BALAAM SPIRIT
This is going to be a rather in depth blog on the Balaam Spirit but to understand it in the way you need to it might be just as easy to read it a little more interesting and simple.
Sometimes brain overload needs a little simple! try reading this story at this link:
http://mrbiblehead.blogspot.ca/2012/12/balaams-donkey-numbers-21-22.html
Revelation 2:14-16
Message to Pergamum {a tower of a castle}
This is the question that explains this spirit the best Just like Satan when he said I would be like the most high, Balaam also thinks that because of his anointing he is like God.
12Then to the angel (messenger) of the assembly (church) in Pergamum write: These are the words of Him Who has and wields the sharp two-edged sword: 13I know where you live--a place where Satan sits enthroned. [Yet] you are clinging to and holding fast My name, and you did not deny My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed (martyred) in your midst--where Satan dwells. 14Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: you have some people there who are clinging to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to set a trap and a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [to entice them] to eat food that had been sacrificed to idols and to practice lewdness [giving themselves up to sexual vice].15You also have some who in a similar way are clinging to the teaching of the Nicolaitans [those corrupters of the people] which thing I hate. 16Repent [then]! Or else I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
The
following is From Numbers 22, this is where you will have to pull your Bible
out and read the entire chapter because I will just be telling you the
story.
The story of a talking donkey and a trickster Prophet
Balaam was a prophet of God, given to the people of Israel. Balaam
knew the Law of Moses concerning the prophets and their words. The law of Moses (Not the 10 commandments) was to help them take the promised land without corrupting themselves. The law of Moses is found in the book of Deuteronomy 12-30. Every man and boy were instructed in this law and being a Prophet of God Balaam would know it better then most.
King Balak was
the King of Moab at that time.
The Israelites were
camped near the river of Jordon at Jericho.
King
Balak was terrified by the Israelites and it says full of dread, he had seen
all that their army had done to the Amorites he had heard of Jericho (the strongest held fortress) falling
without a finger of man touching it.
Balak said to the elders of Midian these
guys are going to clean house with us they are going to eat us up and
completely destroy us if we don’t do something. Now Balak, for someone that
served another god had great faith in the God of the Israelites, because he
does something pretty unpredictable and cleaver,(Except that later we hear the Balaam taught Balak how to trick God).
Balak sent messengers to
Balaam the prophet of the Israelites because he knew that if the Prophet
prophesied the defeat of the Israelites that they would be defeated.
In
the Old Testament they would have been stoned to death if they spoke a word and
it did not come to pass.
One
thing we have to know before we go on to the rest of this story is that Balaam
the son of Beor was a prophet so Balaam would have daily been taught the law of
Moses since he was 12 years old. Knowing the Law of Moses he did not walk blindly into his error.This is an important point for us in this
time to remember because once God anointed a prophet it was never taken away so if the prophet speaks a word, God will act on that word.
Which is why This story is so severe.
Let’s go back to the Law of Moses, a prophet that dared to speak a word declaring it to be from God which God did not give him he would die.
Deuteronomy 18:15-22
New Living Translation
(NLT)
True and False Prophets
15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your
fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were
assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us
hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow
Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people
everything I command him. 19 I will personally deal
with anyone who will not listen to the messages the prophet proclaims
on my behalf. 20 But any prophet who
falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god
must die.’
21 “But you may wonder, ‘how will we know whether or not a prophecy is
from the Lord?’ 22 If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will
know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not
be feared.
Before this time Moses had already warned the people not to get involved
with the wicked customs of other nations.
(NLT) Deuteronomy 18:9-14 9 “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the (the spirits of those who are dead) dead. 12 For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD, and because of these abominations the LORD your God drives them out from before you. 13You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not appointed such for you.
The other thing is a word that came to pass was not necessarily a sign that what he had said was sent by God. Sometimes God tests us to see if we love Him with all of us. Just because someone comes up and says a word from god and it comes to pass if it doesn’t line up with the Word of God then we need to spiritual and mentally today stone it (put it to death) for God hates it.
(AMP) Deuteronomy 13 If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of
dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,
2 And the
sign or the wonder he foretells to you comes to pass, and if he says, Let us go
after other gods—gods you have not known—and let us serve them,
3 You shall
not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams. For the
Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with
all your [mind and] heart and with your entire being.
4 You shall
walk after the Lord your God and [reverently] fear Him, and keep His
commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and cling to Him.
5 But that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has talked
rebellion and turning away from the
Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of
the house of bondage; that man has tried to draw you aside from the way in
which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So shall you put the evil away
from your midst.
