Your Sons & Daughters Shall Prophesy - Prophetic Gifts Today In The New Testament Church

A Profile of the Ancient Hebrew Prophet

Balaam came as the greatest of the Gentile heathen soothsayers and magicians, representing the full opposition of heathenism to the ways of Israel's God and the claiming by Israel of her inheritance.He came not in the role of genuine prophet but of magician-antagonist.God says, "Bal aam was an enemy agent" (Revelation 2:14, Message).He came as the great compromiser, the saboteur of Israel's holy pilgrimage.Yahweh would be added to his stable of gods already compromised and hence under his influence.He functioned as a spiritual infiltrator.He was paid to beguile, humble, disgrace or degrade gods in the eyes of people and local deities. Balak's invitation was just another job offer. Balaam could and should have advised Balak to bless Israel (Numbers 24:9), giving a truthful explanation of God's intentions and what He would do for Moab.How Balak would have profited from such positive advice! But it did not happen. Balaam seemed to address God as a devout Hebrew (Numbers 22:8-20), but this appearance is misleading.Communication with god spirits (actu ally evil spirits) was common to him, and Yahweh simply met him on his own turf in his accustomed style.God told Balaam not to go with Balak's messengers: "You shall not curse the people; for they are blessed" (verse 12). Finally, after giving him grudging permission to go, the Lord became angry at the diviner's eager attitude (verse 22).An angel with drawn sword appeared as an adversary because, in the translation of The Torah by W.Gunther Plaut, "the errand is obnoxious to me" (verse 32). The seer's perceptive donkey saved his life, then spoke directly to him. The Torah gives this clever insight: "...A great and proud man was inca pable of seeing what a dumb beast could behold....His vision was lim ited and his sureness frail.The main burden of the story, which is full of irony and subtle humor, is not in fact the speaking but the seeing ass, con trasted with the prophet who looks and yet is blind.Over against both of them stands their Creator, and in their common creatureliness they are bound to the ultimate purposes of God." 5 Balak hurriedly took Balaam to various mountaintop vantage points to view the vast camp of Israel, where the soothsayer dutifully ordered sacrifices of appeasement to Yahweh.Time and time again God over powered Balaam so that he was compelled to speak exactly what God wanted.Four marvelous poetic oracles were put into Balaam's mouth as direct divine inspiration. 6 Balaam's confession in Numbers 22:38 indi cates that, like his donkey, he could speak only the words put into his mouth.Twice the text states that God "was not willing to listen to Bal aam" (Deuteronomy 23:5; Joshua 24:10). 7 Balak was infuriated at Balaam's blessing of Israel, sending him home in disgrace.Apparently the crafty soothsayer gave some serious thought ■ 116