Driven
by fear, Balak, the king of Moab resorted to seeking the help of Balaam, who was
more a diviner than a true “prophet” of God. However, he was known for his
accuracy in bringing a blessing or a curse on people. We are told that Balak
sent his elders together with the elders of Midian with the money to secure his
service. From the onset, we could tell Balaam was a wily and duplicitous
character. He invited the elders to stay the night saying that he would consult
the LORD and
would revert to them with His answers.
The use of the word “divination” in
verse 7 makes us suspicious of who Balaam truly served. Technically, the word
divination suggests that a diviner might not necessarily be seeking answers
from the true God. He could be seeking any other supernatural being besides God.
Being a dubious person, Balaam would probably include the name of the true God
to serve his personal agenda. So in this incident, he mentioned Yahweh, God’s
covenant name with Israel, translated here as the LORD. It was likely that he used it for his
self-aggrandizement. If he were truly a prophet who served Yahweh, he would
have known that he could not do anything contrary to what God had intended for
His people. He would have known that the plan God had for the people of Israel
could not be supplanted.
In this passage we see the LORD intervened by coming to Balaam first. This is an indication of the supremacy of Yahweh. No matter who Balaam truly served, Yahweh was Sovereign. And He could overwrite the power of any gods this deceitful prophet would call upon. The question the LORD asked Balaam was not to seek information. Being the all-knowing God, He already knew everything. The purpose He asked was likely to get Balaam to weigh the seriousness of what Balak was seeking him to do for. However, in his response to the LORD, he was not truthful. He left out one line that Balak had said i.e. that the people of Israel were now camping opposite Moab. God made it clear that the people of Israel were a blessed people and could not be cursed. And He instructed Balaam not to go with the elders of Moab and Midian. He did as he was instructed and sent the leaders back to Balak telling them that “the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”
Balaam’s action leaves us an example of not to be duplicitous in life and ministry. Duplicity is misleading. It is communicating in a way that gives a false impression. It is presenting in such a way that would hide one’s true agenda. As believers in the Lord, we cannot say one thing and mean another. We must speak truthfully and act righteously. We must seek to honor and please God in all that we say and do. We live life with integrity!
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