Good morning, church. Thank you for your prayers. While Beth and I were away on vacation
! these last two weeks, it's good to be back with you all. Would you turn with me to Numbers
! 22. Numbers! 22. That's page 121 in the Pew Bible, or roundabout there. And let me pray
as we come to God's Word. Father, there are so many things that fill our vision these
days, Lord, and so many means whereby we can distract ourselves with what we see and what
we consume. Lord, what a clarifying prayer it is to say that we want You to be our vision,
O ruler of all. And thank You, God, that by the instrument of Your Word, You again direct
our gaze up to You, our good and holy and loving King. So help us as we now come to Your Word
that by Your Spirit You would open our eyes to see You, Christ, in all Your glory and to
know what it truly means to be human, to know what it truly means to live the life that You
intend us to live as Your image bearers. We pray this in Jesus' name, Father. Amen.
All right, Numbers 22. I want to begin by reading the first 14 verses of chapter 22.
Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.
And Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all that the Israelites had done to the Amorites. And Moab was
in great dread of the people because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel.
And Moab said to the elders of Midian,
this horde will now lick up all that is around us as the ox licks up the grass of the field.
So Balak, the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, sent messengers to Balaam,
the son of Baor at Pethor, which is near the river in the land of the people of Amor,
to call him, saying, Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth,
and they are dwelling opposite me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for
me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom
you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. So the elders of Moab and the elders of
Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand, and they came to Balaam and gave him
Balaam and said, And he said to them, Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you as the
Lord speaks to me. So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam, and God came to Balaam and said,
Who are these men with you? Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to
me, saying, Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come,
curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.
God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.
So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, Go to your own land, for the Lord
has refused to let me go with you. So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said,
Balaam refuses to come with us. Okay, let's pause there. Now imagine for a moment that you're an
athlete, and it's the morning before the big game. Maybe you're a basketball player, and later that
day is the state championship. You're nervous, you're excited, and your coach has gathered your
team to get you ready for the challenge ahead. And imagine if at that moment, if your team at that
moment could then see what was happening in the opposing team's locker room. Imagine you could hear
their plans and see the strategies that they were coming up with. Well, if that wasn't downright cheating,
right, that sort of information would be priceless, wouldn't it? Or imagine that you were a military
general or a soldier, and you could see behind the enemy lines and know exactly what your enemy forces
were up to. That sort of information would be golden, wouldn't it? Well, Numbers 22 gives us just that.
It's a glimpse behind the enemy lines. As the new generation of Israelites in the wilderness prepare
to move ahead and travel towards and into the promised land, here for a moment in the narrative,
we get to see what's going on in the enemy camp, particularly the enemy camp of Moab and the Midianites,
one of the nations, some of the nations that are gathered against them. And this section of Numbers,
starting here in chapter 22, it's going to continue through 23 and 24, which we'll look at next week,
but this whole section of Numbers, it's meant to encourage God's people.
It's meant to encourage us. And today, as Numbers kind of takes us behind the enemy lines,
we're going to see two things that are meant to encourage us as God's people today. And those
two things are this. First, we're going to see that the Lord is determined to bless His people.
And second, we're going to see that the Lord humbles the proud and exalts the humble.
So let's look at those two things. The first thing that we see is in verses 1 through 14 that we just
read. The Lord is determined to bless His people. Now, what's happening here in these verses? Well,
Balak, the king of Moab, sees the people of Israel, and he knows that he doesn't stand a chance against
them in battle. So what does he do? Well, he decides to call in a secret weapon. He decides to call in
supernatural aid. Balaam. Balaam, who has a reputation, apparently, for being a prophet for hire.
And apparently, he has a pretty decent track record, right? The word on the street is that
anybody Balaam blesses will be blessed, and anybody that Balaam curses will be cursed. So he's a pretty
good guy to maybe hire as a mercenary, sort of a spiritual mercenary for your team. So King Balak
decides to call him in. Balaam works for a fee, and Balak is willing to pay a handsome sum to have him
come curse the people of Israel. But what happens? Balak's messengers come to Balaam, and Balaam says,
well, let me see what God has to say. And God says this to Balaam in verse 12, very clearly, God says,
you shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.
