"Balaam's Donkey"

Good morning, church. Thank you for your prayers. While Beth and I were away on vacation

! these last two weeks, it's good to be back with you all. Would you turn with me to Numbers

! 22. Numbers! 22. That's page 121 in the Pew Bible, or roundabout there. And let me pray

as we come to God's Word. Father, there are so many things that fill our vision these

days, Lord, and so many means whereby we can distract ourselves with what we see and what

we consume. Lord, what a clarifying prayer it is to say that we want You to be our vision,

O ruler of all. And thank You, God, that by the instrument of Your Word, You again direct

our gaze up to You, our good and holy and loving King. So help us as we now come to Your Word

that by Your Spirit You would open our eyes to see You, Christ, in all Your glory and to

know what it truly means to be human, to know what it truly means to live the life that You

intend us to live as Your image bearers. We pray this in Jesus' name, Father. Amen.

All right, Numbers 22. I want to begin by reading the first 14 verses of chapter 22.

Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.

And Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites. And Moab was

in great dread of the people because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel.

And Moab said to the elders of Midian,

this horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field.

So Balak, the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to Balaam,

the son of Baor at Pethor, which is near the river in the land of the people of Amor,

to call him, saying, Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth,

and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for

me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom

you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. So the elders of Moab and the elders of

Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Balaam and gave him

Balaam and said, And he said to them, Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you as the

Lord speaks to me. So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam, and God came to Balaam and said,

Who are these men with you? Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to

me, saying, Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come,

curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.

God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.

So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, Go to your own land, for the Lord

has refused to let me go with you. So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said,

Balaam refuses to come with us. Okay, let's pause there. Now imagine for a moment that you're an

athlete, and it's the morning before the big game. Maybe you're a basketball player, and later that

day is the state championship. You're nervous, you're excited, and your coach has gathered your

team to get you ready for the challenge ahead. And imagine if at that moment, if your team at that

moment could then see what was happening in the opposing team's locker room. Imagine you could hear

their plans and see the strategies that they were coming up with. Well, if that wasn't downright cheating,

right, that sort of information would be priceless, wouldn't it? Or imagine that you were a military

general or a soldier, and you could see behind the enemy lines and know exactly what your enemy forces

were up to. That sort of information would be golden, wouldn't it? Well, Numbers 22 gives us just that.

It's a glimpse behind the enemy lines. As the new generation of Israelites in the wilderness prepare

to move ahead and travel towards and into the promised land, here for a moment in the narrative,

we get to see what's going on in the enemy camp, particularly the enemy camp of Moab and the Midianites,

one of the nations, some of the nations that are gathered against them. And this section of Numbers,

starting here in chapter 22, it's going to continue through 23 and 24, which we'll look at next week,

but this whole section of Numbers, it's meant to encourage God's people.

It's meant to encourage us. And today, as Numbers kind of takes us behind the enemy lines,

we're going to see two things that are meant to encourage us as God's people today. And those

two things are this. First, we're going to see that the Lord is determined to bless His people.

And second, we're going to see that the Lord humbles the proud and exalts the humble.

So let's look at those two things. The first thing that we see is in verses 1 through 14 that we just

read. The Lord is determined to bless His people. Now, what's happening here in these verses? Well,

Balak, the king of Moab, sees the people of Israel, and he knows that he doesn't stand a chance against

them in battle. So what does he do? Well, he decides to call in a secret weapon. He decides to call in

supernatural aid. Balaam. Balaam, who has a reputation, apparently, for being a prophet for hire.

And apparently, he has a pretty decent track record, right? The word on the street is that

anybody Balaam blesses will be blessed, and anybody that Balaam curses will be cursed. So he's a pretty

good guy to maybe hire as a mercenary, sort of a spiritual mercenary for your team. So King Balak

decides to call him in. Balaam works for a fee, and Balak is willing to pay a handsome sum to have him

come curse the people of Israel. But what happens? Balak's messengers come to Balaam, and Balaam says,

well, let me see what God has to say. And God says this to Balaam in verse 12, very clearly, God says,

you shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.

Now, just imagine that. You see behind the lines of your enemy,

and you see them hiring a special weapon to curse you and to foil you, and what happens instead?

