Lesson 16: “I Cannot Go Beyond the Word of the Lord”, Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher’s Manual, 73

1. Introduction

a) When Israel was fearful of the reports of ten of the twelve spies that were sent into the Promised Land, they were sent back into the wilderness to wander for another 38 years.

b) Now, they are moving back toward that land

c) Beginning to encounter hostile peoples in their travels and have had to fight several

i) The Lord has sustained them in their battles

ii) Israel has defeated

(1) Arad and his Canaanites (Numbers 21:1-3)

(2) Sihon and his Amorites (Numbers 21:21-24)

(3) Og and the people of Bashan (Numbers 21:33-35)

d) Now we come to one of the strangest stories in the Bible, but one with many messages for us today.

2. Balaam refuses Balak’s offer of rewards in exchange for cursing Israel

a) When Israel camps in the plains of Moab, the Balak, the ruler of Moab is concerned.

b) Reading 1 – Numbers 22:1-4

1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.

2 ¶ And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round 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.

c) Balak has an interesting response to the children of Israel than the others

i) Reading 2 – Numbers 22:5-13

5 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:

6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.

7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.

8 And he said unto 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.

9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?

10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,

11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.

12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.

13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.

(1) Balaam was a Mesopotamian diviner (Deut. 23:4) who had an international reputation.

(a) Lived near Haran, in present-day Iraq, where Abraham settled for a period of time.

(b) Some believe that he was a prophet, perhaps a descendant of Abraham, but not through the birthright line

(i) As we will see, Balaam is certainly not a righteous prophet

(c) Balaam's name has actually surfaced in some non-biblical ancient texts found in Jordan.

(i) Balaam is referred to as a "seer of the gods"

(d) Balaam's approach to divination was that he received communications from gods at night and then rose in the morning to reveal them

(i) See Numbers 22:8 where Balaam asks that Balak's messengers lodge the night, Balaam receives his message during the night, then gives the message to Balak's messengers in the morning.

(2) Verse 6 – Balak's request to Balaam - Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people

(3) Verse 6 – Balak has a lot of confidence in Balaam - I wot [KNOW] that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed

(4) Verse 12 - God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed

(5) Verse 13 - Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you

d) If Balaam had stopped here, we might not have ever heard of him and he certainly wouldn't have rated three chapters in Numbers.

3. Balak Sends More Messengers

a) Reading 3 – Numbers 22:15-19

15 ¶ And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.

16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:

17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.

18 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.

19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.

i) Verse 17 – Balak's new offer - I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me

ii) Verse 18 – Balaam's first answer - 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

iii) Verse 19 – Balaam's first mistake - Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more

(1) ASK – What is Balaam doing here?

(2) The Lord's answer to his first request was pretty clear – Verse 12 - Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed

b) Why is Balaam doing this?

i) Because he thinks it is the right thing?

ii) Fame and Money

c) Do we ever see this in our day?

i) A child, unhappy with an answer from one parent, goes to the other parent, hoping for a different answer.

ii) A member of the Church, unsatisfied with the counsel of a priesthood leader, goes to another priesthood leader.

(1) A common experience for a new bishop is for members of the ward who didn't like what the old bishop told them to come to see the new bishop to inquire again to see if they get a different answer.

iii) A member of the Church rationalizes that a commandment doesn’t apply to him or her as it does to other members.

d) After Balaam approaches the Lord again, he receives an interesting answer:

i) READ – Numbers 22:20 - And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them [Joseph Smith Translation: "rise up, if thou will go with them"]; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.

ii) Reminds us of Joseph Smith, Martin Harris and the 116 lost manuscript pages of the Book of Mormon.

(1) Martin kept after Joseph to let him show the pages to others.

(2) Joseph asked the Lord and was told No twice

(3) Joseph asked the Lord a third time and was told that Martin could have the pages.

(4) Reading 4 – Doctrine and Covenants 3:4 - For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty works, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and sets at naught the counsels of God, and follows after the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him.

iii) Was Balaam setting "at naught the counsels of God"?

iv) Was Balaam following "the dictates of his own will and carnal desires"?

v) READ – Jacob 4:10 - Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.

vi) Heavenly Father has given us our agency. He will counsel and guide us, but if we make it clear that we're going in a different way, he won't stop us.