Now, just imagine that. You see behind the lines of your enemy,
and you see them hiring a special weapon to curse you and to foil you, and what happens instead?
God shows up, and in no uncertain terms says that these schemes of the opponent will amount to nothing.
Why? Because the Lord has determined to bless His people. His favor rests upon them, and nothing the
world does can change that fact. Not Balak's armies, not Balaam's divination. They can do their worst
against God's people, but the Lord has spoken, and it is so. They are blessed. His favor rests upon them,
and it will not be revoked. His purposes for them will not falter and will not fail. He will protect
them, preserve them, and bring them all the way to His appointed end in the promised land.
And hasn't that been the story of Numbers so far, friends? Even despite the people's rebellion,
even despite the discipline and judgment that they needed to face, God has remained true to His promises
into His people. Here they are on the plains of Moab, standing right near the Jordan, a massive people
renewed, ready to enter in. But this hasn't just been the story of Numbers. It's been the whole story
of the Bible up until this point. This is what God promised to Abraham all the way back in Genesis 12,
right? After the Tower of Babel and human pride scatters humanity, after the fall seems to be
reaching the ends of the earth, God shows up, comes to Abraham and says, Abraham, it's through you
that my blessing is going to reign as far as the curse is found. God blesses Abraham and blesses his
offspring and promises that in Abraham's offspring, all the nations of the earth would be
blessed. And do you hear in that blessing echoes of the very opening chapters of the Bible?
When the sovereign and holy and wonderful God is calling forth everything into existence, what does
He speak after each of those creation days? Blessing. It's good. It's good. It's good.
And then He creates humanity, and it's very good. Oh, that blessing that humanity lost because of sin,
God has been at work to reestablish. And if God is at work to reestablish it,
then nothing the enemy might do is going to thwart it, you see.
And this promise that began in creation and was renewed to Abraham, and we see persevering through
numbers, where does it lead? Well, this promise to Abraham's offspring was ultimately fulfilled
through the Lord Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, fully God and fully human.
All who are in Him through faith are blessed with Abraham's blessing. It's through Christ that this
blessing comes. He is the true offspring of Abraham. And through faith in Him, we can all be included
in that blessing that runs throughout Scripture. Blessed with what? With material wealth and fame? No,
those things are fleeting and passing, and everyone who gets them knows it. What is the blessing we seek
as humans? What is the blessing we need? Well, it's the blessing that Christ has opened for us,
the blessing of a right standing with God, the blessing of assurance of God's unwavering favor,
and the blessing of certain hope that we will enter the true promised land. That is, when Christ returns,
we will be raised anew in a completely renewed creation where all the effects of the fall, sin and
sickness and death and decay and hell and judgment are no more, and we reign with God forever.
The Lord is determined to bless His people. He sent His own Son to secure it, and Christ died and rose
again to win it and purchase it for all who believe. And nothing that the world, the flesh, or the devil
can do will overturn that blessing in Christ if you are in Him. Now, this blessing of God doesn't mean
that life will be easy in a fallen world, does it? There will be trials. There will be suffering. There
will be setbacks. Consider the book of Psalms, right? I remember a wise old preacher one time said
that the book of Psalms begins with blessing, it ends with joy, and it's a long road in between.
If you've ever read the Psalms, you know that's true, right? And that's true of the Christian life,
right? It begins in blessing in Christ. You're fully accepted by the Father. You're adopted into
God's family, sealed by the Holy Spirit, and the Christian life ends in joy. You will live eternally
with God in whose right hand are pleasures forevermore, but in between. It's a long road.
And Numbers has been showing us the ups and downs of that long road, hasn't it? As we battle with want
and deprivation and grumbling, challenges outside of us, besetting sin inside of us.
And yet the spiritual blessings that we have in Christ, the love of our Heavenly Father for us mean that
even the trials, even the sufferings, even the setbacks are for our good.
in the Father's hand, even the trials of life are carving out a deeper reservoir in our souls
that will be filled with His joy. Even the trials will be turned for our good and for His glory.
So the schemes of Balak won't and can't stand against God's people here on the plains of Noab,
just as the schemes of this world will never stand against God's people of any age.
