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For a master copy of the outline, click here: The Story of Balaam
To Listen on YouTube, click here: Balaam (Part 06) - (Num 22:21-23) - Balaam's Wise Ass
7. Balaam, being all too eager, gets up in the morning and goes with the princes of Moab (Num 22:21).
A. Notice that God told Balaam to go with them if the men come to call thee (Num 22:20).
B. It is not specifically said that the men came to call Balaam again in Num 22:21.
C. It appears that Balaam went with them without even waiting for them to come and call him to go with them, as the LORD had said.
i. Godly men will make haste to keep God's commandments (Psa 119:60).
ii. The wicked will make haste to fulfill their desires and their sin (Psa 16:4; Pro 1:16; Pro 7:22-23; Pro 19:2).
iii. Hasten v. - 1. a. trans. To cause to make haste; to urge on; to accelerate, expedite, hurry: = haste v. 1.
iv. Oh, that men would be as eager to keep God's commandments as they are to sin!
VII. Num 22:22-35 - Balaam's trip to meet Balak
1. God gets angry at Balaam for going with the princes (Num 22:22).
A. Why would God get angry with Balaam for going with the princes when He told him that he could go two verses earlier in Num 22:20?
i. God had already plainly told Balaam to not go with them (Num 22:12).
ii. When Balaam didn't like God's answer and sought for a second opinion, God answered a fool according to his folly and told him to go (Pro 26:5).
a. On occasion, God has actually told people who know better to sin, and then judged them for it.
b. God told rebellious Israel to sin (Amo 4:4; Eze 20:39).
c. God allows the wicked to sin, and yet He is angry with them for it everyday (Psa 7:11).
iii. God sometimes allows us to do things contrary to His law because of the hardness of our hearts (Mat 19:8).
iv. God gave Israel quail to eat when they clamored for it, but then He judged them for it (Psa 106:14-15; Psa 78:29-31).
v. Parents sometimes act similarly with their children who know that they are forbidden from doing something, but continue to ask anyway -- the parent finally has enough and says "Go ahead", and then spanks the child when they do it.
B. God then sent an angel to stand in Balaam's way as a adversary against him as he rode upon his ass (Num 22:22).
i. This was one the holy angels, the angel of the LORD, not a fallen angel.
ii. God sends His angels to protect his children (Psa 91:11-12; Act 5:19).
iii. God sends His angels to destroy the wicked (2Ki 19:35; Act 12:23).
iv. With Balaam, God's angel was sent to be his adversary.
2. Balaam's ass sees the angel with its sword drawn and turns aside into the field (Num 22:23).
A. The prudent ass foresaw the evil and hid herself; the simple Balaam passed on and was punished (Pro 22:3).
i. The ass feared God and departed from evil (Pro 3:7).
ii. The ass endeavored to not enter into the path of the wicked, nor go in the way of evil men (Pro 4:14).
iii. The wise ass decided to avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away (Pro 4:15).
B. The ass was a wise beast -- wiser than Balaam -- and could see spiritual things.
i. Balaam, on the other hand, was a natural brute beast (2Pe 2:12,15; Jud 1:10-11).
ii. Brute adj. - 1. Of animals: Wanting in reason or understanding; chiefly in phrases brute beasts, the brute creation, = the ‘lower animals’. 2. a. Of human beings, their actions, and attributes: Brute-like, brutish; dull, senseless, stupid; unintelligent, unreasoning, uninstructed; sensual.
iii. How pitiful it is when an ass is wiser than a prophet.
iv. Go to the ass, thou fool, and learn of her! (Pro 6:6-8).
C. Balaam then smites his ass to turn her into the way (Num 22:23).
i. The wise ass feared and departed from evil, but Balaam the fool raged and was confident (Pro 14:16).
ii. The ass pondered the path of her feet and looked well to her going (Pro 4:26; Pro 14:15).
iii. Balaam was not regarding the life of his beast (Pro 12:10).
D. Balaam should have considered his ways when God put an obstacle in his path.
i. If we are doing God's will as revealed in the scripture, then we should pay no attention to adverse circumstances (Ecc 11:4-6).
a. It is a lazy man who sees potential trouble and turns back (Pro 22:13).
b. We should not be as them that turn back unto perdition, but them who believe to the saving of the soul (Heb 10:39).
ii. In Balaam's case, since God had already told him not to go, he should have turned back, but instead pressed on toward perdition.
For a master copy of the outline, click here: The Story of Balaam
