Lesson 20: Balaam’s Story
This fable-like tale (Numbers 22-24) makes a number of points with great humor. Balak, the King of Moab, wants to stop the invasion of the Israelites. When it is apparent his army is outnumbered, he tries to employ Balaam, a freelance prophet famous for destroying people by simply cursing them.
Balaam initially refuses, because he knows God has blessed the Israelites. However, the king eventually promises so much silver and gold he agrees to meet him in person to see what kind of deal can be made.
On his way, the angel of Lord with a drawn sword in his hand blocks his path three times. Three times, the donkey on which he rides, refuses to go on, knowing his master would be killed. And three time the great prophet who is supposed to know so much, strikes his donkey in anger. Finally, the donkey has had it and speaks up, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me three times? Is that any way to treat a faithful servant who has served you many years?”
You could say God opens the mouth of a donkey in order to open the eyes of a prophet. Balaam understands what is going on, proceeds to King Balak, refuses the fortune, and ends up blessing Israel three times.
The moral of the story, which is central to understanding a fable, is “Do not curse what God blesses!” You could add “even if it would fill your house with silver and gold”.
However, there are also a number of other points. One is certainly that we sometimes do not see what is right before our eyes even though it might destroy us.
Every one of us can think of all sorts of self-destructive things we find ourselves doing. The one that comes immediately to my mind is the denial of climate change. You might say listening to a donkey is like listening to the earth.
Many scientific studies that do listen to nature indicate we are experiencing threats to a healthy environment. Climate change is already causing problems such as widespread global migration. Of course, we have experienced famine that has forced people to move throughout history. But many refuse to acknowledge this today because it would mean spending money to control the effects of modern technology. Deniers choose to fill our houses with silver and gold now rather than confronting what might kill us or our children in the future.
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hear hear Fritz the last para is prophetic – good descriptor for a sermon/message (which this is)