2019-04-28 Numbers 22
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22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side.
25 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again.
26 The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
30 But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face.
32 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you, because I consider what you are doing to be evil.
33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and let her live.”
1 The Israelites traveled on and camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan across from Jericho.
2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 Moab was terrified of the people because they were numerous, and Moab dreaded the Israelites.
4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time,
5 he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. Balak said to him: “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land and are living right across from me.
6 Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”
7 The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him.
8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me:
11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’ ”
12 Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side.
25 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again.
26 The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
30 But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face.
32 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you, because I consider what you are doing to be evil.
33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she had not turned away from me, I would have killed you by now and let her live.”
34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the path to confront me. And now, if it is evil in your sight, I will go back.”
35 Then the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you are to say only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
I. Are you able to see your own foolishness?
I. Are you able to see your own foolishness?
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
30 But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face.
A. God clearly communicated his intent to Balaam.
A. God clearly communicated his intent to Balaam.
7 The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him.
8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me:
11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’ ”
12 Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
4 So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will devour everything around us like an ox eats up the green plants in the field.” Since Balak son of Zippor was Moab’s king at that time,
5 he sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is by the Euphrates in the land of his people. Balak said to him: “Look, a people has come out of Egypt; they cover the surface of the land and are living right across from me.
6 Please come and put a curse on these people for me because they are more powerful than I am. I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that those you bless are blessed and those you curse are cursed.”
7 The elders of Moab and Midian departed with fees for divination in hand. They came to Balaam and reported Balak’s words to him.
8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will give you the answer the Lord tells me.” So the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 Then God came to Balaam and asked, “Who are these men with you?”
10 Balaam replied to God, “Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, sent this message to me:
11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the surface of the land. Now come and put a curse on them for me. I may be able to fight against them and drive them away.’ ”
12 Then God said to Balaam, “You are not to go with them. You are not to curse this people, for they are blessed.”
Illus: God has not held back what he expects of us today. God has been clear throughout the history of the world about what it takes to follow Him.
The clearest way God has communicated what he expects of us is through the Bible.
In God’s word he has laid out His standard, what it takes to follow Him, and how we accomplish it.
The problem is not God’s lack of communication, it is that like the serpent in the garden of eden, we say “Did god really say.”
We turn a blind eye to the parts of God’s word that we do not agree and allow our own sinful desires to lead us.
Just like Balaam who knew clearly what God required, his sinful desires and greed led him to reject God’s intended command.
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,
19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them.
B. God allowed Balaam to chase after his greed.
B. God allowed Balaam to chase after his greed.
15 Balak sent officials again who were more numerous and higher in rank than the others.
16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: ‘Let nothing keep you from coming to me,
17 for I will greatly honor you and do whatever you ask me. So please come and put a curse on these people for me!’ ”
18 But Balaam responded to the servants of Balak, “If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the command of the Lord my God to do anything small or great.
19 Please stay here overnight as the others did, so that I may find out what else the Lord has to tell me.”
20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “Since these men have come to summon you, get up and go with them, but you must only do what I tell you.”
21 When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab.
Illus: At first it looks like God gave Balaam two contradictory comands. First he says no and then he says go… but look closer.
God clearly communicated his desire to Balaam, but then Balaam was promised money, and priveledge. In response, He reaffirmed that he knew what was right… but asked them to stay the night so that he could ask God to change his mind.
God’s response to Balaam was to allow Balaam to chase after his own greedy heart.
It was the equivalent of God saying, you want your sin, go ahead and chase after your sin, and allowing Balaam to face the consequences of his greedy heart.
God still works this way today. When you have a sin in your life that you will not let go of, God will eventually hand you over to your sin.
This is not God’s blessing, but instead God removing his hand from your life.
15 They have gone astray by abandoning the straight path and have followed the path of Balaam, the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of wickedness
16 but received a rebuke for his lawlessness: A speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
II. Don’t be dumber than a donkey.
II. Don’t be dumber than a donkey.
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
30 But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the path with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam knelt low and bowed in worship on his face.
A. Sin blinds you to the truth.
A. Sin blinds you to the truth.
(don’t forget that Balaam was a “seer” whose donkey saw more clearly than he did)
22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path.
24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side.
25 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again.
26 The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
Illus: Let’s talk about greed for a moment. You see something you want… perhaps it is a vehicle, a gun, an electronic, and you decide you want it.
All of a sudden you begin to obsess over it. You read articles on it, or look it up on amazon. The more you think about it, the more you look at what you have with disdain knowing that it is not nearly as good what you have....
The same is true with lust… lust blinds you to the truth of what you have convincing you that the affair is better.
Anger blinds you from reconciliation making you believe retaliation will solve your problems.
Pride blinds you from contentment making you believe you deserve better.
When you tolerate sin in your life, you become blind to the truth, and more importantly blind in seeing God.
4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
B. When you are in sin, you respond hatefully to those who speak truth into your life.
B. When you are in sin, you respond hatefully to those who speak truth into your life.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
30 But the donkey said, “Am I not the donkey you’ve ridden all your life until today? Have I ever treated you this way before?” “No,” he replied.
Illus: The donkey saving Balaam’s life was rewarded by being beaten.
Is this not the world we live in today? When you communicate out of love about sin which brings death, it is now considered intolerant hate speech.
Let’s take it down to a personal level, when a friend confronts you about a sin in your life, is your response to thank them, or to get angry towards them?
A real friend does not turn a blind eye to the death in your life. A real friend does not empower your sin or serve as a yes man to your foolishness. A real friend will love you enough to tell you when you are in sin.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say, “We have not sinned,” we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
III. God can’t be bought off.
III. God can’t be bought off.
11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
God does not exist to further your cause.
God does not exist to further your cause.
11 Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, have plunged into Balaam’s error for profit, and have perished in Korah’s rebellion.
Illus: Balaam saw God as a means to his end. A weapon which could be bought.
How often do we see God as a means to our end. God does not exist for us and our wants and desires.
God is not about our own personal advancement, or wealth, or position.
God does not exist to make much of you.
That view of God is Balaam’s view of God.
Today you may have been walking not just through personal greed, or spiritual blindness, but also through a selfish relationship with God.
Faith today is asking, who do you really exist for, yourself of God.
1 But know this: Hard times will come in the last days.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, demeaning, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good,
4 traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to the form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid these people.