The complex figure of Balaam, a false prophet who nevertheless spoke God's word, using Numbers 22-24 to illustrate God's sovereign purposes and the immutability of His promises. The narrative highlights Balaam's attempts to curse Israel, his love for unrighteous gain as described in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11), and his eventual teaching of corrupting doctrines (Revelation 2:14), demonstrating that even wicked individuals cannot alter God's divine plan. The core lesson emphasizes that God's blessing upon His people is secure and unchangeable, regardless of opposition or the flawed vessels through whom His word is spoken. The sermon concludes by urging listeners to find joy and security in the unchanging character and unwavering love of God, whose purposes are always fulfilled.
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Let's look to the Lord in prayer, shall we? Our Father, in the precious name of thy dear Son, we bow in thy presence and we ask you to graciously meet with us tonight, enable us to glean precious truth from your word, to think through your word, and to rejoice in the revelation that you've given. We thank you for each one who is here. We thank you for the privilege of reading your word. and meditating upon it. And we rejoice with exceeding joy when we think of what you have revealed concerning your desires for your people, your purpose that you are bringing to pass, and the glory that still awaits us.
Truly, our blessed Lord who provided redemption is worthy to be crowned Lord of all. We give you thanks. And ask for thy blessing in a unique way. For Jesus' sake. Amen. We want to work out of the book of numbers tonight. Beginning at chapter twenty-two. I'm not going to read a portion yet. What I want to do tonight is introduce a series of subjects. are a series of messages on the false prophet Baalim.
I believe Baalim occupies one of the most unique places in the Word of God. The more I study this portion of the Word of God, the more my heart rejoices in the way in which God has revealed to his people his purposes. When Israel praised the Lord, and it's about ten times throughout the Old Testament, they mentioned the deliverance that God provided for them over Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, King of Asians. Now you find that time and again. Even when the two spies were sent in by Joshua to the house of Rahab, she mentioned how the Lord dried up the Red Sea and how he delivered Sihon, King of the Amorites, and Og, King of Bations.
You find it at least three times in the Book of Deuteronomy, twice in the Psalms, and you find it a few times in the Book of Joshua. And the question could be asked, why is this mentioned ten times, apart from its initial happenings? And then immediately following the victory over Sihon, King of the Amorites, and odd king of Bations, were introduced to this man, Balaam. And you've heard me make the statement already that Balaam was a false prophet of the Old Testament who told the truth. At least he told the truth, as recorded, when he was, and it's the only thing we know about Balaam, it's what is revealed in Scripture concerning his yielding to Balaam, the king of Moab, and his desire to curse the people of God.
Now, Balaam is mentioned three times in the New Testament, and I want to read those three times with you that Balaam is mentioned, and he's mentioned in a different light each time telling us more about him. Concerning the character of Balaam, we learn more from the New Testament than we do from the Old. concerning the activity of Balaam. We'll learn more in the Old Testament in the initial activity of this man than we do in the New. So the New Testament gives us an interpretation of this man, Balaam. And the first is in Second Peter, chapter two, and verse fifteen.
Second Peter, two, verse fifteen. And it's speaking here of apostates. And Balaam is used as an illustration of an apostate. An apostate, as we mentioned on Wednesday night in prayer meeting. An apostate is one who had a revelation from God. He turns from that revelation and he follows his own way. An apostate. In Second Peter chapter two, these men are described and are linked. And Baalim is used as an illustration in verse fifteen. It says of them who are forsaken the right way. and are going astray following the way of Balaam, the son of Bazar, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.
Here, the word of God speaks of the way of Balaam. Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness. In other words, he was a man who could be bought. And that's what Balaam, the king of Moab, did with Balaam. But it didn't work. He nevertheless bought him. And he is a man who loved the wages of unrighteousness. And the wages of unrighteousness can never bring peace to the heart. The second passage we want to examine tonight is in the book of Jude, verse eleven.
First chapter of Jude and the eleventh verse. Where we read this. worn to 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 Kara. Now you'll notice here we read of the error of Balaam. The error of Balaam is not quite the same as the way of Balaam. The way of Balaam was he loved the wages of unrighteousness he could be bought. The error of Balaam is how can God justify the ungodly.
He thought that Israel should be cursed by God, but God will never curse his people. The error of Balaam is he didn't understand grace. So to understand grace, is to understand how God can justify the ungodly. The third thing that we read about Balaam in the New Testament is in the book of the Revelation. Revelation chapter two and verse fourteen. Here it is far more subtle. It is a doctrine of Balaam. God here says to the church at Tharatar, but I have a few things against thee because thou hast dared them that hold the doctrine of Balaam.
who taught Beirut. Beirut is the king that hired him. He taught Beirut to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. Here it is the doctrine. The doctrine of Beirut and Israel can't fight them, join them. And he caused the corruption. He taught Beirut to corrupt the people of God. Now you don't read the name Balaam in chapter twenty-five of Numbers. But you see the activity of Balaam in the twenty-fifth of Numbers.