(1) In the Lord's prayer, we ask, "Lead us not into temptation"

(2) If Balaam had stayed home in Pethor, he wouldn't have been so sorely tempted by Balak.

(3) Instead, Balaam decides to travel to Balak

(a) He wants to figure out some way of getting Balak's money, even if it means harming Israel, a group of people that Jehovah has told him are blessed.

(b) Balaam is leading himself into deadly temptation.

(4) Balaam's foolishness became famous

(a) Reading 5 – 2 Peter 2:13-16 – Peter is rebuking false teachers and lustful members of the Church

13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;

14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:

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.

e) Reading 6 - Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote: "I wonder how often some of us get our direction from the Church and then, Balaam-like, plead for some worldly rewards and finally receive an answer which says, in effect, If you are determined to be a millionaire or to gain this or that worldly honor, go ahead, with the understanding that you will continue to serve the Lord. Then we wonder why things don't work out for us as well as they would have done if we had put first in our lives the things of God's kingdom?" ("The Story of a Prophet's Madness," New Era, Apr. 1972, p. 7).

4.


Balaam's Ass

a) Balaam saddles up his donkey or mule (called an ass in the scriptures), takes two servants and rides toward Moab.

b) READ – Numbers 22:22-23

22 ¶ 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 ass, and his two servants were with him.

23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.

c) If you ever see an angel with a sword, you are well-advised to pay very close attention.

d) The same thing happens two more times

i) Balaam's donkey could see the danger, but Balaam, focused on that house full of gold and silver that Balak was offering, could not see the angel.

e) The third time, the angel appears with his sword in a narrow place where the donkey could not pass.

f) A dialogue takes place between Balaam and his donkey that would be comical if Balaam were not being so stupid.

g) READ – Numbers 22:27-30

27 And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?

29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.

30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.

i) Balaam acts like donkeys talk all the time.

ii) The donkey is smarter than Balaam at this moment.

h) Balaam finally sees the angel and falls down on his face and says all sorts of humble things, but he continues on toward Balak.

5. Balaam Refuses/Is Unable to Curse Israel

a) Balaam finally arrives where Balak is

i) READ Numbers 22:38 - And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.

(1) Is this an example of Balaam's righteousness or is he making an excuse in advance for how he is likely to fail to give Balak what he wants?

ii) Then "Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Ba'al" (verse 41) and shows him all of the people.

(1) I don't think "the high places of Ba'al" are a good place for Balaam to be.

iii) In the manner of diviners, Balaam has a lot of expensive livestock sacrificed on seven different altars.

iv) When the time comes for Balaam to curse Israel, the Lord commands him to bless Israel.

v) Balak isn't happy. Balaam is almost a comic figure as he agrees to try to curse Israel twice more, but, after the sacrifice of more expensive livestock, is only able to bless Israel.

(1) READ Numbers 23:23 – Balaam tells Balak " 23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel"

b) Balak is finally fed up with Balaam

i) Reading 7 – Numbers 24:10-11

10 ¶ And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.

11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the Lord hath kept thee back from honour.

(1) Verse 11 - the Lord hath kept thee back from honour

6. Balaam's Final Downfall

a) Despite all this, Balaam still tries to help Balak

i) He suggests that Balak undercut Israel by having the daughters of the Midianites seduce the young men of Israel into participating the fertility cult of Ba'al. (See Numbers 31:16.)

b) The Lord commands Moses to execute those who have had sexual relations with the daughters of the Midianites and 24,000 Israelites were killed by a plague. (Numbers 25:3-9)

c) The Lord commands Israel to attack the Midianites

i) READ – Numbers 31:7-8

7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

8 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.

7. The Doctrine of Balaam

a) READ Revelations 2:14 - To the church in Pergamos, one of the seven churches to whom the Book of Revelation was written, the Lord said: "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" (Revelations 2:14)

b) READ Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote that the doctrine of Balaam is "To divine for hire; to give counsel contrary to the divine will; to pervert the right way of the Lord -- all with a view to gaining wealth and the honors of men. In effect, to preach for money, or to gain personal power and influence. In the very nature of things such a course is a perversion of the right way of the Lord" (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary: Colossians-Revelation, [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1973] p. 451).

8. Conclusion