Transcription
Well, hello everyone. This is Mike Howard and I am here with Beverly Howard. We're going to do a Bible study. We're in the book of Numbers.
Today, we're going to read a very long story. It covers three chapters. Chapters 22 through 24. We're even going to peek into chapter 25. And the title of the lesson is God's plan. This is a lesson about false teachers and how they have an impact on what God's plan is. We know that God's plan ultimately is Jesus Christ, his son, sent for the forgiveness of our sins. So, how do false teachers play into this?
If you've ever wondered whether the Bible has a sense of humor, whether God has a sense of humor, today's lesson will prove that he does. It's an interesting story as you can tell by the graphic. There's Balum who's going to smack his donkey not once, not twice, but three times. It is sad.
Well, the Israelites now are poised to enter into the promised land. They're camped out just to the east of Jericho on the just on the east side of the Jordan River. And Edom, of course, has refused to allow them to travel through. So, they've had to go around Edom. And in the meantime, they've run into some poisonous snakes. And Moses, God tells Moses to take a a copper or a bronze snake, put it up on a pole. Anytime an Israelite is bitten by a poisonous snake, they're to look at the bronze snake and they will be healed. And of course, that's a type of Christ. We're looking to Christ on the cross to be healed. But that's another lesson.
Uh then Israel is going to conquer the Amorites. The Amorites uh lived in the territory that was just to the east of the Jordan. And in order for the Israelites to camp there, the the Amorites attacked them and they were able to conquer them. So they took over the territory. So now they're camped out uh just to the west of a territory operated by Moab, the nation of Moab. And Moab is a little concerned because there are so many Israelites there. They're worried that Israelites will turn on them. Turns out to be a false worry.
So God God's plan is to bless Israel. And the characters in this story are Bailac, who is the king of Moab, the Midianites. And the Midianites live far to the south of Moab, but they're going to in this story, they're going to be allied with or they're going to join with Moab to fight against Israel. There's a character by the name of Balum, and you all know if you're if you're a student of the Bible, you know that Balum is a false prophet, and he uh he's the star of this story. And then of course you've got Israel.
So let me show you what this map looks like. Israel is now after conquering the Amorites. They're camped out here just to the northeast of the Dead Sea. And now you've got Moab over here allied with the Midianites here. And they both agreed to hire this fellow named Balum to put a curse on Israel. And by putting a curse on Israel, it'll make it easier for Moab to destroy the nation of Israel. So Bailac, the king of Moab, knows that Israel has already defeated the Amorites, which by the way, the Amorites were stronger than the Moabites. So they've already defeated uh the the stronger neighbor. So now Moab is very concerned. Bailac is very concerned. He's going to fe he fears that they're going to conquer them. So Bailac then goes out and hires this famous foreign prophet or seer named Balum. and he's going to Balum and he's going to pay Balam big bucks to curse Israel.
Well, Balam is going to make what turns out to be an ill-fated decision to go ahead and try to do that. And in chapter 22:1-21, Balam reluctantly agrees. He takes two uh two offers from uh Bailac to encourage Balam to come and place this curse on Israel. And the reason that it took two times is because God keeps telling Balam, "Don't do it. It's a bad idea. You're going to regret this." So on the way to Moab, Balam runs into an angel with a sword. Unfortunately, he can't see this angel. So, he's going to encounter this angel on this journey.
And so, let's get started with the focal verses. It starts in verse 22. Reluctant permission has been given uh to Balum to go ahead and go to Moab, but it's not going to be um it's going to be permission with a lot of fear. So, watch how it happens. But God, he was not happy with Balam. God was very angry when Balam went and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose Balam and Balam was riding on his donkey had his two servants along with him and when the donkey could actually see that God allowed the donkey to see this angel with the sword. So the donkey is going to first thing the donkey's going to do is he's going to detour off the path to try to avoid the angel with the sword. The donkey saw the angel of this Lord of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. It turned off it. The donkey turned off the road into the field. And remember, Balam's riding on the donkey. So Balam got off the donkey, beat it to get it back on the road. Interesting.
So then uh the road that he turned off on is a narrow path. So the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards uh that with walls that were on both sides. And when the donkey saw the angel again, it pressed close to the wall and that crushed Balam's foot against the wall. So Balam beat the beat the donkey for a second time. Now there's nowhere to turn. The angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room for the donkey to turn around either to the right or to the left. So now the donkey is just going to lay down. So when the donkey saw the angel for the third time, it laid down under Balum. And Balam was angry and beat the donkey for the third time with his staff.
