The story of Balaam is the story of how God preserved Israel when their enemies sought to ruin them by paying a prophet-for-hire to come and curse them in God’s name. But it is also the story of Balaam himself, a pagan who believed he could do the work of any god you happened to be interested in. As Balak king of Moab said in his effort to recruit Balaam, “I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Numbers 22:6).

We should notice how careful Balaam was in his response. “I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me” (22:8). God told Balaam not to go with the envoys (22:12), and so he did not go. They came a second time, offering higher rewards; and again Balaam insisted “I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more” (22:18).

In his prayers the second time, Balaam understood that God was commissioning him to go with King Balak’s men (Numbers 22:18-20); yet the importance of speaking only what the Lord told him to say was reinforced by the angel with the drawn sword, and also by the talking donkey (22:28-35). (As an aside, like many preachers I find these verses especially encouraging. If the Word of the Lord can come forth from the mouth of an ass, then there is hope for me.) Though the king of Moab had hired Balaam with the intention of cursing the people of God, in each of four oracles Balaam blessed them in accordance with the Lord’s promise. The blessing is sure: “Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (23:19).

All of this extended story took place outside the view of the covenant people; God was caring for them, though they knew nothing of it at the time. It would only be later that they would find out about what God was doing beyond their view. How often this must be the case: we see only what is immediately around us, without realizing all that God is doing, to bless us and the rest of the world.

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O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him … that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord (Micah 6:5).

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O Lord! It is so hard for us to credit that you would choose to work your will through a pagan like Balaam. Yet you keep on selecting such unusual people to accomplish your purpose, creating blessings that we don’t yet know about. We pray that you would open our eyes as well: we, too, would be an unlikely choice, but we are here, ready to serve you.

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