Unforgettable Characters #1 and #2 By Lloyd Anderson
Lloyd Anderson:
We're beginning today a series of studies on the subject of the unforgettable characters of the word of God and certainly all of these unforgettable characters of God's word have an unforgettable truth for today. I'm sure we recognize that God has given us the messages of various people in the word of God in order that we might profit thereby and realize that the Lord is seeking to teach us a great deal when he gives us these stories of men and women, who across the years of biblical history, have either been a tremendous help, or who have been evil in the sight of the Lord, and they have been given for our spiritual profit. Now, today, we're going to begin our series, which goes through December and January and February, and we're going to begin with Numbers chapter 22. And if you have your Bibles, would you turn to the 22nd chapter of the book of Numbers? And I'd like to read just a few verses, beginning with verse 1.
"And the children of Israel set forward and pitched in the plains of Moab. On this side, Jordan by
Jericho. And Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Emirates. And Moab was so afraid of the people, because they were many, and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, 'Now shall this company lick up all that around about us as the ox licketh up the grass of the field.' And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam, the son of Beor to
Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him saying,
'Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt. Behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me. Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they are Anderson: Unforgettable Characters #1 and #2
too mighty for me. Peradventure, I shall prevail, that we may smite them. That I may drive them
out of the land for i--what, that he whom thou blessed is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.' And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand, and they came on to Balaam and spake under him the words of Balak. And he said
them to them, 'Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak
unto me.' And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam. And God came on to Balaam and said,
'What men are these with thee?' And Balaam said unto God, 'Balak, the son of Zippor, the King of Moab, hath sent unto me saying, 'Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt which covers
the face of the earth. Come now, curse me them. Peradventure, I shall be able to overcome them
and drive them out.'' And God said, 'Unto Balaam, thou shall not go with them. Thou shalt not
curse Israel, for they are blessed.' And Balaam rose up in the morning and said unto the princes
of Balak, 'Get you into your land, for the Lord refuses to give me leave to go with you.' And the
princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak and said, 'Balaam refuseth to come with us,
and Balak sent yet another princes, more and more honorable than they. And they come to
Balaam and said unto him,
'Thus, saith Balak, the son of Zippor, let nothing I pray thee hinder thee from coming unto me,
for I will promote the young to very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me.
Come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people. And Balaam answered and said unto the
servants of Balak, 'If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond
the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here
this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.' And God came unto Balaam at
night and said unto him, 'If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them. And yet the
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word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.' And Balaam rose up in the morning and
saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab, and God's anger was kindled because he
went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was
riding upon his donkey, and his two servants were with him. And the donkey saw the angel of
the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand, and the donkey turned aside out
of the way and went into the field. And Balaam smote the donkey to turn her into the way. But
the angel of the Lord stood on the path of the vineyards. A wall being on this side, and a wall on
that side. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall and
crushed Balaam's foot against the wall, and he hit her again. And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood on the narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, the donkey fell down under Balaam,
and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with a stick.
And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said unto Balaam, 'What have I done
unto thee? What hast thou smitten me these three times?' And Balaam said unto the donkey,
'Because thou hast mocked me, I would there were a sword in mine hand for now would I kill
thee.' And the donkey said unto Balaam his master, 'Am I not thine donkey upon which thou hast
ridden ever since I was thine until this day, was I ever want to do so unto thee?' And he said 'No.'
And the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way,
and his sword drawn in his hand, and he bowed down his head and fell flat on his face." Now, in
the study that we have before us today, the story of Balaam and his disobedience before the
Lord, we're going to learn from the biography of Balaam, the consequences of covetousness, and
the consequences of disobedience to the Commandments of the Lord, and to warn the Christian
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Anderson: Unforgettable Characters #1 and #2 against the danger of a divided loyalty such as was characteristic of Balaam in the book of
Numbers chapter 22. Now, Bible biographies describe people who were subject to our feelings and temptations. James 5:17 and First Corinthians 10:13 echo again and again in the New
Testament that God sent them messages of people who lived in the Old Testament day, in order to be spiritually profitable to the in the New Testament hour. Now their problems and decisions were recorded for your benefit and mine, according to First Corinthians chapter 10 and verse eleven. You remember that Balaam was a hireling prophet, and he's alit-an illustration of the truth, according to James one and verse eight, that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
You see, he was a man of contradictions who attempted to serve two masters: wanting wealth and honor from Balak, as well as the approval of the Lord on the other hand. Now this strange man, Balaam said with his lips, 'Let me die the death of the righteous. And let my last end be like this.' Numbers 23:10. While down deep in his own heart, he loved the wages of unrighteousness, and the love of money and covetousness was his besetting sin. And he could not say with the apostle Paul in the New Testament in Acts 20 in verse 33, 'I have coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel.' Now I think we need to realize in the scripture we read to you just a few minutes ago, in verses 1 to 22 of Numbers chapter 22, that you have the picture of a disobedient prophet. And his name was Balaam. You see, Balaam was a soothsayer. He was from Pethor of Mesopotamia, and he lived near the river Euphrates, over where Iran and Iraq are at the present time in geography. He had some knowledge of God, but how he received it, the Bible doesn't tell us.
