourself. When you recognize your mistake, don’t stand up and fight, fall down on your knees and humble yourself before Almighty God.
ASK FORGIVENESS OF THOSE YOU HAVE HURT (vs. 33)
Balaam owed his faithful donkey an apology. In anger and blinded by greed he beat up an innocent party that was trying to save his life. Perhaps there is someone in your life you have treated harshly. Someone who loved you enough to try and step in between you and the danger you were heading for. When God turns you around, the first thing you should do is find them and apologize for hurting them. Thank them for caring enough to say and do the right thing when it cost them.
REPENT (v. 34) Don’t just feel bad. Do what’s right. (vs. 38 - "I must say, go, do...only what God tells me to do.") "Obedience is better than sacrifice..." Repentance isn’t just a temporary right turn...it’s a permanent 180. A turning away from. Going the opposite direction in attitude and obedience. Turn your face toward heaven. Give your heart fully to the Lord. All your ambition, your wants, your secret desires...lay them down.
CONCLUSION:
Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows?
(and) Are you tired of spinning round & round?
Wrap up all the shattered dreams of your life....
and at the feet of Jesus lay them down.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus.
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus.
And he will turn your heartaches into joys.
