A Reckless Path
“Cursing Israel and not being a blessing to her—leads one onto a reckless path of destruction””
Let this message about Balaam be as a Spirit led donkey, stopping you from going down a reckless path by forgetting His heart and His purpose to bless His Jewish people. The pagan worshipper, Balaam, a soothsayer for demon spirits who did not even know the God of Israel, was surely impressed when he heard, “You are not to curse these people.” Then and today, cursing Israel and not being a blessing to her—leads one onto a reckless path of destruction. You are walking away from the heart, mind, and purpose of the Holy One of Israel who sent His Son “to the Jew[s] first” (Romans 1:16).
“There is no room or excuse for anyone to take it upon themselves to judge, criticize, or curse the children of Israel. They are beloved in Yahveh’s sight—and nothing will change that””
“Yahveh God came to Balaam at night and said to him, ‘If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but the word which I speak to you shall you do.’ So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab. But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of Yahveh [the LORD] took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. …When the donkey saw the angel of Yahveh standing in the way with a drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. Then the angel of Yahveh stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. When the donkey saw the angel of Yahveh [the LORD], she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. The angel of Yahveh went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left” (Numbers 22:20-26). When we are about to say or do anything against the Jewish people, we are in a very tight path. It is the Almighty who will judge and discipline His people. There is no room or excuse for anyone to take it upon themselves to judge, criticize, or curse the children of Israel. They are beloved in His sight—and nothing will change that.
Let’s recap the Holy One of Israel’s instructions to Balaam. He told Balaam to go with the king of Moab’s leaders, but he was only to do what Yahveh (the LORD) tells him. So Balaam consented, but then we have an anomaly. He is going seemingly in obedience, but the angel with the sword is standing there to oppose him. Yahveh saw Balaam’s human lust of greed and his double-minded heart. Even though Balaam said, “I am not going to curse her, I can’t do anything past what the God of Israel says,” he was still trying to connive to see if he might be able to have one foot in and one foot out, by blessing them in one breath and somehow or another getting his pay.
“ If Balaam was only bent on doing God’s will, he would not have been angry that he was opposed””
So there was Yahveh’s (the LORD’S) ambassador with a sword. Balaam was so indignant. He was on a mission, but the mission was not just to do the Holy One’s will; it was to fulfill the passion of his flesh as well. And how often are we so motivated? If Balaam was only bent on doing God’s will, he would not have been angry that he was opposed. He would have said, “O Yahveh, my Elohim (God), what is it that has caused this hindrance? What is in my heart that has stopped me on the path from going forward? I bow before You, humbling myself; search my heart and show me what has stopped me by Your sovereign hand from going forward with Your divine commission.” Balaam was instead saying, “Yes, I will do what the God of Israel says, but I am also on a mission to fulfill my flesh, my greed, and my ambition.” So his flesh flared up in anger and he beat his humble, faithful animal that Yahveh (the LORD) had used in mercy. The Almighty gave mercy to the donkey and the donkey was obedient to her Creator.
“The angel stood in a narrow path between two vineyards but with walls on both sides”; Yahveh God had not only opposed him but was hemming him in. He put a blockade before him and tight walls on either side of him. He made the way so narrow that Balaam’s foot got crushed against it. It would be better to enter heaven with one foot crushed so that you can’t continue on your selfish, greedy, self-justified, reckless path, but Balaam became more inflamed with anger. Then the angel moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place. Narrower and narrower the road got; there was no room to move to the right or to the left. Yet in the willful pursuit of his desires, even while he confessed Yahveh with his lips, saying, “I am going to do the will of the Holy One of Israel,” Balaam’s heart was so far from Him (See Matthew 15:8).
“Many, like Balaam, don’t want to be opposed by the Righteous One who tells them to stop in their tracks, saying their path is reckless and contrary to Him””
Are you going to try and enter into that narrow path that leads to the Promised Land? Many are going to try, but few are going to be able to; it is too hard for them (see Matthew 7:14). Their flesh doesn’t like it, which makes them angry. They say, “I don’t want to be hemmed in with a wall on this side and a wall on that side called the perfect will of God —that’s too narrow for me. I don’t want to be opposed by the Righteous One with a sword in His hand who tells me to stop in my tracks and says my path is reckless and contrary to Him. I’ll give lip service to the King of Israel, but in my heart I want my way and if I don’t get it, I will be angry instead of humble and meek.” “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). Meeker and meeker the donkey laid down, crushing Balaam’s foot as he got angrier and angrier. He beat her three times, ready to pull a sword out if he had one to kill her. But the angel opened Balaam’s hearing and understanding and said, “I have come here to oppose you, because your path is a reckless one before Me. The donkey saw me and heard Me before you did, Balaam. If it had not been for your donkey, the very sword that is in My hand would have been your destruction” (see Numbers 22:32-33). When our anger flares up, we don’t see Yahveh (the LORD). We don’t see His mercy; in fact, our flesh hates it. Who can we blame? Balaam had a donkey; she was the closest thing he had. He blamed the donkey and the Balaam’s donkey reasoned with him. “I have never done such a thing to you; I’m just a nice donkey. So why are you doing this to me?” The Almighty confounds our wisdom. He says, “The wisdom of this world is foolishness before God” (1 Corinthians 3:19).
So when we get into narrow places and can’t turn to the right or the left, when we are walled in and our foot is crushed, it behooves us to pay attention to the subtlest and unusual ways that Yahveh (the LORD) speaks to oppose us and stop us in our reckless path—for our own good.
