1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:03,360 All right, good morning, church family. 2 00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:08,520 Let me say Happy Mother's Day to all of our moms in the house. 3 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:16,400 I don't know how many pastors across America are preaching on 4 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:21,120 a talking donkey on Mother's Day, but there's at least one. 5 00:00:21,880 --> 00:00:25,680 If you would open your Bibles to the Book of Numbers, chapter 22. 6 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:30,040 This morning we're going to be in verses 19 to 29. 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:33,920 Numbers 22. We've been going through numbers 8 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,880 for several months continuing our series. 9 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:42,920 Last week we began a series on the the prophet of Balaam, and 10 00:00:42,920 --> 00:00:47,360 we'll probably be doing at least three 4-5 sermons on him as he 11 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,560 covers the the the next several chapters in the Book of Numbers. 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,360 This morning we're going to be in verses 19 to 29. 13 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:55,760 The title of the sermon this morning is this. 14 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:02,240 God will get our attention. So let's read the text. 15 00:01:02,280 --> 00:01:04,519 I open this word prayer, and then we'll jump into the sermon 16 00:01:04,519 --> 00:01:08,120 this morning. Numbers chapter 22, beginning in 17 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:14,520 verse 19. So you 2, please stay here 18 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:18,440 tonight that I may know what more the Lord will say to me. 19 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,640 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, If the men have 20 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:28,080 come to call you, rise, go with them, but only do what I tell 21 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,640 you. So Balaam rose in the morning 22 00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:33,960 and saddled his donkey, and went with the Princess of Moab. 23 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:37,240 But God's anger was kindled, because he went. 24 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:40,880 And the Angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his 25 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,040 adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, 26 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:45,640 and his two servants were with him. 27 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,000 And the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the road 28 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:52,840 with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned the side 29 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:54,920 out of the road and went into the field. 30 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,680 And Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the road. 31 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,840 Then the Angel Lord stood in a narrow path between the 32 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,720 vineyards, with the wall on either side. 33 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,240 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed 34 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:10,759 against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. 35 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,080 So he struck her again. Then the Angel Lord went ahead, 36 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,720 stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either 37 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:22,640 to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the Angel of 38 00:02:22,640 --> 00:02:26,440 the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, and Balaam's anger was 39 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,480 kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 40 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:32,920 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said, 41 00:02:32,920 --> 00:02:36,960 Balaam, what have I done to you that you have struck me these 42 00:02:36,960 --> 00:02:40,160 three times? And Balaam said to the donkey, 43 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,960 You have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand 44 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,760 for then I would kill you and we're going to stop right there. 45 00:02:52,360 --> 00:03:00,720 If you will pray with me, Father, this morning as we look 46 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:05,160 at a text where at first reading, if maybe somebody here 47 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,880 is it's the first time ever reading the story, it seems 48 00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,120 crazy, seems impossible. There's no way that a donkey can 49 00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:15,600 talk. But I pray that you would help 50 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:24,240 us to see that you are a God who can even cause rocks to speak if 51 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:28,480 you so choose, that Jesus says the rocks would cry out. 52 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:33,480 So of course we believe that a donkey can speak. 53 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:36,920 God, you will use whatever means you choose to get our attention. 54 00:03:37,400 --> 00:03:41,360 I pray this morning, God, you would get our attention that 55 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,720 through your word, through the singing of praises, through the 56 00:03:44,840 --> 00:03:48,440 time of community to the fellowship of the Saints, God, 57 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:50,320 you would get our attention this morning. 58 00:03:52,600 --> 00:04:00,240 I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. You ever had an alarm that would 59 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:06,600 not wake you up? My wife, she likes to set up for 60 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:09,200 her alarm on her phone. She likes to set the most 61 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,520 soothing sound that exists in her phone. 62 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:18,600 She's like, I like to gently, I set the most obnoxious sound. 63 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,800 I find the one that sounds the worst and I that's what I set it 64 00:04:22,840 --> 00:04:26,320 to. Because an alarms purpose is to 65 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:33,240 get your attention. If God were an alarm, he would 66 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,400 be the most effective alarm in the world. 67 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,840 Because God has a way of getting our attention, doesn't he? 68 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,360 God used a burning Bush to get Moses's attention. 69 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,680 God used a wind and an earthquake and a fire to get 70 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:58,200 Elijah's attention. God used a parable to get 71 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:03,840 David's attention and then he used 4 words to really get his 72 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:08,920 attention. You are the man. 73 00:05:11,120 --> 00:05:15,760 God used the death of his ten children and the loss of 74 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,280 everything he owned to get Bob's attention. 75 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:26,280 God turned Nebuchadnezzar into a beast for seven seasons to get 76 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:31,280 Nebuchadnezzar's attention. God used a fish to get Jonah's 77 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:36,200 attention, and then he used a worm to get his attention again. 78 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:43,000 God used Peter's failures to get his attention, and God used a 79 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,760 blinding light to get Saul's attention. 80 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:53,520 And this morning we're going to see that God used a spiritually 81 00:05:53,520 --> 00:06:00,080 seeing donkey and a physically talking donkey to get Balaam's 82 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:06,680 attention. God will get our attention. 83 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:09,240 That's what the sermon is about this morning. 84 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:11,920 So I want to start off by giving context. 85 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:13,880 If you weren't here last week, we're jumping right into the 86 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,040 middle of the story. We began this series on Balaam 87 00:06:17,040 --> 00:06:19,680 last week in Numbers 22 one through 18. 