When God singles out a man from the Old Testament and refers to him three times in the New Testament, there must be some special significance for us—something for us to learn from his history. Such is the case with a man named Balaam. His history is recorded in Numbers 22 to 24, and his death in Numbers 31; in the New Testament he is mentioned in 2 Peter, Jude, and Revelation:
"Cursed children: which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbade the madness of the prophet." 2 Pet. 2:14-16.
"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core." Jude 11.
"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication." Rev. 2:14.
In these scriptures we have first the way, then the error, and finally the doctrine of Balaam.
The "way" of Balaam was to love money and be willing to curse the people of God provided that he could be enriched thereby.
The "error" of Balaam was to attempt to speak falsely in Jehovah's name for reward.
The "doctrine" of Balaam was the teaching of a method by which Balak could pull the beloved people down from their high eminence by persuading them to leave their own special place of separation and mingle with the Moabites.
In the epistle of Jude, the last days are described; there Balaam is linked with two other men, so that the three together might picture certain moral conditions which would prevail at the end in Christendom. They are "Cain,... Balaam,... and Core." The first man sought to approach God without a suitable offering; he came on the ground of his works, and not that of having a substitute. The second sought to make a gain of speaking the Word of God, and the third rose up in rebellion against God's anointed high priest.
These conditions are to be seen all around us. The great religious profession is the religion of Cain. Good deeds, character development, self-improvement, religious ethics, are substituted for the grand work of atonement on the cross. The whole scheme is a denial of the fall and utter ruin of man on the one hand, and of the wondrous truth of the Lord Jesus Christ as the sinner's substitute on the other. 'What does God say of all those who follow this course? "Woe unto them." And just as surely as Cain's offering was rejected, and he with it, so will these modern religionists be rejected. He will say to them, "I know you not."
The sad fact of the "error of Balaam" being current is that religion has become commercialized, and many mere professors are following in Balaam's error in preaching for the reward. Many of them are as false as Balaam was.
The last character of the last days which is coupled with the "way of Cain" and the "error of Balaam" is the "gainsaying of Core." He was a man who rose up against God's king (Moses; Deut. 33:5), and high priest (Aaron), and is a picture of those who today deny the Lord's authority—they reject Christ's authority while claiming to be Christians. In other words, it is infidelity clothed in the garb of religion. How prevalent it is! Surely we should be able to discern the signs of these times.
But let us turn back to the book of Numbers, and I think we shall learn some profitable lessons from the history of Balaam. He was a wicked man, a false prophet, who was willing to sell his services to King Balak. He had a reputation as a prophet, for Balak said to him, "I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." Numb. 22:6. He was not a prophet of the Lord but was a sorcerer using divination; however, the Lord did take him up and use him, and that contrary to his own will and to the will of Balak. The Word of God gives us a number of instances where He used unregenerate men to speak His mind; for instance, Caiaphas the high priest, the man who took the lead in having Jesus crucified, prophesied "that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for that nation only, but that also He should gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." John 11:51, 52.
Balak the king had much reason to be distressed when he saw the progress of the great multitude of Israelites swarming toward his land. He knew how they had victoriously left Egypt, and what they had done to the Amorites. He did not, however, take into account that Jehovah was with them, nor seek their favor, nor cast in his lot with them; instead, he sent the honorable elders of Moab with the elders of Midian to persuade this renowned prophet of Midian to come and curse Israel. When they went, they took "the rewards of divination in their hand."
Balaam received them, lodged them courteously, and cunningly made it appear difficult to enlist his services, and also made a display of seeking supernatural guidance, even to using the name of Jehovah—the name by which God was known in Israel—to parry their offers for a time. He wanted money, and perhaps the charge for his services went up with his delay.
God spoke to him that night and told him that he was not to go with the elders of Moab, nor was he to curse the Israelites, for they were blessed. Balaam then grudgingly declined their proffered gifts, saying, "The LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you." This statement made it apparent to the elders that as far as Balaam was concerned he was willing. 'Whereupon, Balak sent "princes, more, and more honorable" than the first to persuade the wily Balaam to come. They were empowered to offer him greater and greater rewards.
