BY WALT ALBRITTON
OPINION —
Three chapters in the Book of Numbers are devoted to a man named Balaam and his talking donkey. As I read again the story, I was arrested by the idea that Balaam could not see what his donkey saw — an angel with a drawn sword that God had put in his path.
Balaam was not physically blind. He was spiritually blind, thus unable to see God at work right in front of him. A dumb animal could see what a man could not.
It’s important to understand why the angel was blocking Balaam’s path. During their wilderness journey, the Israelites were camping along the Jordan river on the plains of Moab. Balak was the king of the Moabite kingdom, and his people feared the Israelites were going to destroy them.
Having heard that the well-known seer, Balaam, had the power to bless or curse people, King Balak invited Balaam to come and curse the Israelites — for a fee of course. Balaam was a prophet but not an Old Testament prophet of God. He did, however, receive messages from God and feared (some of the time) not obeying God.
Balaam was wise enough to ask God if he should agree to do what King Balak requested. God told Balaam not to do it. “You must not put a curse on those people,” God said, “because they are blessed.” Balaam refused the king’s offer, but Balak upped the ante. Greed took over. Balaam agreed to go after God told him he could go “but do only what I tell you.”
So, it was while Balaam was on his way to Moab that his donkey suddenly turned off the road into a field, fearful of the angel with a sword standing in the road before them. Though Balaam beat his donkey repeatedly, the donkey refused to move forward, finally laying down under Balaam. Apparently, God grew so tired of Balaam beating the poor donkey that he “opened the donkey’s mouth” and she began asking Balaam why he was beating her.
What happens next is amazing. God opens Balaam’s eyes, curing him of his spiritual blindness. Now he can see the angel of the Lord with his drawn sword. And now it’s not the donkey speaking, it’s the angel. Stunned and afraid, Balaam falls on his face as the angel tells him, “I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.” He also tells Balaam that the donkey saved his life: “If she had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared her.”
I find it intriguing that though Balaam is not a major biblical figure, he is mentioned in five books of the Old Testament: Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Micah and Nehemiah. And that’s not all. Balaam’s name is found three times in the New Testament: 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11 and Revelation 2:14. So there is more to the story of Balaam than the amazing account of his donkey talking.
Balaam wins our favor with his decision to obey God and bless the Israelites rather than curse them. However, his greed soon led him back into spiritual blindness to the extent that in the New Testament Balaam is a symbol of avarice and, worst of all, a man who taught others to sin.
The Bible reminds us that the way of Balaam is the idea that Christians can compromise their beliefs for personal gain. Balaam’s “way” minimizes sin. His story is a warning against compromising one’s integrity for personal gain. In Second Peter 2:15, Peter wrote of false teachers: “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray; they have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a dumb ass spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.”
The word “way” is used many ways in our culture. There is a “way” to a particular town. Persons in power sometimes say, “It’s my way or the highway!” Frank Sinatra made popular the song, “I Did it My Way.”
In church we love to sing “Have thine own way Lord,” and “The Way of the Cross Leads Home.” And we celebrate what Jesus said of himself: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Christians are “followers of the Way,” the Way of Jesus.
In our broken world, there are only two roads you can take — the Way of Balaam or the Way of Jesus. Unless you ask Jesus for mercy and let him open your eyes, you remain spiritually blind, and you are walking, or stumbling, on Balaam’s Highway, that Jesus described as the broad way that leads to destruction.
Truly, the only wise way to live is the Way of Jesus. Which highway are you on?
(Part Two Next Week)