So the messengers went to Balaam. Balaam was by the Euphrates River with the Israelites.
King Balak will give you much gold for you if you agree!
Numbers 22:7The messengers said to Balaam, come, I beg of you, curse this people for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I may be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.
Even our enemies know the power we have when we speak, and he will do anything he can to stop us speaking what God gives us, or to pervert the words to sound like they come from God but are rather for our own agenda.
There are a series of things that happened here in Numbers 22:7 that would anger God.
First when the messengers came, Balaam entertained them. And then he invited them to spend the night. If we were to go back to the warning about inhabiting the Promised land and there pagan kings we would find they were warned to not even entertain them at all.
This wasn’t the first time that Balaam had entertained the nobles
of Moab,
because it says Balaam taught Balak how to trick the God of the Israelites. Then he accepted gifts from them and made
the biggest mistake of all, although he sounded all spiritual, he tells them I
will go and see if I can make God change
His mind and let me make this agreement with you.
Balaams arrogance made him believe that He
was of high enough standing with God, that God would actually break His own law
to bless Balaam. That he (Balaam) was so
important to God that God would want him to have all these presents that King
Balak had sent him. When we begin to think that our gifting or talent is so
vital to God that He would go against the truth to give us what we want, we are
then trying to do what satan did and put ourselves on God’s throne.
God
came to Balaam and said “who are these men with you?” That was the first time that Balaam should
have been really aware that he was out of the will of God, he should have felt
convicted knowing that these men didn’t belong here.
Balaam said to God,
"The king of Moab,
Balak son of Zippor, sent them to me with this message: 'A nation has come out
of Egypt
that covers the land. So come and put a curse on them, and maybe I can fight
them and force them out of my land.' “Balaam knew the law and ordinances that
God had given to Moses before they crossed into the Promised Land
Exodus 23: 32You shall make no covenant with them or
with their gods. 33They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me; for
if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.Balaam knew the word of the Lord that God’s children were not allow to permit these people to dwell or come into their camps, yet he still entertained them and thought He could change God’s law for his own profit. I will go so far as to say he thought he influenced God so much that God would change his mind just to lift Balaam up, and let Balaam share His glory. This is very similar to what Satan did in heaven. He said I will be like the most High I can do everything he can do and hey I’m so beautiful and I sit over God day after day I know how to be Him and I will make me a God just because I have such a closeness to Him. (Okay you will find that in Kim’s paraphrase only, but I think it is pretty factual) 1 Kimathy 1:1-10 (Just kidding) the story can really be found in Isaiah 14.
I think God is very merciful to Balaam here because I am sure I would have just knocked him out but God says “NO "Don't go with them. And don't curse the others—they are a blessed people."
So Balaam leaves God’s presence and goes to the messengers of Balak and says "Go back home; God refuses to give me permission to go with you." To me this sounds like a child going to his friends sulking saying mom says I can’t go, boo hoo.
King Balak sent another Group this time Nobles with high positions and much more distinguished to Balaam. Trying to speak to Balaam’s greed didn’t work so now they are going to boost his ego by trying to impress him by letting him hang with people of power, Celebrities. They also bring bigger and better presents with them to lavish gifts on Balaam “I will do anything I will pay anything you name it I will give it to you—only come and curse this people.
Balaam again disobeys
the law of God and sits and eats and drinks with them, and again he asks them
to stay while he goes back to God. Again
Balaam is showing the same arrogance he had the first time, but now he thinks
that God would want to give him so much power with the King of the Moabites, we
can only imagine his reasoning but today it might sound something like “Wow I
am sure God would want to give me an open door to speak into the lives of the
Moabites, I could have the chance to get great power and riches that would
benefit the House of God, maybe I could even be able to live in their palace
eat their food….. We today do the same thing with things like buying a lottery
ticket because if we win would could give money to a great work of God. Balaam sounds a little more righteous here,
saying, “Even if Balak gave me his house stuffed with silver and gold, I wouldn't
be able to defy the orders of my God, to
do anything, whether big or small. His actions however do not match the
impression of Godliness he is trying to portray Come along and stay with me
tonight as the others did; I'll see what God will
say to me this time."
When God came to Balaam that night I am sure that He was a little frustrated that Balaam wasn’t getting what he was doing that he was sinning and expecting God to do this thing. So God says “Okay Balaam these men have come from far away go ahead and go with them.” I think this is where God was hoping that Balaam would just clue into what he was doing. “But Balaam make sure you do nothing but what I tell you to do. I don’t know what Balaam was thinking but I think he had lied so much to himself that he didn’t think that God would be angry with him but rather he had indeed changed God mind.