For they entered into the ornication of Nile in their religious rites. And the Lord plagued the people and it was Eliezer, the son of Aaron, who killed two as they were displaying their rebellion against God in fornication. And God even lists the names of the two that he killed in Numbers, chapter twenty-five, which gives to us how wicked is the doctrine of Balaam.
And the doctrine of Baalum is with us today. When I say it is with us, I'm talking about in general terms in our nation. There are those who say, let us do evil that good may come. And they live that way. Let us do evil that good may come. Now, another question that we must ask when we come to this man, Baalum, when you take the book of Numbers and all the things that transpire in the book of Numbers, for it is the wilderness journeys of the children of Israel, where they stopped, where they camped, what took place throughout their journeys for the thirty-eight years that they were in the wilderness.
They were in the wilderness a total of forty years, but thirty-eight years after Shadish Barnea. Why does God give so much space in the book of Numbers? So the prophecies of this man gave him and what he had to say and how often he tried to curse Israel and couldn't do it. Now this alone should give us a real desire to study this passage. And when I began to ask these various questions to myself, I could hardly... Now, in my study of this man, Balaam, some of the greatest truths that are to be found in the Word of God concerning the believer's relationship with the Lord and his security in Christ are spoken by this false prophet.
Now, one of the things that we learn in this passage is that what God has promised He performs. God does not make idle promises. The God of the Bible is the God who keeps His word. We learn much in this passage concerning the providential dealings of God with His people. But the things that God performs are the things that God promised in the Abrahamic covenant. In the Abrahamic covenant, before God ever brought what he had promised to Abraham in chapter twelve into a covenantal relationship that you have in chapter fifteen of Genesis we have God make a statement to Abram I will bless them that bless you I will curse them that curse you and God keeps his word Abram was cursed of God.
He died fighting the people of God, and he died with the enemies of God. And we have the threefold statement that we have already read from the New Testament. But the blessing of God upon his people is real. In blessing, I don't bless you. When a diabolic romantic tried to curse the people of God, it was utterly impossible for him to do it. And this should cause real joy to the saints of God. For we have an enemy, and our enemy is continuously trying to disrupt our spiritual life and hinder us from having real joy in the world.
But the blessing of God remains. It is impossible for Satan to curse the one whom God is blessed. And anyone who has been saved by the grace of God is blessed by God. For he is blessed spiritually. He has been transformed from the, translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear son. We are his, and he is ours. Now the story of Balaam begins in Numbers chapter twenty-two. With Israel defeating the two kings of the Amorites, Sihon and Og in chapter twenty one in two assaults the one against Sihon and the other against Og they conquered what is known as a trans Jordan that land to the west of the land of Palestine they conquered it and the kingdom of Moab was immediately to the south of this land that they conquered.
And having done that, they then camped in the plains of Moab. Now what do you know about the plains of Moab? It was about Israel camped in the plains of Moab that Moses died, number one. Number two, While they camped in the plains of Moab, they received the fifth book of the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy. While they camped there, Moses instructed the new generation that was going to go in and possess the land. He instructed them in the law of Moses and in the blessings and the curses that would be theirs in either obedience or disobedience to God.
Now, Moab's fear is expressed with considerable feeling in chapter twenty-two and verse three. Let us read that verse. You can tell that they're an agrarian people, for he says in verse three, and Moab was so afraid of the people because they were many. And Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Belek, the son of Zippor, was king of the Moabites at that time.
Here he speaks of how the animals of the field lick up the grass of the meadow. and of the pasture land. And he likened Israel to this. But Moab's fear was totally unnecessary. Moab didn't need to be afraid at all. The problem is he didn't know it. He didn't know it. Now, why do I say that? Well, God had a charge to Israel. I want you to go to the book of Deuteronomy chapter two. Deuteronomy chapter two and verse four through verse nine.
And command thou the people saying, Ye are to pass through the coast of your brethren, the children of Esau, which dwell in Seir, and they shall be afraid of you. Take ye good heed unto yourselves, therefore, meddle not with them. For I will not give you of their land, no, not so much, as a footbread, because I have given mancer to Esau for a possession. Ye shall buy me of them for money that ye may eat, and ye shall also buy water of them for money, that ye may drink. For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand.
He knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee. Thou hast lacked nothing. And then ye pass by from our brethren the children of Isra which dwell in Seir, to the way of the plain from Elath and from Esen-Givar, returned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab, and the Lord said unto me, Distress not the Moabites, neither contend with them in battle. For I will not give thee of their land for a possession, because I have given R unto the children of Lot for a possession.