88 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,880 Let me give the context just to bring us all up to speed, and 89 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:25,680 then we'll jump into our exposition and application. 90 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,000 Here's the context. The nation of Israel is camping 91 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,680 in the plains of Moab, and the more bike King Balak sees this 92 00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,240 great horde of people who are camping right next to his 93 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,880 territory. Now he hears about how Israel 94 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:48,560 had defeated Sion, King of the Amorites, and upon this news he 95 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,600 is afraid. He's afraid because he thinks 96 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,240 they may come and attack us. So he comes up with a plan. 97 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,480 His plan is to weaken the forces of Israel. 98 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:03,680 And to do this, he's going to hire a Pagan diviner named 99 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:06,360 Balaam. He's going to hire him to come 100 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:08,960 and curse Israel, thinking that it will weaken them. 101 00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:12,960 So he sends his elders, and he also teams up with Midian's 102 00:07:12,960 --> 00:07:18,000 elders, and he sends both groups of elders to Balaam with a 103 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,680 divination fee in hand to hire him to come and curse Israel. 104 00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:26,200 When they get there, though, Balaam says, well, let me 105 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:28,920 consult with the Lord, let me see what he says. 106 00:07:29,360 --> 00:07:31,640 Spend the night and I'll see what he says. 107 00:07:32,360 --> 00:07:36,040 But God gives Balaam very clear instructions. 108 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:41,800 God says to him, you shall not go with them. 109 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,960 You may not curse them because they are blessed. 110 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:52,680 So Balaam tells the elders, sorry, the Lord refuses to let 111 00:07:52,680 --> 00:07:57,680 me go with you. Now Balick takes this as a 112 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,000 negotiating tactic. He thinks, oh, he's just 113 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:04,440 negotiating for a better offer. So he sweetens the deal. 114 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:08,640 He sends more nobles, more in number, more in honor. 115 00:08:09,200 --> 00:08:11,560 And Balick says something interesting to Balaam. 116 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:15,600 He says to him, let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 117 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:21,440 which includes the Lord. He basically tells Balaam, name 118 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,440 your price, whatever it is, I'll pay it. 119 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,920 But Balaam says to him, listen, even if you gave me all of the 120 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:35,080 King's gold and silver, I could not go beyond the command of the 121 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,320 Lord. You can pay me whatever you 122 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,919 want. I can't go beyond what God tells 123 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:43,440 me to say. And that's where we left off 124 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:46,680 last week. So let's pick up in verse 19. 125 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:48,840 Normally I give expedition at the beginning and then 126 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,040 application at the end. Today I'll be continuing with 127 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,120 what I've been doing the past few weeks of weaving them 128 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:54,480 together. So there won't be any 129 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:56,240 application at the end. It'll be woven together 130 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:00,120 throughout the sermon. Let's start in 18. 131 00:09:02,160 --> 00:09:08,160 So you 2 please stay here tonight that I may know what 132 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:14,200 more the Lord will say to me. So as I just mentioned, this is 133 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,840 now the second trip. They've already made one trip. 134 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:19,520 They've gone back to Balak. Balak sends them again. 135 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,680 This is the second trip. And when they get there, Balaam 136 00:09:24,560 --> 00:09:28,960 says to them, spend the night. Let me see what God will say to 137 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:30,880 me. I want you to consider the 138 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:35,640 contrast between verse 18 and verse 19. 139 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:40,720 If you read verse 18, it appears that Balaam wants to obey God. 140 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,560 It appears that he desires to, to do what God wants. 141 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:48,600 But it what you read verse 19, it reveals where Balaam's heart 142 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:51,760 truly lies. How do we know this? 143 00:09:51,960 --> 00:09:56,720 Because what Balaam should have told them on trip #2 is this. 144 00:09:57,680 --> 00:10:00,320 Why are you guys here again? You need to go home. 145 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,040 I already told you the first time, I can't go with you. 146 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:06,840 God gave me instruction, says I can't go with you. 147 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,840 You need to go home. You, you wasted another journey. 148 00:10:10,360 --> 00:10:12,840 That's what he should have said, but that's not what he does. 149 00:10:14,120 --> 00:10:15,640 That's not what he does. What does he do? 150 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:18,520 He invites them to stay the night. 151 00:10:19,600 --> 00:10:22,160 He says spend the night. Let me go back to the Lord. 152 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:27,680 Let me see what he says. Or as Paul writes, he makes 153 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:36,840 provision for his flesh. Brother and sister, don't invite 154 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:42,120 your flesh or the devil to night. 155 00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:49,680 Don't make provision for your flesh. 156 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:53,320 A few weeks ago in Sunday school we looked at this passage. 157 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,640 We've been going through Romans and Sunday school, and Paul 158 00:10:55,640 --> 00:11:00,720 gives instructions in Romans 1314 where he says make no 159 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:05,320 provision for the flesh. Now what that means is don't 160 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:10,640 give any thought, don't make any plans on how you might indulge 161 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:13,840 your flesh. But that's exactly what Balaam 162 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,640 is doing here. Balaam is making provision for 163 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,920 his flesh. 1 commentator writes writes it like this. 164 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:24,360 Kicks the sin off your doorstep and you won't have it in the 165 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:27,640 house. And yet Balaam does the exact 166 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:29,480 opposite. Rather than kicking it off the 167 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:32,440 doorstep, he invites it into his house. 168 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,240 Brother and sister, make sure you are not inviting sin. 169 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:43,200 You are not inviting the devil to stay the night with you. 170 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:50,640 Now this can come in the form of alcohol, being alone on the 171 00:11:50,640 --> 00:11:59,680 computer, video games, sports, shopping, gambling, food, 172 00:12:00,480 --> 00:12:06,680 gossip. Make no provision for your 173 00:12:06,680 --> 00:12:11,520 flesh. Now, why did Balaam invite them 174 00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:14,640 to stay the night? Why did he do that? 175 00:12:14,880 --> 00:12:16,960 He. Here's what he says that I may 176 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,640 know what more the Lord will say to me. 177 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,240 I want to draw your attention to that word more. 178 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,960 You might even circle it or underline it or highlight it. 179 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:29,240 I want to draw your attention to that word more. 180 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:36,320 What more does God need to say? Did God mix words with his 181 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,400 previous command? Did God speak in a foreign 182 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,760 dialect that Balaam couldn't understand? 