God shows up, and in no uncertain terms says that these schemes of the opponent will amount to nothing.

Why? Because the Lord has determined to bless His people. His favor rests upon them, and nothing the

world does can change that fact. Not Balak's armies, not Balaam's divination. They can do their worst

against God's people, but the Lord has spoken, and it is so. They are blessed. His favor rests upon them,

and it will not be revoked. His purposes for them will not falter and will not fail. He will protect

them, preserve them, and bring them all the way to His appointed end in the promised land.

And hasn't that been the story of Numbers so far, friends? Even despite the people's rebellion,

even despite the discipline and judgment that they needed to face, God has remained true to His promises

into His people. Here they are on the plains of Moab, standing right near the Jordan, a massive people

renewed, ready to enter in. But this hasn't just been the story of Numbers. It's been the whole story

of the Bible up until this point. This is what God promised to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12,

right? After the Tower of Babel and human pride scatters humanity, after the fall seems to be

reaching the ends of the earth, God shows up, comes to Abraham and says, Abraham, it's through you

that my blessing is going to reign as far as the curse is found. God blesses Abraham and blesses his

offspring and promises that in Abraham's offspring, all the nations of the earth would be

blessed. And do you hear in that blessing echoes of the very opening chapters of the Bible?

When the sovereign and holy and wonderful God is calling forth everything into existence, what does

He speak after each of those creation days? Blessing. It's good. It's good. It's good.

And then He creates humanity, and it's very good. Oh, that blessing that humanity lost because of sin,

God has been at work to reestablish. And if God is at work to reestablish it,

then nothing the enemy might do is going to thwart it, you see.

And this promise that began in creation and was renewed to Abraham, and we see persevering through

numbers, where does it lead? Well, this promise to Abraham's offspring was ultimately fulfilled

through the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, fully God and fully human.

All who are in Him through faith are blessed with Abraham's blessing. It's through Christ that this

blessing comes. He is the true offspring of Abraham. And through faith in Him, we can all be included

in that blessing that runs throughout Scripture. Blessed with what? With material wealth and fame? No,

those things are fleeting and passing, and everyone who gets them knows it. What is the blessing we seek

as humans? What is the blessing we need? Well, it's the blessing that Christ has opened for us,

the blessing of a right standing with God, the blessing of assurance of God's unwavering favor,

and the blessing of certain hope that we will enter the true promised land. That is, when Christ returns,

we will be raised anew in a completely renewed creation where all the effects of the fall, sin and

sickness and death and decay and hell and judgment are no more, and we reign with God forever.

The Lord is determined to bless His people. He sent His own Son to secure it, and Christ died and rose

again to win it and purchase it for all who believe. And nothing that the world, the flesh, or the devil

can do will overturn that blessing in Christ if you are in Him. Now, this blessing of God doesn't mean

that life will be easy in a fallen world, does it? There will be trials. There will be suffering. There

will be setbacks. Consider the book of Psalms, right? I remember a wise old preacher one time said

that the book of Psalms begins with blessing, it ends with joy, and it's a long road in between.

If you've ever read the Psalms, you know that's true, right? And that's true of the Christian life,

right? It begins in blessing in Christ. You're fully accepted by the Father. You're adopted into

God's family, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and the Christian life ends in joy. You will live eternally

with God in whose right hand are pleasures forevermore, but in between. It's a long road.

And Numbers has been showing us the ups and downs of that long road, hasn't it? As we battle with want

and deprivation and grumbling, challenges outside of us, besetting sin inside of us.

And yet the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ, the love of our Heavenly Father for us mean that

even the trials, even the sufferings, even the setbacks are for our good.

in the Father's hand, even the trials of life are carving out a deeper reservoir in our souls

that will be filled with His joy. Even the trials will be turned for our good and for His glory.

So the schemes of Balak won't and can't stand against God's people here on the plains of Noab,

just as the schemes of this world will never stand against God's people of any age.

The world may want to curse God's people. The world may want to scorn or despise God's people,

but ultimately these curses will fall powerless before the Lord's determination to bless His people.

And after all, if we have the Lord's favor, why worry, why fret so much if the world thinks the church foolish or strange?

