Balaam the Prophet

Balaam the Prophet

An Ass and a Soothsayer
 Pastor,
do you mean
this Bible story?
 Yes!
But there is more
to the story than
a talking donkey.
 Balaam’s folly.
Great prophecies.
Balaam’s tactics.
Excellent lessons.
Let’s start with Israel as
they got near Canaan,
the promised land.
Moab was afraid of
Israel and did not
know what to do.
We need to learn
about two men:
Balak & Balaam.
Balak, king of Moab,
was terrified by Israel
after they destroyed
the nearby Amorites.
 Balaam was a false
prophet that used
sorcery and witchcraft
to bless or curse men.
Balak, king of Moab,
offered to honor
and pay Balaam
to curse Israel.
Balaam is found
in eight books
of the Bible.
 The main record
is three chapters,
Numbers 22-24.
 Baalpeor is in
at least another
three books.
 11 books
of the Bible!
Three Words to Learn about Balaam
• Divination: Trying to foretell the future by
use of sorcery or witchcraft (Numbers 22:7).

• Enchantments: Use of sorcery or magic to

bewitch or curse or give powers (Numbers 24:1).

• Soothsayer: A person that tries to predict or

foretell the future; prognosticator (Josh 13:22).

• The Bible clearly condemns all three as sins.

Did God talk
to this false
prophet?
Only when He
wanted to use
Balaam for His
own glory!
Like when God
used Satan to
test Job.
Like when God
used Caiaphas
to honor Jesus.
 Other such persons in
the Bible are Pharaoh’s
magicians, Simon the
sorcerer, the damsel of
Philippi, and so forth.
 Balaam obeyed
God at first, then
compromised.
 When Balak
asked him again,
Balaam listened.
Balaam loved
money and
wanted to go.
 God let him go
but showed His
anger at Balaam.
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and
are gone astray, following the way of Balaam
the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of
unrighteousness;

II Peter 2:15-16
Ass = Donkey
Balaam Rode His Ass to Curse Israel
• The ass saw God’s angel standing in the way.

• The ass left the road and went into a field.

• Balaam hit his ass for leaving the road.

• The ass crushed Balaam’s foot against a wall.

• Balaam hit his ass again for crushing his foot.

Balaam Rode His Ass to Curse Israel
• The ass then fell down to avoid the angel.

• Balaam smote his ass again for falling down.

• Then God gave the ass the ability to talk.

• The following donkey talk truly took place.

• The donkey could talk … and he could count!

 The Ass Said:

What have I done unto

thee, that thou hast
smitten me these
three times?
 Balaam Said:

Because thou hast

mocked me: I would
there were a sword in
mine hand, for now
would I kill thee.
 The Ass Said:

Am not I thine ass,

upon which thou hast
ridden ever since I was
thine unto this day?
 The Ass Said:

Was I ever wont to do

so unto thee?
Balaam Said:

Nay.
 The Angel Said:

Wherefore hast thou

smitten thine ass
these three times?
 The Angel Said:

