1 00:00:01,200 --> 00:00:07,440 Thank you, Lydia and Levi. You know I've said this before, 2 00:00:07,440 --> 00:00:11,360 but we are so fortunate to have the young people in our church 3 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:17,440 that are dedicated to the Lord. I told them if they ever change, 4 00:00:17,440 --> 00:00:18,720 I'm going to come back and haunt them. 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:24,360 But I appreciate them. That song is beautiful. 6 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,280 We do need the Lord, there's no doubt about it. 7 00:00:27,360 --> 00:00:29,720 Let's go to the Lord in prayer and we'll start right off with 8 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:31,240 prayer. Father, we do need you. 9 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:34,480 God, we thank you so much for what you did for us on that 10 00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:36,240 cross. God, we don't deserve it. 11 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:41,120 We still don't deserve it, Lord. Lord, you did it because you 12 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:43,520 loved us and we thank you so much for that. 13 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:48,160 We thank you for your word that you have deserved for us, that 14 00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,000 you've given to us, God, and we we glean from it. 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:57,720 And we ask tonight, Lord, that in this account of what happened 16 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,960 in Numbers chapter 22, that you would just bring it to life to 17 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:04,480 us. Help us, Lord, to a pride to our 18 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,000 lives in Jesus name we pray, Amen. 19 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:15,480 Turn to Numbers chapter 22 in the way of introduction. 20 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:19,120 This is probably one of the funniest that can is this thing 21 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:25,520 too high? It's ringing in my ears, but 22 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,200 it's one of the funniest accounts, I think, that's 23 00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,760 recorded in the Bible, but really one of the weirdest 24 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,400 accounts that's been recorded in the Bible too. 25 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:41,160 And it's the interaction actually between Balaam and his 26 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:45,640 donkey. But Balaam was there for a 27 00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,520 reason. And I, I will say this, we're in 28 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:53,040 the Old Testament tonight. Brother Jim was in the Old 29 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,360 Testament this morning and brother Greg and Sunday school 30 00:01:56,360 --> 00:01:58,240 was in the Old Testament this morning. 31 00:01:58,440 --> 00:02:01,000 Now, you know, in the modern day church, the Old Testament is 32 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,360 just a bunch of stories. So we could have all stayed home 33 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,720 today if we are a modern church. But you know what the Bible says 34 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,200 that all Scripture, all scripture. 35 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,600 And so, so we, we don't take that we don't believe that. 36 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:21,440 We believe that everything that is written in the Bible has a 37 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:24,000 place in our life, and God has it there. 38 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:26,120 And guess what? It's eternal. 39 00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:29,880 It's not going away. It's going to be with us in 40 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:31,640 heaven. So it's always going to be 41 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:34,840 there. And so we're going to be in the 42 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:38,360 Old Testament, We're going to take it, and we're going to see 43 00:02:38,360 --> 00:02:42,040 what God has for us tonight. But to better understand this 44 00:02:42,040 --> 00:02:45,960 story, I think we first of all need to understand a little bit 45 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:47,920 about the characters in this story. 46 00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,800 And there's a lot of characters actually in it, but we are going 47 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,040 to look at basically three. We're going to look at Balak, 48 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:59,120 Balaam, and then the donkey. And those are the three 49 00:02:59,120 --> 00:03:01,720 characters that we're going to look at tonight. 50 00:03:01,920 --> 00:03:06,000 So let's first of all, I do want to talk just a little bit about 51 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,280 Balak First, I think we need to have a little understanding of 52 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,680 who Balak was and what he was doing. 53 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:17,760 So in in Numbers chapter 22, we're going to read the 1st 4 54 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:22,360 verses and the children of Israel set forth and pitched in 55 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:27,320 the plains of Moab on the side Jordan by Jericho and Baloch. 56 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:31,320 I'm going to say Balaam and I'm going to say Baloch. 57 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,160 And so they're probably going to get all twisted up. 58 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:35,840 But you, you know what I'm talking about. 59 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,520 You know who I'm talking about. But Baloch the son of Zeppler 60 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:43,080 saw all that Israel had done to the Amorite, and Moab was sore 61 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,480 afraid of the people because there were many. 62 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,360 And Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. 