What Can a Donkey Teach Pagan Christians (2 Peter 2:15-16; Numbers 22-selected verses)

Introduction

When Jesus walked this earth, his fiercest opposition did not come from cultural pagans, it came from religious pagans. It came from the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were guilty of adding to Scripture. They added to the Word of God human laws and traditions. The Sadducees were guilty of going in the opposite direction. They subtracted from the Word of God those things they did not like, which was basically everything outside the law of Moses. We also have modern-day pagan Christians, those who claim Christ but in the same breath deny those things about Him and His Word they do not like.

There are good shepherds that seek to protect the flock of God. The bad news is that there are spiritual wolves bent on destroying the flock of God. So it is the responsibility of the pastor with the support and assistance of the deacons to guard this church from spiritual wolves. What things does the church need protecting from? First, those who deny the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Second, those who do not hold to the truth that Jesus is God Incarnate co-eternal and co-equal with God the Father. There are a host of other things that we must defend the sheep from, but today our focus is on two lessons that we can learn from the Word of God and a Talking Donkey.

Lesson #1: Faithlessness Leads to Deception (2:15).

Peter goes all the way back to an Old Testament passage about a guy named Balaam. As we will soon learn, Balaam’s donkey could talk. That’s right, a talking donkey. Peter will use this account of Balaam and Balaamism to address the dangers of false prophets in the past and false teachers in the present. Balaam was just like some modern-day preachers. His truth was up for grabs to the highest bidder. The more money you give him, the more his truth lined up with what a person wants to hear. Hear me! False teachers do not care about people because they have dollar signs on their eyeballs.

I agree with John MacArthur of his estimation of one false prophet in particular. MacArthur is spot on when he states that, “He is a pagan religionist in every sense. He is a quasi-pantheist. Jesus is a footnote that satisfies his critics and deceives his followers."

Balaam was a non-Israelite pretentious false prophet who claimed to be so only because of his greed. The account of Balaam is given to us in Numbers 22. The structure of this chapter and of this account is as follows:

It begins with Balak the king of Moab as he comes to Balaam and asks him to curse Israel hoping this would stop Israel’s advance into Moab (22:1-6).

Balak offered money to Balaam if he would oblige. God told Balaam not to do this (22:7-14).

Balaam decides he is going anyway. God tells Balaam to go but not to do what Balak wanted him to do. Consequently, Balaam saddles his donkey and makes his way to Moab (22:15-21). What does all this have to do with 2 Peter 2:15?

The Word of God is Rejected (2:15a).

“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray.”

Jude 4 says it this way concerning the false teachers: “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”

The false teachers tormenting the churches in Asia Minor had once been on the right path-the path of righteousness and truth. However, they got off the right path because they were more interested in their personal gain than gaining souls for the kingdom. They were motivated by the flesh and the world, not the Spirit of God. The right path in Scripture is always a metaphor of obedience to God’s Word. Thus, “forsaking” is the deliberate rebellion against the authority of God’s Word. Because they refused to be obedient to God’s Word, they chose the path of disobedience to God.

The Way of Godlessness is Received (2:15b).

“They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing.”

Jude gives the same basic warning of the false teachers when he states in Jude 11, “Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.”

The right path in Scripture, especially in the Old Testament, is a metaphor of obedience to God’s Word. Because they refused to be obedient to God’s Word, they chose the path of disobedience to God. In this way, they were foolish and followed in the foolish steps and way of Balaam. Just like Balaam, the false teachers of Peter’s day were out for fortune and fame.

When it comes to false teachers, faithlessness leads to deception. There is a second lesson to learn about false teachers.

Faithlessness Leads to Destruction (2:16).

The donkey enters our account at this juncture. Numbers 22:22-25 gives us the account of the prophet for profit, a donkey and an angel with a flaming sword. This is one of the most amazing accounts in all the Bible. It is right up there with the sun standing still. I put it up there with the account of Jonah and the big fish. “Pastor, do you really believe that stuff?” Yes, I believe it all. The Bible is either telling the truth or it isn’t. I learned a long time ago that I can trust the Bible. If I do not understand everything, because of the nature of God’s Word and character of God, I believe by faith those things I might not understand.

God knew Balaam’s heart and his propensity toward greed. God became angry with Balaam and sent “the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary (22:2). Balaam is riding his donkey to go see Balak and his money when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD with a sword drawn. The donkey, using more sense than Balaam at this point, turns and goes into the cornfield. In response Balaam hits the donkey on the head. The donkey continues. The angel of the LORD stands in a narrow path between the vineyards with a wall on either side. When the donkey sees the angel of the LORD, she presses her self against the wall along with Balaam’s foot. Then Balaam hit the donkey again. Being resolute , the donkey continues on. This time the angel of the LORD appears in a very narrow place on the path. This presented the situation where the poor old donkey can turn neither to the left or to the right. What else was she to do? She just laid down with Balaam on top of her. Balaam commences to beating that donkey in the head with his staff over and over again.

It was at this point that God loosed the tongue of the donkey. Then the donkey began to talk. I do not believe the donkey sounded like Eddie Murphy. Still the donkey started talking. The donkey looks at Balaam and asks, “Why are you beating me?! I’ve served you for years and now you are beating me?!” Then the Bible declares that God opened up the eyes of Balaam. I find it interesting that God opens the mouth of a donkey but had to open the spiritual eyes of a “prophet.” At this point Balaam saw the angel of the LORD and he fell on his face. God used a donkey to keep Balaam from walking into God’s divine judgment. The point to understand is that Balaam was a faithless prophet and was headed straight into his own destruction.

Disobedience to God Must Be Addressed (2:16a).

“but was rebuked for his own transgression”

Balaam was a prophet who claimed to speak the Word of God but God knew his heart. God knew that his heart was full of greed and desired to curse Israel so he could profit financially. God used a donkey, an animal of instinct, to get the attention of a rational human being who was behaving irrationally.

Disobedience to God Results in Irrationality (2:16b).

“a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness”

Jude 10 agrees with Peter when it says, “But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively.”

The Greek word for madness (paraphrovia) literally means, “beside one’s own mind.” Balaam’s greed made Balaam become beside himself. His love of fortune and fame had caused him to behave irrationally. It is true that sin will cause you to become insane. There is more to this story if you would like to read it. What happens to Balaam? When you get home, read on and find out.

There is also a principle in verse 16 that I do not want you to miss.

Principle: God uses the supernatural to call people to repentance and obedience.

God will use the supernatural in our day to get the attention of a world headed for judgment. Yet, it is not merely the ungodly or the pagan Christians that he will deal with. He can, and often does, use the supernatural to draw His own people to repentance. He is turning the screws on us to wake us up. We will never experience revival in the church of God until the church repents of her presumption against God.

Conclusion

“Preacher, where is God in all this?” I tell you where God is. He is right here. He is waiting for some to fall on their knees and repent of our own sense of self-righteousness and condemnation, especially that directed at others. Hold on, it gets worse!

God is not one day going to judge America. God is already in the process of judging America. America has stepped over the line. You cannot butcher innocent babies and then sing, “God Bless America!” You cannot seek to destroy the divine institution of marriage by perverting it or trying to redefine it and then say, “Jesus loves me!” It may be too late for America as a culture. The good news is that it is not too late for Americans if they will repent and surrender to Christ. [2 Chronicles 7:14]

One day I am going to stand before God and like you I will have many things for which I must give an account. However, failure to tell the truth will not be one of them. Make sure you are standing on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word. Do not let the devil make a donkey out of you.