OPINION —
There is more to the story of Balaam in the Bible that the amusing account of his talking donkey. Balaam is mentioned in five books of the Old Testament: Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Micah and Nehemiah. And Balaam’s name is found three times in the New Testament — 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11 and Revelation 2:14.
Worldly desires were Balaam’s downfall. Though God opened Balaam’s spiritual eyes when the donkey was talking, greed led him back into spiritual blindness. In the New Testament Balaam is a symbol of avarice and, worst of all, a man who taught others to sin.
In Second Peter 2:15, Peter wrote of false teachers who had forsaken God’s way and followed “the way of Balaam,” which was compromising your beliefs for personal gain. Balaam’s “way” minimizes sin. His story is a warning against bargaining one’s integrity for personal gain.
The word “way” is used in many ways. There is a “way” to a particular town. Persons in power sometimes say, “It’s my way or the highway!” Frank Sinatra popularized the song, “I did it My Way.”
In church we sing “Have thine own way Lord” and “The Way of the Cross Leads Home.” 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 stumbling on Balaam’s Highway — the way Jesus described as the broad way that leads to destruction.
For eight years we shared our home a precious little dog named Buddy. Dean and I loved Buddy and, Buddy cared for us. After Dean died, Buddy became my only “companion” in the cabin where I live. One thing I loved about Buddy, he always wanted to be near me. If he was not in my lap, he was beside my feet. Seeing Buddy wanting to be with me, I often prayed, “Lord Jesus, please fill me with a desire to be near you, for when I am with you, I receive the power to live like you want me to live.”
If you ask Jesus for mercy and confess your sins and ask him to open your eyes spiritually, you will want to be near Him, and you will call him King Jesus, constantly asking him to rule your entire life.
Who is Jesus? When he walked the dusty roads of Galilee, he was the grace and glory of God. Having been raised from the dead by the power of God, today he is still the grace and glory of God. He will open the eyes of anyone who, spiritually blind, repents and seeks his mercy. If you ask Jesus for mercy, he will forgive your sins and open your eyes. Then you will be able to see and celebrate the glory of God.
When the eyes of your heart are opened, you will see the glory of his patient love, and you will praise him for his patience with you while you were walking in the way of Balaam.
You will see the glory of his guidance, and you will praise him for guiding you out of darkness of Balaam’s way into the life-changing way of Jesus.
You will see the glory of his provision, and you will praise him for being your loving Provider, as Dean and I did one night when we sat down at our supper table with nothing to eat but some cornbread. As I was saying grace, a friend knocked on our door and handed me a bowl of turnip greens, hot and ready to eat. We ate that night with tears in our eyes.
You will see the glory of his power to change your habits, change your desires, free you from the addictions of Balaam, and give you the spiritual energy to use your little life by blessing, forgiving and helping the people around you that need your help.
You will see the glory of his precious Word. He will change your craving, your appetite, from desiring the trash of this world and give you a growing desire to read and feed on the holy words of the Bible.
You will see the glory of his forgiveness and realize that the only true joy in this world is to know that God has forgiven your sins, that Jesus nailed your sins to the cross and covered them with his blood spilled on the ground beneath that old rugged cross.
Blessed Lord Jesus, if you have opened our blind eyes, we bow now at your feet to praise you for delivering us from spiritual blindness. Fill our hearts with gratitude for giving us the gift of seeing your glory daily in a hundred different ways. Save us from ever complaining again – about anything! And open our lips as well as our eyes that we may be free to tell others that you alone can open their eyes to see your glory.
Lord, if we recognize that we are spiritually blind, help us run to you right now, and cry for your mercy. Open our eyes that we may see your grace and glory. Do such a work of grace in us that we will spend the rest of our lives celebrating your glory with the eyes of our hearts, and want nothing more than to live every day, every hour, in ways that are pleasing to you as we walk in the only Way that leads to heaven. Thank you, Jesus! Amen.