The approval of the world, the blessing of the world means nothing compared to the approval of God.

Imagine, imagine being shown favor by the head of state, whomever that may be in whatever country,

knowing that you have access to the most powerful, influential person in the whole country,

and yet then being so upset when, you know, some person low on the totem pole thinks, ugh.

Right? Friend, you have the approval of God.

The world's approval is here today and gone tomorrow, but the favor of God will last forever.

The world's scorn can do nothing to you if you have the favor of God,

the blessing of God in Christ, and God grants it freely to all who receive His Son,

to all who look to Christ in faith.

But there's more to this story in Numbers 22.

Not only is the Lord determined to bless His people,

but we also see here that the Lord humbles the proud and exalts the humble.

Let's pick up the story in verse 15.

Once again, Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these.

And they came to Balaam and said to him,

Thus says Balak the son of Zippor,

Let nothing hinder you from coming to me,

for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do.

Come, curse this people for me.

But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak,

Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold,

I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more.

So, you two, please stay here tonight,

that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.

And God came to Balaam at night and said to him,

If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them,

but only do what I tell you.

So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey

and went with the princes of Moab.

But God's anger was kindled because he went,

and the angel of the Lord took his hand,

took his stand in the way as his adversary.

Now he was riding on the donkey,

and his two servants were with him.

And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road

with a drawn sword in his hand,

and the donkey turned a side out of the road

and went into the field.

And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the road.

Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path

between the vineyards or the wall on either side.

And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord,

she pushed against the wall

and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall.

So he struck her again.

Then the angel of the Lord went away

and stood in a narrow place

where there was no way to turn,

either to the right or to the left.

When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord,

she lay down under Balaam.

And Balaam's anger was kindled,

and he struck the donkey with his staff.

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey,

and she said to Balaam,

What have I done to you

that you have struck me these three times?

And Balaam said to the donkey,

Because you made a fool of me,

I wish I had a sword in my hand,

for then I would kill you.

And the donkey said to Balaam,

Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden

all your life long to this day?

Is it my habit to treat you this way?

And he said, No.

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam,

and he saw the angel of the Lord

standing in the way

with his drawn sword in his hand.

And he bowed down and fell on his face.

The angel of the Lord said to him,

Why have you struck your donkey these three times?

Behold, I have come out to oppose you

because your way is perverse before me.

The donkey saw me

and turned aside before me these three times.

If she had not turned aside for me,

surely just now I would have killed you

and let her live.

Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord,

I have sinned,

for I did not know

that you stood in the road against me.

Now, therefore,

if it is evil in your sight,

I will turn back.

And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam,

Go with these men,

but speak only the word

that I tell you.

So Balaam went on

with the princes of Balak.

Now, we're going to pick up the story

next week from there.

But for now,

let's consider the part we just read.

I think there are two questions

that kind of confront us right away

in this section of Numbers, right?

First,

why is God's anger

kindled at Balaam

in verse 22?

On the surface,

it seems like Balaam

is just doing what God told him

in verse 20.

But,

if we look a little closer,

you realize

it's not quite that simple.

Balaam isn't

as innocent

as he appears

on the surface.

Look back with me

at verse 13

in the passage we started with.

Did you notice there

in verse 13

what Balaam

doesn't say

when he tells Balak's men

that he can't go with them?

Oftentimes,

our silences

say a lot more

than the things

that we say, right?

What does Balaam leave out?

Well,

he leaves out

everything that God said

about his determination

to bless his people.

Instead,

Balaam simply says,

well,

the Lord refused

to let me go with you.

Not,

the Lord's going to bless

these people

no matter what,

so there's no way

I can go with you.

Instead,

Balaam sort of

leaves that door open,

doesn't he?

After all,

friends,

Balaam is not

a good guy

in this story,

right?

He is a

religio-political

prophet for hire.

He sells his oracles

to the highest bidder.

People pay him money

to bless and curse

in order to manipulate

their circumstances.

People don't come

to Balaam

because he's holy.

They come to Balaam

because he's willing

to give you what you want

if the price is right.

And so,

he conveniently leaves out

that the Lord's never

going to curse these people

and that leaves the door

open for Balaam

to make a little bit

of a better offer.

