Serving Wealth, Not God

What is the way of Balaam? Balaam was a prophet for hire, who served wealth over God. His story is found in Numbers 22:5-24:25. He sold his words of prophecy for profit! He was more concerned with receiving pay for his prophetic services than he was about serving God. Like Balaam, false teachers are completely devoted to serving wealth, while pretending to be serving God. "They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Peter 2:15).

Balaam also taught immorality—right up the false teachers' alley: "Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD" (Num. 31:16).

In the letters to the churches in Revelation, to the church in Pergamos, John wrote, "But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality" (Rev. 2:14). The false teachers had left the biblical way and entered Balaam's error—mercenary greed and sexual impurity. That is the fruit by which they are known.

On Paul's first missionary journey, he and Barnabas were preaching on the island of Cyprus. Let's pick up the story in Acts 13:6. "Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, 'O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.' And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord" (vs. 6-12).

The way of the false prophets, the false teachers, of all who teach false doctrine to lead people away from God, will not stand. Judgment will fall, if not in the short term, as with Elymas the false prophet and sorcerer, then certainly in the long term with eternal damnation in hellfire and brimstone. But false teachers will meet their doom. So, flee from them. Avoid them. Do not associate with them at all!

Why might God use a donkey to rebuke a prophet? Think about that for a moment. Who says God has no sense of humor? He used a donkey, a beast of burden who cannot speak, to speak like a man, to rebuke a prophet! "He was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet" (2 Peter 2:16).

The story is found in Numbers 22:22-35. "Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again. Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

"Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?'

"And Balaam said to the donkey, 'Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!'

"So the donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?'

"And he said, 'No.'

"Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. And the Angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.'

"And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, 'I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.'

"Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, 'Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.' So Balaam went with the princes of Balak."

As Balaam went to curse the children of Israel for money (if he could) "he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech" (2 Peter 2:16a, NIV). The rebuke is twofold: first by the donkey, then by the Angel of the LORD. Ironically, the dumb animal had more "spiritual" perception than the prophet! "A dumb donkey speaking with a man's voice restrained the madness of the prophet" (v. 16b, NKJV).

In 1773, William Cowper wrote his famous hymn, which begins, "God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform." Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'"

Let the Lord do His mysterious work in you. Study the Word. Know it. Live by it. "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15). Amen.