The world may want to curse God's people. The world may want to scorn or despise God's people,
but ultimately these curses will fall powerless before the Lord's determination to bless His people.
And after all, if we have the Lord's favor, why worry, why fret so much if the world thinks the church foolish or strange?
The approval of the world, the blessing of the world means nothing compared to the approval of God.
Imagine, imagine being shown favor by the head of state, whomever that may be in whatever country,
knowing that you have access to the most powerful, influential person in the whole country,
and yet then being so upset when, you know, some person low on the totem pole thinks, ugh.
Right? Friend, you have the approval of God.
The world's approval is here today and gone tomorrow, but the favor of God will last forever.
The world's scorn can do nothing to you if you have the favor of God,
the blessing of God in Christ, and God grants it freely to all who receive His Son,
to all who look to Christ in faith.
But there's more to this story in Numbers 22.
Not only is the Lord determined to bless His people,
but we also see here that the Lord humbles the proud and exalts the humble.
Let's pick up the story in verse 15.
Once again, Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these.
And they came to Balaam and said to him,
Thus says Balak the son of Zippor,
Let nothing hinder you from coming to me,
for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do.
Come, curse this people for me.
But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak,
Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold,
I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more.
So, you two, please stay here tonight,
that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.
And God came to Balaam at night and said to him,
If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them,
but only do what I tell you.
So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey
and went with the princes of Moab.
But God's anger was kindled because he went,
and the angel of the Lord took his hand,
took his stand in the way as his adversary.
Now he was riding on the donkey,
and his two servants were with him.
And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road
with a drawn sword in his hand,
and the donkey turned a side out of the road
and went into the field.
And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the road.
Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path
between the vineyards or the wall on either side.
And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord,
she pushed against the wall
and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall.
So he struck her again.
Then the angel of the Lord went away
and stood in a narrow place
where there was no way to turn,
either to the right or to the left.
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord,
she lay down under Balaam.
And Balaam's anger was kindled,
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 made a fool of me,
I wish I had a sword in my hand,
for then I would kill you.
And the donkey said to Balaam,
Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden
all your life long to this day?
Is it my habit to treat you this way?
And he said, No.
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam,
and he saw the angel of the Lord
standing in the way
with his drawn sword in his hand.
And he bowed down and fell on his face.
The angel of the Lord said to him,
Why have you struck your donkey these three times?
Behold, I have come out to oppose you
because your way is perverse before me.
The donkey saw me
and turned aside before me these three times.
If she had not turned aside for me,
surely just now I would have killed you
and let her live.
Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord,
I have sinned,
for I did not know
that you stood in the road against me.
Now, therefore,
if it is evil in your sight,
I will turn back.
And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam,
Go with these men,
but speak only the word
that I tell you.
So Balaam went on
with the princes of Balak.
Now, we're going to pick up the story
next week from there.
But for now,
let's consider the part we just read.
I think there are two questions
that kind of confront us right away
in this section of Numbers, right?
First,
why is God's anger
kindled at Balaam
in verse 22?
On the surface,
it seems like Balaam
is just doing what God told him
in verse 20.
But,
if we look a little closer,
you realize
it's not quite that simple.
Balaam isn't
as innocent
as he appears
on the surface.
Look back with me
at verse 13
in the passage we started with.
Did you notice there
in verse 13
what Balaam
doesn't say
when he tells Balak's men
that he can't go with them?
Oftentimes,
our silences
say a lot more
than the things
that we say, right?
What does Balaam leave out?
Well,
he leaves out
everything that God said
about his determination
to bless his people.
Instead,
Balaam simply says,
well,
the Lord refused
to let me go with you.
Not,
the Lord's going to bless
these people
no matter what,
so there's no way
I can go with you.
Instead,
Balaam sort of
leaves that door open,
doesn't he?
After all,
friends,
Balaam is not
a good guy
in this story,
right?
He is a
religio-political
prophet for hire.
He sells his oracles
to the highest bidder.
People pay him money
to bless and curse
in order to manipulate
their circumstances.
People don't come
to Balaam
because he's holy.
They come to Balaam
because he's willing
to give you what you want
if the price is right.