63 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:54,560 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company 64 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:58,840 lick up all that is around about us, as the ox licketh up the 65 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,680 grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zepper was 66 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,760 king of the Moabats at the time. Now here's what we know about 67 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:09,800 about Balak. We know that Balak, first of 68 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,920 all, was afraid of Israel. He showed tremendous fear here 69 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:17,079 of Israel, but he really didn't need to. 70 00:04:17,399 --> 00:04:21,399 I want you to go over to Deuteronomy 23, three and four, 71 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:26,800 because in this verse we're going to see that God told 72 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:30,800 Israel, stay away from them. You don't want anything to do 73 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:36,080 with them at this point in in Deuteronomy 23 in three and 74 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:39,480 four, it says and the Amorite and the Moabites shall not enter 75 00:04:39,480 --> 00:04:42,120 into the congregation of the Lord even to their 10th 76 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,160 generation. Shall they ever enter into the 77 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:49,120 synagogue of the Lord forever because they met you not in not 78 00:04:49,120 --> 00:04:53,160 with bread and and water in the way when you came out of Egypt. 79 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,800 God didn't want anything having to do he didn't want the 80 00:04:56,800 --> 00:05:00,320 Israelites to mix with Moab. So the Israelites were on the 81 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:05,280 plane beside Jordan there. But The thing is, they were just 82 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:08,000 passing through. They were getting ready. 83 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,880 They had already been in the wilderness around 40 years. 84 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:14,000 They were getting ready to go into the promised land. 85 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:18,000 They had no intentions of going up into the hills to to Moab and 86 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,520 conquer them. But we know here that Balick was 87 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,360 afraid of them. He was afraid probably because 88 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:31,960 he had already heard about the Amorite and how how God had had 89 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:37,840 worked miraculous miracles to to secure the victories there. 90 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,800 He had probably also learned about the strategic maneuvers 91 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:46,560 that Moses and Aaron came up with. 92 00:05:46,720 --> 00:05:51,080 He was literally afraid of them. So we know that Balak was afraid 93 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,760 of the Israelites at this time, and he had heard about the sun 94 00:05:55,760 --> 00:05:59,320 standing still, he had probably heard about the hailstones. 95 00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:02,600 So he was afraid of Israel. So that's what we know about 96 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:05,240 Balak right now as far as it is to this story. 97 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:08,120 So he was desperate. He was desperate. 98 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:14,800 He knew that his armies could not defeat Israel because God 99 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:18,800 was on their side, because God had done miraculous things. 100 00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:22,240 He saw it, he heard about it. He would probably had, it's 101 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:26,320 probably some of his spies had actually seen what was going on 102 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:31,160 in these other lands. And so he knew, hey, my armies 103 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:32,640 are not a match for these people. 104 00:06:32,640 --> 00:06:36,440 If they come up to me, they're going to defeat us. 105 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:44,800 So Balak hatches a plan, and that's in Numbers 5, starting in 106 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:47,000 verse 5. Let's read there and just 107 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:57,880 continue there. Excuse me, that's in #3 I think 108 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:07,520 hold up, you'd be good if I got out of Deuteronomy. 109 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:12,880 OK, so here was here was Balaams plan. 110 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:17,080 He sent messengers therefore, and to Balaam the son of Bior, 111 00:07:17,320 --> 00:07:21,240 to Petor, which is, which is by the river of the land of the 112 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:26,200 children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a 113 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:29,200 people come out of Egypt, and behold, they cover the face of 114 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:31,760 the earth. See, he saw them, they were a 115 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,200 multitude. Cover the face of the earth, and 116 00:07:34,200 --> 00:07:38,640 they abide over against me. Come now therefore, I pray thee, 117 00:07:38,920 --> 00:07:42,600 curse me these people, for they are too mighty for me. 118 00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,600 Pre adventure. I shall prevail, that we may 119 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,560 smite them, and that we may drive them out of the land. 120 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:54,960 For I wrought that he whom thou blessed is blessed, and he whom 121 00:07:54,960 --> 00:08:00,760 thou cursed is cursed. So Balak was looking for 122 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:06,200 something supernatural. He knew he could not face the 123 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:10,480 Israelites with just an army. So he knew he needed something 124 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,640 natural. So he hatches this plan. 125 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:16,840 So let's talk a little bit about Balaam then. 126 00:08:17,040 --> 00:08:20,320 Balaam is a real peculiar character in the Bible. 127 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,880 I will tell you some people have called him a prophet. 128 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:29,360 A prophet, and he really was, but he was a sorcerer. 