When Israel camped in the plains of Moab on the eastern side of the Jordan River, you remember that Balak, the king of Moab, sent for the Prophet Balaam. He evidently had a reputation for
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Anderson: Unforgettable Characters #1 and #2 great ability to cast a spell or a curse by enchantment or divination, according to Numbers 22 verses 6 and 7. And we read that to you just a moment ago. The fact that he sought for enchantments proves that he was not a true prophet of God, as we understand, a true prophet ought to be. According to chapter 24, and when Balaam saw in verse 1 that it please the Lord to bless Israel, he went not as at other times to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
Now the same Hebrew word used for Balaam's power, quesem, is used when King Saul, you remember, requested of the Witch of Endor in First Samuel 28 and verse 8, "I pray thee divine," there is the word, "unto me by the familiar spirit." So you see, this man Balaam was simply a soothsayer, or a man of enchantments, or a man who could conjure up a curse or a blessing as many of the Spiritism people could today. Enchantment and divination were under the condemnation of God, as abominations, and the Lord said "You will not do these things", the things that Balaam was living to do. Jamison Fosset and Brown, which is a wonderful Bible commentary and Encyclopedia, refer to this custom and they stat, "Among the heathen people of the world of that day, and opinion prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen powers, as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or a priest, and accompanied by the use of certain rights." Now, in the Burmese war, we're told, magicians were employed by the Burmese and by the enemy to curse British troops. Now, that's interesting. With a similar motive, you see, King Balak of the Moabites sent messengers with money and promises to buy Balaam's power to curse the children of Israel, according to Numbers 22 in verse 5 that we read to you just a moment ago. Now notice his dilemma in Numbers 22, in verse 20, as we
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seek to understand this lesson that God would have us to see that we must not have a double
loyalty, and we must not be filled with covetousness and envy for silver and gold of this world.
Now, in verse 7 of Numbers 22, it says, "And they came on to Balaam and spake unto him the
words of Balak." You see, Balaam was in a position then to profit from being a prophet. But to
collect the reward, he was compelled to curse the people of Israel. But Balaam went to the Lord
that night for permission, after Balak had counted and talked to him about it, and God said, "You
will not curse my people, Israel." And although this man Balaam was a gentile from over in the
land of Iran or Iraq, he evidently feared the Lord, and he often sought His guidance, even though
he didn't fully understand about the Lord. The Lord's command to Balaam was very definite and
very direct in Numbers 22:12, "Thou shall not go with Balak, the King of Moab, and curse the
people of Israel." You see, Balaam was commanded to remain at home and refuse the request.
The message could not be misunderstood. The Lord also declared in Genesis 12, verses 1 and
3,"Thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed." You see, God will not permit a curse to
be placed upon his people because they're under the protection of His eternal promises to
Abraham. Balaam sent Balak's messengers home, and his first temptation was successfully
overcome as Balak's, gold was refused by Balaam. However, he did not tell the messengers why
the Lord had refused to permit him to go. He did not tell them that Israel was blessed. His reply
was very subtly intimating his own willingness and desire to go if permitted. And so Balaam said, you remember, "For the Lord refuses to give me permission to go with you," he said to the
King of Moab.