Here's where the story gets hilarious. Then the Lord opened the donkey's mouth and the donkey said to Balam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Now that's I mean if I was if if I was Balum the first reaction that I would have is seriously a talk a talking donkey. But Balum doesn't react that way. Balam not only doesn't react that way, he decides to engage the donkey in a conversation. Balam answered the donkey. You have made a fool of me. If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now. Then the donkey answers back. They're having a dialogue, a discussion here, conversation. The dialogue said, the donkey said to Balam, "Am I not your own donkey?" In other words, I'm your donkey. I This is not our first trip here, which you have always ridden to this day. Have I been in the habit of doing this to you? And Balam respond, he thinks about it. He responds, "No, no, you haven't."
So the Okay, so let me re let me let me just cover this again. First of all, the donkey, which has never spoken before, starts having this conversation with Balam. And Balam doesn't seem to be terribly surprised. He talks back to the donkey. It gets even worse. So Balam's having this conversation with the donkey, and then the donkey asks him a question, and Balam says, "Yeah, you're right about that." that. So, Balam is actually going to be in a conversation and lose the argument with his donkey. I don't doesn't get any funnier than that, right?
Verse 31. Now, God's going to let Balam see what the donkey has been seeing all along. The Lord opened Balam's eyes. He saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So, Balam bow, this is a smart decision. Balam bowed low and he fell face down. The angel of the Lord asked Balam, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because the path that you're on is a reckless one before me."
So, the reason that it took Balum two times or two offers to actually decide to go to Moab was because God said, "You you really need to be careful here. uh these are my people and I've got a plan for them and I'm not going to be happy about this. And now he sent this angel and the angel has said look uh because I have come here to oppose you because the path u that you've chosen is reckless. And then look how close he came to being killed. The donkey saw me and he turned away from me these three times. If the donkey had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now. but I would have spared the donkey."
So, Balum at this point in time after these two experiences is pretty clear that this is a risky proposition and God is basically building a case here for letting Balam know that you had better only tell Moab what I tell you to say. So he's God is making sure that Balam understands the seriousness of what he's about to do. So Balam said to the angel of the Lord, "Look, I've sinned. I did not realize that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will turn around and go back home." But the angel basically God saying, "I just want to get your attention and make sure you understand how serious this is. You can go ahead and go, but just understand the rules." The angel of the Lord said to Balam, "Go with the men, but only speak what I tell you." So Balam went with Bailak's officials, and they went on to to Moab.
Now, when they got there, this I know this is hard to see, but I wanted to cover. It's not part of the focal verses, but this is actually very important part of the lesson. Uh Balum is going to have uh four revelations or oracles from God that he gives to Moab. And uh and these all four of these are are pretty they actually build in importance. And I wanted to read these to you and I'll do it quickly. There's a lot here. Uh it starts in verse chapter 23:8. Remember it's a three-chapter story. uh uh Balam is going to tell uh Bailac the king uh that he it's impossible to curse what God has blessed and that's a huge thing and it's something it's important for us to know that what God has blessed nobody can curse big deal how can I curse those whom God has not cursed how can I denounce those whom God has not denounced from the rocky peaks I see now this is the blessing from the rocky peaks I see them that would be Israel from the height I view them.
So what's happened is he's gone up on a top of a mountain where he can look out and see the camp of Israel. So now he's going to tell Bailac what God tolds him to say about what he's seeing. Uh I view them I see the people who live apart. Apart means that they're not part of the world. Okay? They're God's people. Not a part. I I not apart uh who live apart who do not consider themselves one of the nations. Who can count the dust? Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? In other words, they're a great nation. Let me die the death of the righteous. Now, this is a beautiful part of the about the of the of the oracle here. Let me This is uh Balam telling the words of God to Bailac. He says, "Let me die the death of the righteous. Let me and let my final end be like theirs, be like Israel's final end." It's it's a beautiful request. Uh although ba these really aren't Balam's words. These are God's words to Bailac through Balum.
So Bailac has a response when he pays he wants to pay Balam to curse Israel. And all Balam can do because God warned him is to bless. So Bailac says to Balam, this is the first time, what have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead you've done nothing but bless them. Second oracle. God is not human that he should lie. Not a human being that he should change his mind. Does God speak and then not act? Does God promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless. In other words, Balam's telling Bailac, God's telling me I have to bless Israel. He is blessed and I cannot change it. So, here's the blessing. No misfortune is seen in Jacob. No misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them and the shout of the king is among them. That's a huge blessing.
