Now, taking the power off that kind of a nuclear reactor is a difficult, dangerous thing to do because these reactors are very unstable in their lower ranges. In order to get the reactor down to that kind of power, where they could perform the test they were interested in performing, they had to override manually six separate computer-driven alarm systems. One by one the computers would come up and say, `Stop! Dangerous! Go no further!' And one by one, rather than shutting off the experiment, they shut off the alarms and kept going. You know the results: nuclear fallout that was recorded all around the world, from the largest industrial accident. The warnings were clear, definite and exact. But choosing to ignore them proved fatal. There is perhaps no greater warning from Scripture than that regarding false teachers. It has been said that the New Testament spends more time on the problem of false teachers than any other. The reason? More than any grievous sin, more than an immoral lifestyle, what we think has the greatest impact on both our relationship with God and how we interact with others. When what we believe is off kilter, our lives will be out of alignment. There is perhaps no better example of the dangers of a false teacher than what we find in Numbers 22. The story of Balaam is both humorous and serious; it is both convicting and confusing.
What are the cautionary signs of a false teacher? What are the indicators of dangerous content? What are the warning lights? Balaam is a classic false teacher. The false teacher is ambitious about his own advancement - verses 6-19 Ambition makes one receptive to praise - verse 6 Israel is finally approaching the promised land. As God grants them victory over the surrounding nations and tribes, others become fearful of their own impending doom. Balak, king of Moab, had a brain storm. Since he recognized that they could not beat Israel on the battlefield, perhaps victory could be obtained through the help of powerful prophet. Balak summons the best money can buy. Balaam lived in Pethor, a town on the Euphrates, called here the River. The Hebrew word "pethor" means "to interpret dreams". So this city appears to be a haven of wizards, astrologers, and occultists. Balaam was a baru, a priest-diviner, using the usual tricks of his trade such as dreams and omens to predict the future. Balak’s idea was simple. Balaam had the power to bless and curse, which were not seen as mere words, but as having active power to accomplish the desired affects. The custom of cursing an enemy before battle was widespread in the ancient world, and Balaam seems to have gained a reputation as an effective operative who could be relied upon, on the payment of an appropriate fee to give satisfaction. This may seem strange to us, but apart from the sheep entrails and mystical mumbo-jumbo, there’s little difference from the spin doctors we see each week on "Meet the Press." Their job is to pronounce not necessarily what is happening, but what people would like to see happen. They are paid well to bless or curse. Balak was clear in his praise. What he could not do, defeat a mighty army, Balaam could (verse 6). What is more, Balak sent a delegation of Moabite and Midianite leaders to woo Balaam to come. Balaam for them was a hired gun. His loyalties extended no further than the next contract, whoever would pay the highest price. This week there was talk that Ron Wolf wanted Dion Sanders in green and gold. That’s all Balaam was, but to get the best they had to pay the best. Ambition makes one receptive to payment - verses 7, 18-19 Kind words don’t put the chicken on the table, so the elders from Midian and Moab brought with them a consultation fee, a financial incentive (verse 7). It’s nothing new that to get something done, one must grease the wheels a bit. A payment for services rendered seems only fair. At first Balaam seems to have some ethics here. He responds cautiously to their offer. Before he accepts, he must inquire of the Lord. Notice how he addresses God; "Yahweh." He uses the covenantal name, the name for Jewish readers that implies he is not a some fly-by night-charlatan, but one who knows God personally. What is more, despite pressing financial inducements to curse Israel, he steadfastly insists on listening to God. He is not immediately seduced by the money. In fact after the Lord’s prohibition against going with Balak and forbidding his cursing Israel, Balaam tells the men to leave. But as the story moves on, we see his ethics are not as firm as we think. Balaam is just holding out for a better offer (verses 18-19). Balak sends a second delegation, this time more impressive and no doubt with a bigger wallet. But while he feigns piety, saying that a palace filled with gold and silver would not be enough for him to disobey God, he invites the delegation to stay the night and he’ll inquire of the Lord again; perhaps God changed His mind. Balaam sounds like the man on trial for a crime he is sure to be convicted of. But the man is overjoyed when he learns his judge is corrupt, too. So he offers the unscrupulous judge $5,000 to get him off. "I would never let you off and do something illegal for that small a sum - Who do you think I am?" to which the man replies: "Who you are is well known; it’s the amount that is being negotiated!" This happens far too often in churches. I recall a conversation with another pastor, who inquired about switching his denominational affiliation because, as he said, "I hear Presbyterians get paid a lot more than most pastors." There have been others who have refused positions because the pay was not enough, but when asked what they thought would be