129 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:33,679 He was a seer. And I do believe that he knew 130 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:42,080 the occults, but it says in the Scripture that he knew Jehovah 131 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,680 as well. Now that's weird to me, but we 132 00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:52,200 have all heard that in today's, even in today's culture, it's 133 00:08:52,200 --> 00:08:57,760 one thing to know who Christ is and another thing to be his 134 00:08:57,760 --> 00:09:00,360 follower. And so I believe here what we 135 00:09:00,360 --> 00:09:03,000 see is Balaam is a false prophet. 136 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:07,680 In fact, it later on in the New Testament, they even, they even 137 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:10,400 testify to this, he is a false prophet. 138 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:13,760 But The thing is, is he still knows God. 139 00:09:13,840 --> 00:09:17,640 And we'll see that later as we go on because in verse 18, 140 00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,720 Balaam uses the phrase the Lord my God, it's capitalized. 141 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,920 And so he does know who Jehovah is, but I think that it's 142 00:09:27,920 --> 00:09:31,720 probably one of those things that he felt like, yeah, I know 143 00:09:31,720 --> 00:09:37,880 Jehovah, he's probably the big God, but there's also little 144 00:09:37,880 --> 00:09:40,320 gods. You ever met anybody like that 145 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,840 that said, oh, well, there's many ways to get to heaven. 146 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,280 And so I think Balak was a was a forerunner of that. 147 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,960 And I think that's the the attitude that we have today 148 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:54,960 sometimes in this world, at least the Christians, that it's 149 00:09:54,960 --> 00:09:58,640 that way. But by this time, Balak would 150 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,280 have known the law of God and he would have heard about the 10 151 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,200 commandments by now. Balaam knew him. 152 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:11,240 And I'm not sure how he said there shall be no other God 153 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:14,920 before me. I guess maybe he just felt like, 154 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:20,000 well, I'm just not going to put any of these little gods before 155 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:23,040 Jehovah, but I can still have them. 156 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:30,600 We're doing that today as well. So Balaam was a false teacher. 157 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:35,280 Balaam was a sorcerer, Balaam was a seer. 158 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:40,720 So we know that about Balaam. So and it, it sounds like, by 159 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:46,320 the way, Balaam must have been very well known where Balaam was 160 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:50,600 and for where Balak was was over 400 miles. 161 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:56,800 They had to travel 400 miles to get this guy and 400 miles back. 162 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,840 So Balaam had a reputation in the whole area. 163 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:03,160 We don't know. It may have been world world 164 00:11:03,160 --> 00:11:07,480 renowned at that time, but he had a reputation of who he was. 165 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,160 He says in that verse, he says whom thou blessed. 166 00:11:11,160 --> 00:11:15,520 He said I know that whom thou blessed is blessed and whom thou 167 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:20,680 curses is cursed. Now that's Balak's testimony of 168 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:23,800 Balaam, so there must have been some evidence of that. 169 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,240 So let's read on. And now let's let's turn just a 170 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,600 little bit to the other character and that's the donkey. 171 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:42,360 Now donkeys, donkeys, I've never had donkeys, had horses, but 172 00:11:42,360 --> 00:11:44,680 I've never had donkeys. But I do know a lot of people 173 00:11:44,680 --> 00:11:48,200 that have had donkeys. They are different than horses. 174 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:51,120 Donkeys actually live longer than horses. 175 00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:53,840 It's a horse will live 2530 years. 176 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:58,000 That's the average for a horse. A donkey can live into the 40s, 177 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:01,760 even 50s. So a donkey is is got longevity. 178 00:12:02,200 --> 00:12:05,520 A donkey pound for pound is stronger than a horse. 179 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:08,720 So a donkey is a beast of burden. 180 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:12,080 But a donkey. When it comes to the horse 181 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:17,400 family, there is something called fear of flight. 182 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:22,640 If something scares a horse, a horse flights. 183 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,400 He doesn't fight, he flights. He'll take off. 184 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:29,400 He'll take off running. Donkeys are not like that. 185 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:33,680 Donkeys are more laid back. If something, if something 186 00:12:33,680 --> 00:12:38,520 Spooks a donkey, a donkey will just stand still or they'll just 187 00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:40,920 casually veer out of the way, whatever. 188 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:42,960 But that's the attitude of a donkey. 