And lo and behold,

that's exactly what happens.

Balaam sends

more prestigious messengers

the second time

with presumably more money

to try to persuade Balaam

to come along.

And look at how Balaam responds

in verse 18.

At first,

it sounds pretty good,

right?

Balaam says basically,

look,

Balaam couldn't give me

a billion dollars

to go against

what the Lord says.

That's where he begins.

But then in verse 19,

what does he say?

But, you know,

let's just stick around

and see what God

has to say, right?

Well, I thought that

he was going to obey

exactly what the Lord said

and the Lord's already said

don't go with him.

And now he says,

well, I'll do what

the Lord says,

but, you know,

let's see if the Lord

will change his mind

seeing the piles of money,

seeing the prestige

that's gathered all around him.

You see,

Balaam sees the wealth,

he sees the prestige

of the people

who have come to him

and he thinks,

well, maybe God

will change his mind.

Oh, I hope God

changes his mind.

You know,

later biblical writers

will look back

at the Balaam story

and discern

that what was driving Balaam

wasn't a desire

to please the Lord,

but a desire for wealth.

Describing false teachers

in his own day,

the Apostle Peter

writes this in 2 Peter 2.15.

He says,

forsaking the right way,

they've gone astray.

They have followed

the way of Balaam,

the son of Baor,

who loved gain

from wrongdoing.

So Balaam isn't

listening and obeying

the Lord

when he tells

this second group to stay.

He's holding out

for his own gain.

And that leads to verse 20.

At first,

it looks like God

is commanding Balaam to go

so long as he does

what God tells him to do.

So why does God

get angry in verse 22?

Well, I think for the

simple reason

because God sees

that Balaam's motivation

in going

isn't obedience,

but wealth

and worldly reputation.

Balaam doesn't want

to please and glorify

the Lord.

He wants to please

and glorify himself.

He talks a good game,

but God sees his heart.

God sees that Balaam

is really serving money

and prestige

and not God's own word.

So God's anger

is kindled.

And that leads

to the second question

of this passage.

the talking donkey.

I mean,

a talking donkey, right?

It immediately seems

too far-fetched

to be true, right?

I mean,

suddenly we're in the middle

of Shrek, right,

with a talking donkey.

But friends,

if God can send

ten plagues upon Egypt,

if God can part

the Red Sea,

if God can miraculously

feed thousands of people

in a desert,

if God can cause water

to come from a rock,

if God can cause

the things that exist

to come into being

out of nothing,

and if God can cause

all things to be held up

in their being

and not fall

into nothingness,

if that's how sovereign

God is,

then putting words

into the mouth

of a donkey

isn't really all that

hard to do,

is it?

So if we've been

paying attention

to the story

of the Bible so far,

we start to realize

two things.

On the one hand,

this is an easy thing

for the God

of the Bible to do.

But on the other hand,

this isn't a common thing

that God does.

In fact,

in the whole of Scripture,

there are only

two talking animals,

the serpent in the garden

and Balaam's donkey,

which means

that the talking donkey

in Numbers 22

should surprise us.

If you're a careful

reader of Scripture,

you shouldn't be saying,

there it is again,

more talking animals.

No!

Suddenly we're thinking,

what is going on here?

What is God up to?

It should surprise us,

not because God

can't do it

or it's impossible,

but because God

is clearly doing

something unique.

He's making a point.

And what's the point?

Why put words

into the donkey's mouth?

Hebrew scholar Ian Duguid

puts it like this.

He says,

it's often the case

that the Lord reveals himself

to the weak and foolish

while remaining hidden

from those

who possess the wisdom

of this world.

It is often the case

that the Lord reveals himself

to the weak and foolish

while remaining hidden

from those

who possess the wisdom

of this world.

Balaam,

Balaam,

the international expert

on spirituality

and theology.

He knew all the rituals

and rites.

His reputation

was widespread.

He was the LeBron James

of the religious

political world,

right?

But for all his reputation,

for all his prestige,

he was blind

to the Lord

when the Lord

stood right

in front of him.

But who really sees

in this passage?

The donkey.

Balaam's pride and greed

make him less spiritually aware

than the beast of burden

that he rode upon.

