This issue looks at The Error of Balaam PART THREE.
SINCE YOU ASKED
In the previous two parts of this series, we looked at Balaam’s love of money, his talking donkey, and God’s faithfulness to both Israel and His children. This article focuses on another player in the drama from Numbers 22-24-the angel of the Lord. First, a few general facts about angels: They are always male and mighty. There are no biblical accounts of either female angels or baby angels. If there were female angels, they would all have been created when God made the angels. As created beings, they didn’t have angel sex and produce little angel babies. They make for cute Christmas cards, but female and baby angels are unbiblical. So much for the angel myths.
The term “angel of the Lord” describes a very special angel-the Old Testament pre-incarnate Christ visiting earth for a specific purpose. We see Him visiting Hagar in the wilderness after she fled from Sarai (Genesis 16:7). It was the angel of the Lord who, calling out from heaven, stopped Abraham from slaying Isaac on the altar at Mount Moriah (Genesis 22:11). It was also the angel of the Lord who appeared to Moses from the midst of the burning bush (Exodus 3:2).
In Numbers 22, we find the angel of the Lord blocking Balaam from going to curse Israel. After Balaam confesses his sin of wanting to go when God had said “stay,” the angel said to Balaam,
“Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I shall tell you” Numbers 22:35).
AS I SEE IT
Notice that He says “the word which I shall tell you.” This is significant since the next word given to Balaam was said to be from the Lord. Clearly, a connection is being made between the angel and the Lord, supporting the belief that the angel is, indeed Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. It provides further evidence that Jesus was and is God, just as Jesus claimed (see John 10:33).
During Balak’s second attempt to get Balaam to curse Israel, Balaam declares,
“God is not a man that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent” (Numbers 23:19).
After already contradicting the Mormon belief that Jesus is not God, here the Lord, through Balaam, directly contradicts the Mormon belief that God was once a man just like us. My point is twofold: First, the truth is all here in the Word of God. We are not to change it, add to it, or subtract from it. Everything we need to know about God, ourselves, and our relationship with Him is in this amazing book. Second, God will use whomever he chooses to speak to the world, even a wayward prophet like Balaam. We should keep this in mind as we consider today’s godless world leaders. Perhaps God is speaking, but we’re just not listening.
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Back in biblical times, did they have drive-by smoatings?
Leave A Comment