183 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:47,760 God said clearly. God said unequivocally, You 184 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:53,840 shall not go with them. What more does he need to say? 185 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:59,440 But Balaam said, OK, stay the night. 186 00:12:59,600 --> 00:13:02,280 Let me see what more he might say to me. 187 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,640 You see, this clearly reveals where Balaam's heart lies. 188 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,800 His heart is not to submit to God's will. 189 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,960 He hopes to change God's will. It's like a common feature you 190 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:22,040 see in sitcom marriages. We don't really have sitcoms all 191 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,880 that much anymore, but you go back to the 90s and early 2000s 192 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:27,560 if you watch any sitcoms. There's a common feature in 193 00:13:27,560 --> 00:13:31,560 sitcom marriages where the wife asked the husband for something, 194 00:13:31,680 --> 00:13:35,600 he says no, or the husband asked the wife for something, she says 195 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,880 no, and now the whole episode is he or she figuring out, how do I 196 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:45,960 get the answer that I want? What do I need to do to get the 197 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:54,880 answer that I want? Friends, when God says no, be 198 00:13:54,880 --> 00:14:01,240 careful that you don't connive and contrive to get the answer 199 00:14:01,240 --> 00:14:08,320 from God that you want. Look at verse 20. 200 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,560 And God came to Balaam that night and said to him, If the 201 00:14:13,560 --> 00:14:19,840 men have come to call you, rise, go with them, but only do what I 202 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,680 tell you. Now for the second time, God 203 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:25,400 comes to Balaam. The narrator says that God came 204 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,000 to him at night, implying that perhaps God spoke to him through 205 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:30,400 a dream. And look at what God said. 206 00:14:30,640 --> 00:14:36,800 God said if the men have come to call you, rise, go with them. 207 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:40,920 Did you catch that? Now how do we make sense of 208 00:14:40,920 --> 00:14:43,520 this? God's first command to Balaam 209 00:14:43,640 --> 00:14:46,160 was this, You shall not go with them. 210 00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:51,880 But now God says go with them. How do we make sense of this? 211 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:54,960 Is is God capricious? Is God fickle? 212 00:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,920 Is God double minded? Is God indecisive? 213 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:04,080 No, to all the above. What we learned from this story 214 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:10,480 in this specific passage is that God's will is not set in stone 215 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,800 the way we often think of it being set in stone. 216 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:17,480 But God's will is mysteriously intertwined with human choices. 217 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:21,400 Mysteriously, ways that we can't understand. 218 00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,720 His will is mysteriously intertwined with human choices. 219 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:27,880 We might ask the question I asked this question when I read 220 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:30,720 this text. What was God's will here like? 221 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,600 What was His will? Was it for Balaam to go, or was 222 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:39,480 it for him not to go? Yes to both. 223 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:43,800 I want to be clear about what I said last week. 224 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:48,880 God's original will was for Balaam not to go. 225 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:51,840 Don't miss that. That was God's original will. 226 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,960 Do not go. But God allowed his will to be 227 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:01,200 changed based on human choices. Now, I want to be clear about 228 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:03,320 this though. Make sure you don't miss this. 229 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:05,720 It's not as though this is Plan B. 230 00:16:07,080 --> 00:16:09,720 It's not as though when I say Plan B, it's not as though God 231 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,880 is scrambling to make things work here. 232 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,560 It's not as though God's like, oh gosh, they're back. 233 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,920 I don't know. I don't want you to go, OK, you 234 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:20,200 can go it. It's not as though God is 235 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,080 scrambling to figure out how to make this work. 236 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:26,440 God knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing here. 237 00:16:27,960 --> 00:16:30,520 And this is important because the same is true for you and me. 238 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,120 How many mistakes have we made in our life? 239 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:38,400 How many poor choices have we made? 240 00:16:40,320 --> 00:16:42,920 And we wondered, did I mess up God's will for my life? 241 00:16:43,560 --> 00:16:48,040 Ever wonder that it was God's will for my life? 242 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:50,120 I made some poor choices. I made some mistakes. 243 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,360 I've had a season of rebellion. I had a season of wandering. 244 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,440 I had a season of sin. Did I mess up God's will for my 245 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:04,280 life? Well, we may not have achieved 246 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:05,800 His initial will. That's true. 247 00:17:05,800 --> 00:17:07,880 We may not have achieved His initial will. 248 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:10,440 But hear me when I say this. That doesn't mean that 249 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:12,760 everything going forward is ruined. 250 00:17:15,839 --> 00:17:19,040 It doesn't. Let me give you an analogy. 251 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:24,240 Abraham, our oldest son Abraham, celebrated his 16th birthday, 252 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:27,599 and Lauren made a birthday cake for him. 253 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:31,200 She made this cake. She put it in the oven. 254 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,120 She got it out. And as she gets it out, she 255 00:17:33,120 --> 00:17:34,840 realized, Oh my gosh, I made a mistake. 256 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,880 She forgot to spray the pan, so when she took the cake out, it 257 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:41,720 was all crumbly and stuff. It was sticking to the pan and 258 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:43,480 whatnot. She puts it on the cake stand 259 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:47,400 and, and she was, you know, sad about it and all that. 260 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,760 And I thought I was like, I bet it tastes great. 261 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:57,240 It may not look the way that it's supposed to look, but I bet 262 00:17:57,240 --> 00:17:59,040 it tastes great. And it did. 263 00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:01,160 It tastes amazing. I had a piece last night. 264 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:14,000 Your life may not look the way that it should because of your 265 00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:22,360 choices, but God can still make it taste amazing. 