fair, their idea of a decent salary for a young pastor in his first church, was close to a six figure income. There are two downfalls for ministers: sex and salary. The later is what makes the news, but both destroy lives. The first warning sign of a false prophet is a thin veneer of piety covering a insatiable appetite for prestige and wealth. The false teacher is ambiguous about what God says 8-20 Ambiguity filters out what God says - verses 8-13 Balaam gives only partial information, so as not to offend his visitors Not only is Balaam ambitious enough to hold out for more money, he is also ambiguous as to what God wants him to do. When the Moabite leaders come the first time, God’s answer is quite clear, unambiguous (verse 12). The Lord informs Balaam not only that he should not go, but also gives a reason why: Israel is blessed. But notice what Balaam says the next day: "The Lord has refused to let me go with you." Balaam sounds like a kid going back to his friends saying, "I’d love to go with you, but my dumb parents won’t let me." He remains unclear as to what God has really said.The ambiguity doesn’t stop with Balaam as the messengers report back to Balak. They likewise give an accurate but incomplete report (v erse 14). The obvious answer: the guy just wants more cash. Ambiguity filters in what one desires - verses 14-20But just because Balaam revels in ambiguity regarding God’s Word, he is not without his own opinion. Balak refuses to give up, so he sends more messengers, more money. As we saw already, Balaam is not easily swayed, but his uncertainty regarding what God wants, his inability to take "no" for an answer comes through. After God has spoken, he tries again to find out what God has said. Balaam is ambiguous about God’s desire, because his own desires are much more pressing. Perhaps God has had a change of mind. What He said before may no longer be true this time around. Like a wax nose, God’s word is considered to be malleable to one’s own wishes. He was tampering with his conscience and, as is usually the result, his conscience was perverted.When God clearly speaks, to inquire further is disbelief, for whenever we play with temptation, we can be easily overcome by it. Where God’s Word is clear, we should not debate what is said. We must always be suspicious of our own sinful heart. When we don’t receive the answer we desire, we think that God must be deaf. The hallmark of a false teacher is ambiguity, never being clear enough to let others see his error. There are two dangers to be wary of when you hear someone teach. On the one hand, if they waffle on what God’s Word clearly states, if they seek to explain it away and diminish our accountability to God’s standards - watch out. The other danger is if they are rigid as to their own opinions and theories, if they seem to claim some special insight that few others have ever obtained, they’re from the pit of Hell and they smell like smoke. Notice what God says this time in verse 20 - "Go with them."Perhaps Balaam is right ; God did change His mind. But God gave His permission, not His sanction. Balaam was allowed to go and to deliver a real message from God, but only to meet with greater temptation, with disappointment, with disgrace, with fatal failure.The situation is not outside of God’s control. It is not as though God’s hand was forced ; He allowed Balaam to go, but was still mad that he did. God’s response in verse 22 is clear: He is angry with Balaam. God granted permission to go, otherwise Balaam would never have been able to leave Pethor. Yet in that permission, God gave Balaam up to his own heart’s desiresAs God sometimes denies the prayers of His people in love, so sometimes He grants the desires of the wicked in wrath. The sin of sinners is not to be thought the less provoking to God because He permits it. We must not think that, because God does not by His providence restrain men from sin, that therefore He approves of it, or that it is therefore not hateful to Him; He suffers sin, and yet is angry at it. God was already clear, but like the parent who has said no, may grant permission to the child to do that which is not best for that child, so he learns the lesson the hard way. God is not obligated to repeatedly tell anyone what He wants them to do after He initially informs them.The false teacher is ambushed by god’s will - verses 21-33 While by all appearances, it may seem as though the false teacher gets away with his masquerade, the story of Balaam reminds us that nothing is outside God’s control. Even as the story of Balaam’s mishap with his donkey may elicit a smile, it powerfully points out that just as God can use a donkey to reprimand a false prophet, God may use anyone or anything to accomplish His purpose. Balaam at last is off to meet Balak, but before they arrive, Balaam’s donkey acts up. First it veers off into a field, then it pushes against a stone wall, crushing Balaam’s foot. Finally, in a narrow passage, the animal lays down. What is plain to the donkey was hidden from the prophet. While all were certain Balaam was the man who could manipulate God for the right fee, it became apparent that it was God who was calling the shots. Balaam was not in control as he thought. Spiritual insight is not something we can develop and achieve. It is God’s gift to us. Only He allows us to see, to know and understand. Otherwise, the deceitfulness of the human heart will always color and distort what God desires. Yet, God is never controlled by our sinfulness. Skeptics shake their head at the odd events of a donkey’s confrontation with God or speaking to Balaam. The story is meant to cause us to be shocked. As odd as it is for a