Numbers (Part 16)
Bible Study Time 4-27-08
(From James Roberts 5-16-99)
Bible Study Time 4-27-08
(From James Roberts 5-16-99)
Last week we saw that God gave a great victory over one of the kings of Canaan, but afterward the children of Israel began to complain against God and Moses. As a result, God sent fiery serpents into their midst, and many of the people died when they were bit by the serpents.
Some of the people came to Moses and asked Moses to pray for them. They recognized that the serpents were a judgment from God and so they asked Moses to pray that God would take them away. While Moses prayed, God told Moses to fashion a serpent of brass and lift it up between heaven and earth. God said that when the people looked at that brazen serpent after having been bit by a poisonous snake, they would live.
The Lord Jesus spoke of this brazen serpent in His conversation with Nicodemus. He said:
John 3:14-17 NKJV
14 . . . as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
In John, Chapter 12, the Lord Jesus made reference to this brazen serpent when He said:
John 12:32 NKJV
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
After quoting this statement by the Lord Jesus, John said:
John 12:33 NKJV
33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
So that brazen serpent which was lifted up in the wilderness was a picture of the sacrificial death on the cross by our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
After this incident with the fiery serpents, God gave Israel two great military victories. He gave them the victory over King Sihon of the Amorites in Heshbon, and then He gave them victory over King Og of Bashan. These victories greatly disturbed King Balak of the Moabites. He became fearful of the Israelites and so he decided to take action. Let’s read Numbers, Chapter 22, beginning in verse 1:
Numbers 22:1-6 NKJV
1 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.
2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.
4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: "Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me!
6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed."
Well, while these messengers where staying with Balaam, Balaam got a visit from the Lord. In verse 9, we read:
Numbers 22:9-12 NKJV
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?"
10 So Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,
11 'Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.'"
12 And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
This goes back to the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis, Chapter 12. In that passage God promised Abraham that his descendants would be blessed. God also promised blessing to those who bless Israel, and He promised a curse to those who curse Israel. So in Numbers 22, God told Balaam in very specific terms that he should not go with Balak’s messengers because they wanted to curse the children of Israel.
Accordingly, Balaam told the messengers to go back to their land without him because God had refused to give him permission to go with them. But when these men returned to Moab without Balaam, Balak refused to take no for an answer. Verse 15 says:
Numbers 22:15-17 NKJV
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than (the first).
16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: 'Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me;
17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.'"
Unfortunately for Balaam, this promise of great reward got Balaam’s attention. Deep down inside Balaam really wanted to take advantage of Balak’s offer, so he went back to the Lord for further instructions. This time, God told Balaam to go with Balak’s messengers. Verse 21 says that:
Numbers 22:21 NKJV
21 . . . Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
On the road to Moab, a very unusual thing happened. Verse 22 says:
Numbers 22:22-28 NKJV
22 Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.
24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.
25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 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?"
Notice that in this instance God used a dumb donkey to speak to Balaam. It would appear that the donkey had more sense than Balaam. But notice also that Balaam was not even astonished at the fact that his donkey started talking to him. He simply answered his donkey’s question, saying:
Numbers 22:29-30 NKJV
29 . . . " (I struck you) Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!"
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?" And he said, "No."
One would think that at this point Balaam would surely suspect that something very unusual was going on, but Balaam’s eyes were blind to the things of God until:
Numbers 22:31-33 NKJV
31 . . . the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.
32 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.
33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live."
With this said, Balaam acknowledged his sin against the Lord, but he still wanted to curse the people of Israel, so God told Balaam to go to Balak. However, God told Balaam to speak only the words that He would put into Balaam’s mouth.
When the time came, God did put words in Balaam’s mouth just as He had put words in the mouth of Balaam’s donkey, and to Balak’s great displeasure, they were words of blessing rather than a curse. II Peter, Chapter 2, sheds some light upon this event. Peter warned the people about false teachers and said:
2 Peter 2:15 NKJV
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
This lets us know that Balaam wanted to curse the people of Israel because he wanted Balak’s money. Balaam was not interested in the people of Israel. He was not interested in their welfare. He was merely interested in the money. So Peter warned his readers to beware of those come and are only interested in the wages of unrighteousness, who want to please people for profit. Verse 16 says that:
2 Peter 2:16 NKJV
16 . . . (Balaam) was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
Then Peter says that prophets such as these:
2 Peter 2:17 NKJV
17 . . . are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Jude also speaks about false teachers and says:
Jude 10-11 NKJV
10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit . . .
The Scofield Reference Bible distinguishes between the error of Balaam which we see here in Jude with the doctrine of Balaam which is mentioned in Revelation, Chapter 2. In Revelation, Chapter 2, the Apostle John says to the Church at Pergamos:
Revelation 2:14 NKJV
14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Here we see that the doctrine of Balaam had to do with the fact that he advised Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel by tempting them with sexual immorality and things sacrificed to idols. However, the error of Balaam in the book of Jude had to do with the fact that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness and was willing to go against the plan and purpose of God in exchange for money.
False teachers who come in with the error of Balaam will often bring with them the doctrine of Balaam. Because they love the wages of unrighteousness, they preach doctrine that will lead the people away from the righteousness of God.
Today, we need to remember that Satan is our adversary. II Corinthians, Chapter 11, says that:
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NKJV
13 . . . false apostles, deceitful workers, (transform) themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
We need to be careful about the things that we hear from religious teachers. We need to follow the example of the Bereans, who in Acts, Chapter 17, were said to have received the word of God with readiness of mind but then searched the scriptures daily to verify those things which they had been taught.