189 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,600 That's one of the reason. And a donkey doesn't eat as 190 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:47,440 much. A donkey doesn't need as much 191 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:52,840 water as a horse. So a donkey is usually something 192 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:55,160 that people keep for a long, long time. 193 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,200 And we'll see later that Balaam's donkey, he had had it 194 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:01,400 for a long time. In fact, the donkey even told 195 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,520 him, said I've been here with you for a long time. 196 00:13:04,360 --> 00:13:08,320 So anyway, but but I can tell you this, I have never heard a 197 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,000 donkey talk. Now I have seen some horses that 198 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:16,360 really wanted to talk. I've had a few that that if if 199 00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:18,800 you, if you watched them, they could talk to you. 200 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:23,560 But donkeys were more of the working class vehicle. 201 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,280 They were sort of the Fords of the society back then. 202 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,160 You know, they, they weren't Cadillacs. 203 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:33,760 The horse was the Cadillac. See, the kings rode horses. 204 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,560 They didn't ride donkeys. They rode horses. 205 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,480 The horses were majestic. I don't know if you've heard 206 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:44,080 this or not, but horse racing was the sport of kings. 207 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:50,720 And that's why kings also sometimes kings collected horses 208 00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:54,360 and, and had horses just to show their power. 209 00:13:54,560 --> 00:13:57,240 But horses were a majestic animal. 210 00:13:57,520 --> 00:14:02,080 But donkeys, they were more for the for the lower class, for the 211 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:04,480 meekness. And you've seen many times in 212 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,120 the in the scriptures where prophets would ride donkeys. 213 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:12,480 And it's because that is the meek that that shows a little 214 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:14,880 bit of meekness. Now I want you to do something 215 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:16,600 for me. I want you to turn over to 216 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:21,600 Matthew 21, one and four. This is a little bit off 217 00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:24,840 subject, but I just felt like the Lord want me to put this in 218 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:32,780 here. So I'm going to Matthew 21 and 219 00:14:34,220 --> 00:14:38,180 I'm going to read one through 4. And when they do try, when they 220 00:14:38,180 --> 00:14:42,760 drew nigh into Jerusalem, and we're come to Bethpage unto the 221 00:14:42,760 --> 00:14:46,880 Mount of Olives, then sent Jesus 2 disciples, saying unto them, 222 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,640 Go into the village over against you, and straightway you shall 223 00:14:50,640 --> 00:14:53,320 find an ass tied, and a coat with her. 224 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,440 Loose them, and bring them unto Me. 225 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:00,520 And if any man say not unto you, you shall say, The Lord hath 226 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,000 need of them, and straightway he will send them. 227 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:08,560 All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken 228 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:12,800 by the prophet saying, Tell ye the daughter of Zion, behold, 229 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:17,400 thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass and a 230 00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:21,320 colt as the foal of an ass. Now I want you to turn over to 231 00:15:21,320 --> 00:15:32,420 Revelation chapter 19, Revelation chapter 19 and we're 232 00:15:32,420 --> 00:15:40,400 going to read verse 11 and verses 16 said, And I saw heaven 233 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:44,720 open, and behold, a White Horse. And he that sat up on him was 234 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:49,720 called faithful and true, and in righteousness he doth judge and 235 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,480 make war. And then jumped down to verse 6. 236 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:58,600 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written King 237 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:03,520 of kings, Lord of Lords. That's Christ coming back on a 238 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:06,040 horse. He left on a donkey. 239 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,040 He's coming back on the horse Now. 240 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:13,760 I tell you that to to make you to give you some insight that 241 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:19,880 donkeys were really, they show meekness. 242 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:25,160 So we're looking at Balaam here and Balaam has a donkey. 243 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:31,160 But folks, Balaam was rich. Balaam was well known for 244 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:37,760 getting money for his curses and for his services, for even for 245 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:40,000 his blessings. He knew he had money. 246 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,240 Balaam could afford a horse, is what I'm trying to say. 247 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:47,440 So why did he wear a? Why did he ride a donkey? 248 00:16:48,400 --> 00:16:50,560 Because he wanted to show people that he was me. 249 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:56,640 But he wasn't. So you see, Balaam was not what 250 00:16:56,640 --> 00:17:00,760 he really was. We didn't see he was trying to 251 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:03,360 project an image. So that was Balaam. 252 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:09,680 OK, and, and, and the donkey. But let's talk now about what 253 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,000 happened in these verses with them. 254 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:21,760 Let's go back to 22, back to Numbers 22, and let's go on 255 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:28,000 starting in verse 5. And we're talking about Balak. 256 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:33,080 And he sent messengers therefore unto Balaam, the son of the 257 00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:37,600 earth pier, which is by the river of the land, of the land 258 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:41,160 of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, 259 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:42,760 there is a people come out of Egypt. 