(This Sermon was preached at Trinity Bible Church on October 6, 2002. This sermon series is based upon a request to explain whether Balaam is a true or false prophet. All Scripture references used in this sermon are based upon the NASB®, unless otherwise stated)
| This Sermon was written and submitted by: Joseph M. Willmouth, Pastor of Trinity Bible Church in Biloxi, Mississippi 39532. This contributed article is copyright protected, and the sole property of the contributing author. It may be freely copied and used provided the above credits are included. Document expiration: indefinite. |
Numbers 25:1 While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.2 For they invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.3 So Israel joined themselves to Baal of Peor, and the LORD was angry against Israel. 4 And the LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel." 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, "Each of you slay his men who have joined themselves to Baal of Peor." 6 Then behold, one of the sons of Israel came and brought to his relatives a Midianite woman, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, while they were weeping at the doorway of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he arose from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them through, the man of Israel and the woman, through the body. So the plague on the sons of Israel was checked. 9 And those who died by the plague were 24,000.
Numbers 31:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people." 3 And Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian, to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian. 4"A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war." 5 So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 And Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. 7 So they made war against Midian, just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every male. 8 And they killed the kings of Midian along with the rest of their slain: Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the five kings of Midian; they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD.
Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality.
Introduction: We now come to our fourth and final sermon on the subject of whether Balaam was a prophet of God or just another false prophet. So far have you noticed that Balaam never makes the claim that he is a prophet of God? Also we have seen thus far that no one else in the Scriptures makes this claim either. In fact, everywhere else that Balaam is mentioned, he is not spoken of in very kind words. The only place that you do find people calling Balaam a prophet of God is in sermons and bible lessons by other people, and these are normally based upon the fact that God used Balaam to give a prophetic message. But as we have seen, God has done this in the past with some other people that we would have never called a prophet. So when it comes to Balaam what has really set him apart from the prophets of God is his behavior. >From the very beginning he as sought to get around God's Word so he could make some money. Today in our lesson, we will pick up with the "rest of the story" of Balaam, and look at the rewards that he did receive for his efforts.
I. Israel's Sin (Num.25:1-9).
1. Israel's worship of Baal (vv.1-3a).
A. This is the first recorded occasion in Scripture of Israel worshiping Baal, but it certainly isn't the last (BC).Application: There's an old saying that goes something like this, "sin will take you further than where you want to be and keep you there longer." This was the case with Israel and is also the case for us too! One minute Israel was camping by the river waiting on God's next move, and the next moment they committing immoral acts. The 1st lesson here is, the quickness in which sin gets a hold of people who know God. The 2nd lesson is, how infectious the nature of sin is. It only takes a short amount of time before the sins of one person spread to another. And last of all, we see here how deep sin can take you. The Israelites where camping one minute waiting for God's next move, and the next minute they plunged deep into sin. Just as the Israelites needed to heed God's Word, believers today need to heed the Apostle Paul's words in Galatians 5:9, "A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough."1) Baal was the chief of the Canaanite gods and was especially responsible for rain and fertility.B. Israel was committing not only sexual immorality, but they were also guilty of committing spiritual immorality.- Until they went off to Babylon, the Israelites were an agricultural people; and whenever there was a drought, they often turned to Baal for help instead of to the Lord.2) The Canaanite fertility rites involved both male and female temple prostitutes and encouraged all kinds of sexual immorality.A) This was an integral part of the Canaanite fertility rites (Deut. 23:17-18; 1 Kings 14:22-24) and was practiced in connection with the regular services of their temples (Num.25:2: BKC).B) Both the idolatry and the immorality were forbidden by God's law (Ex.20:1-5, 14).
1) By participating in the pagan sacrificial meals, and by engaging in sexual relations with the Moabites as an act of worship, the Israelites both committed sexual immorality and engaged in spiritual harlotry (BSF).2) How clever Satan is, to take what God has condemned as contrary to religion, and make it a vital part of religious worship (BSF).
Transition: The problem with sin is it tends to always bring God's judgment. . .
