| WHOSE SIDE IS BALAAM ON? |
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| next appears in Numbers 31:8, the slain victim of an Israelite raid. Outright condemnations in 2 Peter 2:14, Jude 11, and Revelation 2:14 indicate that Balaam quickly returned to his treacherous ways. Having failed to manipulate the Israelites' God for his purposes, he resorted to manipulating the Israelites themselves. He convinced other nations to seduce them with sex and the worship of false gods. His actions led to the deaths of 24,000 people (25:9). Some have called Balaam the Judas of the Old Testament, and certain parallels do emerge. Both men came close enough to truth to appear sincere and faithful. For a time, both seemed to serve the true God. But, motivated by ambition and greed, they renounced God and turned against him, with catastrophic results. Part of a Bigger Battle Seven books of the Bible refer to Balaam. The importance given to his story implies that it stood as a key event in the Israelites' relationship to pagan cultures. The Israelites were about to enter a land where magic and sorcery were used as national weapons. In a stroke of irony, God selected a spokesman who was both magician and pagan. Through him God rebuked those nations and their false gods. Life Questions: Have you ever been used by God despite your own reluctance? |
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