Intro: The enemy is always busy trying to get people to compromise their moral ethics and integrity in order to draw them away from the righteousness of God. Greed instigates compromise. A greedy person is self-centered; there is little concern for others. Empathy is overshadowed by greed, so relationships become vulnerable as accumulation becomes the goal.
Balaam, a prophetic sorcerer [magician] who would place curses on people for pay, lived near the Euphrates River. He had knowledge of Yahweh, but Balaam was polytheistic—believed there were many gods. Balaam went along with any religious practice, but his heart and actions were only aligned with Yahweh when it would benefit him; he had a mixture of motives—obedience if it would increase his financial wealth and accomplish his goal.
The king of Moab, Balak, wanted to hire Balaam to curse Israel. Balak’s servants were sent to escort him to Moab. The Moabites were afraid of Israel’s power, so the thought was if Balaam would curse Israel, the Moabites might be able to drive the Israelites out of their land. Balak and Balaam underestimated Yahweh’s love for His people. God communicated with Balaam and told him “You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.”
God gave Balaam permission to go with the servants of Balak, but he was angry with Balaam’s greedy attitude. The next morning, Balaam saddled his donkey and started out toward Moab. He did not go far when God rebuked him in a very unusual and inconceivable way…
Numbers 22:22-28 NLT
22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the Lord to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam’s donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord moved farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey to get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the animal again with his staff.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
Prayer: Lord, we know when you are correcting us and we thank you for how loving you are when you do. You are so generous with your love; please help us to be people who are empathetic to the needs or challenges of others. Help us to be generous in love and mercy when we deal with the people around us. Open our spiritual eyes to recognize your messengers of Truth. In Jesus’ name. Amen.