266 00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:29,800 Amen. Now 2 questions come to my mind 267 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:34,680 when I read this. A Why does God speak to Balaam 268 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,760 at all a second time? Like why did God speak to them 269 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,160 at all? And B, why did God change his 270 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,000 command? Why did he change his command? 271 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:45,640 Let's take those one at a time. A, why does God speak to Balaam 272 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:47,080 at all a second time? You ever wondered that? 273 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:51,000 Why not just keep silent? It's kind of like if, if, if my 274 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,480 son comes and tells me something and ask me something and he's 275 00:18:55,480 --> 00:18:56,840 like, Dad, can I go play outside? 276 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,600 No. And he comes back to me. 277 00:18:59,720 --> 00:19:05,400 He's like, can I go study outside? 278 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,800 Son, you know I don't, I don't have to speak at all. 279 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,560 You, He knows not to even come ask me a second time. 280 00:19:12,640 --> 00:19:18,560 He knows I've already spoken. So why did God speak to him at 281 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,520 all? He gave him instructions. 282 00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,400 He was clear in instructions. Why doesn't God just keep silent 283 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,400 anytime the Lord speaks? He has a reason for doing so. 284 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,480 God has a purpose here and that purpose is going to be revealed 285 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,080 in the coming weeks. B. 286 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,680 Why did God change His command to Balaam? 287 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:41,640 Right? Why did he say don't go and then 288 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:46,600 now he changed it to go? The answer is found and what he 289 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:54,080 says next, He says go, but only do what I tell you. 290 00:19:55,160 --> 00:19:58,720 That's the answer. In other words, God is going to 291 00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:04,160 claim Balaam for His purposes. You see, Balik was the one who 292 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:07,320 was summoning Balaam. Balik was the one who was trying 293 00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:10,640 to hire Balaam. And God comes to Balaam and he 294 00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:13,880 says Balaam Balik is not the one summoning you. 295 00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,440 I am now summoning you. Balik is not the one hiring you. 296 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:20,360 You are working for me. Now. 297 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:27,200 Balaam Balik may be a king, but I am the king of kings. 298 00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:35,960 And now you're working for me, one of the pieces that led to my 299 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:37,120 salvation. I've told the story. 300 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:39,120 If you've been here for a long time, you've heard this before, 301 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,200 but many of you haven't. One of the pieces that led to my 302 00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:46,640 salvation was a very simple statement by a pastor named John 303 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:49,960 MacArthur. Almost 25 years ago, I was 304 00:20:49,960 --> 00:20:52,760 driving on a route in the middle of like nowhere in Alabama. 305 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,160 I was working for a company called CCI. 306 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,440 I was listening to the radio. This is actually how I became a 307 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:00,800 pastor because I would listen to preachers all day long on the 308 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:02,960 radio as I drove. And I was like, I want to do 309 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:06,200 that. And I was listening to the 310 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:07,760 radio. And MacArthur said this 311 00:21:08,120 --> 00:21:12,480 extremely simple. God is your king. 312 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:19,200 Whether you submit to him or not is your king. 313 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,000 And I don't know why, but in that moment as I'm driving my 314 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:30,160 truck, I realized I would do whatever my boss told me to do 315 00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:33,680 because he's my boss and he gives me a paycheck. 316 00:21:36,040 --> 00:21:40,000 But when it came to God, I thought I had a choice. 317 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:47,200 God tells me to do things all the time and I'm like, no. 318 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,280 And it hit me, I don't have this choice. 319 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,800 I don't have this choice that I think that I have. 320 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:06,080 I must do what God tells me to do. 321 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:10,040 You see, I was living like Balaam. 322 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:16,200 I was doing my own thing and I needed to hear from the mouth of 323 00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:19,640 God spoken through His modern day prophet. 324 00:22:20,000 --> 00:22:29,240 Only do what I tell you. Look at 21 to 22 a. 325 00:22:30,840 --> 00:22:34,680 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with 326 00:22:34,680 --> 00:22:38,520 the Princess of Moab. But God's anger was kindled 327 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:42,120 because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took a stand in the 328 00:22:42,120 --> 00:22:47,960 way as his adversary. Wow, the story is already taken. 329 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:50,480 One twist. Now it takes an even more 330 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:55,560 dramatic twist. God says rise, go with them. 331 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,680 Balaam obeys. He goes with them. 332 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:03,000 And then in verse 22, we see that God's anger is kindled 333 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:06,680 because he went with them. You're like, is this some kind 334 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,360 of Jedi mind trick? Like what? 335 00:23:08,360 --> 00:23:14,120 What is you ever have a moment where your boss or your mom or 336 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:17,040 your dad or your coach told you to do something? 337 00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,040 You did it and they're still angry with you. 338 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:24,800 You're like, I did what you said. 339 00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:29,880 Why are you angry? That's what it seems like here. 340 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,040 God said go, and then he's angry for going. 341 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:41,000 How do we make sense of this? How do we make sense of this? 342 00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,000 There are pages and pages written on this. 343 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:47,160 Here is my conjecture after reading many of those pages. 344 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:55,400 Here is my conjecture. Balaam was planning to disobey. 345 00:23:57,520 --> 00:23:59,160 I think he's planning to disobey. 346 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:04,320 I think he thinks as he begins to go, God has given me the 347 00:24:04,320 --> 00:24:08,240 green light. I think he thinks here is my 348 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:15,280 chance to get rich. You see, Balaam wasn't planning 349 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:17,080 to do whatever God told him to do. 350 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:23,320 I think he was planning to get rich and I think the Lord is 351 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:27,960 angry with him for his heart. He's not angry with him because 352 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:32,680 he went, He's angry for his heart and and why he's going now 353 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:33,640 you're like, where do you get that? 354 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,360 Matt? Let me show you where I get 355 00:24:35,360 --> 00:24:37,600 that. I get that that theory from 356 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:41,880 three verses 2132 and 35. Let me show them to you. 357 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,480 Look at verse 21. So Balaam rose in the morning, 358 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,640 saddled his donkey, and went with the Princess of Moab. 359 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:51,640 Now you're like, well, how do you get that from that? 360 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:54,000 Here's why. It's an argument from silence. 