Image from bemel.com.
For a master copy of the outline, click here: The Story of Balaam
To Listen on YouTube, click here: Balaam (Part 08) - (Num 22:31-33) - Balaam's Ass Saves His Butt
10. The LORD opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel with his sword drawn and he falls flat on his face (Num 22:31).
A. Prior to God opening his eyes, Balaam could not see the angel.
i. Angels are spirits (Heb 1:7).
ii. They cannot be seen with the natural eye, unless God opens one's eyes to behold them (2Ki 6:14-17).
iii. On occasion, angels materialize and are seen of men (Gen 19:1; Dan 9:21-22).
iv. Sometimes, they are indistinguishable from men (Jdg 13:16).
v. You may have met one and not known it (Heb 13:2).
B. Note: sometimes we fail to see a spiritual danger that is right in front of our eyes, as is the case with Balaam.
i. Like Balaam, our adversaries are spiritual, not carnal (1Pe 5:8; Eph 6:11-12).
ii. The weapons that we use to fight them are spiritual weapons (2Co 10:3-5; Eph 6:13-17).
iii. In Balaam's case, his spiritual adversary is righteous; in our case they are wicked (Eph 6:12).
C. When Balaam sees the angel, he immediately falls flat on his face.
i. Angels are fearful creatures (Jdg 13:6; Luk 1:11-12).
ii. Men have Balaam's response when they see an angel in it's glory (Luk 24:4-5; Mat 28:2-4; Dan 8:16-17; Rev 19:10; Rev 22:8-9).
iii. Imagine what men will do when they see the glorified Lord Jesus Christ who has more glory than the angels (Heb 1:4).
iv. Imagine what our resurrected bodies will be like when they are made equal to the angels (Luk 20:36).
11. The angel of the LORD interrogates Balaam, asking him why he smote his ass thrice (Num 22:32a).
A. Balaam didn't know that the eyes of the LORD are in every place beholding the evil and the good (Pro 15:3).
i. Balaam didn't know that the ass had an advocate.
ii. The angel was pleading the cause of the oppressed.
iii. Balaam was called to give an account of his deeds.
B. We also have an advocate, Jesus Christ (1Jo 2:1).
i. God pleads the cause of the poor and needy and the afflicted (Psa 35:1; Psa 43:1; Psa 119:154; Pro 22:22-23; Pro 23:10-11).
ii. God gives his angels charge over His elect to protect them (Psa 91:9-12).
C. Someday the wicked that oppressed us will give an account of themselves to God (1Pe 4:4-5).
D. The LORD will take vengeance on those that oppressed His people (Rev 6:9-10).
E. We will all someday give an account of what we have done when we thought nobody was watching (Rom 14:10-12; 2Co 5:10).
12. The angel tells Balaam that he withstood him because his is perverse before him (Num 22:32b).
A. How it must have felt for Balaam to have an angel advocate for his ass and call him perverse!
B. Whereas God sends His angels to protect the righteous, He sends them to withstand the wicked (Act 12:20-23; 2Ki 19:35).
13. The angel tells Balaam that if the ass had not turned from the angel three times that he would have killed Balaam and saved the ass (Num 22:33).
A. Balaam's ass saved his butt.
B. Notice that even if the ass had continued toward the angel, the ass would still have been spared, but Balaam would have been slain.
i. Sins of ignorance merit less punishment than sins of presumption (Num 15:27-29 c/w Num 15:30-31).
ii. To whom much is given, much is required (Luk 12:47-48).
iii. To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin (Jam 4:17).
iv. Because animals are not rational beings, they are not held to the same level of accountability as humans are.
C. Balaam has been reproved again by the angel in hearing that the angel would have killed him and saved his ass.
