In Numbers 22 we are introduced to Balak and Balaam. Balak,
the king of the Moabites, wanted to take down Israel. To do this, he turned to
Balaam whom he had heard “had a reputation for being able to bless and curse
with great effect.” (Old Testament Student Manual) Balak offered Balaam many
worldly treasures if he would complete this task for him. The Lord told Balaam
not to do what Balak had recommended but in the end Balaam went against the
Lord’s counsel and went out with Balak’s men to curse the Israelites. The Lord
was unhappy with Balaam and sought to teach him a lesson because of his
disobedience. An angel appeared blocking Balaam’s path which caused his donkey
to go wild. In the end, the donkey rebuked Balaam for his actions and Balaam
was “troubled because of his attempt to serve both God and mammon.” (Old Testament Student Manual)
How many times in our own lives do we try to serve both God
and mammon? We learn from Matthew 6:24 that “no man can serve two masters: for
he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and
despise the other.” It is not possible for us to be fence sitters when it comes
to God and the temptations of the world (Satan). There are many times when we
try to do both, but in the end we succumb to one or the other. The story of
Balaam shows us that even though the enticements of the world seem exciting to
us they can only leads us to sorrow and retribution in the end if we abandon
the Lord.
After being rebuked by the Lord, one would think that Balaam
would remove himself from being in the presence of Balak who was his ultimate
source of temptation at the time. We see this is not the case as we read on
further in Numbers. Balaam actually continues to spend his time with Balak and
to complete the tasks that he asks of him. Why did Balaam continue to be around
Balak even though the Lord told him before that what Balak had asked him to do
was not in accordance with what the Lord wanted done? Balaam still wanted
approval in Balak’s eyes so he continued to be around him and to do those
things that were asked of him. The Old Testament student manual gives further
insight into this by saying “when [Balaam] saw that he could not earn Balak’s
commission by cursing Israel directly, he told Balak that God would only bless
Israel when they were righteous. Thus, Balaam became a symbol of those who use
their callings and gifts to get gain and pervert the Lord’s people.”
The example of Balaam shows us the true power that being in
the presence of temptations has over us. We may feel like we are strong and can
handle being around temptations, but eventually it will wear us down and we
will succumb to that temptation in a matter of time. We need to make sure in
our own lives that we avoid the appearance of evil and keep ourselves far away
from those things that are temptations to us. The Lord cannot protect us if we
continue to allow ourselves to be in situations where He disapproves of and His
Spirit cannot dwell.
We learn from this story that in the end righteousness always
wins over wickedness. In Number’s 31:7-8, Israel destroys the wicked Midianites
including Balaam. Balaam was a man of God in the very beginning and if he had
lived according to God’s will he probably would have had another ending. But
because he choose to follow the enticings of the world and took part in leading
many people astray, he ended up being destroyed. This story should be an eye
opener to all of us as it has many applications to our lives today. We need to
be diligent in following the ways of the Lord and make sure that we do not get
distracted by what the world has to offer us. Remember that the Lord has so much
more to offer than the world!
