Moses, Pt. 14: "The Good News, Bad News, No News Prophet" (Deut 34)

THE GOOD NEWS, NO NEWS, BAD NEWS PROPHET
(NUMBERS 22:1-35; 25:6-9; 31:6-8)
My sister who returned from Hong Kong in the mid-90s after a few years of work there brought home many VCDs and told about the street vendors in Hong Kong that sold original VCDs as well as pirated VCDs and illegal computer software such as Windows and computer games. For HK $100, a buyer can purchase three copies of pirate computer software or six illegal VCDs.

The pirate copies shot from hidden cameras placed in the theater were inferior and laughable. A patron would suddenly rise and block the screen on his way to the restroom. Sometimes moviegoers could be heard laughing, talking or coughing in the background. The buyer’s worst headache was when the picture was blurry, slanted or unconcluded. Some prints were, surprisingly, of good quality, prompting me once to ask, “Is this original or fake?” She said she often asked vendors the same question: “Is this original or is this a copy?” The seller would look annoyingly at her and buyers like her with such questions, but they always have a ready answer: “It’s original! Original…copy!”

Deceitful, phony and indecisive people are an unsuspecting person’s worst nightmare. They are resistant to change, tricky to figure out and difficult to get rid of.

One man fought Israel longer, harder and smarter than Pharaoh. More convincing than Judas, his doctrine has stumbled many - all the way to the last days (Rev 2:14). His name was Balaam.

After Miriam and later Aaron were buried, the new generation began an unprecedented rout of their enemies, including the Canaanites (Num 21:1-3), the two Amorite kings Sihon and Og (Num 21:21-25), the Moabites and finally the Midianites (Num 22-31). The last battle - with the Midianites - turned out to be the trickiest, strangest and the harshest for Israel. The defeat of the Midianites was accomplished at a great loss. Moses completed his last task (Num 31:1) and cleared the way for Israel to enter the new land, but not before Balak, the king of Moab, and the Midianites sought and found a one-man machine in Balaam to slow and stumble Israel in her final push.

The final conflict, through eight chapters, was one chapter longer than Israel’s confrontation with Pharaoh (Ex 7-14). The 24,000 Israelite lives (Num 25:9) lost in this third and final plague were more than the 3,000 who worshiped the golden calf (Ex 32:28) and the 14,700 people who died with Korah (Num 16:49) added together. Israel fought the mad, enigmatic and uncontrollable diviner and false prophet (2 Pet 2:16), winning the victory only on her second attempt. People like Balaam remind believers that evil will stop at nothing to undermine good, that God was on the side of godly and righteous people and that unrighteousness has no place in a believer’s life.

How can we resist double-minded and double-crossing people like Balaam? Why should believers submit, and not subvert, the word, the will and the ways of God? What action do we need to take to guard against the teaching of Balaam (Rev 2:14)?

Acknowledge the Obvious and Amuse No Stranger
12 But God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” 13 The next morning Balaam got up and said to Balak’s princes, “Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the Moabite princes returned to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.” 15 Then Balak sent other princes, more numerous and more distinguished than the first. 16 They came to Balaam and said: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, 17 because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.” 18 But Balaam answered them, “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God. 19 Now stay here tonight as the others did, and I will find out what else the LORD will tell me.” 20 That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.” (Num 22:12-20)

A suspicious man was arrested for wandering from place to place. He appeared before the judge, who was curious whether the man has a job, a home, or a life. The judge asked, “When do you work?” The man replied flippantly, “Now and then.”

Surprised at the man’s indifferent attitude and answer, the judge grilled him, “What do you do for a living?” The wanderer again replied tersely, “This and that.”

With his patience wearing thin and his time and concern appearing wasted, the judge tried again: “Where do you live?” The man said blankly: “Here and there.”

Realizing that he was going nowhere with his questions, the judge slammed his hammer and announced his verdict: “Young man, you are going to jail.” The man came to his senses and pleaded with the judge, “But judge, when do I get out?” With a twinkle in his eye, the judge replied, “Sooner or later.”