361 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:56,080 In other words, notice what's missing. 362 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,480 Balaam does not come back to them and tell them what God had 363 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,680 said. Ian Dugwood, A commentator, 364 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,400 writes this. What Balaam did not do this time 365 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,640 was to get up in the morning and tell the Princess of Balak what 366 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:14,080 the Lord had said. He didn't say to them. 367 00:25:14,200 --> 00:25:18,800 Look, I can come with you if you want, but I can only say what 368 00:25:18,800 --> 00:25:22,960 the Lord says. He told him that the first time. 369 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:24,480 He doesn't tell him the second time. 370 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,360 That's the first argument. Look at verse 32. 371 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,840 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you struck your 372 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:35,240 donkey these three times? Behold, I've come out to oppose 373 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:42,360 you because your way is perverse before me, or you might have a 374 00:25:42,360 --> 00:25:43,720 footnote there. Reckless. 375 00:25:45,040 --> 00:25:46,480 Now the we'll get there next week. 376 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,520 But the Angel Lord looks into his heart and sees that he is 377 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:51,640 operating in a reckless, perverse way. 378 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,360 Here's one more look at verse 35. 379 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,040 And the Angel Lord said to Balaam, go with the men, but 380 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:04,720 speak only the word. In other words, the Angel Lord 381 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,800 repeats his command, almost implying I know in your heart 382 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,240 you weren't who aren't planning to do this. 383 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,480 Make sure you only say what I tell you to say. 384 00:26:22,130 --> 00:26:26,490 So I think that God is angry with him because Balaam is 385 00:26:26,490 --> 00:26:28,450 thinking God has given me the green light. 386 00:26:30,530 --> 00:26:36,330 Here come the Moabite riches. I got the go ahead, bring it 387 00:26:36,450 --> 00:26:45,040 King Balak, this bag. I think that Balaam thought that 388 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:48,480 since God had sanctioned his journey, he was now a free 389 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:52,440 agent. Balaam thinks the commissioner 390 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:55,760 has given him the go ahead. I can now decide do I want to 391 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:58,120 play for Team Israel or Team Moab? 392 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:04,800 You see, so many Christians believe that once they have made 393 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:09,920 Team Christianity right out for the team you made Team 394 00:27:09,920 --> 00:27:11,920 Christianity. So many Christians, after they 395 00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:14,440 make Team Christianity, they believe they're free agents. 396 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:23,440 Free agents, friends, we are not, we are not free agents. 397 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:26,760 We are sons of the Lord. We're also slaves of the Lord. 398 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:30,800 Let's not forget that we also like to preach about the fact 399 00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:32,760 that we're sons of the Lord, sons and daughters. 400 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:34,640 That is 100% true. That's gloriously true. 401 00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:40,800 But don't miss we are also slaves of the Lord, a son and a 402 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:45,760 slave. We are not free agents. 403 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,080 What we learned from the Lord's anger here is that God's 404 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:57,240 pleasure is not merely tied to our outward conformity to His 405 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:02,000 will, but our hearts matter as well. 406 00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:06,680 You see, Balaam doesn't get a pass because he's physically 407 00:28:06,680 --> 00:28:09,400 doing the will of the Lord. You might think, how can God be 408 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:11,400 angry with him? He's doing what God told him. 409 00:28:12,280 --> 00:28:13,480 He is doing the will of the Lord. 410 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:17,760 God said go and he's going, No, his heart is not right and doing 411 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:22,200 the will of the Lord. Outward conformity to God's will 412 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:24,600 means nothing if our heart is not right. 413 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,160 Now, as a result of his anger, the Lord takes action. 414 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,840 What does he do? God sends the Angel of the Lord 415 00:28:32,840 --> 00:28:35,920 to stand in his way. Now, who or what is the Angel of 416 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:37,000 the Lord? I don't want to assume that 417 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,400 everybody knows what the Angel of the Lord is. 418 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:41,000 We could do an entire Bible study on this figure. 419 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,880 I could spend the whole rest of the sermon just talking about 420 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:44,400 who this is. I won't do that. 421 00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:48,760 I won't bore you on this, but there is quite a bit of mystery 422 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:50,160 here on who the Angel of the Lord is. 423 00:28:50,600 --> 00:28:54,320 Let me just give you some of the actions of who this figure is. 424 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:56,880 This. We first see this figure 425 00:28:56,880 --> 00:29:00,880 speaking with Hagar. He he's the figure who tells 426 00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,960 Abraham not sacrifice his son when he calls out from heaven. 427 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:05,760 He appeared to Moses in the Bush. 428 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:07,760 The one who appears to Moses in the Bush is the Angel of the 429 00:29:07,760 --> 00:29:09,920 Lord. He appeared to Gideon and called 430 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:13,080 him into God's service. He appeared to Manoah and told 431 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,240 her that she would have a son named Amson strikes down the 432 00:29:16,240 --> 00:29:20,200 Israelites with David's census. When David took an an 433 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:23,480 unrighteous census and God kills 70,000 Israelites, he is the one 434 00:29:23,480 --> 00:29:26,000 who kills 70,000 Israelites. He meets Elijah in the 435 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:30,600 wilderness with food. He struck down 185,000 Assyrians 436 00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:36,400 with one swap of his sword. So this is a terrifying figure, 437 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:45,840 tremendous power. And here he is standing in 438 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,800 Balaam's path. And I want you to notice what 439 00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:51,360 the Angel of the Lord's mission was here. 440 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:59,400 Look what it says, God sent the Angel of the Lord to stand in 441 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:04,040 the way as his adversary. Wow. 442 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:08,960 Do you know what the Hebrew word for adversary is there? 