2. God's pronouncement of judgment (vv.3b-4).
A. God's anger (v.3b).Application: Why did God call for such a severe punishment on Israel's leadership? There are several factors which we should take into account: Leaders have a higher level of responsibility, because they have been given more authority, and because they serve as examples to those who follow them. Corruption often flows from the top down which seems to be what happened here. Leaders are responsible to promote righteousness by ridding the nation of the wicked (Proverbs 20:8; 20:26; 25:5; 29:12). It would appear that the leaders did little or nothing to deal with the idolatry and immorality of the people (BSF). This is one of those passages that people love to point out as the difference between the God of the Old Testament - a God of vengefulness and wrath, verses the God of the New Testament - which is love. Many Christians are guilty of this also. We must remember that the God of the Old Testament is also the same God of the New Testament; James 1:17, "Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow." The reason why God acted in such a way with the people of Israel was because He needed to protect this fledgling nation from the evils of the world so they could survive and grow into the nation that He wanted them to be. As parents, don't we try to do the same thing with our own children (though not to same level), and also as a nation we do the same thing when threatened by others. The main difference between us and God is, God is holy, pure, and knows no sin, while we are sinners who only know God's holiness because of His grace. God did the same thing in the New Testament when dealing with the fledgling church in Acts 5:1-11 and a couple named Ananias and Sapphira who sought to bring sin into the church by their lying. No the God of the New Testament is the same God of the Old Testament who hates sin, and will one day judge all those who have rejected His offer of forgiveness through His Son's Jesus' death; Revelation 20:11-15, "And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."1) "angry," ("'aph charah" {af khaw-raw: qal consecutive imperf}); to blow hard in the nostrils, anger; to be hot, furious, to burn. (KJV = anger...kindled)B. God's judgment (v.4).2) God's response is not surprising since He had made it very clear to His people whom they were to worship, and how (BSF).
A) He promised to bless His people when they obeyed His law, and to curse them when they rebelled against Him (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28-31).B) Numbers 15 records very specific instructions as to how the Israelites were to offer sacrifices.
C) Further instructions concerning the priests and sacrifices were set down in Numbers 18 and 19.
D) These instructions, so clearly and so recently set down, were cast aside by the "worship" the Israelites engaged in with the Moabites and Midianites, and because of their immorality and idolatry, God was angry.
1) God instructs Moses to publicly execute all the leaders of the nation Israel publicly (BSF).2) The gravity of the sin called not only for death but for a special display of the corpses of the offenders so that those who would survive would be strongly warned of the consequences (EBCOT).
Transition: Not only will there be a future judgment on all those who have rejected God and His grace, but there is often a price to pay in the here and now. . .
3. God's judgment carried out (vv.5-9).
A. Moses orders the swift execution of those who were involved in this sin against God (v.5).Application: Now as Christians we are not under the strict guidelines of the Law of Moses, and the curse of the Law which demanded swift judgment but did nothing to free man from their sins; Galatians 3:10-12, "For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.' Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The righteous man shall live by faith.' However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, 'He who practices them shall live by them.'" So what can we learn from this passage? First, have you ever noticed that God never tells us not to judge sin, only people like to say, "we are not supposed to judge one another," and they do this by misquoting God's Word. Whenever there is any open sin that effects the witness and testimony of God and His church, we are supposed to take action to end it; 1 Corinthians 5:7, "Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed." We are given the guidelines in Matthew 18:15-17, "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer." And of course we should always make sure that we check our motives before we attempt to restore a Christian who is living in open sin. Our goal is to restore them into a healthy relationship with Christ and the church, and not to make ourselves feel superior or more spiritual; Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted." As Christians we do have a clear responsibility to stop the spread of sin from infecting the whole church body according to God's Word; 1 Peter 4:17, "For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?"B. Even while Moses was delivering this verdict, an Israelite man (Zimri [zim'ti], v.14) was brazen enough to bring a Midianite cult prostitute (Cozbi [koz'bi], v.15) right into the camp (v.6: BKC).
C. This bold and open sinful behavior so incensed Phinehas [fin'ee-uhs] son of Eleazar [el'ee-ay'zuhr], a priest, that he took a spear… followed the Israelite into his tent, and impaled both the man and his partner with it (vv.7-8a: BKC).
1) Like Abraham when he offered up Isaac (Gen. 22; James 2:21-24), Phinehas proved his faith by his works (BC).D. As a result of Phinehas' actions, God stopped the plague that He had sent, but not before 24,000 people died (vv.8b-9: BKC).2) Psalm 106:28-31, "They joined themselves also to Baal-peor, And ate sacrifices offered to the dead. Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds; And the plague broke out among them. Then Phinehas stood up and interposed; And so the plague was stayed. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, To all generations forever."
Transition: Not only does God hold those accountable who commit sins, He also holds those accountable who promote sin. . .
II. Balaam's Doctrine (Num.31:16;
Rev.2:14).
1. Balaam's accountability.
A. God squarely places the blame for Israel's stumbling on Balaam.Transition: Now lets look at what Balaam taught them. . .1) "these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD" (Num.31:16a).B. It now becomes clear that in Numbers 24:25 where we are told that Balaam went home, that this didn't mean that he left immediately, but took the time to give advise to Balak.A) "caused," ("hayah" {haw-yaw}); come to pass, come about.2) "who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel" (Rev.2:14).B) "counsel," ("dabar" {daw-baw'}); speaking, word.