260 00:17:42,760 --> 00:17:45,720 Behold, they come cover the face of the earth, and they abode 261 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,520 against me. And then jump down to verse 7. 262 00:17:50,280 --> 00:17:54,640 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with 263 00:17:54,640 --> 00:17:58,720 the rewards of the devidation in their land, and they came into 264 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:00,960 Balaam. And they spake unto him the word 265 00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:04,000 of Balak. And he said unto them, Lodge 266 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:07,280 here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the 267 00:18:07,280 --> 00:18:11,600 Lord shall speak unto me. And the Princess of Moab abode 268 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:15,800 with Balaam. Now we know right here Balaam 269 00:18:15,800 --> 00:18:17,520 should have never even entertained it. 270 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:21,960 They told Balaam that they wanted to that Balak wanted him 271 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:25,200 to curse the Israelites. But this is a God that he's 272 00:18:25,200 --> 00:18:30,840 called my God, his people, and Balaam is accepting them. 273 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:37,600 He's even entertaining them so and and so he said, and as as as 274 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,880 the Lord speak unto me. And the Princess of Moab abode 275 00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:43,320 with Balaam. And God came unto Balaam and 276 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:47,760 said, What men are these with thee, and going on? 277 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:53,000 And Balak said unto God, Balaam, the son of Zephyr, king of Moab, 278 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:57,120 hath sent unto me, saying, Sent unto me, saying, Behold, there 279 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:00,200 is a people come out of Egypt which covers the face of the 280 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,400 earth. Come now, curse me them pre 281 00:19:03,400 --> 00:19:05,880 adventure. I shall be able to overcome them 282 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:08,560 and drive them out. And I want you to listen to what 283 00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:12,920 God said, God said. And God said unto Balaam, Thou 284 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:18,120 shall not go, OK, that's the first thing, thou shall not go. 285 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:22,600 But look at the second one. Thou shall not curse the people, 286 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:25,640 for they are blessed. Remember that. 287 00:19:26,200 --> 00:19:30,360 Remember when God blessed Israel, so how can he curse 288 00:19:30,360 --> 00:19:33,720 somebody that God has blessed? And so he tells him, he said, 289 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:39,680 don't go, do not go. So Balaam, he says it rose up 290 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:43,480 early in the morning, said into the Princess of Balak, get you 291 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:47,480 into your land, for the Lord refuses to give me leave to go 292 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,280 with you. Now notice what he said there. 293 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:55,000 He's sort of saying God's just not going to let me go with you. 294 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,200 And he didn't say God's not going to God's not going to 295 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,760 accept a curse. He just says, look, I can't go. 296 00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:08,120 Now, I don't know, maybe in the back of my mind I'm believing 297 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:12,040 that Balaam is probably thinking now, well, maybe if I send them 298 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,640 away, maybe they'll come back with a bigger purse. 299 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:18,720 That may have been Balak. That may have been what he did, 300 00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:20,520 because that's exactly what they did. 301 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,560 So Balak, for the sake of time, we're going to skip around here 302 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,600 just a little bit. So Balaam, they go back to Balak 303 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:35,760 and Balak says, OK, I'm going to send even more important people 304 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,520 this second time. I'm sending more important 305 00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:40,560 people. And I'm going to send him a 306 00:20:40,560 --> 00:20:43,320 blank check. And I want you to listen. 307 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:50,000 I want you to look. But what Balaam, Balaam said 308 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:56,040 here. And Balaam said, and Balaam 309 00:20:56,040 --> 00:20:58,520 answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak 310 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:02,600 would give me this house full of silver and gold, I cannot go 311 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:06,880 beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more. 312 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:11,640 Now therefore I pray you, tarry you here also this night, that 313 00:21:11,640 --> 00:21:14,600 you may know what the Lord will say unto me more. 314 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:19,840 Look, he's he's playing with God. 315 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:24,240 You ever played with God? We don't mean to, but we bargain 316 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:27,560 with the Lord sometimes and he's playing with God here. 317 00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:32,760 Now the first thing was Balaam had servants with him. 318 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:36,240 We can assume that that there were other people around him 319 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:40,160 because he was so famous. He had workers, he had servants 320 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:46,880 around him. When he saw Balak's people 321 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:50,320 coming, he should have never entertained them, but he did. 322 