God forbade the indifferent Balaam to leave with Balak’s princes and gave him a specific reason (v 12- “because they are blessed”), but Balaam did not relay the reason to his visitors (v 13). Balaam refused to say or concede that the Israelites were blessed in his reply. Balaam’s words and actions were too clever for his own good, too subtle for others to guess, but too obvious for God to miss. God’s instructions to Balaam were clear and specific, but Balaam blurred and erased the lines when he offered an abbreviated, edited and inferior version to the princes. The unrighteous prophet was concerned about “what” he could and could not do and “how” he should and not say things, but God was concerned “why.” Balaam was concerned for the literal meaning but God was concerned for the moral argument.

Balaam persisted with a double life despite God’s six appearances and four oracles to him and His effort to stop him in his house, along the way and on the hills (23:14).

Someone said, “If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.” Since Balaam did not call things as they were, the Moabites, who did not know better, returned with a larger delegation, a nobler representation and a bigger carrot (v 15). They asked Balaam to weigh their offer, to provide an explanation and to name his price: “Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely...” (22:16-17)

Balaam’s issue was greed, in particularly requiring and receiving payment for service. 2 Peter 2:15 says Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness; he earned freebies at the expense of others. Israel suffered a loss, absorbed a blow and licked her wounds.

On the occasion of the visitors’ second call (v 15), Balaam did a very dangerous thing: He did not lock the door, toss the key and close the subject. He invited the visitors to stay, entertained the thought of going, and pretended to seek divine clarification, which he didn’t. Note that God took the initiative each time to seek Balaam out (Num 22:20, 23:5, 23:16).

Appreciate the Obvious and Abet No Enemy
23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” (Num 22:23-28)

Old Mrs. Watkins awoke one spring morning to find that the river had flooded not only her basement but the whole first floor of her house. And, looking out her bedroom window, she saw that the water was still rising. Two men passing by in a rowboat shouted up an invitation to row to safety with them.

“No, thank you,” replied Mrs. Watkins tartly. “The Lord will provide.” The men shrugged and rowed on.

By evening the water level forced Mrs. Watkins to climb onto her roof, where she was spotted by a cheerful man in a motorboat. “Don’t worry, lady,” he called across the water. “I’ll pick you right up.”

“Please don’t trouble yourself- the Lord will provide.” Mrs. Watkins turned her back on her would-be rescuer, who buzzed off down river.

Pretty soon Mrs. Watkins was forced to take refuge atop her chimney, the only part of the house still above water. Fortunately a Red Cross cutter came by on patrol. “Jump in, ma’am,” urged a rescue worker.

Mrs. Watkins shooked her head vehemently. “The Lord will provide.” So the boat departed, the water rose, and the old woman drowned. Dripping wet and thoroughly annoyed, she came through the Pearly Gates and demanded to talk to God. “What happened?” she demanded. “I thought the Lord would provide.”

“For cryin’ out loud, lady,” said God wearily, “I sent three boats.” (James Hewett, Illustrations Umlimited)

The unrestrained, unbridled and undeserving soothsayer – Balaam - was selfish and stubborn. He worked harder than a donkey to go his own way and to go out of the way to sabotage Israel’s future and God’s plan. The beast saved the neck of its master three times (22:23, 25, 27), but not only did Balaam not appreciate the efforts, he fumed and struck at the animal (22:24) at its three heroic attempts (vv 23, 25, 27).

The donkey was furious at the lack of appreciation (v 28). The beast was in a mortal combat, but it served its master exceedingly well and saved Balaam from certain death. The donkey had nothing to lose and freedom to gain if its owner was killed. The Lord’s punishment was not meted out to the donkey, but its master. For all its work, the donkey did not feel esteemed, vindicated or rewarded. Balaam hit the animal for trying another route (v 23), for stubbing his toes (v 25) and refusing to budge (v 27), failing to thank the donkey for her careful effort and his good fortune.

Mark Twain said, “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you: that is the principal difference between a man and a dog.” (AND I QUOTE, Ashton Applewhite NY/St Martin’s/92).