443 00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:13,840 Satan. That's where we get the word 444 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,600 Satan. That's what Satan name means, 445 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,520 adversary. This is actually the first usage 446 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:30,120 of the word Satan in the Bible. Balaam is on a path of sin. 447 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:34,840 And I want you to notice what God doesn't do. 448 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:41,040 He doesn't seek to persuade him. He doesn't seek to cajole him. 449 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:45,760 He doesn't seek to exhort him. He doesn't seek to encourage 450 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:52,200 him. God seeks to oppose Him as an 451 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:58,240 adversary. Brother, sister, when we are on 452 00:30:58,240 --> 00:31:04,120 a path of sin, God and His loving kindness becomes our 453 00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:10,200 adversary. When we are on a path of sin, 454 00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:17,360 God and His loving kindness becomes our adversary. 455 00:31:21,200 --> 00:31:25,920 How many times do we get sick or injured because the Lord is 456 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:27,560 lovingly calling us to slow down? 457 00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:33,120 You ever think about that? You ever wonder if your sickness 458 00:31:33,120 --> 00:31:37,080 or your injury is the Lord actually calling you to slow 459 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:41,160 down? How many times do we get put it 460 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,360 in a possible situation like why did God give me this? 461 00:31:45,440 --> 00:31:47,000 This is impossible. Why did he give to you? 462 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:50,040 Perhaps He wants to break our self-sufficiency. 463 00:31:53,640 --> 00:32:05,960 How many times do our dreams die so that our souls don't die when 464 00:32:05,960 --> 00:32:11,640 we're on a path of sin? God will be our adversary in His 465 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:16,880 loving kindness. Look at verse 22, B to 23. 466 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,680 Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with 467 00:32:21,680 --> 00:32:23,160 him. And the donkey saw the Angel 468 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:25,960 Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. 469 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,720 And the donkey turned aside out of the road, went into the 470 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:32,720 field, and Balaam struck the donkey to turn her into the 471 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,400 road. Balaam is now riding on a 472 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:38,200 donkey. He has two of his servants with 473 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:44,280 him, so three humans in total. And the donkey sees the Angel of 474 00:32:44,280 --> 00:32:48,920 the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. 475 00:32:49,880 --> 00:32:53,960 So it's a female donkey. So she naturally turns the side 476 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:56,200 out of the road and goes into the field. 477 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,400 Now, of course, Balaam is wondering, why is my donkey 478 00:33:01,400 --> 00:33:03,120 doing this? This prompts him to strike the 479 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,040 donkey. He strikes the donkey to turn 480 00:33:05,040 --> 00:33:09,560 her back into the road. Now the fact that Balaam strikes 481 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:11,560 the donkey, what does that tell us? 482 00:33:13,320 --> 00:33:18,760 He didn't see the Angel. Had he seen the Angel, he would 483 00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,920 know why this donkey is. But he strikes the donkey 484 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:23,760 because he doesn't see the Angel. 485 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,240 How ironic that all three humans, Balaam and his two 486 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:33,600 servants don't see the Angel or three humans, 6 pairs of human, 487 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:39,360 6 eyeballs do not see the Angel of the Lord, but a donkey did. 488 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:45,080 Why did God open the eyes of the donkey before Balaam? 489 00:33:45,280 --> 00:33:49,080 You ever wonder that why did he open the eyes of the donkey but 490 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:51,240 not the eyes of Balaam? Why did he do that? 491 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:55,400 I think Balaam actually answers this question in verse 29. 492 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,720 Look at verse 29. Balaam said the donkey because 493 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:04,160 you have made a fool of me. I think that's the answer. 494 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:11,760 I think God wanted to show Balaam what he was a fool. 495 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:19,280 Brother, sister, do you see more than just with your physical 496 00:34:19,280 --> 00:34:26,320 eyes? I mean, when I ask this, do you 497 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:30,800 see more than just with your physical eyes when you come to 498 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,880 church? Do you see the spiritual battle 499 00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:35,600 that is going on behind the scenes? 500 00:34:36,880 --> 00:34:43,600 I see it. I see it as I preach. 501 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:46,080 I can see everyone of you. I can see what you're doing. 502 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,480 I can see when you're stubborn to what's being received. 503 00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:50,040 I can see when you're distracted, when you're on your 504 00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,520 phone, when you're sleeping, when you are. 505 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:57,880 I see it and I don't take it as like a personal I take it as a 506 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:04,120 spiritual battle that battles going on right now, that Satan 507 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:09,040 would seek to steal the seed that's trying to be sown right 508 00:35:09,040 --> 00:35:14,880 now in your hearts. Do you see it when you come to 509 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:17,600 church? Do you see the spiritual battle 510 00:35:17,720 --> 00:35:27,560 that is going on right now? Do you see it, parents, when 511 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:29,680 you're in your home? Do you see the spiritual battle 512 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,400 for your children's soul? Do you see it? 513 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:40,440 Do you see the world that would seek to steal your children's 514 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:46,160 souls? Do you see it, college students? 515 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:50,840 Do you see the spiritual battle on campus that seeks to destroy 516 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:56,360 young men and young women that you are in a moldable time in 517 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,440 your life and that the world is going to do everything they can 518 00:35:59,440 --> 00:36:03,080 to try to shape and fashion you before you go work at Amazon or 519 00:36:03,080 --> 00:36:06,560 Microsoft or Google or Boeing, wherever you're going to go in 520 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:10,920 life, before you get there, the world is trying to steal your 521 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:12,400 soul. Do you see it? 522 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:17,200 And if you're saying that, Pastor, you being a little 523 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:21,800 dramatic here, you don't see it. Then if you think I'm being 524 00:36:21,800 --> 00:36:30,320 dramatic, you don't see it. When you go to work tomorrow 525 00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:34,400 morning, do you see the spiritual battle that seeks to 526 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:38,760 get you to buy into the idols of this world, the idols of 527 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:42,520 success, the idols of money, the idols of performance? 528 00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:46,800 Do you see it? Do your eyes see it? 529 00:36:53,160 --> 00:36:56,680 Do you see with more than just your physical eyes? 530 00:37:02,350 --> 00:37:05,310 Now the Angel is not just standing in the road, he's 531 00:37:05,310 --> 00:37:08,110 standing in the road with a sword drawn in his hand. 532 00:37:08,990 --> 00:37:12,510 Now donkeys may not be logical, rational creatures, but they 533 00:37:12,510 --> 00:37:14,630 know enough not to walk into certain death. 534 00:37:16,110 --> 00:37:18,750 So the donkey turns his side out of the road and goes into the 535 00:37:18,750 --> 00:37:22,190 field. Now Balaam assumes the donkeys 536 00:37:22,190 --> 00:37:26,960 just being stubborn stupid. That's what he assumes, which is 537 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,600 ironic because it is him who is being stubborn and stupid. 