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,440 He entertained them, and then he tells them, Let me sleep on it. 323 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,560 Maybe God's got something else to say to me about it. 324 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,800 So he does that and listen to what God did. 325 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,320 And God came into Balaam at night and said unto him, If the 326 00:22:09,320 --> 00:22:14,000 men come to call thee, rise up, go with them. 327 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:19,520 But yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shall 328 00:22:19,520 --> 00:22:22,040 they'll do. And Balaam rose up in the 329 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:26,440 morning, saddled his ass, and went with the Princess of Moab. 330 00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:34,680 Now I believe here what God was doing is simply saying, Balaam, 331 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,960 do what you want to do. It didn't mean that God was 332 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:45,880 giving him his authority. It simply meant, Balaam, you've 333 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,560 got a free will. Because in that next verse, look 334 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:54,000 what it says. And God's anger was kindled 335 00:22:54,800 --> 00:23:01,840 because he went, and the Angel of the Lord stood in his way for 336 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:04,080 an adversary, adversary against him. 337 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:09,280 Now this is where Balaam and his donkey comes into play. 338 00:23:09,800 --> 00:23:13,440 Balaam, we already know, is on his donkey. 339 00:23:13,960 --> 00:23:16,560 He took it and he's going down the road. 340 00:23:17,360 --> 00:23:23,640 And then for whatever reason, I think it was God's mercy, God's 341 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,800 mercy that gave Balaam another chance. 342 00:23:26,320 --> 00:23:28,680 And here's what happened. Let's read, continue reading. 343 00:23:28,680 --> 00:23:35,920 And. And he said now he was riding 344 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,560 upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 345 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,760 And the ass saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way, and 346 00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:48,320 his sword drawn in his hand, And the ass turned aside out of the 347 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:54,120 way, and went in the field, and Balaam smoked the ass to turn 348 00:23:54,120 --> 00:24:01,880 her into the way. You see the donkey saw the 349 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:06,920 Angel. Balaam couldn't see the Angel 350 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:13,800 Balaam is spiritually blind. You ever seen somebody blind 351 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:20,960 walking down the street who is blind, a busy or busy sidewalk, 352 00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:24,840 and they have a CNI dog right beside them and the dog is 353 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:28,040 weaving them in and out? That's what Balaam had. 354 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,320 Balaam was spiritually blind. Balaam just simply had a CNI 355 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:40,840 donkey and the donkey was avoiding the danger, but Balaam 356 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,760 couldn't see it. So Balaam was beating the 357 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,880 donkey. So Balaam goes on. 358 00:24:47,880 --> 00:24:52,760 God gives him a second chance in verse 24. 359 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:56,680 But the Angel of the Lord stood in a path in the vineyards, a 360 00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,520 wall being on one side and a wall being on the on the other 361 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:03,840 on the other side. And when the ass saw the Angel 362 00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:09,360 of the Lord, this is the second time the the the donkey's seen 363 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:13,680 him, she thrust herself into the wall and crushed Balaam's foot 364 00:25:13,680 --> 00:25:16,720 against the wall, and he smote her again. 365 00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:20,280 Now I have had that happen riding a horse, where the horse 366 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,640 would push me into the wall for one reason or the other and hurt 367 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:26,560 my foot. Notice this second chance that 368 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,480 He gave caused a little pain to Balaam. 369 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,760 The first time it was just that she just took her out of the 370 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:34,400 way. It was an inconvenience and He 371 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:36,320 got her back on the road or wherever. 372 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:39,360 This time God applied just a little bit of pain. 373 00:25:39,520 --> 00:25:42,560 He was trying to get Balaam's attention. 374 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,560 I truly believe that sometimes we do that. 375 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:51,000 God tries to direct their paths. He gives us those little CNI 376 00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:57,320 donkeys in our lives and sometimes they just, it beers us 377 00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:01,840 out of the way. And instead of beating the 378 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,960 donkey, he should have looked around and said, what is scaring 379 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,600 this donkey? He had this donkey for years. 380 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:14,280 He knew this donkey. He knew this donkey didn't 381 00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:18,440 normally didn't normally act like this. 382 00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:21,440 Don't you think that the rightful thing would be for 383 00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:26,160 Balaam to say, wow, wait a minute, now the donkey took me 384 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,120 out of the way. That was weird. 385 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,840 Now the donkey pushes me up against the wall and hurts my 386 00:26:33,840 --> 00:26:36,600 foot. That's not like this donkey. 