And so,
he conveniently leaves out
that the Lord's never
going to curse these people
and that leaves the door
open for Balaam
to make a little bit
of a better offer.
And lo and behold,
that's exactly what happens.
Balaam sends
more prestigious messengers
the second time
with presumably more money
to try to persuade Balaam
to come along.
And look at how Balaam responds
in verse 18.
At first,
it sounds pretty good,
right?
Balaam says basically,
look,
Balaam couldn't give me
a billion dollars
to go against
what the Lord says.
That's where he begins.
But then in verse 19,
what does he say?
But, you know,
let's just stick around
and see what God
has to say, right?
Well, I thought that
he was going to obey
exactly what the Lord said
and the Lord's already said
don't go with him.
And now he says,
well, I'll do what
the Lord says,
but, you know,
let's see if the Lord
will change his mind
seeing the piles of money,
seeing the prestige
that's gathered all around him.
You see,
Balaam sees the wealth,
he sees the prestige
of the people
who have come to him
and he thinks,
well, maybe God
will change his mind.
Oh, I hope God
changes his mind.
You know,
later biblical writers
will look back
at the Balaam story
and discern
that what was driving Balaam
wasn't a desire
to please the Lord,
but a desire for wealth.
Describing false teachers
in his own day,
the Apostle Peter
writes this in 2 Peter 2.15.
He says,
forsaking the right way,
they've gone astray.
They have followed
the way of Balaam,
the son of Baor,
who loved gain
from wrongdoing.
So Balaam isn't
listening and obeying
the Lord
when he tells
this second group to stay.
He's holding out
for his own gain.
And that leads to verse 20.
At first,
it looks like God
is commanding Balaam to go
so long as he does
what God tells him to do.
So why does God
get angry in verse 22?
Well, I think for the
simple reason
because God sees
that Balaam's motivation
in going
isn't obedience,
but wealth
and worldly reputation.
Balaam doesn't want
to please and glorify
the Lord.
He wants to please
and glorify himself.
He talks a good game,
but God sees his heart.
God sees that Balaam
is really serving money
and prestige
and not God's own word.
So God's anger
is kindled.
And that leads
to the second question
of this passage.
the talking donkey.
I mean,
a talking donkey, right?
It immediately seems
too far-fetched
to be true, right?
I mean,
suddenly we're in the middle
of Shrek, right,
with a talking donkey.
But friends,
if God can send
ten plagues upon Egypt,
if God can part
the Red Sea,
if God can miraculously
feed thousands of people
in a desert,
if God can cause water
to come from a rock,
if God can cause
the things that exist
to come into being
out of nothing,
and if God can cause
all things to be held up
in their being
and not fall
into nothingness,
if that's how sovereign
God is,
then putting words
into the mouth
of a donkey
isn't really all that
hard to do,
is it?
So if we've been
paying attention
to the story
of the Bible so far,
we start to realize
two things.
On the one hand,
this is an easy thing
for the God
of the Bible to do.
But on the other hand,
this isn't a common thing
that God does.
In fact,
in the whole of Scripture,
there are only
two talking animals,
the serpent in the garden
and Balaam's donkey,
which means
that the talking donkey
in Numbers 22
should surprise us.
If you're a careful
reader of Scripture,
you shouldn't be saying,
there it is again,
more talking animals.
No!
Suddenly we're thinking,
what is going on here?
What is God up to?
It should surprise us,
not because God
can't do it
or it's impossible,
but because God
is clearly doing
something unique.
He's making a point.
And what's the point?
Why put words
into the donkey's mouth?
Hebrew scholar Ian Duguid
puts it like this.
He says,
it's often the case
that the Lord reveals himself
to the weak and foolish
while remaining hidden
from those
who possess the wisdom
of this world.
It is often the case
that the Lord reveals himself
to the weak and foolish
while remaining hidden
from those
who possess the wisdom
of this world.
Balaam,
the international expert
on spirituality
and theology.
He knew all the rituals
and rites.
His reputation
was widespread.
He was the LeBron James
of the religious
political world,
right?
But for all his reputation,
for all his prestige,
he was blind
to the Lord
when the Lord
stood right
in front of him.
But who really sees
in this passage?
The donkey.
