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This chapter reminds me of an encounter Elijah had with the prophets of Baal when they were seeking help from their “god.”
They took the bull that was brought to them, prepared it, and prayed to Baal until noon. They shouted, “Answer us, Baal!” and kept dancing around the altar they had built. But no answer came. [27] At noon Elijah started making fun of them: “Pray louder! He is a god! Maybe he is day-dreaming or relieving himself, or perhaps he’s gone off on a trip! Or maybe he’s sleeping, and you’ve got to wake him up!” [28] So the prophets prayed louder and cut themselves with knives and daggers, according to their ritual, until blood flowed. [29] They kept on ranting and raving until the middle of the afternoon; but no answer came, not a sound was heard.
1 Kings 18:26-29 GNB
The attitude of Balak is no different in this chapter of Numbers. He wanted God to serve him. He believed that Balaam could manipulate the God of Israel to meet the perceived need. They tried different locations and different sacrifices as if God did not hear them or speak clearly the first time. The truth of the matter was that they approached God as if He was a genie ready to grant their greatest request. With their attitude, they emasculated the Creator of the Universe.
Do we ever do this? Are we guilty of approaching God with a shallow and self-centered attitude?
The most unbelievable part of this story is that God shows grace by speaking truth through Balaam. I have to be honest, I don’t think I would have wasted my time. To me, a nice, clean solution would be to wipe Balaam and Balak off the face of the Earth for their disrespect and find a true prophet of God to speak encouragement to Israel. But, God doesn’t do things the way we think He should all the time, and that’s a very good thing!
For Israel and the rest of the nations observing, they would look upon this story and marvel at the power of the Lord. Our God can take someone hell-bent on manipulation and selfishness and use them to speak truth and life to those whom He loves. Our God is an absolute God. He is not able to be controlled or manipulated. His Word is true the first time. He is always faithful to His promises. He never grows weary or weak in His decisions. He is always consistent with His nature. Though others who have experienced an unreliable, pseudo-powerful, controllable, fake god will try and approach Him in this same manner, His track record speaks for itself.
Theologically speaking, this chapter hammers home a foundational truth. Our God delivers on His promises no matter what. Even when Israel had backslidden and generation after generation had cursed His name, He was still faithful. Even when pagan nations came forward seeking His help, He would not bend His decision to deliver His people into their Promised Land. There is no reason to doubt that if He did it back then, He will surely deliver His people today as well.