387 00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:41,560 This is how spiritually blind Balaam was. 388 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:46,680 He still couldn't see. God gives him another chance. 389 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:54,120 Keep reading in 26. And the Angel of the Lord went 390 00:26:54,120 --> 00:26:58,200 further and stood in a narrow way where there was no way to 391 00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,600 turn either to the right or to the left. 392 00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:04,880 And when the ass saw the Angel of the Lord, she fell down upon 393 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:10,200 up, fell down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled 394 00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:13,320 and he smoked the ass with his staff. 395 00:27:14,400 --> 00:27:17,240 So it's getting a little worse. Balaam's mad. 396 00:27:17,960 --> 00:27:21,240 Now, one of the reasons Balaam is mad is this. 397 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,880 He had all of these dignitaries going back with him towards 398 00:27:28,960 --> 00:27:33,920 Balak, and every one of those guys were probably riding 399 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:38,760 horses. And here Balaam is riding an 400 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,960 insignificant little donkey and the donkey, he can't even 401 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:47,760 control the donkey. See his pride, It was very 402 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:52,880 evident that his pride was made a lot of difference in what 403 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:58,280 Balaam did. But Balaam could still not see 404 00:27:58,520 --> 00:28:00,760 the Angel of the Lord standing in the way. 405 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:05,720 And folks, if you read on, the Angel of the Lord was going to 406 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,720 kill Balaam. He was going to kill him. 407 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:12,680 If it hadn't been for the donkey, Balaam would have been 408 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:16,200 killed. In fact, the Angel tells them 409 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:20,480 that later on it in the verse that I would have killed you and 410 00:28:20,480 --> 00:28:25,720 saved the donkey. So there was a purpose for this 411 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,160 and God was trying to get his attention and and you can study 412 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:31,760 the rest of it out. Balaam goes on. 413 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,600 He does not curse Israel. Balak tries to get him to curse 414 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:39,240 Israel three times. Balaam will not curse Israel. 415 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,720 And even later on, if you read later on, you'll find out that 416 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:53,840 Balaam even prophecies about the Lord coming, but yet not long 417 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:58,840 after that he turns on Israel. Again, inconsistent. 418 00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:04,200 You see, he knew God, but he didn't know God and that was the 419 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,320 problem. And if it hadn't have been for 420 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:12,360 that talk that that if it hadn't have been for the donkey, Balaam 421 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:16,600 would have died a long time ago. But the question tonight is 422 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,520 this. How many times does God try to 423 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:26,440 use things in our lives to get us to open our eyes? 424 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:31,800 Blindness in the Word of God is everywhere. 425 00:29:33,040 --> 00:29:37,400 Whether we're saved, we can still be blind to the things of 426 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,960 God. If you're not saved, you can 427 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,600 certainly be blind to God, even to salvation. 428 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:48,120 And the Bible tells us. And if we had the time tonight, 429 00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:51,360 we would go through it. But the Bible tells us that 430 00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:54,280 there's two definite things that will keep us blinded, 431 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:56,480 spiritually blind. One is pride. 432 00:29:57,360 --> 00:30:00,120 Jim or somebody mentioned it this morning. 433 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,560 Pride. Pride will keep us from opening 434 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:07,320 in our eyes to see what we wanted, what God wants us to 435 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,400 see. Balaam couldn't see the the 436 00:30:10,400 --> 00:30:15,280 Angel because he was prideful. The other thing is material 437 00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:20,160 things, folks, we are materialistic whether we want to 438 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:23,320 say we are or not. We in America, we are 439 00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:26,400 materialistic. We are so well off, and we've 440 00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:30,440 said this before, as we go out canvas and homes, you go into 441 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,160 these, well, these wealthy neighborhoods and try to knock 442 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:36,520 on the door. They don't need God. 443 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:40,680 They need God, but they don't think they need good God. 444 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,880 They have everything they need. They have more than three meals 445 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:46,960 a day. They don't have to count on God 446 00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:51,560 for anything. So as God puts these things in 447 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:56,480 your life, as God puts these little donkeys in your life, 448 00:30:56,640 --> 00:31:00,440 he's talking donkeys. God is trying to talk to us now. 449 00:31:00,440 --> 00:31:04,160 He may not work in the same way that he might work with Bailey. 