Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

In our first consideration of Balaam as a type or picture of the Lord, we find him resisting the initial offering of the king of Moab, fighting off the temptation, and successfully sending the Moabite servants back to Balak.

But Balak, like all tempters, is not to give up easily. He needs Balaam’s “talent” and sends more important folks to discuss with Balaam.

Let’s read the passage and consider how Balaam performs in this second tempation.

Numbers 22:15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these.
Numbers 22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me,
Numbers 22:17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’”
Numbers 22:18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more.
Numbers 22:19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”
Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”
Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Now before we get into this passage, lets remember this is the temptation that includes Balaam’s donkey chit chatting with him. Although super interesting, this portion of the passage will not be dealt with in this posting.

second Temptation

In this second temptation, Balak offers Balaam great honor and a blank check. He is not simply providing the diviner’s fees as in the last temptation. No no no. Balak offered him an incredible, though generic, offer.

Numbers 22:17 ….whatever you say to me I will do

Balaam, if anything in this passage, is not subtle. He pontificates on his ability to resist – I would suggest this is a great weakness – even as the offer of a blank check is provided.

Numbers 22:18 …”Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more”.

Balaam’s response is awesome. Sounds really good, but I wonder. Why mention gold and silver unless it was on his mind? Could he not have simply said no, that Israel was blessed, and that God was in charge, that God was the One who determined Israel’s future?

Balaam begins to show his inner man, his desire for wealth and power in this temptation. The covering is dropping and his nature becomes a bit more evident than in the first temptation.

Yes Balaam rejected the temptation, but he also seemed to introduce an opportunity for the men of Moab to provide greater motivation for Balaam next time.

You know, I am wondering. Did Balaam actually resist the temptation here? As I read a bit further, and see that God becomes angry with Balaam, I have to ask myself – What is going on? Lets review the passage and check out verse 20 through 22 for some clues.

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”
Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
Numbers 22:22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, …

What is it that Balaam did, per the passage above, that might have kindled the anger of the Lord?

You see, Balaam eventually ventured off to Moab with these fellas, but I don’t see where the men came to call on him. Notice in verse 20, that tiny word “if”. Notice that God placed a condition on Balaam’s release to venture off, but it seems Balaam, in his desire for houses full of gold, may have made an assumption he shouldn’t have. He simply rose and went.

God told Balaam to rise. Balaam rose in the morning.

God told Balaam to go with the princes of Moab. Balaam went with the men.

The only thing Balaam didn’t do was to wait for the men to come get him. The silence of the passage referring to the men coming to Balaam is deafening. Balaam simply wanted to go and he simply went.

If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny, for Balaam used that “if” word in response to God’s restricting him while travelling

Numbers 22:34 ESV – Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”

Again, Balaam did not simply bow to the Lord, admit his sin and turn back. Was there something in the circumstances that allowed Balaam to think his sin in travelling, without fulfilling the condition God set, was acceptable? Maybe he was simply looking for an opportunity to continue on his way, hoping for the allowance of God in his mission.

In summary, he refused the offer of the Moabites in verse 18, but told the men to stick around. Maybe God may change His mind, maybe he could work this situation. After that night, and knowing the condition God set, Balaam simply started travelling with the emissaries. Now he is asking if….

Numbers 22:34 … if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”

It turns out God did allow Balaam to venture into the lions den, into Moab and to face the tempter himself, Balak, the king of Moab.

Balaam, by his speech and teaching to the Moabites is looking relatively good. He is speaking of God’s blessing on Israel, and the refusal of cursing upon Israel. Yet he seems to be exhibiting the character traits of a self willed, greedy man.

Jesus, though, did not succumb to His second temptation, nor provide any long winded reasoning or excuse, but simply quoted God’s word. He exhibited the willingness to allow suffering to enter His life, and to not test God, but to be subject to the will of God.

Balaam sought the worlds riches, while Jesus rebuked His tempter. Note that this second temptation of the Messiah speaks of God’s blank check to the Messiah, of His care for the Messiah, of the angels at God’s beck and call for the sake of the Messiah.

Such commitment from the Father to the Son, and to think that that care was relinquished for our sake. Of course, the Father’s eye watched over the Son in every trial and terror, until the last, where the Son willingly suffered for our sakes.

He gave up this promise for us. He gave up all for us. He is so unlike Balaam. He is so unlike us.

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