Well, Bailac's not happy with that either. Bailac said to the Balam, "Either neither curse them nor bless them at all." In other words, if you're not going to curse them, then I don't want to hear any blessings either. So, that's the second time. The third one, how beautiful are your tents, Jacob. Your dwelling place is Israel. So, he's looking out from a third mountain onto the same camp. And here's what he says that he sees because God's seeing it through his eyes. Uh how beautiful are your tents uh and your dwelling places uh Israel like valleys they've spread out like gardens beside a river so this is a beautiful sight for God to see uh like allows planted by the Lord like cedars by the waters water will now this is the this is the blessing here like water will flow from their buckets their seed will have abundant water their king will be greater than a uh a gag their kingdom will be exalted and this is a beautiful blessing here and listen carefully and I know you know this but you may not have known where it came from. This is a blessing that God gives to Israel from a false prophet. So it didn't matter where the source was as long as words came from God. May those who bless Israel be blessed and may those who curse Israel be cursed. And right now with Israel and Gaza and all that's going on, it's important for us as Christians to know that God has said this about Israel. Be careful which side you're on when it comes to the nation of Israel.
Well, Bailac has a response. He says, "I didn't like it the first time. I liked it even less the second time. And now that you've done this the third time, you're fired." >> Go away. >> Now, leave it once and go home. I said I I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded. Go home.
Unfortunately for Balam, he doesn't take the king's advice. Balam says, "Before I leave, I've got one more message from God, and since you're not going to pay me for it, I'm going to give it to you for free. And this blessing is the best blessing." He says this, "I see him, but not now, not yet. I behold him, but not nearby. A star will come out of Jacob. >> A scepter will rise out of Israel."
So, what is he saying here? Well, obviously, he's talking about Jesus. He sees Balum, the false prophet. God allows to catch a vision of the plan of his son of Jesus. How cool is that? That Balum, this dirt bag prophet who tried to curse Israel, is actually catching a vision of Jesus. That's neat. What does he mean by a star will come out of Jacob and a scepter will rise you? For them, for those people in that day, a star basically was like we see GPS today. It was a guide. It was a light to their path. It helped them get from place to place. So he sees a star, the one who is going to guide us coming out of Jacob. That would be Jesus. And then a scepter, a scepter is something that a king has is going to rise out of Israel. So this person is going to be a person who will guide people back to God. He's the star and he's going to be God's king. He will be the ruler to whom we will obey and submit. That's the vision that he gets for Jesus.
Well, it turns out that Balum was hired to curse Israel and instead of cursing Israel, he blesses Israel. But he is a false teacher and that's not the end of his story and that's not the extent of the damage that he did to the nation of Israel. You have to keep going to find out that Balam actually does cause a great deal of damage. So very quickly let's take a look at what actually happened later. Balam as a false prophet remember Bailac said just go home and Balam didn't go. He stayed. And not only did he stay, but he participated in a plot to grew to do great damage to the nation of Israel.
So Balum because he knows God's righteousness, he also knows man's sinfulness. That's the danger of a false teacher. A false teacher is someone that that God has shared his insight and word with and they've chosen to turn that information and that knowledge against God. That's a bad person because Balam knows God's righteousness and he knows remember what he said about God and you know is God does God lie? Will God speak and not okay? So he knows God. He also knows the sinfulness of man. So he's going to set a trap for Israel and the trap is going to be to to tempt Israelite the Israelite men into sexual sin so that he can achieve his greedy desire. So Balam is still looking for his payday here. And so he's still working hard to get it. Satan's false teachers use the same plan to damage God's plan today. Important part of the lesson. They're enticed, Balum, because Balum gives them advice to do this. They're enticed, the Israelites are enticed to worship idols and to indulge in sexual immorality.
You go out, you go all the way to chapter 25:1. While Israel was staying in Chayum, which is right there next to uh the Jordan River, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabitete and Midianite women who invited them to sacrifice to their gods. It was the Sheimosh for Moab and Baal for the Midianites. Uh the people are ate the sacrificial meal and they bowed down before these gods. So this is the first example of the Israelites submitting to idol worship and later when they cross the river they actually fall uh to that same problem. So Israel yolked themselves to the bail of PR and the Lord's anger anger burned against them. And you got to go to verse six here. Uh, it got so bad. Look how bad it gets. It got the the the sexual immorality got so bad that a man walks right in front of Moses and Aaron and the other leaders with a Midianite woman, takes her into his tent for sexual relations. An Israeli Israelite man brought the into the camp a Medidianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And when Phineas, Phineas is the grandson of Aaron, okay? Son of Eleazar, Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he got up, left the assembly, took a spear in his hand, followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both the Israelite and the Midianite woman, right through the man into the woman's stomach. Then the plague that had God had started a plague here. Then the plague against the Israelites because they were uh bowing a knee to Baal, it stopped. But those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.
Now it turns out that Baal Balum is the one who gives the idea to do this to the Moabites and the Midianites. How do we know that? Well, we got to go all the way to chapter 31:15 when uh Moses sends an army of 12,000 down to Midian to conquer the Midianites. And he says, and they conquer the Midionites, but they bring the women and the children back up to the camp. And Moses says, "You can't do that." He says, "Look, have you allowed all the women to live?" Moses asked them, they the women, they were the ones who were following Balam's advice to entice the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident. So that a plague struck the Lord's people. So now we find out that while Balam failed to curse Israel, he didn't fail to entice Israel. And that's a big deal. It's going to follow me as I delve into how we can apply this to today's uh world.
