Balaam has to be one of the most confusing people we meet in all of the Scriptures. He certainly knew a lot about God – in fact, he called God by His covenant name (22:8, see Exodus 3:14-16). And he insisted that he would only speak the words the Lord revealed to him (Numbers 22:38; 23:12, 26. He even called the Lord “my God,” and swore that he could not do anything contrary to God’s commands (Numbers 22:18).

And yet, he was not an Israelite, one of God’s covenant people. Instead, he was an inhabitant of Pethor, in what we now know as northern Syria. And he seems to have been well-known as a seer, someone who used omens to make contact with the supernatural realm and thus predict the future (see Numbers 24:1). So when a Moabite king was willing to send messengers some 400 miles in order to summon him, we have to conclude that Balaam had made a practice of renting his considerable powers of perception to the highest bidder.

Yes, Balaam was a study in contrasts. On the one hand, he knew a lot about God, and was even able to proclaim God’s word quite accurately. And yet he hadn’t determined to live exclusively for God’s glory. Perhaps that’s why God sent both an angel and a donkey to remind him that he was nothing more than God’s mouthpiece. For even though he insisted that God would bless the Israelites regardless of what their enemies might try to do to them, Balaam eventually chose the wrong side. He counseled the Moabites to seduce the men of Israel, enticing them to worship and serve the gods of Moab (Numbers 25:1-3; 31:16).

So, what can we modern Presbyterians learn from Balaaam? In the first place, that mere theological orthodoxy is no guarantee of anyone’s faith, as the history of far too many of our own colleges, seminaries and even denominations can attest. But we can also learn that God was able to use Balaam in spite of his bad intentions. For even though Balaam didn’t end up believing the words of his own prophecy, those words nevertheless proved to be true. For God was indeed with Israel (Numbers 23:21). And just as the Lord brought His people out of Egypt, He did in fact give them victory over all their enemies (Numbers 24:8), even over the Moabites themselves in the days of King David (II Samuel 8:2).

So, will we settle simply for knowing a lot about God? Or will we bow before our Lord and King, giving ourselves completely to the One Who has given Himself for us?

Numbers 24:1-9 (NASB)

When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;
4 The oracle of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,
5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 “Like valleys that stretch out, Like gardens beside the river, Like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters.
7 “Water shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 “God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He shall devour the nations who are his adversaries, And shall crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows.
9 “He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.”