538 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:35,040 Look at verse 24 to 25. Then the Angel of the Lord stood 539 00:37:35,040 --> 00:37:37,920 in a narrow path between the vineyards with a wall on either 540 00:37:37,920 --> 00:37:39,720 side. And when the donkey saw the 541 00:37:39,720 --> 00:37:42,400 Angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed 542 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:45,960 Balem's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 543 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:51,960 It appears the donkey has now taken a narrow path between two 544 00:37:51,960 --> 00:37:54,400 vineyards. Now vineyards would also be 545 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:59,000 enclosed by walls, usually to keep animals out and mark 546 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:01,760 boundaries and so forth. So there appears to be these two 547 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:04,200 vineyards side by side with a wall, right? 548 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,360 There's a wall here and a wall here. 549 00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:08,600 The donkey's travelling down. There's a narrow path in between 550 00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:10,960 these two walls. The Angel of the Lord standing 551 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:14,720 in this path right here, and so the donkey still sees. 552 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:17,960 The Angel of the Lord doesn't want to encounter this sword, so 553 00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:21,920 the donkey turns against the wall, trying to squeeze by 554 00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,960 around this Angel. But in doing that, Balaam, who 555 00:38:25,960 --> 00:38:29,720 was riding his donkey, gets his foot crushed against the wall. 556 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:31,960 Donkeys are very powerful creatures. 557 00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,280 Crushes his foot. Now he doesn't like getting his 558 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:38,240 foot crushed. So what does he do? 559 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:43,640 He strikes the donkey again. The verb, The verb therefore 560 00:38:43,640 --> 00:38:46,000 crushed, it literally means afflicted or oppressed. 561 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,040 The donkey's afflicting or oppressing his foot, so he 562 00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:50,560 afflicts or oppresses the donkey. 563 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:54,880 He strikes the donkey again. Now here's why this is 564 00:38:54,880 --> 00:38:59,080 important. Remember, Balaam is a prophet in 565 00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:01,200 those days, especially Pagan ones. 566 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:03,160 They, they, they read into everything. 567 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,200 You know this too, if you, if you've ever been around like 568 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:11,120 certain kind of mystical religions go to foreign 569 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:13,680 countries, They read into everything, right? 570 00:39:14,080 --> 00:39:17,000 This, this means this, and this means that, and that means this. 571 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:18,880 And maybe this happened because of this, right? 572 00:39:19,880 --> 00:39:24,520 As a prophet, he should have stopped to consider, why is my 573 00:39:24,520 --> 00:39:29,440 donkey doing this? As a prophet, he should have 574 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:32,760 wondered, and we're going to see next week the donkey's like, do 575 00:39:32,760 --> 00:39:36,240 I ever do this to you? Do I have a history of doing 576 00:39:36,240 --> 00:39:38,280 this? The answer is no. 577 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:41,760 So as a prophet, he should have stopped to consider why is my 578 00:39:41,760 --> 00:39:45,080 donkey doing this? But he is blinded by his own 579 00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:46,760 greed. He's blinded by his own 580 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:53,080 ambition. When God keeps closing doors, 581 00:39:54,640 --> 00:39:56,680 you ever wanted something? You ever tried for something and 582 00:39:56,680 --> 00:40:00,240 God keeps closing doors? When God keeps closing doors, do 583 00:40:00,240 --> 00:40:07,880 we stop to ask why, or do we just keep punching our way 584 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,320 through? I'm going to make this happen. 585 00:40:11,240 --> 00:40:15,160 I'm going to get this degree. Come hell or high water, I'm 586 00:40:15,160 --> 00:40:22,360 going to get this degree, I'm going to get this, I'm going to 587 00:40:22,360 --> 00:40:25,800 get this house, I'm going to accomplish my dreams. 588 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:31,040 When God keeps closing doors, do we ever stop to ask why? 589 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:34,760 Or do we just keep punching our way through? 590 00:40:37,600 --> 00:40:42,640 God closed the door to Balaam 3 times with his donkey and Balaam 591 00:40:42,640 --> 00:40:48,680 never once stopped to ask why is this happening. 592 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:51,920 He just kept striking the donkey. 593 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:57,760 Sometimes I think we do the exact same thing. 594 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:03,280 God closes the door. He closes another door. 595 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:09,120 He closes yet another door and rather than asking God, God what 596 00:41:09,120 --> 00:41:11,880 are you telling me here, What are you showing me here? 597 00:41:12,040 --> 00:41:15,840 We just keep punching our way through, determined to make it 598 00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:20,920 work. You see, the before the donkey 599 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:24,840 ever spoke with her words, she spoke with her actions. 600 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:31,360 The only reason that the donkey spoke with her words is because 601 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:34,960 Balaam wasn't paying attention to what the donkey was telling 602 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:42,080 him with her actions. What is God trying to show, 603 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:51,480 friend? What is God trying to show you? 604 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:55,840 What is he trying to get your attention? 605 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,000 I assure you, he's trying to get your attention about something. 606 00:42:02,040 --> 00:42:07,280 What is He trying to show you? What is He trying to get your 607 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:13,320 attention about? There is something. 608 00:42:13,320 --> 00:42:21,600 Look at verse 2627. Then the Angel Lord went ahead 609 00:42:21,600 --> 00:42:24,680 and stood in a narrow place where there's no way to turn 610 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:26,280 either to the right or to the left. 611 00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:29,400 When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she laid down to 612 00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:31,120 Balaam, and Balaam's anger was kindled. 613 00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:34,000 And he's fucked the donkey with his staff. 614 00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:36,400 Now, for the third time, the Angel of the Lord stands in the 615 00:42:36,400 --> 00:42:38,360 way. He stands in a narrow place 616 00:42:38,360 --> 00:42:40,680 where there's no way to turn to the right or to the left. 617 00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:42,560 Now, did you notice the progression there? 618 00:42:43,120 --> 00:42:46,800 There was an open path. There's a narrow path with a 619 00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:49,800 wall on the other side. And now there's a narrow place 620 00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:51,760 where there's no way to turn to the right or the left. 621 00:42:52,040 --> 00:42:54,720 Now, did you notice the progression? 622 00:42:55,920 --> 00:43:00,040 God is closing in on Balaam. He's closing in on him. 623 00:43:00,160 --> 00:43:03,520 He's squeezing Balaam's stubbornness. 624 00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:07,800 You see God as a way of constricting our lives. 625 00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:12,560 Why? Because it's so tempting to 626 00:43:12,560 --> 00:43:15,360 think that the path is broad, isn't it? 627 00:43:18,000 --> 00:43:21,760 It's so tempting to think that there there are all kinds of 628 00:43:21,760 --> 00:43:26,760 Christians on this path. Pastor, there's not just one 629 00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:28,760 path. There's all kinds of Christians 630 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:30,960 on this path. Jesus makes it clear. 