Three truths I've discovered in this lesson that we can apply. There's a warning here about false teachers or false prophets. Secondly, there's a warning about sexual sin and making money from God's grace. It's a big deal. And thirdly, there's a a deal there's an application here to go from a curse to a blessing because God loves us. And that really is kind of what uh God was dealing with here when he was saying his blessings through uh Balum who wanted to curse Israel. So let's do all three.
So what about false prophets and false teachers? Well, the story here is a very sad story and that is they are so close to knowing all about God and God's plan and God's grace and God's mercy and yet they refuse to accept it. They are so far away, so close and yet so far. And the moral of this story is even a donkey knows better than that. We've got several examples of people who are so close to the truth and yet are blinded by it. First example is Esau, the Esau was Jacob's brother. He was the firstborn, but he sells his birthright for a pot of stew. He's so close to being God, the leader of God's chosen people. and yet he because he wants a full stomach, he sells that birthright. He's so close and yet he's so far away. The second person, of course, is Balum. Balam just got through having one-on- ones with God four times. God reveals so much truth to him and yet Balam takes that opportunity. He could have said, "Wow, the God of Israel is the God of the entire creation of the universe. I am going to drop all of my false prophet, false teaching stuff and I'm going to turn my life over to this amazing God. But instead of that, he uses what he's learned about God for the wrong reasons. And the third, of course, is Judas. That's the New Testament example. Judas walked with Jesus for three years. Jesus, he was there for every word that Jesus spoke, every miracle that Jesus performed. And yet, even though he was this close, he rejected God's plan. It's trading God the the God. It's trading God and God's plan for the world and what the world has to offer. And it's the ultimate bad decision. It's a bad bad choice. And the reason that it's a bad choice is because in Jude verse 13, Jude says, "Blackest darkness has been reserved for false teachers and false prophets forever."
So, I know many of you who watch these videos are Sunday school teachers or Bible study teachers. And this this hit me pretty hard. Um, I don't consider myself a false teacher, but it this is an important deal here to understand that the truth that we are entrusted with by God's word to teach and share with others is super important and we really shouldn't trample it under our feet by any kind of sin or or disobedience. Peter makes sure that we understand it by telling us this in second Peter chapter 2. He talks about these false teachers and he says, "Look, they have eyes that are full of adultery. They never stop sinning. They seduce the unstable and they are experts in greed. They are an oursed brood." Remember this lesson is about uh Balam wanted to curse Israel, but God said, "You're going to bless Israel." Well, the false teachers, they are in themselves in a cursed brood brood. Look at this in verse 15. They these false teachers, they've left the straight way which has been revealed to them and they've wandered off to follow the way of Balum the son of Beaser who loved the the the wages of wickedness.
So that's the first part and the second part. The first part is a warning against false prophets and the second part is a warning against the sin of sexual sin and greed. But the third part is from a curse to a blessing. And that's really what God was all about in this lesson. Deuteronomy 23:5 says this. God, your God, he refused to listen to Balum. Said he turned the curse into a blessing. How God your God loves you. He loves you so much that he refused to let Balum curse you. Ephesians chapter 2:4 and 5 Paul tells us this. But because of God's great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ. He reversed the curse of the garden of Eden with his son Jesus giving his life so that we can be forgiven and have that curse of sin and death in us reversed and turned into a blessing of eternal life from a curse to a blessing. We are always blessed in Christ. Ephesians 1:3. Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. There's the curse that we've escaped because of the death of Christ. And there's the blessing that we've achieved by God's grace through the resurrection of Jesus. We should never because we have received that wonderful blessing. We should never put one foot back in the world ever. Ever because that would be basically spurning such a great gift, such a great blessing. Balam, Judas, Esau, they all spurned God's blessing and his plan. We should be on really basically warned that we we really can't do that. It's just too great a blessing, too great a sacrifice for us to bow a knee to this world.
Pray with me. Father, it's a hilarious story about a talking donkey and about an argument that a man, a false prophet, loses to the donkey. And in fact, that illustrates exactly how dumb false prophets and false teachers are that they would lose an argument to a dumb beast. That's how silly that is. And yet, Father, there are still false teachers today. And in Revelation, there are two churches, Pergamin and Tharat Thotara. Thank you, Beverly. uh that are both plagued with false teachers. Father, today help us to keep our eyes on Jesus Christ and understand the true blessing that we have in the cross and the resurrection, the empty grave. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. >> Amen. >> That was a lot to cover. A funny lesson, but a serious warning. Till next week, know that we love you guys. Take care. Bye-bye. >> Bye.