The loyal donkey could read between the lines, understand the times and navigate the course better than the disloyal prophet. The donkey was not only sharper, but also smarter than Balaam. It never uttered anything but questions to the master (v 28, 30), tying Balaam in knots, taking him to task and teaching him a lesson. My wife was, of course, thrilled that the clever donkey was a “she” (v 23, 25, 27, 33), exclaiming, “The donkey is dumb but she is Spirit-filled.”

Accept the Obvious and Accuse No Brother
5 So twelve thousand men armed for battle, a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle, a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary and the trumpets for signaling. 7 They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba--the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. (Num 31:5-8)

When President Ronald Reagan was a young boy, his aunt once took him to buy a pair of shoes. The shoemaker asked young Ronald Reagan, “Do you want a square toe or a round toe?” Reagan hemmed and hawed. So the cobbler said, “Come back in a day or two and let me know what you want.”

A few days later the shoemaker asked him abut the shoes again. The boy answered, “I still cannot decide.” The cobbler said, “Very well, I will deliver the shoes to your place.”

When Reagan received the shoes, he was shocked. He received one shoe with a square toe and the other with a round toe (Haddon Robinson)

It’s been said, “Not to decide is to decide.”

Dr. Laura, the broadcaster, in her typical style, once challenged a caller: “Stop saying, ‘I don’t know.’ When people say, ‘I don’t know,’ they don’t think!”

The Israelites’ first battle with the Moab came to a tragic end. 24,000 Israelites died in a plague when they fooled around with Gentile women (Num 25:1). They had to break the association with Gentiles and rededicate their lives to God before they could triumph in a final battle to enter the Promised Land. How did the Israelites lose in the first place when they were blessed by God, when Balaam blessed them in four oracles (Num 23:7, 18; 24: 2, 15) and when the Moabite king Balak went his way empty-handed (Num 24:25)? What happened?

Shifting through the Midianite carnage after the eventual triumph (31:8), the Israelites found a non-Midianite, a familiar figure in the midst - Balaam. What was this foreigner doing in the Midianite camp? He was giving them advice. What was Balaam’s advice? If you can’t beat them, join them! The Chinese have a saying, “The wise use their mouths, the foolish use their hands.” Balaam did not lift a finger, but he got the job done. This is through the use of a second route, a third party and a roundabout means. Apparently, Balaam advised the Moabite (Num 25:1) and Midianite (Num 25:6) women to use, in precise order, sex to corrupt their bodies, food to lull their senses and idolatry to hasten their downfall (Num 25:1-2).

A friend commented, “In the desert, when there is no food and water, the Lord can provide. When there are enemies, the Lord can fight for us. We are not vulnerable to circumstances. But when we are enticed into sin, then we reap the consequences. We are vulnerable in that way. We are most vulnerable to sin.”

Balaam was the good news, no news and bad news prophet. He was a chameleon, an opportunist and a saboteur. He appeared looking good, disappeared for good, but reappeared for no good. Balaam, the slippery sneaky and slimy deceiver, circumvented the Lord’s commands, sided with the Midianites and worked against God’s people.

Why was it difficult to pin down Balaam? What goes throughout the mind of someone like him? How can someone be so difficult to understand? Balaam couldn’t decide which side he was on - Balak’s or God’s side, Israel or Midian’s army, and what he wanted - God’s approval or men’s applause, tangible or intangible rewards, short-term or long-term gain. The princes that visited him did not know if he wanted money or not, if they were welcomed or not and if they had an agreement or not. The Israelites, on the other hand, were sure that Balaam had left; they were right, but he did not leave for good - he returned for no good and with a vengeance.

People like Balaam are accountable to nobody, cared for no one and stood for nothing. Strangely, he had no nationality, family or allegiance. Balaam was mysterious, distant and secretive. He was here and there, in and out, yes and no kind of guy.

Conclusion: The Lord alone deserves our worship and service (Matt 4:10).
Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Also, God does not listen to vain prayers, hurtful intentions or evil people. False prophets and teachers are known by their fruit: greed for money, blasphemy of God, depravity of bodies, wickedness of heart and madness of mind (2 Pet 1:16). Are you guarding against apostasy, syncretism and falsehood? Are your body, mind and heart given to God? Finally, is the Lord using daily things, ordinary people and regular events to catch your attention and arrest your unbelief?