Numbers 22 Devotional
by Pastor Mark Hudson
In Numbers 22, we experience a different perspective. We “leave” the nation of Israel, Moses’ conversations, and the inner working of God’s people to overhear the machinations of Moab. We are looking at them through the eyes of Balak, king of Moab and Balaam, the prophet. Moab is “in great dread of the people” in 22:3. Moab, learning from the defeat of the Amorites, decides on a power move, ‘I will hire Balaam to curse Israel.’ The journey to Balaam’s home and back again takes about 4 months. But Balak does not think Moab can overcome the nation of Israel military might. What Balak sees is correct. Notice the emphasis in these chapters about Balaam and Balak on the verb see.
Moab and Midian come together, joining forces to defeat Israel by supernatural means. ‘Balaam to the rescue’ is how these leaders saw their predicament. So, they start on the journey of some 420 miles. Balaam was well known to be able to manipulate divine beings for the benefit of the highest bidder. He need not advertise. So, the elders left with what appears to be a down payment. We are only told the essence of the meeting. Balaam tells the elders to wait, and God speaks to this pagan conjuror. Notice that Balak does not tell them everything. He just refuses to go back with them.
Then in v. 15, Balak will not be denied. The king promises the seer more money. Balaam sounds like a godly man but wait until you read Numbers 31:16 before you start baptizing Balaam and welcoming him into the membership of your church. Oh, he says, “I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God” but Balaam is not done yet. God allows Balaam to go but “God’s anger was kindled because he [Balaam] went” (22:22).
Now a donkey sees better than the prophet. And no matter who does it, no matter who wants Israel cursed, God will bless His people. Balak tries to pay Balaam to curse but Balaam still will bless Israel. The donkey sees in v. 23, 25, 27. Mr. Balaam, the prophets sees nothing. A donkey sees more clearly than Balaam. It is not until v. 31, when “the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam” that Balaam sees the angel. Now we see how much Balaam really knows or sees.
Balaam goes with these messengers to Moab. Balak greets Balaam at the border of Moab. The king does not send emissaries but goes himself to greet Balak. Now the pagan sacrifices begin and Balak hopes to tighten the noose around Israel’s neck. But Balak’s approach is like voodoo. While Balak has no doll that he is poking pins in, he has Balaam in his pocket. Who can stop a well-paid spiritual person with skills to curse a people without the risk of hand-to-hand combat? ‘Lay out some coins and my troubles are over,’ thought Balak.
Balaam knew what the end goal was, and Balaam knew what God had said. In 22:12, “God said to Balaam, ‘You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.’” This is a key part of this story and of the larger story. God will bless His people. He will bless them through the mouth of a pagan paid to curse them. He will bless them even though they themselves work and plan against Him. God will bless them even when the leaders rebel against Him (12:1-3; 13:28-29;16:1-3; 20:10-11). His blessing will not stop though the congregation rebel (11:1ff; 14:1-4; 16:41; 20:2-5; 21:4-7; etc.).
As Balak was trying to manipulate the gods, Balaam was manipulating Balak by not telling him everything. God was using Balaam to extend His blessing to Israel. Balaam was getting paid but failing. Yet, somewhere along the way, he devised a plan to trip up the nation of Israel – a sure path to idolatry (Num. 31:16). Yet, the immovable, unchanging One cannot be manipulated. He is steadfast in His plans no matter what happens or who sins. His will cannot be thwarted ( Ps. 115:3; Dan 4:34-35; Rom 9:11-18).
We should not conclude that we can do whatever we want because God will overcome our resistance. We should conclude that God is righteous, and He always punishes sin. Even if that sin is committed in secret, God hates sin. We never want to work against God. We want to experience God’s blessing. He wants to bless us more than we want His blessing. This is a hard concept for us to understand but it is true.
God sent His Son to earth to accomplish His will. People hated our Lord. They tried to judge Him, silence Him, argue with Him, until they finally crucified Him. The ultimate cancel. But no one can say to Him, “What have you done?” (Job 9:12). His church is sometimes strong; sometimes weak. Yet God reigns and He will overcome (Rev. 12:11).
Our heavenly Father, we come repenting because we are sometimes on the side of rebels instead of the side of those who praise You. We forget all You have done for us and compare ourselves to others. In our eyes, we seem so despised by You, so lacking in what we think matters most. Lord, help us to see our lives from a heavenly perspective. We have so very much in the gospel. We never want to go back to the way we thought and lived before. We are ashamed that we long to go back to Egypt at times, forgetting what it was really like. Fill us again with the Holy Spirit and help us to be content with the gospel yet ever striving to draw closer to You.