The donkey has more spiritual sense

than he does,

and by God's grace,

the donkey actually saves

Balaam's life.

And friends,

it is still the case

that the Lord reveals himself

to the weak and foolish

while remaining hidden

from those

who possess the wisdom

of the world.

The Lord is determined

to bless his people,

but the Lord

will humble the proud

and exalt the humble.

the only way

into the people of God

is to admit

that our wisdom

and our strength

are not what make us

right to God.

Only the foolishness

of the cross

is what can reconcile

sinners to God.

Listen to how Paul

describes it

in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.

1 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

Kunle mentioned

this passage earlier

in the service.

Let me read this for us.

Paul says,

For the word of the cross

is folly

to those who are perishing,

but to us

who are being saved

it is the power of God.

For it is written,

I will destroy

the wisdom of the wise

and the discernment

of the discerning

I will thwart.

Where is the one

who is wise?

Where is the scribe?

Where is the debater

of this age?

Has not God

made foolish

the wisdom of the world?

For since in the wisdom

of God

the world did not know

God through wisdom,

it pleased God

through the folly

of what we preach

to save those who believe.

For Jews demand signs

and Greeks seek wisdom,

but we preach

Christ crucified,

a stumbling block

to Jews

and folly to Gentiles.

but to those

who are called,

both Jews

and Greeks,

Christ,

the power of God

and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness

of God

is wiser than men

and the weakness

of God

is stronger than men.

For consider your calling,

brothers and sisters.

Not many of you

were wise

according to worldly standards.

Not many were powerful.

Not many were of noble birth,

but God chose

what is foolish

in the world

to shame the wise.

God chose

what is weak

in the world

to shame the strong.

God chose

what is low

and despised

in the world,

even the things

that are not,

to bring to nothing

things that are

so that no human being

might boast

in the presence of God.

And because

you are in Christ Jesus

who became to us

wisdom from God,

righteousness

and sanctification

and redemption,

so that as it is written,

let the one who boasts

boast in the Lord.

You see, friends,

the gospel cuts both ways,

doesn't it?

On the one hand,

the gospel humbles us.

Like Balaam's donkey,

the gospel tells us

that our wisdom

and our strength

doesn't get us

any closer to God.

In fact,

they're just as likely

to drive us away

from God

because of our pride.

But on the other hand,

the gospel brings

deep comfort,

even boldness.

Like Balaam's donkey,

the gospel tells us

that God chooses

the weak and lowly

to shame the strong.

In other words,

God delights

to save sinners,

to save the undeserving,

the lost,

the lowly,

the humble,

and God delights

to use them

for His kingdom purposes.

If God can use a donkey,

how much more

will He use you?

Beloved children

whom Christ died to save.

You see, friends,

you don't need

to be a renowned scholar

or a world-famous leader

to be used mightily of God.

You simply need

to be soft-hearted

to God's Spirit

and God's words.

By the Spirit,

God's words will open

your eyes to see

His beauty.

They'll make you wise

with the wisdom

the world can't give.

They'll fill you with hope

and courage

to obey with love.

And above all,

the Spirit will open

your eyes to see

Christ Jesus,

the One who is

wisdom,

righteousness,

and true glory.

God

humbles the proud,

but He exalts the humble.

How about you, friend?

Do you think

you're above

other people?

Do you think

God owes you something?

Do you think

through your worldly wisdom

you'll reach

into the highest heavens

and bring God down?

Why not find yourself

in a better place

beside Balaam's donkey?

Letting Him open

your eyes to see

who He really is

and to praise Him.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven,

thank You that You

reveal Yourself

to the weak

and to the lowly.

Lord,

how difficult it is

for us

to be weak

and to be lowly.

too often

we are like Balaam,

wanting to maneuver

and connive our way

through the world

and through religious things.

O Lord,

by Your Spirit,

humble us.

Help us to see

that the message

of the cross,

though foolishness

to the world,

is real wisdom

because in it

Your wisdom

and Your power

are displayed.

Your saving purposes

are accomplished

and Your redemption

is sealed.

Lord,

help us

to walk

in the assurance

of Your blessing

and to walk

in true humility,

we pray.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen.