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“The One Who Should See and the One Who Shouldn’t Speak” (Numbers 22:21-35)
We’re continuing our series called “Weird Things from the Bible.” Last week we learned about Abraham and his wife/sister. This week, we’re learning about a famous weird story from the book of Numbers.
First, we need to know a bit about what is going on in the book of Numbers.
The book of Numbers picks up right after the Israelites were set free from Egyptian bondage, and they exited the land of Egypt and headed off for the promised land. That event is what we call “The Exodus.”
However, because the people sinned against God and didn’t trust God, they had to wander for forty years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The book of Numbers describes a lot of that wandering.
Towards the end of the book, the people are getting closer to the Promised Land, and they begin to have battles with those who are living in or near the area that God is giving them.
So, let me show you on a map.
The yellow circle is where Israel crossed the Red Sea and came out of Egypt, the red circle is where God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the blue circle is where the Israelites settled for some time at Kadesh Barnea, and the purple circle is where we are in today’s passage. This purple circle is just east of modern-day Israel, near modern-day Jordan and Syria.
Some things happened just before the events that we’re studying today. As they near the Promised Land, the Israelites are going into battle, and they are winning the battles.
Just before chapter 22, they defeated the king of Arad, King Sihon of the Amorites, and King Og of Bashan.
Now, King Balak of Moab is concerned about the Israelites. He thinks that they may conquer him.
So Balak goes to a seer named Balaam (a seer is sort of like a prophet/magician mix).
Balak asks Balaam to curse the people of Israel so that Balak can defeat them. He actually asks him more than once to do this and offers him a lot of money to do so.
Balaam, even though he is not one of God’s people, knows enough to not do anything against the God of Israel, so he says that he can only do what God says to do.
Finally, the Lord tells Balaam that he can go with the men from Moab, but he must be careful to only do what God says.
So, Balaam saddles his donkey and goes with the men.
That brings us to today’s sermon, which is entitled “The One Who Should See and the One Who Shouldn’t Speak.”
Join me in prayer before we look at the passage, and let’s ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage together. Join me in Numbers 22:21-35:
21 When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab.
22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side. 25 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again. 26 The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”
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By First Baptist Church Bartow
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We’re continuing our series called “Weird Things from the Bible.” Last week we learned about Abraham and his wife/sister. This week, we’re learning about a famous weird story from the book of Numbers.
First, we need to know a bit about what is going on in the book of Numbers.
The book of Numbers picks up right after the Israelites were set free from Egyptian bondage, and they exited the land of Egypt and headed off for the promised land. That event is what we call “The Exodus.”
However, because the people sinned against God and didn’t trust God, they had to wander for forty years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land. The book of Numbers describes a lot of that wandering.
Towards the end of the book, the people are getting closer to the Promised Land, and they begin to have battles with those who are living in or near the area that God is giving them.
So, let me show you on a map.
The yellow circle is where Israel crossed the Red Sea and came out of Egypt, the red circle is where God spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai, the blue circle is where the Israelites settled for some time at Kadesh Barnea, and the purple circle is where we are in today’s passage. This purple circle is just east of modern-day Israel, near modern-day Jordan and Syria.
Some things happened just before the events that we’re studying today. As they near the Promised Land, the Israelites are going into battle, and they are winning the battles.
Just before chapter 22, they defeated the king of Arad, King Sihon of the Amorites, and King Og of Bashan.
Now, King Balak of Moab is concerned about the Israelites. He thinks that they may conquer him.
So Balak goes to a seer named Balaam (a seer is sort of like a prophet/magician mix).
Balak asks Balaam to curse the people of Israel so that Balak can defeat them. He actually asks him more than once to do this and offers him a lot of money to do so.
Balaam, even though he is not one of God’s people, knows enough to not do anything against the God of Israel, so he says that he can only do what God says to do.
Finally, the Lord tells Balaam that he can go with the men from Moab, but he must be careful to only do what God says.
So, Balaam saddles his donkey and goes with the men.
That brings us to today’s sermon, which is entitled “The One Who Should See and the One Who Shouldn’t Speak.”
Join me in prayer before we look at the passage, and let’s ask God to speak to us.
(prayer)
Ok, let’s look at the passage together. Join me in Numbers 22:21-35:
21 When he got up in the morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and went with the officials of Moab.
22 But God was incensed that Balaam was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand on the path to oppose him. Balaam was riding his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing on the path with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the path and went into the field. So Balaam hit her to return her to the path. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow passage between the vineyards, with a stone wall on either side. 25 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord and pressed herself against the wall, squeezing Balaam’s foot against it. So he hit her once again. 26 The angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she crouched down under Balaam. So he became furious and beat the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she asked Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You made me look like a fool. If I had a sword in my hand, I’d kill you now!”