Well, I see our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for studying with me in this another broadcast of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
Some of the people came to Moses and asked Moses to pray for them. They recognized that the serpents were a judgment from God and so they asked Moses to pray that God would take them away. While Moses prayed, God told Moses to fashion a serpent of brass and lift it up between heaven and earth. God said that when the people looked at that brazen serpent after having been bit by a poisonous snake, they would live.
The Lord Jesus spoke of this brazen serpent in His conversation with Nicodemus. He said:
John 3:14-17 NKJV
14 . . . as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
In John, Chapter 12, the Lord Jesus made reference to this brazen serpent when He said:
John 12:32 NKJV
32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
After quoting this statement by the Lord Jesus, John said:
John 12:33 NKJV
33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
So that brazen serpent which was lifted up in the wilderness was a picture of the sacrificial death on the cross by our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
After this incident with the fiery serpents, God gave Israel two great military victories. He gave them the victory over King Sihon of the Amorites in Heshbon, and then He gave them victory over King Og of Bashan. These victories greatly disturbed King Balak of the Moabites. He became fearful of the Israelites and so he decided to take action. Let’s read Numbers, Chapter 22, beginning in verse 1:
Numbers 22:1-6 NKJV
1 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.
2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.
4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: "Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me!
6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed."
Well, while these messengers where staying with Balaam, Balaam got a visit from the Lord. In verse 9, we read:
Numbers 22:9-12 NKJV
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?"
10 So Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying,
11 'Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.'"
12 And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed."
This goes back to the promise that God made to Abraham in Genesis, Chapter 12. In that passage God promised Abraham that his descendants would be blessed. God also promised blessing to those who bless Israel, and He promised a curse to those who curse Israel. So in Numbers 22, God told Balaam in very specific terms that he should not go with Balak’s messengers because they wanted to curse the children of Israel.
Accordingly, Balaam told the messengers to go back to their land without him because God had refused to give him permission to go with them. But when these men returned to Moab without Balaam, Balak refused to take no for an answer. Verse 15 says:
Numbers 22:15-17 NKJV
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than (the first).
16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: 'Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me;
17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.'"
Unfortunately for Balaam, this promise of great reward got Balaam’s attention. Deep down inside Balaam really wanted to take advantage of Balak’s offer, so he went back to the Lord for further instructions. This time, God told Balaam to go with Balak’s messengers. Verse 21 says that:
Numbers 22:21 NKJV
21 . . . Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
On the road to Moab, a very unusual thing happened. Verse 22 says:
Numbers 22:22-28 NKJV
22 Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.
24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.
25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 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?"
Notice that in this instance God used a dumb donkey to speak to Balaam. It would appear that the donkey had more sense than Balaam. But notice also that Balaam was not even astonished at the fact that his donkey started talking to him. He simply answered his donkey’s question, saying:
Numbers 22:29-30 NKJV
29 . . . " (I struck you) Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!"
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?" And he said, "No."
One would think that at this point Balaam would surely suspect that something very unusual was going on, but Balaam’s eyes were blind to the things of God until:
Numbers 22:31-33 NKJV
31 . . . the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.
32 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.
33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live."
With this said, Balaam acknowledged his sin against the Lord, but he still wanted to curse the people of Israel, so God told Balaam to go to Balak. However, God told Balaam to speak only the words that He would put into Balaam’s mouth.
When the time came, God did put words in Balaam’s mouth just as He had put words in the mouth of Balaam’s donkey, and to Balak’s great displeasure, they were words of blessing rather than a curse. II Peter, Chapter 2, sheds some light upon this event. Peter warned the people about false teachers and said:
2 Peter 2:15 NKJV
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
This lets us know that Balaam wanted to curse the people of Israel because he wanted Balak’s money. Balaam was not interested in the people of Israel. He was not interested in their welfare. He was merely interested in the money. So Peter warned his readers to beware of those come and are only interested in the wages of unrighteousness, who want to please people for profit. Verse 16 says that:
2 Peter 2:16 NKJV
16 . . . (Balaam) was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
Then Peter says that prophets such as these:
2 Peter 2:17 NKJV
17 . . . are wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.
Jude also speaks about false teachers and says:
Jude 10-11 NKJV
10 But these speak evil of whatever they do not know; and whatever they know naturally, like brute beasts, in these things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit . . .
The Scofield Reference Bible distinguishes between the error of Balaam which we see here in Jude with the doctrine of Balaam which is mentioned in Revelation, Chapter 2. In Revelation, Chapter 2, the Apostle John says to the Church at Pergamos:
Revelation 2:14 NKJV
14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Here we see that the doctrine of Balaam had to do with the fact that he advised Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel by tempting them with sexual immorality and things sacrificed to idols. However, the error of Balaam in the book of Jude had to do with the fact that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness and was willing to go against the plan and purpose of God in exchange for money.
False teachers who come in with the error of Balaam will often bring with them the doctrine of Balaam. Because they love the wages of unrighteousness, they preach doctrine that will lead the people away from the righteousness of God.
Today, we need to remember that Satan is our adversary. II Corinthians, Chapter 11, says that:
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 NKJV
13 . . . false apostles, deceitful workers, (transform) themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
We need to be careful about the things that we hear from religious teachers. We need to follow the example of the Bereans, who in Acts, Chapter 17, were said to have received the word of God with readiness of mind but then searched the scriptures daily to verify those things which they had been taught.
Well, I see our time is gone for this morning. Thank you for studying with me in this another broadcast of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
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