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The messengers from him in turn did not tell Balak all that Balaam had said. Their only report
was that Balaam refuses to come with us. That is, to curse the people of Israel. So Balak, the
king of Moab, who wanted Israel cursed as a people, decided to increase the rewards of
divination, and soothsaying, and enchantment, and cursing to this man Balaam. And he sent men
with more prestige and unlimited promises. According to Numbers chapter 22 verses fifteen to
seventeen. And Balak offered Balaam the opportunity to name his own price, and Balak's reply
should express the attitude and the practice of God's servant. Now this man, Balaam, gave him a
real reply. He said "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond
the word of the Lord my God, to do less or even more," Numbers 22 and verse 18. Now you see
Balaam, like Peter here, claimed the greatest degree of devotion just before he fell into sin. Now,
Balaam committed a very serious sin, and it's about Balaam that we're studying in this-these first two studies. He went to the Lord the second time with the same request, which he now knew was contrary to God's command, and Balaam ask God for permission to disobey for financial gain.
And such selfish prayers are described and condemned by the Book of James in chapter four and verse 3. "Ye ask amiss that ye may consume it upon your own lusts." Now this gives emphasis to the motive. Because you ask with a wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Now, Balaam's heart was wavering between obedience to God and his love for gold and silver.
The decision had to be made as to whom he would serve: God or Mammon. And when he asked the Lord the second time if he could curse Israel for Balak, the Lord permitted him to go where his covetous heart was drawing. But with words of solemn warning, God warned him, He said,
"Don't curse my people, Israel." And when a man is determined, my friend, to have his own way, the time comes when God no longer hinders, even though He does not approve. And you settle
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Anderson: Unforgettable Characters #1 and #2 for disobedience instead of God's will. And many people have done that in their Christian lives even. Balaam is a perfect portrait of the modern man who loves money and will crucify his conscience in order to get it. Well, in our next study together, we're going to be looking a little more at Balaam, whose biography in the Old Testament is a real lesson to you and me who live on this side of the cross of Jesus Christ.
[Shuffling papers, then silence]
Beginning with this month of December and running through the month of February, we're going to be looking together at some of the unforgettable characters of the word of God, men who have a lesson for us as far as their lives are concerned. You know, you can study the pages of the Old
Testament as well as the new. And you and I can spiritually profit by what we see happening in the lives of those who appear in the Bible. We're going to be looking at people as we already have, like Balaam, and Josiah, the King Over God's People, Haman, Solomon, Jehoiachin, we're going to be looking at the Virgin Mary. We're going to be looking at the brother of the prodigal son. We're going to be looking at the Apostle Peter. We're going to be looking at Elimas, and
Lydia, and Hymenaeus, and Diotraphes, and we're going to be looking together at Mary
Magdalene. And these will be tremendous studies, my radio friend, as we look at them together before the Lord with the recognition that God understands and the Lord knows exactly what is going on. And in our last study together, we took a look at a man who appears on the pages of the Old Testament, whose name is Balaam. You remember Balaam was a prophet, not a Jew, and he wasn't one of God's prophets, as we understand the office of a Prophet. But instead he was an individual who was employed by the heathen kings, the king of Moab, Balak, in order to curse
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Anderson: Unforgettable Characters #1 and #2 the people of Israel. You remember Israel had come into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, and God was going to bless His own people according to His own promise. And this man, Balak, the king of the Moabites, wanted Israel cursed as a people, and he employs this prophet Balaam to do it.
And you remember Balaam went into the presence of the Lord, we'll have to give him credit for that, and God says, "You shall not curse My people, Israel." And the result is the problem that we have arising in his life. Now, we're going to be coming to that study in just a moment after we look to the Lord in prayer. But let me share with you just this passing thought before we pray.
Beginning June 12 from New York City, we're going to be leading a tour to the Holy Land next summer. And I hope that a goodly number of you will see the fulfillment of your own dreams on that tour, and that you can come with us and be a part of the tour that goes into the Middle East and to Israel. We shall be leaving New York City on June 12th. We shall be in the city of Rome with all of its history, a tremendous place. We shall go over to Greece and see the city of
Corinth, you remember, where Paul addressed himself and the letters First and Second
Corinthians. We're going to see Athens. We're going to see that tremendous Mars Hill where the apostle Paul preached and spoke. And then we're going down into the land of Egypt, which if you have never seen, you have missed a great deal because Egypt must be seen and studied in order to get a better background for your understanding of the word of God. Then we go to the island of Cyprus, and there we see much of the history of the church and all that went on. You remember Paul was there. And then we go into Israel, and we have a tremendous time in Israel of a number of days, an in-depth study and travel through Israel. Then we go up to the land of
Turkey and we see some of the cities of the churches of the Book of Revelation.
