Jude 11 Amplified Bible says; “11 Woe to them! For they have gone the [defiant] way of Cain, and for profit they have run headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of [mutinous] Korah.”
Let’s look at verse 4 that reveals who Jude is referring to in verse 11.
Jude 4 Amplified Bible, “4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed [just as if they were sneaking in by a side door]. They are ungodly persons whose condemnation was predicted long ago, for they distort the grace of our God into decadence and immoral freedom [viewing it as an opportunity to do whatever they want], and deny and disown our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
How many snuck in the side door, unnoticed, all around world in churches today, with all of these character attributes? Unnoticed.
In 2 Peter 2, the Apostle Peter is talking about the rise of false prophets and God’s impending judgment on them, and it’s in verse 15-16 that He compares them to the false teacher Balaam.
2 Peter 2:15-16 Amplified Bible;“15 Abandoning the straight road [that is, the right way to live], they have gone astray; they have followed the way of [the false teacher] Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness; 16 but he was rebuked for his own transgression: a mute donkey spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.”
It’s interesting to see that it was a mute donkey, maybe it couldn’t even utter a bray. Maybe she was a special donkey. There may be a few special donkey’s in God’s house, that have a word of the Lord for the mad Christians. The ones that have allowed the love of money to drive them insane, even as Balaam was driven to insanity and madness. There are a few special donkey’s that are now speaking into the lives of mad Christians today. Prophets trying to stop them in their track because they can’t see signs on the road that are warning them, they can’t hear any more, they are deaf and dumb in the spirit because of their hardness of heart that’s allowed them to love money more than God.
That wasn’t in my notes, it just came out and it’s a good word for someone.
This word madness in 2 Peter 2:16 means the following in Greek; “..."contrary-beside" ,"internal perspective regulating behavior" , "beside oneself," madness; insane (irrational) behavior, describing someone acting "out of their mind" (used only in 2 Pet 2:16).
How many are acting the same way today? According to the Bible, you’re supposed to have a sound mind, God hasn’t given you a mad mind. How many are full of fear, doubt, unbelief, worrying about tomorrow, trying to secure themselves in this world by the love of money? You don’t have to stay there.
So, what exactly was the wickedness of Balaam and the reward that he loved? A good description of the wickedness that he loved can be found in Revelation 2:14 where it says in the Amplified Bible; “14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some [among you] who are holding to the [corrupt] teaching of Balaam, who taught [a]Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [enticing them] to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit [acts of sexual] [b]immorality.”
Imagine that, the church in Pergamum was holding to the teaching of Balaam. Balaam was a false teacher too, not just a prophet.
When you read Numbers 22-24, there’s no scripture that references what’s mentioned in Revelation2:14, however if you turn to Numbers 25:1-5, you’ll clearly see the outcome of what appears to be the result of Balaam’s hidden instruction to Balak on how to destroy Israel from within thru sexual sin and the worship of Baal.
Numbers 25:1-5 talks about Israel’s harlotry in Moab; “25 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove,[a] and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel. 4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
You can read in Numbers 25:6-9, how one man with Godly zeal brought an end to God’s judgment thru a plague which took the lives of 24,000 Israelite's.
Numbers 25:6-9 says; “6 And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose 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 body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.”
What’s interesting is that by one man, Phinehas, the false counsel of one man, Balaam, are brought to an end, which shows you that all it took was one righteous person to stand up against what was causing the people of Israel to sin against God.
Just as Jude and the apostle Peter spoke out against false teachers and brethren, it’s important for you Christians to do the same in whatever church you reside in, and you may at times be the only one that’s taking action to speak out against false teachers, and brethren who are selling Jesus out for monetary rewards and putting stumbling blocks before the church body of Christ that is causing them to sin.
Let’s look at some of the scriptures, Numbers 22-24, that will help us to understand what exactly was requested of Balaam by the Moabite King Balak, and Balaam’s responses.
Numbers 22:1-14 says; “22 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will [a]lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near [b]the River in the land of [c]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”
12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.” 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
Balaam heard from God immediately to not go with these men, and God didn’t change His mind during this whole event. He was very clear from the beginning. We see that Balaam wavered between two opinions; obeying God without questioning Him, or taking the ‘diviner’s fee’ that was being offered to him. Money speaks. He probably felt stupid having turned down a lucrative reward which lingered in his mind. He was a true prophet who backslide becoming a diviner.