This time God permitted Balaam to accompany the elders, but warned him that He would not allow him to speak anything but what He wished. God was about to use the enemies of Israel for their blessing. With God's permission, the false prophet readily acted, for he "loved the wages of unrighteousness."
But before Balaam was allowed to proceed very far the angel of the Lord stood in the way of the ass upon which he was riding, but Balaam did not see the angel, and smote the ass. This occurred three times; then the ass spoke with a man's voice, rebuking him; whereupon the angel of the Lord told Balaam that his way was perverse before Him, and again warned the covetous prophet that he was not to speak anything but that which God gave him to speak. It took much preparation by God to use the false prophet's mouth to pronounce good concerning Israel.
God may use a dumb ass or a wicked man to speak His truth, but they are only instruments of His power, and the credit is not to them. He has used unsaved men to tell others the way of salvation to their eternal blessing. God is sovereign and can use what and whom He will, but that in no wise lessens the servant's responsibility to do as he is told.
At length Balaam arrived in the land of Moab, and King Balak took him up to a prominence from whence he could see Israel encamped below. Balaam felt, however, that he should make a great show of seeking hidden wisdom from some supernatural source. While it had the appearance of seeking God, it was really Satan's counterfeit of what God had established- something that was done by dealers in the occult sciences of the day. He had Balak prepare seven altars and their offerings, and then he went away alone to seek some special revelation. Here God met him and put words into his mouth, which he had already learned he MUST speak. Let us listen:
"And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" Chap. 23:7-10.
The children of Israel were God's earthly people, a chosen nation on earth, but there are some principles here that can well be applied to Christians—the heavenly people. Actually, this man Balaam wanted to curse the people of God for the gain he would make, but he is forced to say, "How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?" Any curse of his would be meaningless and useless when God had not cursed them. This brings to mind a verse in Romans 8: "What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" No one, not even Satan, can touch the people of God in their security. The devil may for a time be allowed by God, for purposes of good toward His people, to touch them in their earthly circumstances, but to curse them is impossible. Surely "if God be for us, who can be against us?" This is self-evident. Our distress of spirit in times of trial really springs from lack of believing that God is for us. Jacob, at the very moment when God was moving all for his good, said, "All these things are against me." And have we not all more or less echoed the thoughts of Jacob? But what does it matter if the whole world be against us, when God is for us?
It is important to notice where Balaam was called to behold this people—"From the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him." God beholds them from His eminence, and Balsam is compelled to see them from above also. 0 that we always beheld one another as God sees us in Christ! How differently we would feel at times. What harsh and unkind words would be spared if we thought of the people of God as viewed from above.
Next Balsam says, "Lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." This is a cardinal truth, forever since God called Abraham to a path of separation, the people of God have been called to walk apart from the world. Even before the time of Abraham we find in Genesis 5 a line of faith—men who were perhaps little esteemed by the world of their day, but they "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth," and "died in faith." There was another line of people, mentioned in Genesis 4—descendants of Cain—who did great things and made a name in the earth. But those in the line of faith generally were not prominent in secular history.
Israel's distinctive glory was their separation to God. They were not the largest nation, nor did they have giants among them; if they were to boast, they were to boast in the Lord, for He was their glory. When they mingled with the nations they fell from their exalted place. Christians are not now called out as a special nation, but God is taking out of the nations a people for His name. They are not of the world, even as Christ was not of it. He was so separated and apart from the whole world system that when He left it there was scarcely a ripple on the surface of their society. The organized system of that day was hostile to Him, and He said it would be the same to His followers; but He has said, "Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." And how did He overcome? By walking in communion with His Father so that He was neither elated by their fleeting acclamations nor depressed by their rejection. May God grant us to be of that mind, so that we shall neither seek a place in man's world, nor bemoan it when we are made to feel its scorn and derision.
"Nay, let the world cast out our name,
And vile account us if it will."
Balaam is moved to add at the close of his first prophecy: "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" This he never achieved, for he died as he lived, a wicked man. He was slain by Israel among their enemies (Numb. 31:8). It is a vain wish for one to desire to die as a righteous man, and yet remain a rebel against God. Many today hope to go to heaven when they die, but they prefer to live for the earth, with no thought of God. Their wish shall perish with them.