Balaam's pride and greed
make him less spiritually aware
than the beast of burden
that he rode upon.
The donkey has more spiritual sense
than he does,
and by God's grace,
the donkey actually saves
Balaam's life.
And friends,
it is still the case
that the Lord reveals himself
to the weak and foolish
while remaining hidden
from those
who possess the wisdom
of the world.
The Lord is determined
to bless his people,
but the Lord
will humble the proud
and exalt the humble.
the only way
into the people of God
is to admit
that our wisdom
and our strength
are not what make us
right to God.
Only the foolishness
of the cross
is what can reconcile
sinners to God.
Listen to how Paul
describes it
in 1 Corinthians chapter 1.
Kunle mentioned
this passage earlier
in the service.
Let me read this for us.
Paul says,
For the word of the cross
is folly
to those who are perishing,
but to us
who are being saved
it is the power of God.
For it is written,
I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise
and the discernment
of the discerning
I will thwart.
Where is the one
who is wise?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater
of this age?
Has not God
made foolish
the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom
of God
the world did not know
God through wisdom,
it pleased God
through the folly
of what we preach
to save those who believe.
For Jews demand signs
and Greeks seek wisdom,
but we preach
Christ crucified,
a stumbling block
to Jews
and folly to Gentiles.
but to those
who are called,
both Jews
and Greeks,
Christ,
the power of God
and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness
of God
is wiser than men
and the weakness
of God
is stronger than men.
For consider your calling,
brothers and sisters.
Not many of you
were wise
according to worldly standards.
Not many were powerful.
Not many were of noble birth,
but God chose
what is foolish
in the world
to shame the wise.
God chose
what is weak
in the world
to shame the strong.
God chose
what is low
and despised
in the world,
even the things
that are not,
to bring to nothing
things that are
so that no human being
might boast
in the presence of God.
And because
you are in Christ Jesus
who became to us
wisdom from God,
righteousness
and sanctification
and redemption,
so that as it is written,
let the one who boasts
boast in the Lord.
You see, friends,
the gospel cuts both ways,
doesn't it?
On the one hand,
the gospel humbles us.
Like Balaam's donkey,
the gospel tells us
that our wisdom
and our strength
doesn't get us
any closer to God.
In fact,
they're just as likely
to drive us away
from God
because of our pride.
But on the other hand,
the gospel brings
deep comfort,
even boldness.
Like Balaam's donkey,
the gospel tells us
that God chooses
the weak and lowly
to shame the strong.
In other words,
God delights
to save sinners,
to save the undeserving,
the lost,
the lowly,
the humble,
and God delights
to use them
for His kingdom purposes.
If God can use a donkey,
how much more
will He use you?
Beloved children
whom Christ died to save.
You see, friends,
you don't need
to be a renowned scholar
or a world-famous leader
to be used mightily of God.
You simply need
to be soft-hearted
to God's Spirit
and God's words.
By the Spirit,
God's words will open
your eyes to see
His beauty.
They'll make you wise
with the wisdom
the world can't give.
They'll fill you with hope
and courage
to obey with love.
And above all,
the Spirit will open
your eyes to see
Christ Jesus,
the One who is
wisdom,
righteousness,
and true glory.
God
humbles the proud,
but He exalts the humble.
How about you, friend?
Do you think
you're above
other people?
Do you think
God owes you something?
Do you think
through your worldly wisdom
you'll reach
into the highest heavens
and bring God down?
Why not find yourself
in a better place
beside Balaam's donkey?
Letting Him open
your eyes to see
who He really is
and to praise Him.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven,
thank You that You
reveal Yourself
to the weak
and to the lowly.
Lord,
how difficult it is
for us
to be weak
and to be lowly.
too often
we are like Balaam,
wanting to maneuver
and connive our way
through the world
and through religious things.
O Lord,
by Your Spirit,
humble us.
Help us to see
that the message
of the cross,
though foolishness
to the world,
is real wisdom
because in it
Your wisdom
and Your power
are displayed.
Your saving purposes
are accomplished
and Your redemption
is sealed.
Lord,
help us
to walk
in the assurance
of Your blessing
and to walk
in true humility,
we pray.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.