450 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,480 I mean, I, as I said, I'd be, I'd love for, I'd love to take a 451 00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:13,440 talking donkey with me on visitation, wouldn't you? 452 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,560 How about that? How about that? 453 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,520 That'd wake some people up, wouldn't it? 454 00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:26,080 But The thing is, is this, we can be spiritually blind and God 455 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,440 can be trying to get us back on the road where he wants us to 456 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:34,360 be. And if we are blinded by pride, 457 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:37,320 if we are blinded with the things that we have and the fact 458 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:41,880 that we we don't think we need anything, we may never see the 459 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:46,800 blessing that God has for us. I believe, I do believe this. 460 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:53,760 I believe that if Balaam had turned, I believe Balaam would 461 00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:56,840 be in heaven today or going to heaven. 462 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:58,400 I believe he'd have gotten saved. 463 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:02,640 But he wouldn't you say, Well, Brother Gary, wait a minute. 464 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:08,360 He was a sorcerer. He was a God can save anybody. 465 00:32:09,080 --> 00:32:11,080 It doesn't make any difference what the sins are. 466 00:32:11,080 --> 00:32:15,880 God can save anybody. And in this story, I do believe 467 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:21,160 God would have saved him, but he never opened his eyes. 468 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:26,480 In fact, if you read on, you'll see he never opened his eyes. 469 00:32:26,560 --> 00:32:32,360 He did see the Angel, but he didn't see the Angel because he 470 00:32:32,360 --> 00:32:37,280 opened his eyes. It's because God opened his eyes 471 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:43,160 and his attitude was, wow, oh man, I didn't know he was there. 472 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:46,080 That was his attitude. He said it. 473 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,920 He said it fell on his face in front of the Angel and said, 474 00:32:49,920 --> 00:32:54,800 boy, I've sinned. I've I've gone the wrong way 475 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,640 here. But he really wasn't. 476 00:32:57,880 --> 00:33:01,000 He just got caught. He just got caught. 477 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:08,680 I think the lesson from this tonight is God puts things in 478 00:33:08,680 --> 00:33:11,840 our lives to move us in certain directions. 479 00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:17,480 And sometimes even as good of Christians as we think we are in 480 00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:21,720 certain areas, we can get blinded and we may not see. 481 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:26,160 And sometimes God's gentle in doing that, in moving us to a, 482 00:33:26,880 --> 00:33:28,600 to a particular place in our life. 483 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,760 Sometimes it may cause a little pain, sometimes it might just 484 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,480 stop us, just like he did Balaam when that when that donkey fell 485 00:33:36,480 --> 00:33:38,840 underneath Balaam, it just stopped Balaam. 486 00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:43,000 There was no forward progress. But I think that's what God will 487 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,600 do for us too. And I think God tries to do that 488 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,960 as often as you can. God's long-suffering. 489 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,840 But there will come a time when God's suffering turns into 490 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:56,680 judgement. A long-suffering can turn into 491 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,400 judgement. So we have to be careful of 492 00:33:58,400 --> 00:34:00,480 that. We have to be careful that we do 493 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:05,400 not try to play God, play with God. 494 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:11,440 So tonight I hope you can, I hope you go back and read this 495 00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,199 story or this account. I do. 496 00:34:14,199 --> 00:34:16,480 I hope you go back and read it on your own time. 497 00:34:16,719 --> 00:34:19,760 And you look at it, We didn't get a chance to cover half of 498 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:24,280 what I had here to cover. It's just too much in this just 499 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:26,679 so much. But I probably didn't cover 500 00:34:26,679 --> 00:34:30,199 probably 40%. So go back and read it. 501 00:34:30,719 --> 00:34:35,840 Go back and study it and look how God used that donkey, tried 502 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:38,480 to use that donkey, but Balaam wouldn't listen. 503 00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:44,040 Balaam was later killed by the Israelites, later killed by the 504 00:34:44,080 --> 00:34:46,280 Israelites. Now let's pray. 505 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:51,040 Father, we do thank you for this, this remarkable story in 506 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:55,480 your word and God, so often we don't even know that we're 507 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:57,840 blinded. We don't even know that we don't 508 00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:00,760 see the things that you want us to see God do. 509 00:35:00,760 --> 00:35:03,080 We do pray for your long-suffering on that. 510 00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:08,680 We pray God that you would keep just you keep pricking us, Lord, 511 00:35:08,680 --> 00:35:11,720 that we might be able to to finally see it. 512 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:16,240 You told Paul, Lord, you know, how long are you going to do 513 00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:21,400 this to me And, and Paul, you know, finally gave in. 514 00:35:21,400 --> 00:35:24,840 So God, we pray that you will not give up on us, Lord, that 515 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:27,720 you'll keep touching us. You'll keep touching our minds 516 00:35:27,720 --> 00:35:30,720 and our hearts that we might turn to what you the way that 517 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:34,680 you want us to turn. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.