Revelation
2:14: “But I have a few things against
thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught
Balak to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication.”
This was part
of Jesus’ warning to the Church at Pergamos. It refers to the account in
Numbers chapters 22-24. God had brought Israel out of Egypt and they were on their
way to Canaan. At this point they were on the border of the land of Moab. Balak
was the king of the Moabites at that time and when he saw the great multitude
and strength of Israel he feared them. He was allied with the nation of the
Midianites and they decided to call upon Balaam, a man known to have divine
powers, to curse the Israelites.
So they sent
their messengers to Balaam with their proposal and with a promise of reward if
he would come and curse Israel. However, the Lord God talked with Balaam and
told him not to go with them. So Balaam refused to go. Balak then sent more and
more prominent men with greater promises of reward. At first Balaam refused but
asked them to stay overnight saying: “I
pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say
unto me more.”
Did he really
need more instructions? We see from this that he was tempted and hoping that
the Lord would let him go and receive the reward. The Lord did come to him that
night and told him to go, but warned him not to say anything but only what He
told him to say. Balaam got up the next morning and started out with them, but
God was angry with him, knowing that he had a great temptation to get the
reward regardless. So God sent His angel to arrest Balaam. Balaam’s donkey saw
the angel and would not go past him. After Balaam beat his donkey a few times,
the donkey spoke and told him what he saw.
Then the Lord
opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel with his sword drawn to slay him, and
Balaam repented. But he went on, met Balak and proceeded with the ceremony.
However, he found that he could only speak blessings, not curses, and thus
brought Balak’s wrath upon himself. So Balaam “went back to his own place.”
But the story
doesn’t end there. In Numbers 31:16 we find that Balaam had found another way
to get that great reward from Balak. Although Balaam could not curse Israel, through
subtlety he told Balak how to cause Israel to bring the curse upon themselves by
worshiping idols and committing fornication. Balaam then went to the Midianites
and taught their women to seduce the Israelite men to idolatry, and hence to
fornication.
The Midianite
women put into practice what Balaam had taught them. Numbers chapter 25 describes
the great sin of idolatry and fornication and the resultant wrath of God upon
the Israelites. There was a great slaughter and also many deaths from a plague.
Moses knew this was an act of war against Israel. He sent the Israelites to war
against the Midianites to avenge themselves of their great loss. They slew
every man of them, including Balaam, but spared the women. Moses angrily required
them to also slay all of the mature women who had caused them to sin, because
of the teaching of Balaam, Numbers 31:16.
It is this
example that Peter uses to warn the Christians about the unjust: “Having eyes full of adultery, and that
cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; an heart they have exercised
with covetous practices; cursed children. Which have forsaken the right way,
and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved
the wages of unrighteousness,” 2Peter 2:14-15.
Jude also
refers to this example in verse 11: “Woe
unto them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the
error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.”
So the
message to the Church at Pergamos is a powerful warning against covetousness,
greed and idolatry leading to fornication. These are acts of war.
Romans
chapter 14 teaches us about our responsibility not only to carefully follow the
Lord personally, but also to consider our brother: “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather,
that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way….
It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby
thy brother stumbleth or is made weak,” 14:13, 21. [Note my emphasis on “anything.”]