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We go to Ephesus, we see where the apostle John traditionally was buried, where the Virgin
Mary lived for a while. And then we go up to the city of Vienna, Austria. And from there we come back to New York again on the 3rd of July, just three weeks. It'll be a blessing to you, my friend, if you can go and we'd like to have you get in touch with us if you're interested in going to the Holy Land with us this next summer. I have been there now about seven times, and I really feel that I can be of some help to you in understanding your Bible a little bit better as we go to
the Middle East and to that part of the world and particularly Israel, as we move out for Him.
Our heavenly Father, we thank Thee and praise Thee for the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask Thy
blessing upon Thy word to our hearts, and may we profit by what we see in the life of this man,
Balaam. We ask our Father as we prepare and share with our friends this radio broadcast today,
that Thou will be with each one, with his own problem and with his own blessing. For we ask it
in Jesus' name and for His sake, amen. As I said, we looked at Balaam, you remember, from
Numbers chapter 22 in our last study together as we move into this biblical series of studies on
the unforgettable characters of the Word of God, with a prayer that what we see in their lives
may be helpful to you and me. Now, you remember that Balaam, this prophet who was not a Jew
and who was not a prophet in the sense of the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament, was
employed by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the people of Israel. Now, the reason for that was
that the king of Moab saw that Israel was beginning to capture and conquer the land of Israel,
and he did not want them to overrun his land, and so he wanted the people cursed, and he
employed Balaam to do it.
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Now this man Balaam, you remember, made a number of mistakes because of his coveting gold and silver. He was a man with a double loyalty. And so he had a great dilemma, because God told him he could not curse the people of Israel, and he wanted to do it so badly for the gold and silver that were offered him by Balak, the king of the Moabites, but to no avail. And so he had
disobeyed the Lord, in verses 21 and 22 of the book of Numbers, chapter 22. Now notice that if
you have your Bibles open to the book of Numbers, chapter 22, verses 21 and 22, "And Balaam
rose up in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. And God's
anger was kindled because he went, and the Angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary
against him. And now he was riding upon his donkey, and his two servants were with him."
Now, this is an interesting word because we find here that God's anger is aroused against
Balaam, and Balaam is disobedient to the Lord. You see, Balaam's envying and covetousness for
money and prestige led him into gross disobedience to the Lord. As the Book of Jude, in the New
Testament, describes the characteristics of evil men in the early church, he compares them with
Balaam, you remember, in Jude verse 11, "And they run greedily after the error of Balaam for
reward." Now this man's eagerness is obvious. The Lord had not given an unconditional
permission to go, but said, "If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them." But he did
not even wait to be called, you see. Now this deliberate sin of disobedience and rebellion against
the Lord's will was as serious in the sight of God as witchcraft and idolatry.
You remember Samuel the Prophet told King Saul in First Kings fifteen--or Samuel-First Samuel
fifteen and verse 22, "Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and a Harkin than the fat of lambs."
Neither works nor worship will substitute for keeping God's commandments. Even our love for
Jesus Christ is measured by our obedience unto Him. You remember Jesus spoke of that in the
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Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 15 to 24. And in the book of Second John in verse 6, you have
Him telling us that He wants us to be obedient, and therefore we prove that we really love Him.
Now, Balaam's decision to disobey God, as described by Peter, has the madness of the Prophet, in Second, Peter 2, in verse 16. Kenneth Wust translates the word madness, in Second Peter 2:16 as insanity. The mind, you see, can become so dominated by the love of money, and this is true of many people, that the thought processes become unbalanced. And Balaam became what is commonly called money crazy. Our materialistic age in which you and I happened to be living, and my friend this is why this message on Balaam is so apropos for our day, we're so materialistic in our thinking. We want money and we want position and we want prestige. And
God says if you're not careful, these things will take the place of the Lord in your life. Now our materialistic age is cursed with the sins of both Balak and Balaam. Money, and property, and personal possessions are not evil in themselves, but the attitude toward them can be. Now Balak the King of Moab sinned against the Lord, you remember, because he offered a reward for an evil act, and Balaam was guilty for his willingness to accept it.
