Just Happened To Be In The Neighborhood?

So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “Now this mass of people will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field. Now Balak son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at this time. And he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates River in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me. So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.” (Numbers 22:4)

So Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from every tribe, with Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, who was in charge of the holy articles and the signal trumpets. They fought against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses, and they killed every male. They killed the kings of Midian in addition to those slain – Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba – five Midianite kings. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. (Numbers 31:6-8)

Balaam was a man who had fame far beyond the region in which he lived. King Balak sent men from Midian to Pethor, a journey of several hundred miles, to offer Balaam money in exchange for undermining the Israelites. And, in requesting Balaam’s presence, an interesting phrase is given by the king: “I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”

As Pastor Sam shared with us on Sunday, the Lord prevented Balaam from cursing Israel and instead caused Balaam to speak words of blessing. There are moments when the power and presence of God are so palpable that even persons bent on evil are compelled to move in accordance with God’s overarching plan. However, the true nature of Balaam’s heart is made clear throughout the story in Numbers. In Numbers 31, we even have the curious statement that Balaam is killed by the sword not in his hometown of Pethor, but in the company of the Midianites.

Why was Balaam so far from home, particularly after he had made it clear to King Balak that he was returning to his homeland after failing to curse Israel (Numbers 24:14 and 24:25) ? What compelled Balaam to join himself to the enemies of Israel after God had made it abundantly clear that Israel was a nation destined to enjoy His favor? The Scripture is not explicit about Balaam’s motives, but it is clear about Balaam’s behavior. Moses says, “Look, these people through the counsel of Balaam caused the Israelites to act treacherously against the Lord in the matter of Peor – which resulted in the plague among the community of the Lord!” (Numbers 31:16)

Fast-forward to 2013. There is a question we must ask ourselves: are we accepting counsel from any person who, though capable of accurately speaking the will of God, is at the same time heavily invested in turning people away from the will of God?

At the end of it all, Balaam was killed by the sword. Sadly, 24,000 Israelites followed him in death: they turned away from the will of God and were destroyed by plague (Numbers 25:9). Sin always has the potential to crush not only its instigator, but all of its participants.

The psalmist said it well: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly” (Psalm 1:1a). Amen.

Lord, help us to appropriate Your blessing; give us grace to flee immorality.

Death By Seduction.

As we continue our reflection of the life of Balaam, we see in Scripture that he was relentless in his efforts to oppose the nation of Israel. After his attempts to curse the nation (Numbers chapters 22 through 24) were unsuccessful, Balaam then engaged a strategy that had undermined God’s people earlier in their wilderness journey: sexual immorality.

In Numbers chapters 25 and 31 we learn that Balaam, after being prevented from cursing God’s people, counseled the Midianites to involve the Israelite men in their worship of Baal Peor. Balaam knew that false worship would cause Israel to fall out of God’s favor. To paraphrase our pastor, the people who previously had been protected by God would be lured into walking away from God’s protective presence.

Pastor Sam used an illustration of a fish attracted to the bait on a hook. The bait on the hook is specifically chosen to lure a particular fish into biting. And, interestingly enough, this gimmick always works: generations of fish families have fallen for the same old lures.

There seems to have been a generational challenge sustained by ancient Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. The chief traits of the first generation to leave Egypt were a bizarre longing to return to the land of their captivity, and a continual fantasizing of a life of ease. Their desire for an abundance of food and “fun” wiped out the centuries of their ancestors’ cries for deliverance. So it is not surprising that over their four decades of wilderness-wandering, ancient Israel kept “taking the bait” of seeking to fulfill their desires apart from the plan and program of God.

Our pastor gave a somewhat graphic explanation of Baal Peor. In a nutshell, the Midianites’ worship of Baal Peor was both sexually explicit and a health and hygiene nightmare. But this sick, gross deity was an idol who offered a promise of fertility-- exactly what Israel longed for. It is no wonder that Balaam, with the bait of Baal Peor on hook, was ultimately successful in his attempt to bring a curse upon Israel; or, rather, he finally succeeded by causing Israel to curse themselves.

But, what about us? It is Lent: let us contemplate ourselves as wanderers in the wilderness, the people of God on a journey of faith.

-Are we asking Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out?’

-Are we saying, ‘We’re tired of this manna’?

-Are we demanding that Aaron make us a god like the gods of Egypt?

-Are we blaming our leaders for the plagues our sins have brought upon ourselves?

-Are we willfully plotting mutiny against God’s plan and program for us?

-Are we refusing to enter into the land God has promised us?

-Or, are we alert and aware of the plots of the enemy designed to make us destroy ourselves?

Balaam, and every representative of the devil, has a tackle box filled with lures. Don’t take the bait.