BALAAM; OR, THE EXPERIENCES OF A CASTAWAY.
Jos_13:22; 1Co_9:27.
"Not change of place, but change of heart
Winneth the sweet wounds of love’s dart;
Coming or leaving, Thy power alone
Shattereth or melteth heart of stone.
Not change of place, but unchanged heart
Removes us, Lord, from where Thou art;
Darkened love! thrice saddest wonder!
Putteth God and us asunder."
"Balaam, the son of Beor, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them." This is a very brief statement, but it is a terrible revelation. He who once declared the Word and will of God is found slain among His enemies. A striking example of the "withered branch" referred to in Joh_15:6. It may be true in our Christian experience what Felicia Hemans said in another connection:
"No outward thing is changed,
Only the joy of purity is fled."
A tree may have every appearance of health and stability even while in heart it is rotting away. It is possible to have the form of godliness while there is an utter absence of the power. The character of Balaam is somewhat enigmatical, but enough has been given us to make a beacon fire of warning to every servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us look at-
I. His Character and Privileges.
1. He was brought into contact with God (Num_22:9-12; Num_23:4). What an angelic privilege to have God to speak to us, and to know that it is God who speaks! One would think that such an evidence of His existence and personal interest in us would be enough to bind our souls for ever in faithfulness to Him. But, alas, how many of us hear His Word, and believe it to be His Word, yet fail in obedience to it?
2. He had the courage to acknowledge God before others. "Balaam said, The Word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak" (Num_22:38). Nobly spoken. In form this is the confession of the faithful (1Ki_22:14). This is a hopeful start on the prophetic career. Ye did run well. Who did hinder? Remember Lot’s wife.
3. He had the Word of the Lord put in his mouth (Num_23:5). In this he was as highly favoured as the true and tender-hearted Jeremiah (Jer_1:9). Nor was he alone in this honour. "But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the Word of faith which we preach" (Rom_10:8). To have the Word of God put in our mouths when young is good, but that is not enough to make faithful servants of Christ.
4. He was convinced of the safety and happiness of God’s people (Num_23:21-24). Balaam’s testimony is: "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; the Lord his God is with him, and there is no enchantment against him." Indicating a threefold privilege that belongs to all His redeemed ones: 1, Forgiveness; 2, Fellowship; 3, Safety (Rom_4:7-8; Heb_13:5; Rom_8:33). It is never very difficult to convince the ungodly that the Christian has the best of it. When the magicians failed to imitate the works of Moses they were ready to confess that "this is the finger of God" (Exo_8:16-19).
5. He had his eyes opened to see the vision. "He saw the vision of the Almighty falling into a trance, but having his eyes open" (Num_24:3-4). To have one’s eyes open to see the vision of the Almighty in His wondrous grace and mercy in Christ Jesus is imperative to a holy God-pleasing life. There are those who seek to witness for God who have never seen the vision, whose inner eyes have never yet been opened; and there are those who, like Balaam, have seen the vision, and have turned back. Zechariah had understanding in the "visions of God," and as one has lately said, "Eternity itself will be needed to measure the life of the man who has seen the visions of God." It is an awful thing to see God in Christ and die. The vision will haunt the impenitent through eternity.
6. He declared his faithfulness to God. "I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord to do either good or bad, but what the Lord saith, that will I speak" (Num_24:13). These words have a very pleasant sound in our ears, coming as they do after seeing the "vision of the Almighty." They were spoken in a firm, decisive tone. "If Balak," he says, "would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the Word of God." Alas, alas, Peter has a fearful comment to make on this loud-lip profession. "Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2Pe_2:15; Jud_1:11). Not every one that saith shall enter into the kingdom.
7. He was at times moved by the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of God came upon him" (Num_24:2). Is Balaam also among the prophets? Yes. For a time the tongue of prophetic fire rests upon him, and he speaks the wisdom of God. The coming of the Spirit upon him, as upon others, was entirely of the grace of God, an opportunity and a provision brought within the reach of a soul that may enrich the life for ever, or that may be heartlessly received, and end in failure, darkness, disappointment, and disgrace. Take heed lest the light that is in thee be turned into darkness.
8. He had a great desire to die the death of the righteous. "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his" (Num_23:10). There are two ends to the life of the righteous, the first and the last. The first may not always be blessed, but the last is. "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord" (Rev_14:13). In the sight of the Lord their death is precious (Psa_116:15). He desired the blessed end of the righteous without living their separated life. A vain hope. Balaam was found slain among the enemies of the Lord (Jos_13:22). Take heed to thyself.
II. His Guilt and Failure.
1. He sought to alter the Word of God. "The Lord afterwards declared that "He would not hearken unto Balaam" (Jos_24:9). It would appear from this that he pleaded with the Lord to change His manner of dealing with Israel, and so break His Word of promise. The backsliding in heart would always fain do this".
2. He loved the wages of unrighteousness (2Pe_2:15). Like Lot’s wife, he would like the rewards of the righteous, but his heart was set on the gain of godlessness. The love of the heart decides the character of the life in the sight of God. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. The Lord looketh upon the heart. Love is either the fulfilling or the breaking of the law of God.
3. He taught the people of God to sin (Rev_2:14; Num_31:16). This is an awfully solemn charge to bring against a man whose eyes had been opened to see the vision of the Almighty, but it is the Almighty One Himself who makes the charge. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. If we fail to walk in the light, and turn aside, like Balaam, to the company and fellowship of the ungodly we cannot but "cast a stumbling block" in the way of others, and bring woe upon our own souls.
4. He went back to his own place. "And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his own place" (Num_24:25). Back like the sow that was washed to its wallowing in the mire. "They went out from us because they were not of us; if they had been of us they would no doubt have continued with us." Back to his own place of curse after God had in mercy given him a place of blessing. If he had gone out heartily for God and His people he would have had no cause or desire to go back. To turn away from God is to go back to your own place of death and dishonour (Heb_6:4-6).
5. He came to a woeful end. "Balaam also did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them" (Jos_13:22). In going back to his own place he dug his own grave and sealed his own doom. Backslider, beware. Return unto the Lord, and He will restore again the joy of thy salvation. The love of the world is a sin that will eat like a canker the spiritual life out of the soul. It was not without good reason Paul wrote: "I keep my body under, lest by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1Co_9:27; Act_1:25).
Autor: James Smith