Numbers 22 (v22-35), Balaam and His Talking Donkey

First let me say, YES I do believe this story.  God, the creator of all things including donkeys, could speak through a donkey.  And the Bible says He did so, yes, I believe this story.

Now a couple of details.  First, note that Israel has arrived at the Plains of Moab (v1), which is across from Jericho.  This is camp until, after the death of Moses, they are led by Joshua over the Jordan River.  Thus, the rest of Numbers and all of Deuteronomy take place at this location. Second, this story involves the King of Moab, Balak, and his elders, and the elders/princes of Midian.  Midian is the territory south of Moab (check the map).  These nations were in league to oppose this vast nation that has come from the wilderness and defeated the two kings of the Amorites.  (Note in 22:5, that they are still known as the people who came out of Egypt.)

What about Balaam?  He is not an Israelite, but he is a prophet who calls YAHWEH his God (22:18).  How do we explain this?  To begin with, there were remnants of what some call the “patriarchal religion,” that which came through Shem, the godly son of Noah, and included some people who were not descendants of Abraham.  Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, fits that description.  In Balaam’s case, he not only knows of YAHWEH; he has conversations with God and knows he can only say what God tells him to say.  While Balaam had a connection with YAHWEH, he was also open to using "sorcery" (Num. 24:1), something that was contrary to the law of Moses (Deut. 18:10).  Balaam is never called a prophet (Hebrew navi) but is called a soothsayer (Heb. hakkisim).  Balaam is thus a false prophet, through whom God spoke wonderful truths, truths that fit His counsel and purpose.

The follow-up question is, why was Balaam so “hell-bent” (this is an appropriate use of this term) on cursing Israel?  The answer, of course, as the NT makes clear (Acts 8:21; 2 Peter 2:15), is that Balaam wanted the money.  It’s in Num. 22:32: the Angel of the LORD says to Balaam, your way is perverse before Me.  As you will see in the story, three times Balaam would try for the money.  In the end he would give Balak another way (enticing Israel to commit immorality) to try to bring God’s curse on Israel.

The follow-up question to this is, why did God tell him to go when God was not going to allow him to speak against Israel?  Again, the answer is the money, and the fact that Balaam had already played his hand, so to speak.  What God did in speaking through the animal made it clear the He, the LORD, was in control. In the end, Balaam’s messages were God’s messages to Moab and Midian; and in the end, Balaam was judged by God.

The story of Balaam will take us through Numbers 25, and will involve some amazingly accurate prophecies concerning Israel’s future.  Those prophecies will include specifics about the Messiah.  This is an important event as Israel sits on the verge of entering the Promised Land.