Now there are a lot of good things here for us to take in account. This passage that we read expresses the sovereignty of God over the nation. God is in full control of the nation. In our passage, he says, he gave seer to Esau, the brother of Jacob, whose name has changed to Israel. And he gave R to the descendants of Lot, Morab and Ammon. This passage teaches us that Israel were under God's blessing, which were restricted by divine limits.
There were divine limits placed upon the children of Israel. So we ask another question. What made Moab so fearful? What made them so fearful? Well, look at Deuteronomy chapter two again. and verse twenty nine or excuse me verse twenty five Deuteronomy chapter two and verse twenty five God says this day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the nations that are under the whole heaven who shall report of thee and shall tremble and be in anguish because of thee in other words God put the fear and dread of Israel upon the nations now dwelling both in the land of Canaan and also in the Transjordan.
Why was Moab so fearful? Throughout the Old Testament, about ten times the people talked about the victory that Israel had over Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bation. See, the Amorites, just previous a few years before, had defeated Moab and taken these very lands that Sihon and Og occupied. Moab never relinquished the hope of winning back these lands which the Emirates took. Now Israel comes along and takes that land.
Now there's a third party involved in that land. And there are Moab is fearful when he sees what happens. And then, of course, if you look back at Numbers chapter twenty-one for a moment, there's a song that Israel sang after their victory over Sihon and Og. Look at verse twenty-seven. And this, when they sang this song, it was a growling to the people of Moab. to have Israel sing this song of praise to God. Wherefore they that speak in Proverbs say, Come unto Heshpah, let the city of Sahan be built and prepared.
For there is a fire gone out of Heshpah, a flame from the city of Sahan. It has consumed all of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon. Woe to thee, Moab, thou art undone, O people of Qimash. Kimosh was the god of the Moabites. And they were rejoicing in the Lord. And they saw victory over the wickedness of the gods that were no gods of the Moabites. He had given his sons that escaped and his daughters into captivity unto Sihon, king of the Amorites.
We have shot of him. Heshpon is perished. Even unto Debon. and we have laid them waste even unto no path which reacheth unto Medeba. So you see, Moab is scared. He doesn't need to be if he only knew God. But there's a fourth reason why he's scared. And the fourth reason is found in the book of Proverbs chapter twenty-eight and verse one. It says a wicked flee it when no man pursue it. but the righteous are bold as a lion. And Moab is scared. He doesn't need to be, but his fear is because he doesn't know the God who truly blesses.
And in spite of the fact, he doesn't really listen to Balaam. If he listens to Balaam in the prophecies that God utters through the mouth of this man, He wouldn't have any reason to be afraid. He could repent and be in fellowship with God, but he prefers his own way. The wicked flee us when no man pursue us, but the righteous are bold as a lion. But then we come to this passage, chapters twenty-two through twenty-four. This incident is one of the greatest examples possible.
that teaches divine inspiration of the scriptures and divine inerrancy. When we talk about divine inerrancy, there are those who denied divine inerrancy, and I'm thinking of the scholar Emo Brunner, the German theologian. He gave a brilliant illustration. And... The only thing it won't fit is brilliant illustration against biblical inerrancy is this. He said, it is possible to buy a record under the label his master's voice.
And you're told that if you play it, you will hear the master, Caruso. However, you'll hear a record of Master Caruso's voice if you buy that record. So you will. You'll hear a record of it, but you'll hear other things, too, Gruner said. You'll hear the scratches on that seventy-eight record. You'll hear the scratches of the needle. And it's so possible to be occupied with scratches of a needle that you really miss the master's voice.
And that's really what has happened to a lot of the men who deny inerrancy. They get so occupied with, quote, so-called scratches, unquote, that they miss the master's voice. Now, when you take a good look at Bailam and his prophecies, This illustration is totally negated. If we catalog the men and women who God used to give us the Scriptures, we would not be able to find one less likely to say what he did than the man Barham. Who can say what Barham did of all the writers of Scripture that God used?
His character flaws, the character flaws in this man, Balaam, are so manifest. He was denounced, as we noted, by three New Testament writers. He died in the enemy's camp fighting the people of God. But what makes Balaam unique? He spelt the word of God. He just spelt the word of God and the corrupted nature of Balaam. left no scratch at all on the record of the Word of God. You can't find a scratch on the record of the Word of God.
So we asked the big question, why not? Why? Well, I want you to go with me now through this passage. We're going to read at least twelve passages. in Numbers chapter twenty through two through twenty four, that declare in these various places in the narrative that Bairam could not alter in the least the word that God put in his mouth. And you talk about the sovereignty of God. You talk about the activity of God. We see Bairam in his acts, in his self-will, And every other way.