C) "trespass," ("macar ma'al" {maw-sar' mah'al: qal inf}); to commit a treacherous deed against Yahweh, unfaithful, unfaithful act, trespass.
A) "put," ("ballo" {bal'-lo: v, inf, aor, act}); to throw, cast into, to put, cast out. (KJV = cast)B) "stumbling block," ("skandalon" {skan'-dal-on: n, acc, neut, sg}); a snare or trap, used here of what causes a person to sin, the enticement to sin, temptation.
1) "Home" probably means the place where Balaam was staying while visiting Balak (BC).2) Balaam wasn't able to curse Israel, but he knew how to defile them and seduce them into sin so great that Jehovah would judge them (BC).
3) What Balaam couldn't do by appealing to the demons, he accomplished by appealing to the flesh and inviting the Jews to "enjoy themselves" at Baal Peor.
2. Balaam's instruction (Num.31:16b; Rev.2:14).
A. The "doctrine" (KJV), or "teaching" of Balaam is the lie that allows believers to lower their God given standards of separation by compromising with the world (JITH).Application: Balaam's plan was ingenious, and incredibly simple. If God is faithful and does not change, man is fickle and prone to wander. Balaam knew that the Israelites could be seduced to follow other gods, and this would anger God to the point that they would incur the curses God had pronounced on those who practiced such sins! Here was a surefire, indirect way to bring about the same objective Balaam had failed to accomplish directly (BSF). The doctrine of Balaam is the lie that it's permissible for God's people to live like unsaved people, and that God's grace gives us the right to disobey God's Law.1) Balaam suggested to Balak (31:16) that the Moabites (25:1) and Midianites (v.6) convene a religious feast to honor Baal, and that they invite the Jews to attend.B. In Revelation 2:14, Christ compares what the false teachers were doing at Pergamos with what Balaam had done to the Israelites.2) The feast, of course, would involve idolatry and abominable immorality and would be a flagrant violation of Israel's covenant with the Lord.
1) At Pergamos the false teachers were enticing believers to attend the feasts at the idol temples (BC).A) As at Baal Peor, their sin was a combination of idolatry and immorality, but the false teachers didn't present it that way.2) The church at Pergamos compromised with pagan morality and departed from their biblical faith which corrupted the church (BKC).B) They taught that God's grace gave His people the freedom to sin, but Jude called it "turn the grace of our God into licentiousness" (Jude 1:4).
J. Vernon McGee illustrates this point by telling a story about a Sunday School teacher in a class of little boys who had given them the story of Lazarus and the rich man. She told about the plight of Lazarus, the beggar. She told about how he suffered down here and what he went through. My, she painted it black. Then she told about the rich man and what he enjoyed in this life. Then she moved over on the other side and told bout where the rich man went after death -- he went to hades. She told about the poor man who was in Abraham's bosom. That class of little boys was quite solemn. In order to clinch it, she asked, "Which would you rather be, the rich man or Lazarus the beggar?" Well, not one of those little fellows answered. She waited for a few moments for it to sink in. Finally, one little fellow put up his hand. He said, "I'd like to be the rich man here and Lazarus hereafter" (McGee). There were those in Balaam's day who thought that they could have it both ways and get by with it, and there are believers in our day to think the same way. But you cannot have it both ways and serve the Lord.
Throughout the Old Testament, Israel's compromise with idolatry is called "adultery" and "playing the harlot," for in God's eyes the nation was "married" to Him at Sinai. (Jer. 2:19-20; 3:1-11; Ezek. 16; 23; and Hosea 1-2.) This same "marriage"(i.e., the "bride") image is applied to Christ and the church in the New Testament (2 Cor. 11:1-4; Eph. 5:22-33; James 4:4; Rev.19:6-9). The believer compromising with sin is like a spouse committing adultery. Any teaching that makes it easy and permissible to sin is false doctrine, because the Word of God was given to us to enable us to live holy lives; 1 Timothy 6:3-4, "If anyone advocates a different doctrine, and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions." Paul emphasized the need in the church for "sound doctrine," which means "healthy doctrine"; Titus 1:9, "holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict." & Titus 2:1, "But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine." Paul also compares false doctrine to gangrene in 2 Timothy 2:17, "and their talk will spread like gangrene. . ." (BC). We are once again reminded that it is impossible for a believer to walk the fence between the World's ways and God's ways: Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." Therefore we must be diligent in heeding to words of Proverbs 4:23, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life."