Unless she had turned

from me, surely now
also I had slain thee,
and saved her alive.
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and
are gone astray, following the way of Balaam
the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of
unrighteousness;
16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the
dumb ass speaking with man’s voice forbad
the madness of the prophet.
II Peter 2:15-16
 God let Balaam
go … but told him
he could only
speak His words.
 Balak took
Balaam to high
mountains to see
the Israelites.
 Balak offered
many sacrifices
to help Balaam.
 Balaam’s
“curse” #1
of Israel
And he took up his parable, and said, Balak
the king of Moab hath brought me from
Aram, out of the mountains of the east,
saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come,
defy Israel.
Numbers 23:7
We need not fear
kings, for our God
overthrows their
diabolical plans.
How shall I curse, whom God hath not
cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD
hath not defied?
Number 23:8
Balak should have
stopped Balaam
then and there!
It was only going to get
worse for the wicked
king of Moab.
Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the
number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me
die the death of the righteous, and let my last
end be like his!
Number 23:10
You can count on these
blessings of God as His
beloved N.T. people.
 Balaam’s
“curse” #2
of Israel
Behold, I have received commandment to
bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot
reverse it.
Number 23:20
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither
hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD
his God is with him, and the shout of a king is
among them.
Number 23:21
 Consider how God
viewed Israel and us
in His great mercy.
God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it
were the strength of an unicorn.
Number 23:22
Egypt was far greater
than Moab, but God
saved Israel anyway.
Behold, the people shall rise up as a great
lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he
shall not lie down until he eat of the prey,
and drink the blood of the slain.
Number 23:24
 Balaam’s
“curse” #3
of Israel
How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy
tabernacles, O Israel!
Number 24:5
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath
as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall
eat up the nations his enemies, and shall
break their bones, and pierce them through
with his arrows.
Number 24:8
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a
great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is
he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that
curseth thee.
Number 24:9
Not only was Israel
now blessed … but
Moab was cursed!
 Balaam’s
“curse” #4
of Israel
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold
him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out
of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
and shall smite the corners of Moab, and
destroy all the children of Sheth.
Number 24:17
This glorious prophecy
is not far behind Job’s
redeemer, is it?
Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have
dominion, and shall destroy him that
remaineth of the city.
Number 24:19
And he took up his parable, and said, Alas,
who shall live when God doeth this!
Number 24:23
This powerful warning
applies to prophecies
of world history.
And ships shall come from the coast of
Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall
afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
Number 24:24
This prophecy extends
to the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
And beyond 70 A.D. to
the destruction of
Rome in 476 A.D.
 The Star of Jacob
and Scepter of Israel
overthrew all these
nations for His
kingdom!
Glory to God!
Balaam could
not curse
Israel!
What could he
do to have a
payday?
Balaam could not curse
Israel to get money
from Balak, so he came
up with another idea.
 Balaam told Balak for
Moab’s women to have
sex with Israel’s men …
then God would
curse Israel.
 Baalpeor was
Baal sex worship
on mount Peor.
 There should be no
question about the
character of Balaam.
This was heinous
advice from
Balaam.
Balaam’s history is in
Numbers 22-24.
Who’s history is in
Numbers 25?
1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people
began to commit whoredom with the
daughters of Moab.
3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor:
and the anger of the LORD was kindled
against Israel.
Number 25:1,3
7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the
son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up
from among the congregation, and took a
javelin in his hand;
8 And he went after the man of Israel into
the tent, and thrust both of them through,
the man of Israel, and the woman through
her belly. So the plague was stayed from the
children of Israel.
Number 25:7-8
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye
saved all the women alive?
16 Behold, these caused the children of
Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to
commit trespass against the LORD in the
matter of Peor, and there was a plague
among the congregation of the LORD.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the
little ones, and kill every woman that hath
known man by lying with him.
Number 31:15-17
Your eyes have seen what the LORD did
because of Baalpeor: for all the men that
followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath
destroyed them from among you.
Deuteronomy 4:3
I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I
saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree
at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor,
and separated themselves unto that shame;
and their abominations were according as
they loved.
Hosea 9:10
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of
them committed, and fell in one day three
and twenty thousand.
I Corinthians 10:8
But I have a few things against thee, because
thou hast there them that hold the doctrine
of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a
stumblingblock before the children of Israel,
to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to
commit fornication.
Revelation 2:14
What happened
to Balaam?
God killed him in
battle with Israel.
And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the
rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and
Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings
of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they
slew with the sword.
Numbers 31:8
Excellent lessons
from the history
of Balaam.
 Lesson #1:
Confederacy or
conspiracy cannot
work against God.
9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye
shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye
of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall
be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye
shall be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, and it shall come
to nought; speak the word, and it shall not
stand: for God is with us.
Isaiah 8:9-10
 Lesson #2:
Your God can alter the
mind, eyes, or mouth
of man and beast.
 Lesson #3:
Kings in conspiracy
with devilish men
cannot hurt us.
 Lesson #4:
Regardless of enemies,
God’s great love for His
people wins the day.
4 Because they met you not with bread and
with water in the way, when ye came forth
out of Egypt; and because they hired against
thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of
Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
5 Nevertheless the LORD thy God would not
hearken unto Balaam; but the LORD thy God
turned the curse into a blessing unto thee,
because the LORD thy God loved thee.
Deuteronomy 23:4-5
 Lesson #5:
God may allow you to
do something sinful to
ruin your own life.
13 They soon forgat his works; they waited
not for his counsel:
14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
and tempted God in the desert.
15 And he gave them their request; but sent
leanness into their soul.
Psalm 106:13-15
 Lesson #6:
When you know a
thing is right,
follow it,
now!
 Lesson #7:
The love of money is
the root of all evil, as
Balaam proved.
For the love of money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after, they have
erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.
I Timothy 6:10
 Lesson #8:
Ministers must be
found and ordained
that are not greedy
of filthy lucre.
3 Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of
filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not
covetous …
8 Likewise must the deacons be grave, not
doubletongued, not given to much wine, not
greedy of filthy lucre;
I Timothy 3:3-8
 Lesson #9:
World history is …
Alas, Who shall live
when God doeth this!
 Lesson #10:
When you obey God,
mark your calendar …
What hath God
wrought!
 Lesson #11:
God can protect you
from enemies beyond
your power to resist,
like Balaam.
 Lesson #12:
When overt witchcraft
will not work by God’s
protection … sexual
sins will destroy.
 Lesson #13:
God, Phinehas, and
Moses show the godly
response to sexual sins
like fornication.
 Lesson #14:
Carnal Christianity is a
greater threat than
Ouija boards or
idolatry.
 Lesson #15:
The righteous die
better with a more
glorious end than the
world can imagine.
 Lesson #16:
Jesus is King of kings …
King of nations …
King of Satan …
Lord of your body!
A prophecy of
Balaam is very
special to us.
See four parts
to this great
verse.
Surely there is no enchantment against
Jacob, neither is there any divination against
Israel: according to this time it shall be said of
Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Numbers 23:23
Surely there is no enchantment against
Jacob, neither is there any divination against
Israel: according to this time it shall be said of
Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Numbers 23:23
Surely there is no enchantment against
Jacob, neither is there any divination against
Israel: according to this time it shall be said of
Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Numbers 23:23
Surely there is no enchantment against
Jacob, neither is there any divination against
Israel: according to this time it shall be said of
Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Numbers 23:23
 What hath
God wrought!
 These four wonderful
words describe God’s
marvelous grace and
providence in our lives.
 For Further Study
Balaam and His Prophecies … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/balaam-and-his-prophecies.pdf.
Prophecy of Caiaphas … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/prophecy-of-caiaphas.pdf.
Proverbs about Sex … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/proverbs/topics/sex.php.
Blessed and Only Potentate … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/blessed-and-only-potentate.pdf.
Five Kingdoms … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/five-kingdoms.pdf.
Fulfilled Prophecies … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/sermons/prophecy/glory-of-fulfilled-prophecy/sermon.php.
Dominion of God … http://www.letgodbetrue.com/sermons/god/dominion-of-god/sermon.php.

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