Free Grace Women

How much do you know of the story of Balaam?

Balaam Was Rebuked by His Donkey

The story of Balaam’s talking donkey is a Bible story that seems perfect for children:

Shortly before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, a local king wanted them cursed, and tried to hire Balaam to do the job.  Balaam started riding his donkey to meet the king, and the armed Angel of the Lord went to meet Balaam.  Balaam’s donkey saw the angel, and started making unscheduled detours and eventually just laid down in the road.  Annoyed, Balaam hit the donkey multiple times; in reply, the donkey spoke to Balaam.  Then Balaam was confronted by the sword-wielding angel and admitted that he had sinned.

As a child, I loved this story.  At that time, I recognized that God sometimes did cool and unexpected things when accomplishing His plan—like making a donkey talk—and that He warned Balaam about committing a major sin, and gave him a chance to obey.

It was a neat history, but I didn’t ponder the details or significance of the story too much until I had my own little ones asking me to read Numbers 22 several times per week.  Since children’s questions have a way of revealing what I don’t know, as well as sparking my curiosity, I started delving more deeply into the story of Balaam.^[1]

Balaam Prophesied and Went Home

Balaam did prophesy four times concerning Israel (Numbers 23-24), including a few verses that may be about the Messiah (Numbers 24:17-19); then he “returned to his place.” (Numbers 24:25) 

Numbers 25 starts:

“While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.  For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.  So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel.”  (Numbers 25:1-3 NASB 1977)                                                                             

The narrative continues through the Lord killing thousands of Israelites by a plague, the end of the plague, and the Lord’s command, “Be hostile to the Midianites and strike them; for they have been hostile to you with their tricks, with which they have deceived you in the affair of Peor…” (Numbers 25:17-18a NASB 1977)

Frankly, Numbers 26-30 can just feel like extra pages that get in the way of finishing the story, which concludes in Numbers 31.

Balaam was a Behind-the-Scenes Adversary

Balaam was killed by the Israelites when they attacked Midian (Numbers 31:8). 

I’ll admit that the first time I read that, my response was, “No wonder Balaam didn’t like the Israelites: they really were his enemies!”  However, Numbers 31:16 reveals that Balaam was the mastermind behind the Peor incident.  While Balaam was incapable of prophesying anything other than what God said to prophesy, he still did not share God’s goals.  It was due to Balaam’s successful coaching to encourage sin that the Lord told Moses to “be hostile” to the Midianites, and it was with the Midianites that Balaam was killed.  The Angel of the Lord had given Balaam a serious warning after the donkey spoke. 

By Numbers 31, the time for warnings had passed, and Balaam’s sin caused his death by the sword.

Balaam was Defeated

I love the fact that Balaam’s donkey did her best to protect her master, and I want that faithful animal to have been successful.  But that isn’t what Balaam chose.  Specifically, 2 Peter 2:15 tells us that Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness.”  Despite God’s warning, Balaam tried to sabotage the people God had blessed.  Balaam himself had prophesied in Numbers 23:22 that “sorcery” (NKJV) wouldn’t work against Israel; “[God has not] seen wickedness in Israel, the LORD his God is with him” (verse 21). 

Consequently, Balaam devised a plan so that God would observe sin among the Israelites.

Initially, Balaam was successful: God killed 24,000 Israelites with a plague, which probably pleased the local king(s). 

However, Balaam’s plan only worked as long as the Israelites chose to sin. 

Once Israel took definitive action against the sin at Peor, the plague stopped (Numbers 25:7-8, also verses 4-5). 

In the next chapters (Numbers 26-30), God reminded the Israelites that a whole generation lost the privilege of entering the Promised Land because of their rebellion.  Due to his own disobedience, Moses lost that privilege as well.  Then God told Moses to command the Israelites to be careful to worship Him the way that He had commanded, and that vows they made to God were to be taken seriously.   Those reminders (and more) may have seemed to me like excess pages between the two parts of the Balaam story, but when the Israelites paid attention, they experienced dramatic success.

Once Israel was obeying again, God sent only 12,000 Israelite soldiers to conquer Midian, and they did it without losing a single soldier (Numbers 31:4-8, 49).

Balaam’s Legacy

It might seem boring, but understanding and obeying what God says makes a big difference in a person’s life.

While the nation of Israel and the church have received different promises (e.g., the church is not promised present victories over any army, even if the church is faithful), the principles of Balaam’s story are still applicable to believers today. 

God rewards faithfulness. 

While everlasting life cannot be lost (John 11:25-26), certain privileges can[2]. 

Disobeying God invites His discipline, and wastes chances believers have to serve Him.

As I continue pondering Balaam’s story, I think about it being recorded in the Bible.  How did Moses know about it to write it down?  Did someone close to Balaam listen to the Angel of the Lord and/or the prophecies God made through Balaam, and join himself to Israel and the God of the Israelites despite Balaam’s own choice? 

Who all has Balaam’s history influenced?  Will Balaam influence me to obey God rather than fight against Him?

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[1] If you also have been confused as to why God told Balaam to go in Numbers 22:20, and then in verse 22 was angry because Balaam went, apparently the answer lies in the English translation of the verse.  I have now heard (or read) several people say that a more accurate translation of the Hebrew is that the Lord became angry “when” or “while” Balaam was going rather than “because” Balaam was going.  In Numbers 22:20, God instructed Balaam that Balaam would only say what God would tell him to say, and in verse 35, instead of killing Balaam or sending him home, the Angel of the Lord just repeated those instructions.  Evidently, Balaam was not facing death for going on the trip per se, but rather for his motives for going or plans for when he arrived.

[2] If you are not convinced that the New Testament teaches that God rewards believers’ faithfulness, and that rewards and punishments (the latter is also called “wrath” or “discipline”) is a separate issue from having eternal life, I encourage you to study that topic in the New Testament. 

Among the many verses that show that concept are Matthew 6:20 (not only is it possible to lay up treasure in heaven, but Jesus commands us to), 2 Timothy 2:12-13 (to those who don’t endure, He will deny privilege and reigning with Him, but not that they belong to Him), James 5:19-20 (a brother can sin, even to death), and 1 Corinthians 3:14-15.  Books of the New Testament such as Hebrews, James, and 1 Peter are all about believers living well so that they may please God and not allow sin to rule in their lives.  While studying the Bible, remember that “save” simply means to be delivered from something–always ask, “Saved from what?”  For example, Matthew 9:21 records the account of a woman who wanted to be saved from her medical condition or Matthew 14:30 says that Peter asked to be saved from drowning.  (The Psalms are also a great place to study some of the different meanings of the word “saved.”)

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