Transition: There is a price to be paid for false teaching, and Balaam finally gets his reward for all his efforts. . .
III. Balaam's Reward (Num.31:1-8).
1. Israel's revenge (vv.1-7).
A. The Lord's last assignment to Moses was carrying out His vengeance on the Midianites (BKC).Transition: Not only did the Midianites pay the price for their actions in enticing the Israelites into both sexual and spiritual immorality but Balaam finally got his reward, but it wasn't what he had expected. . .B. The result was to be total annihilation of all living things and the devoting of all material properties to the Lord (Deut. 20:16-18; Josh. 6:15-19: BKC).
2. Balaam's death (v.8).
A. The campaign against the Midianites was successful and resulted in the death of every man (i.e., every Midianite soldier: BKC).Application: We often think that we deserve more than what we get, but in this case Balaam got what he really deserved - but it wasn't gold or silver. God judged Balaam for his evil teaching because of the effects that it had on others. When Israel killed Balaam centuries ago, they couldn't kill the lies he turned loose in the world, lies that still influenced the Jews after they had conquered Canaan (Josh. 22:15-18). These same type of lies influence individual believers and churches today, and the cancer of compromise weakens our witness and saps our spiritual strength (BC). The Apostle Paul warned us of this in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, 'I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,' says the Lord. nd do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,' Says the Lord Almighty. Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." We likewise are warned about those who teach and how God holds them to a higher standard in James 3:1, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we shall incur a stricter judgment." God holds teachers to a higher standard because of the impact that they have on others who follow their instruction. This should make all of us who handle and teach God's Word to be very careful and to be as accurate as we can to the best of our ability. Likewise, for those who mishandle God's Word and mislead others with their own false teachings, they need to learn from Balaam's example of what rewards they can expect to receive from God for their efforts too. Jude tells us that God knows who they are and they have already been judged; Jude 1:4, "For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ."B. These included the five Midianite kings and the Prophet Balaam who obviously had returned from Pethor at some time to affiliate with the Midianites (BKC).
Truths To Ponder:
1. Sin's infectious nature.
A. It infects quickly.2. We are to rightly judge open sin within our camp.B. It is highly contagious.
C. It leaves you in worse shape that when it found you.
A. If left unchallenged, it will divide and conquer.3. God holds those who teach accountable for what they teach others.B. If left unchallenged, it will bring God condemnation (see the examples of what Christ said to the seven churches in the book of Revelation).
Study References
BKC - John Walvoord & Roy Zuck, The
Bible Knowledge Commentary
BC - Be Counted; living a life that Counts
for God, by Warren Wiersbe.
BSF - Bible Studies Foundation (http://www.bible.org/).
EBCOT - Zondervan's, Expositor's Bible
Commentary, Old Testament.
JITH - Journey Into The Heavenlies, Tommy
C. Higle.
McGee - J. Vernon McGee, Balaam, A
Prophet for Profit.
Note: Pronunciation breakdown for proper names and geographical
locations are based upon "Harper's Bible Pronunciation
Guide," by William O. Walker, Jr., General Editor, Harper &
Row Publishers, San Francisco CA., 1989.
Hebrew Study Reference Tools
. Analytical Key to the Old Testament, by John Owens, Baker Books, Grand Rapids MI, 1999
. Bible Works 4.0 for Windows, Hermeneutika Bible Research Software, Big Fork MO., 2nd edition.
. Biblical Hebrew; An Introductory Grammar, by Page Kelley, Eerdmans
Publishing, Grand Rapids
MI, 1992
. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, by E. Brown,
S. Driver, and C. Briggs,
Hendrickson Publishers, 1996
. The Complete Word Study Bible & Reference CD, by Dr. Spiros Zodhiates, AMG Publishers, 1997
. Gesenius' Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament, by H.W.F.
Gesenius, Baker Books,
Grand Rapids MI, 1994
. Nelson's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, Merrill
Unger and William White Editors,
Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville TN, 1980.
. The New Englishman's Hebrew Concordance, by Wigram, Hendrickson Publishers, 1984.
. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology, Willem
VanGemeran, General Editor,
Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids MI, 1997
. Old Testament Parsing Guide, by Todd Beall, William Banks and
Colin Smith, Broadman & Holman
Publishers, Nashville TN, 2000.
. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT),
by Harris, Archer and Waltke, Moody Press,
Chicago IL, 1980.
. Wilson's Old Testament Word Studies, by William Wilson, MacDonald
Publishing Co. McLean
VA, (note dated).