Numbers 22:3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many. How the tables have turned. When the Israelites were here previously, they were terrified of the inhabitants of the land.
Numbers 22:6 For I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed and he whom thou cursest is cursed. This is a really interesting way to describe Balaam. He was a man who had the ability to bless and curse. What do we know about him, really, though? Apparently he actually spoke with God. Several versions of the old testament apparently translate his people as Ammon. Apparently in Hebrew literature, he is one of seven Gentile prophets (others included Job and his friends, and Balaam's father, Beor). They also have a folklore story about him that indicates that when God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses, the earth shook and the kings asked Balaam what it was and he told them that it was God's voice giving the law to the Israelites.
I like the story of Balaam. He is invited twice to go curse someone and the Lord says, "no" both times, but on the second time, indicates that a third invitation should be answered. Perhaps he was too eager, perhaps he just assumed it would come, perhaps he was just greedy, but he went before the third invitation was issued.
On the way, the angel stands before him with a drawn sword and his donkey saves his life 3 times and is yelled and and beaten for it. Then comes the exciting part of the story. The donkey starts talking. Oddly, the donkey has great logic, and what he says reminds me of the professor in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He asks Balaam if he has been a bad donkey up to this point in his life, to which Balaam is forced to answer, "Um, no. In fact, this is completely out of character for you." And the donkey is thinking, "No, saving your sorry neck is completely in character for me, so why don't you stop beating me for being a good donkey?"
Most people seem to think that the donkey probably didn't actually speak, but rather, Balaam had some kind of spiritually guided internal dialogue where he or the spirit filled in the voice of the donkey. I like the idea that the donkey is perfectly capable of frustration, logical reason, and a clear understanding of loyalty, and that if God permits, he is also perfectly capable of expressing that verbally. It makes me consider the role of animals in creation, and my own treatment of them.
So, Balaam goes up and from 3 different locations is instructed to curse the Israelites but from all three, he blesses them. Balak (the king who called him) gets more and more frustrated with him, and finally they both just go home. However, at some point in their conversation, he apparently advised him that the way to overcome the Israelites is not to fight them, but to seduce them away from Jehovah (see Numbers 31:16 and Revelation 2:14). It is for that piece of advice that he is listed among the false prophets and teachers by Peter, John, and Jude in the new Testament, who was motivated by greed.
It's still an odd story, though, and if you didn't continue on to chapter 31 or the New Testament, you might be left wondering what was wrong with Balaam. The thing that I don't get, is if he was doing the wrong things, why was he receptive to the word of the Lord anyway? What exactly was his authority and how was he receiving revelation regarding the inhabitants of the promised land if he was a false teacher? Can a person enjoy a spiritual gift like revelation or prophesy if they are using it to amass personal wealth? If they can't, why did the Lord clearly speak to Balaam repeatedly in this story?
I read an interesting article comparing Balaam's interaction with his donkey to marriage: Balaam to the husband and the donkey to the wife. You have an impatient, greedy inconsiderate husband who jumps to conclusions about the wife--assumptions completely inconsistent with his interaction with his wife, saying that when we do not understand why our wives are doing or saying something, we should immediately jump to the conclusion that they have a really great and solid reason for doing or saying what they did, rather than assume they are suddenly acting out of character with all the loyalty and love they have demonstrated in the past.
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