Now such sin will arouse God's anger. And so we read and Numbers 22 and 22, "And God's anger was kindled against Balaam because he went." Now God's anger was especially aroused because of the intent of the journey of Balaam. God's people are the apple of His own eye, I mean Israel. And God will not change His attitude toward Israel. Balaam later on told Balak, the king of the Moabites on Mount Pisgah, "God is not a man that He should lie. Neither the son of man that He should ever repent." Now he was absolutely disobedient to the Lord. And then you remember in Numbers chapter 22 verses 23 to 35, you have the donkey that he rode on being disobedient as well. So you see, God became literally the adversary of Balaam, because Balaam
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was determined to curse Israel and God said, you will not do it. The Angel of the Lord who stood
in the way of the donkey moving along with Balaam on his back, was one of the revelations of
God in the Old Testament in angelic form. That the Angel of the Lord was God is revealed in
Exodus chapter 3 verses 2 to 6. You have the story of the burning bush, you remember, and
Moses and verse 4 of Exodus 3, "And God called unto him out of the midst of the bush." Now
there you have one of the revelations or manifestations of God in the Old Testament. Now, three
times Balaam's, donkey saved his life. First she went to the side into the field. Secondly, she thrust herself against the wall of a vineyard, crushing his foot. And finally, she fell down under
Balaam. Now the wayward prophet, because he didn't know what was really happening to the donkey, and that the donkey saw the angel standing in the road blocking their way, thought that he was riding a very disobedient and willful donkey. And so he became angry with his beast of burden, the Donkey, in Numbers, chapter 22, beginning with verse 23. Now the evil results of anger are illustrated by Balaam's actions.
His character was revealed by the circumstances, three times he beats the donkey, the third time with his staff, showing his cruelty to the supposedly dumb animal. He was not a patient man.
Balaam's anger was kindled at the donkey, even as God's anger had been kindled at him. But it was a different kind of anger. Balaam had a human anger, but God's anger was the anger of God.
Balaam was a man controlled by emotions, and usually those who are convicted by their own
conscience of sin are the most likely to explode in unreasonable anger. You've done that, and so
have I. David's anger, you remember, at the man in Nathan's story is one example of this.
Another one is Jonah having anger when the worm killed the vine that gave him shade. David
was more concerned over the life of a lamb than even a man. And Jonah cared more for a vine
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than he did for the thousands of people in Nineveh where God told him to preach, and get these
people to God. Now, Balaam was far more disturbed over the donkey's disobedience than he was over his own disobedience. Men's angry guilt still beat on the donkey and blindly continue their course in the mid-20th century. Man has not changed basically at all. Solomon concluded, you remember in Ecclesiastes 7 and verse 9, that ungodly anger resteth in the bosom of a fool. Then you remember the prophet was rebuked by the Lord in Numbers, chapter 22, beginning with verse 30. And the dialogue that you read about there between God and Balaam must be accepted
literally. This was no vision or imagination, as some people would like to tell us. The testimony
of the New Testament fully justifies that in Second Peter, chapter two and in verse 16, "And
Balaam was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb donkey, speaking with the man's voice, forbade
the madness of the prophet."
Now the Apostle Peter mentions the story from the book of Numbers as an historical fact, and
not as fiction or myth, or even imagination. Now, why should we try to deny the miracle of a
donkey speaking? This was a normal donkey which was unable to speak man's language by
nature. But God performed a miracle and allowed the donkey to speak. The inarticulate animal
spoke in a human voice. Now, let us not forget that God allowed this to take place and it was a real rebuke, and a real miracle that the donkey spoke to him. The rebukes were given to impress upon Balaam's mind that he dared speak only God's word, and he must not curse the people of
Israel and be disobedient to the Lord, but he must do what God wanted him to do. And the memory of the angel with a sword was undoubtedly fresh upon his mind, when he answered
Balak's complaint, "Lo, I am come unto thee. Have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that God puteth in my mouth, that shall I speak." And so as Balaam went with Balak, the
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King of Moab the next day, to offer sacrifices on the high places of the false gods. It must have been with mingled emotions that he went. He had learned the fear of the true God. Yet he was possessed by the love of money, and it was the love of material things that drove him on. Poor
Balaam, in trying to gain God's blessing and gold, he lost both of them. Yes, the biography of
Balaam is recorded as a warning to everybody who would allow covetousness to dominate their lives and bring disobedience to the commandments of the Lord. Love of money and love for God cannot both occupy the same place in a man's life. And so the lesson, the unforgettable character we call Balaam. And what a tremendous study this really is.
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