631 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:34,800 Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is narrow and the way 632 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:39,400 is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few. 633 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:44,760 Matthew 713 to 14 Christian do not believe the lie that the 634 00:43:44,760 --> 00:43:48,640 path is broad. It is not. 635 00:43:50,280 --> 00:43:54,200 There is one path, and it is the path that Jesus walked. 636 00:43:57,480 --> 00:44:02,360 And if we're not on that path, we might even be walking a path 637 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:05,800 that is just to the left of it or the right of it. 638 00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:08,000 If we're not on that path, you know what God will do? 639 00:44:08,200 --> 00:44:13,560 He'll keep constricting us. He'll keep constricting us until 640 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:20,840 we get on the path. Now for the third time, the 641 00:44:20,840 --> 00:44:23,360 donkey sees the Angel Lord, and Balaam does not. 642 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:26,440 This is the third time. Donkey 3, Balaam 0. 643 00:44:28,240 --> 00:44:31,920 Now because there is nowhere to turn, there's nowhere for him 644 00:44:31,920 --> 00:44:33,400 to. He can't turn into a field. 645 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:35,680 There's nowhere for him to squeeze by. 646 00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:39,240 What does he do? He just lays down. 647 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:42,080 He's like, I'm not walking into my certain death. 648 00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:44,320 He sees the sword. He sees this terrifying figure. 649 00:44:44,440 --> 00:44:47,200 He just, she, she, she just lays down. 650 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:50,000 And then Balaam. Now Balaam's had it with his 651 00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:52,840 donkey. His anger is kindled, he pulls 652 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:57,280 out his staff and he strikes the donkey for the third time with 653 00:44:57,280 --> 00:45:03,640 his staff, which is ironic because remember it was first 654 00:45:03,640 --> 00:45:05,960 God's anger that was kindled towards Balaam. 655 00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:08,760 Now it is Balaam's anger that's kindled towards his donkey. 656 00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:15,160 Look at verse 28 to 29. Then the Lord open the donkey 657 00:45:15,160 --> 00:45:19,600 and she said to Balaam, what have I done to you that you have 658 00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:22,520 struck me these three times? And Balaam said to the donkey, 659 00:45:22,840 --> 00:45:25,560 because you have made a fool of me, I wish I had a sword in my 660 00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:30,240 hand, for then I would kill you. The Lord first open the eyes of 661 00:45:30,240 --> 00:45:33,080 the donkey before he opened the donkey's mouth, he opened the 662 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:36,120 donkey's eyes. But because Balaam did not 663 00:45:36,120 --> 00:45:39,520 perceive what God was doing through this donkey, now the 664 00:45:39,520 --> 00:45:42,640 Lord says, OK Balaam, I'm going to open the donkey's mouth. 665 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:50,440 Narrator says, and she said just think about that, talk about 666 00:45:50,440 --> 00:45:54,200 donkey here. And she said, I don't think this 667 00:45:54,200 --> 00:45:56,760 is a metaphor. I don't think this is a dream. 668 00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:00,240 I think this is literal. You may take it otherwise, but I 669 00:46:00,240 --> 00:46:03,840 take this to be literal. I think the donkey spoke 670 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:10,160 literally spoke to Balaam. I did wonder though, did God 671 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:15,040 give the donkey the ability to speak Hebrew or did God give 672 00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:17,400 Balaam the ability to understand donkey? 673 00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:23,360 I don't know. My guess is that it's the 674 00:46:23,360 --> 00:46:28,160 former. I can remember one of the most 675 00:46:28,160 --> 00:46:30,120 anxious moments in my life. This is a true story. 676 00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:32,680 I can remember one of the most anxious moments in my life was 677 00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:34,200 when I was taking Hebrew at seminary. 678 00:46:35,160 --> 00:46:36,640 I was like, I'm never going to get there. 679 00:46:38,160 --> 00:46:40,800 This donkey learned Hebrew in one day. 680 00:46:43,360 --> 00:46:45,000 Can you imagine an animal talking to you? 681 00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:50,280 I mean just like stop and think. Can you imagine an animal 682 00:46:50,280 --> 00:46:52,320 talking to you? Can you imagine if your your dog 683 00:46:52,320 --> 00:47:03,950 started speaking Mandarin? I have no problem believing this 684 00:47:04,350 --> 00:47:06,310 because in the garden the serpent spoke as well. 685 00:47:08,030 --> 00:47:10,310 Sounds as though this is the only instance the serpent spoke 686 00:47:10,310 --> 00:47:13,270 in the garden. The donkey asked an interesting 687 00:47:13,270 --> 00:47:14,950 question. The donkey says, what have I 688 00:47:14,950 --> 00:47:17,670 done to you that you have struck me these three times? 689 00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:21,640 Now this is one of those questions that God asked. 690 00:47:21,640 --> 00:47:24,360 This is like, this is essentially God speaking to 691 00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:26,800 Balaam through the donkey. This is a question that God is 692 00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:30,200 asking Balaam. It's and we know it's a God kind 693 00:47:30,200 --> 00:47:32,480 of question because it's one of those questions that are meant 694 00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:36,960 to, to make the person stop and think, to make them think, well, 695 00:47:36,960 --> 00:47:38,360 why have I struck you three times? 696 00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:41,200 But Balaam doesn't do that. Balaam doesn't stop and think 697 00:47:41,200 --> 00:47:43,880 why I've done this. Without missing a beat, he talks 698 00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:46,880 back to the donkey. Now, what I think is crazier, if 699 00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:50,280 you ask me, what's the craziest part of the story, it's not that 700 00:47:50,280 --> 00:47:55,600 the donkey speaks to Balaam. It's that Balaam speaks to the 701 00:47:55,600 --> 00:47:58,760 donkey. He just speaks without. 702 00:47:58,880 --> 00:48:00,280 He doesn't. He doesn't ask. 703 00:48:00,800 --> 00:48:02,200 Wait, what? You can talk. 704 00:48:02,600 --> 00:48:06,520 How are you talking right now? He doesn't schedule an 705 00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:08,880 appointment with his shrink to go get his head checked out. 706 00:48:11,480 --> 00:48:14,360 He doesn't ask his servant, Hey, where did you get those 707 00:48:14,360 --> 00:48:22,240 mushrooms you gave me earlier? He just starts talking back to 708 00:48:22,240 --> 00:48:26,480 the donkey. And look at what he says. 709 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:32,800 You have made a fool out of me. Other translations you have made 710 00:48:32,800 --> 00:48:34,880 a mockery of me. Or another translation. 711 00:48:34,920 --> 00:48:38,320 You made me look stupid, Balaam says. 712 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:42,160 I wish I had a sword in my hand, which is kind of funny because 713 00:48:42,160 --> 00:48:43,880 the I can imagine the dog and be like, well, there's one right 714 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:47,680 there if you want to grab it from the but he's that sword is 715 00:48:47,680 --> 00:48:48,720 for you. It's not for me. 716 00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:53,760 I wish I had a sword in my hand for then I would kill you. 717 00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:59,120 How ironic. How ironic because it was the 718 00:48:59,160 --> 00:49:04,120 donkey who kept Balaam from being killed by the sword. 719 00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:11,440 The donkey is the only thing keeping Balaam alive. 720 00:49:16,640 --> 00:49:25,640 How many times does God give us a trial and we think I just want 721 00:49:25,640 --> 00:49:32,680 this trial to die? I wish I could kill this trial, 722 00:49:34,200 --> 00:49:37,280 just as Balaam wants this donkey to die. 723 00:49:39,400 --> 00:49:44,120 But what if the trial is the only thing keeping us 724 00:49:44,120 --> 00:49:51,400 spiritually alive? What if the trial that you're 725 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:56,320 going through is the only thing keeping us spiritually alive? 726 00:49:59,600 --> 00:50:05,280 What if God has to crush our foot against a wall and make us 727 00:50:05,280 --> 00:50:09,080 look like a fool to get our attention? 728 00:50:13,120 --> 00:50:21,520 God will get our attention even through a speaking donkey. 729 00:50:23,080 --> 00:50:23,400 Let's pray.