After this act of obedience by Balaam, he is then again summoned by Balak a second time, with what appeared to be a better monetary reward, brought by men more honorable – upping the anti so to speak – but what’s interesting about this offer, is that instead of sending them away as he did the last time, he decides to consult with God on Balak’s behalf, which will show you that Balaam takes the bate for money in his heart, with the hope that God would change His mind. This really reveals the insanity and madness of mind that Balaam was operating in at the time, and he really makes God mad at him, to the point that God then plans to kill him by the hand of an Angel.
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more [a]honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” 18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.”
It’s pretty obvious that Balaam is not in his right mind, and it shows that the love of money is at the root cause of his bad decision making, that made him think that God would possibly change His mind and curse His own people out. Today, there are many untimely deaths of ministers that because the love of money had driven them to insane decision making that caused them to exchange sound Bible doctrines for doctrines of devils. God gave Balaam his answer to the first time, but the second time God saw that Balaam loved the wages of unrighteousness (wickedness), more than obeying Him, and He then appears to set Balaam up to kill him.
Verse 20 continues; “20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.”
Let’s read about God’s attempt to kill the mad prophet, and how in the midst of it he has mercy on him, and gives him a chance to repent of his love for money that has driven him to madness.
Numbers 22:22-30 gives the account of Balaam, the donkey, and the Angel; “22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have [a]abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever [b]disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.”
Balaam was so convinced that he was doing the will of God that he could not even see the Angel in front of him that was assigned to kill him, and what even more shows his insanity is that when his donkey talks to him as a human, he is so blinded by the love of money that he doesn’t comprehend that it’s abnormal to be talking with his donkey. This is a good object lesson for ministers who have allowed the love of the wages of unrighteousness (wickedness), to cause them to sell Jesus out to the point that they can barely see the warning signs that are indicating that they have left the straight and narrow road and are now on a broad and wide road that leads to destruction. This is why when they hear that it’s not biblical to merchandise any illuminations, inspirations or revelations that they received from the Bible, they continue to do so, because their love for money has them so blinded to what is written in the Bible, they create doctrines of demons to validate the wages of unrighteousness (wickedness), received for selling Jesus out. They have all the rational and reason as to why they can sell Jesus out, business logistics, good stewardship....on and on. They’ve fallen into a state of having an unsound mind. You can only reject the Holy Spirit so much, and after a while you can’t even hear Him. You might be making good money by merchandising Jesus, but you can’t hear Him anymore. You can’t see the road signs, indicators or flashing warning lights.
Numbers 22:32-34,“32 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out [a]to stand against you, because your way is perverse[b] before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live. And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”
It reminds me when the religious leaders stood in front of Jesus and they struck Him. Jesus asked them why they struck Him, going on to describe the situation a bit better for them from His perspective, (John 18:19-23). The Angel of the Lord deals another blow to Balaam calling him perverse, perverted, meaning that he didn’t have a sound mind anymore. In this whole story, you see the tables turning on Balaam that he goes from bad to worse, like the Lord is making a public display of him in his stupidity and apostasy.
God in His mercy continues to warn Balaam to only speak the word of the Lord, and it seems like Balaam goes in and out of insanity, and that the love of money has him so driven that instead of simply turning around and returning home in a state of repentance, he again shows where his heart is by his following question found in verse 34.
Verse 34 again, “And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it [c]displeases You, I will turn back.”
If it displeases you? We already know that it displeased God, and that Balaam would not even been having this conversation with the angel, nor his donkey, had he obeyed God in the first place. Verse 35; “Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.”
Proverbs 26:11-12 Amplified Bible “11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit Is a fool who repeats his foolishness. 12 Do you see a man [who is unteachable and] wise in his own eyes and full of self-conceit? There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
This pretty much sums up the life of Balaam.
In the book of Numbers 23-24, it contains four prophecy's where Balaam speaks blessings and not curses over the people of Israel, and it’s evident that Balaam obeys God and receives a sound mind and is not bribed by Balak to curse Israel. However, some how in the middle of all of their exchanges, something must have been said about how to lead the men of Israel into sexual sin with the Moabite women and the worship of Baal. It must be also mentioned that in Numbers 24:1 when Balaam gives his third oracle it says; “And when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as on the previous occasions, but he turned his face toward the wilderness.” This being said means that he used sorcery on the first two blessings, which also is a sin against God.