When he went though we see that at that point God’s anger was ignited against Balaam. The Bible says the “Angel of the God (who is Jesus) stood to block his way.
Prophet
Balaam went along riding on his donkey put a feather in his cap
*opps wrong
story. Yet Balaam did just that he thought that this whole ordeal was a feather
in his cap that God was going to give him everything he wanted. So he set off
with the celebrities of Moab. Now the Angel of God was blocking the road
and Balaams donkey saw it.
Now Balaam was a watchman he was used to seeing the presence of God and he was used to seeing the spiritual realm and yet he had become unaware that he wasn’t able to see it any longer, this alone should have been a clue to Balaam but still he was too wrapped up in his own importance. All he could see now is his greed and pride coming to a place of importance. When the donkey saw the Angel of God blocking the road and having a sword in his hand she veered off the road into the ditch. Now God is so putting Balaam in his place, first he doesn’t see the angel his donkey saw it and second his donkey was a female. Women were not at that time in history considered to have a voice about the things of God. So both an animal and a woman have greater spiritual insight at this moment then Balaam.
Balaam did what anyone in sin, that thinks they are God themselves or that they are God most favored does, he got angry, he lashed out at what was closest to him.
He got his donkey back on the road and when they reached the vineyard with a fence on both sides the Donkey again sees the Angel of God standing with the sword and knocks Balaam into a fence crushing his foot and Balaam again beats the donkey.
Then a third time the Angel of God blocks
the way this time in a narrow place (between a rock and a hard place) and the
angel knock Balaam off and falls on top of him.
This time however God blows the final indignity to Balaam Instead of speaking
through the prophet and watchman he opens the mouth of the donkey (really at
least God could have chosen a big powerful stallion. After all Balaam was such
a great servant of God) the donkey says “What have I ever done to you that you
have beaten me these three times?”
Balaams deception here is pretty complete because he answers the donkey “You’re playing games with me, if I had a sword I would kill you right now.” Why doesn’t Balaam find it strange that he is talking to a donkey? Why doesn’t Balaam clue into the fact that maybe something else was going on here? Balaam is A WATCHMAN what’s the matter with him. Why doesn’t Balaam even give consideration to this being a spiritual problem he is no longer hearing the voice of God he is talking to his Donkey? Balaams donkey answers him Am I not your faithful and trusty donkey haven’t I always been obedient and faithful to you for years and years, right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Like how much clearer could God be why didn’t Balaam fall to the ground and repent right there realizing that everything in his life was out of sync?
He just said “no” Then God opened Balaams eyes and he saw God’s angel blocking the way with His sword over his head ready to behead Balaam. Now Balaam gets the point and falls on his face before God.
God's angel said to him: "Why have you beaten your poor donkey these three times? I have come here to block your way because you're getting way ahead of yourself. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she hadn't, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey. I would have let her off."Poor Balaam is now shown just how high he is ranked to God. God would have killed Balaam and spared the donkey that did see God standing there. Balaam suffered humility to first have God speak to him by a female donkey and then He says He would have killed Balaam and spared the donkey.
It seems that pride does come before a fall, at least for Balaam. So after all that Balaam repents and says “If it you don’t like what I am doing I will go back. I think I can hear God give a big sigh here, me I would have said “duh ya think
*Kim’s side note: that is why it is good that I am not God.
God patiently answers with a step of accountability for
Balaam, Go ahead and go with them, only say what I tell you to say and nothing
else!” Balaams heart was probably full of dread at having to go with
Balak’s nobles knowing that God was not going to allow what Balaam to speak what he had giving
the impression he would. So Balaam continued to go with Balak's nobles. When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he
went out to meet him in the Moabite town that was on the banks of the Arnon, right
on the boundary of his land.
Balak said to Balaam,
"Didn't I send an urgent message for help? Why didn't you come when I called? This statement maybe more then
any other shows that Balaam had entertained the King and his noblemen on more
then this incidence because the King of Moab expected him to come when he
called. Do you think I can't pay you enough?" This time I don’t think that
money seemed like such a good thing I think Balaam finally saw that it might be
his destruction
I WILL SAVE THE REST OF THE STORY FOR ANOTHER DAY. THIS REALLY IS WHAT YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND FOR THE NEXT LESSON IN STRATEGIC BATTLES IN THE BIBLE
No comments:
Post a Comment