And yet, what he said is so important. Notice chapter twenty-two and verse twenty. The end of the verse. Well, I'll read the whole verse. And God spake unto Bairam at night and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them. But, yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. Now look at verse thirty-eight. And Baram said unto Barak, Roe, I am come unto thee.
Have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that God spitteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. Verse three of chapter twenty-three. And Balaam said unto Balaak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go for adventure. The Lord will come to meet me, and whatsoever he showeth me, I will tell thee. Look at verse five. And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, Return unto Balaak, and thus thou shalt speak. Verse twelve. And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that?
which the Lord had put in my mouth? Verse sixteen. And the word met Philom, and put a word in his mouth. Verse seventeen. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him, and Delig said unto him, What hath the word spoken? Verse twenty-six. But Balaam answered and said unto Bala, Told not I thee, saying, All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do. Chapter twenty-four, verse two. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tent, according to their tribes.
And the Spirit of God came upon him. The Spirit of God took control of the false prophets. and made the false prophets say what God wanted him to say. Verse twelve. And Balaam said unto Balaak, Spake I not also to thy messengers, which thou sent a son to me, saying, If Balaak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord to do either good or bad, of mine or mine. But what the Lord saith, that will I speak. Verse sixteen.
And hath he said, which he hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most high. Here we have twelve times in these three chapters where Balaam admits that what he says is the word of God. Even a wicked individual, friends, like Beryl, causes no scratch on the record of divine inspiration. The master's wife is heard because a master is using him in a sovereign manner.
Oh, friends, that should give you and me a delight in our soul when we think of the way in which. the God we worship, the God we serve is in full control, even of the wicked of this world. Abram had to confess, as he does, in chapter twenty-four in verse thirteen, I could not do anything contrary to the mouth of Jehovah, either good or bad, of my own heart. So he had to confess. The thing that we know about Baalim the best is Baalim's donkey, who spoke with a man's voice.
In Isaiah chapter one we read, The ox north is owner, and the ass is master's crib. But my people do not know. My people do not consider. What is the ox known for? His dullness. We have the expression, you dumb ox. You know, the ox is recognized as a dumb animal. The ass, what are they known for? The donkey. Stubbornness. The ass knows where the barn is. He knows where he's being fed. But the people of God are something else. My people, God says, in Isaiah one, they do not consider it.
are sinful nations. And then we think that those animals are going to rise up in judgment against their masters in the coming day. Just as Balaam's donkey did, you see, Balaam was a false prophet. And what is the name of a false prophet? They were called a seer. And when you read of Barham and the donkey, the donkey saw what Barham didn't see. The donkey saw the angel of the Lord. Barham didn't.
I ask you tonight, do we behold the God of the Bible? Or do we just simply read words? All about an incident. And we'll get to the donkey incident again in our study. But I want to leave you with four things tonight before we close. Number one, the oracles of Balaam reveal in a most unique way the attributes of the God of Israel. Israel's blessing, beloved, and the blessing of the people of God.
at any time are rooted in the character of Jehovah. Who is the God we worship? Who is the God we serve? And what does Galen tell us about him? He talks about the incomparability of God. He speaks to the fact that you cannot compare the God of Israel with anyone. And God cries out in Isaiah chapter forty, Who do you compare me to? Who can be compared to me? And God throws out the challenge there in Isaiah forty. And he talks about himself.
He says he's measured the waters in the hollow of his hands. He comprehended the dust of the earth and the balance. He weighed the mountains in the scale. Who can be compared to the God of Israel? The second thing that Balaam talks about is the immutability of Jehovah. I am the Lord. God is not a man that he should repent. God never changes his mind. And we read in Romans, verse twenty nine, that verse I love so dearly. The gifts and callings of God are without repentance.
God never changes his mind. Think of it. When did God make up his mind about you in eternity past? He chose you in Christ before the foundation of the world. Letting God know about you then. He knew everything about you. He knew everything you do every time you'd be ashamed. He knew every detail of your life. And he'll never change his mind about you. Oh, the immutability of Jehovah. I am the Lord. He says to Malachi, I change not.
Therefore ye sons of Israel are not consumed. Oh, the immutability of Jehovah. The third thing that we learn when we study Balaam, we learn the love of God. How much God loves us. And his constant care for his people. But then there's the second thing I want to leave with you. As we observe tonight, we serve the one who has provided for us a revelation of his ways. When I read this passage, I learned something of the ways of God.
When I studied this passage, I learned something of the mind of God. I learned something of the care of God for his people. And I tell you, that is a thrilling discovery to the soul. And as one who needs his soul fed often, what a blessing to feed upon this portion of the Word of God. And you see, the strange thing about the oracles apparently is, we get this revelation as to the master one who doesn't love the Word, but is in rebellion against him. It's like Judas is carried in the New Testament.