Once again, even though there’s no mention in Numbers 22-24 of Balaam instructing Balak on how to seduce Israel into sexual sin and the worship of idols, Numbers 31:16 says the following; “16 Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.”
This was through Balaam’s counsel, his heart was in the money and guaranteed he got paid for divulging these commandments of God to Balak. He knew that God Himself would judge Israel for these sexual sins. So he cursed them in a round-a-bout way.
Revelation 2:14 Amplified Bible “14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some [among you] who are holding to the [corrupt] teaching of Balaam, who taught [a]Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, [enticing them] to eat things that had been sacrificed to idols and to commit [acts of sexual] [b]immorality.”
The love of money caused Balaam to backslide from being a true prophet of God to the practice of witchcraft and he died as a diviner (soothsayer), by the hands of those he was obedient to bless, and not curse. How ironic is that! Think about that. He never cursed them out but he did show Balak how to cause them to stumble, worship Baal and commit sexual immorality involved in that worship.
Joshua 13:22 Amplified Bible;“22 The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner (soothsayer), with the sword among [the rest of] their slain.”
It’s good to reflect, rest and meditate on this word and how it applies to your life today. You have a call to be a prophet, preacher, teacher, evangelist, pastor, missionary, but are you behaving like Balaam? Are you more concerned about the money and the provision for a rainy day than you are about delivering the word of the Lord? Are you more concerned about offending the people than you are of offending God? A good indicator to show that you’re in the same situation as Balaam is that you don’t have a sound mind. Fear, doubt, unbelief...it’s called the love of money. That’s why Jesus says to you, set your minds on things above, not on things below where rust and moth destroy and thieves break in and steal.
He doesn’t want you to become like Balaam, so preoccupied with the love of money that you loose sight of the call on your life and get the point that you can’t see the warning signs any more. He sends prophets to you but you can’t hear them, you can’t see the flashing lights, you can’t see where God is trying to get your attention. Unsoundness of mind, fear, doubt and unbelief keeping you up at night, worrying about money and provision. Jesus says in Matthew 6:33; “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Work with your hands as the Lord provides, pay your tithes and offerings, be obedient to give above and beyond and the blessings of Abraham will overtake you because that’s the seed we are from and keep trusting Him for His provision. Somewhere along the line, Balaam lost his trust in God, a seed got planted and he put his mind on the money, he was enticed, he was seduced, loosing his mind as a result.
We don’t have to be that way today, Christians. Tomorrow you have jobs to go to, He gives you the power to get wealth to establish His covenant. He supplies all of your needs according to His glory and riches. Some of you have been so preoccupied with gaining the riches of this earth, that you’ve lost your call. You can’t hear Him anymore. Don’t allow yourself to stay there. Don’t allow yourself to be in a position that you make God mad by your disobedience. You may say that God doesn’t get mad because we’re under grace. Well, look at what happened to Ananias and Sapphira who we studied last week. The Holy Spirit was a little mad and took their lives for lying.
It all comes back down to not allowing the love of money to dictate your life and what God has called you to do. I have a job to go to tomorrow, I look forward to it, I look forward to working with my hands to see God’s provision, I look forward to the cheque that comes in, but one thing I don’t do and won’t do is receive the wages of unrighteousness and wickedness offered to me to compromise my call. We have to reject the temptation to be lovers of money and replace it with complete obedience to the Holy Spirit. You don’t want to end up ‘once a prophet’ then dying a ‘soothsayer’.
In studying the Bible, you’ll see there are a lot of people who have done that, died in sin as a result of disobedience, as a result of the love of money. There are people who are not in church today because the love of money has gotten in the way. They don’t have time for church, let alone give to church. People say they can’t afford to tithe, but you can’t afford not to tithe, because that’s where your blessing is. You don’t want to come under God’s curse.
As for Israel, you’re to bless Israel right now and not be a Christian that curses them. You’re job is to pray for the peace of Israel, not to pray for their destruction. That’s your job today Christian, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The world would want the church to curse Israel, those that are in the flesh and those that are outside of covenant with Jesus, they want you to curse Israel, deeming them as an enemy. You’ve been grafted into the vine – Jesus. Don’t seek to curse Israel, bless them.