donkey to see and speak, it is that kind of a miracle for one like Balaam, blinded by greed, to be allowed to see and speak what God wants him to say. This animal, proverbial for its dullness and obstinacy, is shown to have more spiritual insight than the super-prophet from Mesopotamia whom Balak is prepared to hire at enormous expense to curse Israel. The donkey’s predicament anticipates the problem Balaam is about to face. The ass was caught three times between the angel’s sword and Balaam’s stick. Soon Balaam will find himself trapped three times between Balak’s demands and God’s prohibitions. Balaam was reminded that God wields a sword and that disobedience means death. The false teacher’s insight goes only so far. Spiritual insight is not garnered by years of hard work and personal effort - it is God’s gift. God is more than able to raise up anything or anyone to do His work for Him. As a pastor, that is very humbling. The false teacher is ambivalent about what to do - verses 34-35 With typical lack of specificity, Balaam admits he sinned, but then qualifies his confession. At first it seems the prophet for profit has come around, he is willing to admit he is wrong. Again with an air of piety he covers his wishy-washy character. With the stock phrase, "I have sinned," we see a reformation of life, but not a renovation of the heart. What was his sin? Beating the animal, not seeing the angel, coming in the first place? What he says appears to be a confession that as a prophet he should’ve seen the angel. He is really only admitting to making a mistake, not a breaking of God’s Law. Balaam admitted an error, but there is no sense of biblical repentance. He thinks his error is not seeing the angel. He is unclear whether God is angry ("If you are displeased…") Repentance necessitates that one understand one’s offense of a holy God and deserves His wrath. A false prophet may use the appropriate language, may demonstrate some remorse, but lack a sense of dread. In his confusion, Balaam offers to return home. But in that he still does not understand the significance of what has just happened. Balaam misses the point completely. Even though he can see he still lacks any perception. There is an old saying: "The Lord can strike a mighty blow with a crooked stick." That is the lesson of Balaam. While he feared God, he also worshipped gold. He was a prophet of the Most High but was famed as a magician and a sorcerer. In the next two chapters God will use him to foretell of God’s mighty work of redemption. At times like that, Balaam comes across as a powerful tool of God. But that never excuses him. His life is a warning to us. False teachers can not be tolerated. To better understand Balaam’s true nature, the warning he is for us we need to see how the New Testament writers handle this character on a donkey. 2 Peter 2 offers a strong warning against false teachers. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. (2 Peter 2:1-3) In verse 15 Peter makes it clear what Balaam’s problem was: he loved the wages of wickedness, and Jude 11 equates contemporary false teachers with Balaam who have "rushed for profit into Balaam’s error." Now without going down a long rabbit trail (or donkey trail) and spending a lot of time in these passages, suffice it to say, there are Balaams still. The difficulty we face today when having to confront false teachers and their heresy is the attitude toward false teaching today. It seems that the only real and intolerable heresy today is the despicable act of calling someone a heretic. When faith healer Benny Hinn was branded a heretic by Hank Hanegraaff in his book Christianity in Crisis, it was Hannegraaff, not Hinn, who took the heat. Hinn recanted his teaching that there are nine persons in the Trinity, apologizing to his hearers. But it was Hanegraaf who was criticized for calling Hinn a heretic, even though Hinn acknowledged his heresy. One magazine editor's concern was for tolerance, charity, the unity of Christians, and "witch hunts" among evangelicals. ("None dare call it heresy" by R. C. Sproul. Tabletalk, Apr 1994 [Vol 18, No 4]) The blacklisting of the word heresy is a sign of our theological impoverishment. To believe that there is no such thing as heresy is to make three wrong assumptions: There is no core of doctrine. In an age of pluralism and multiculturalism, it seems intolerant to speak of fixed, unchanging doctrine as the core of our beliefs. "Doesn't doctrine divide and tend toward exclusivism and intolerance? Aren't there many traditions?" This line of thought leads to the conclusion that there are many truths, all worthy of acceptance. Values and beliefs become little more than preferences. Condemning an idea as heresy, then, becomes not a protection of truth, but a hindrance to the search for truth. Doctrine doesn't matter . Even if true doctrine does exist, some argue, language is metaphorical and doctrinal statements only suggestive. Seemingly opposing views become merely "different ways of expressing the same truth." People can thus affirm that God is incarnate in Jesus Christ and also "pray to Sophia, name their own God, and argue that Jesus is not unique because salvation is found in all religions." This inclusive outlook views "the H- word" as not only inappropriate, but a violation of the spirit of the age. Heresy-hunting, not heresy, is the real problem. This assumption says that if there is division and dissension in the church, it's because of those who insist on drawing a line between true and false doctrine. The problem is not with church leaders who defend commonly held doctrines against contrary opinions, but with those who think leaders ought to defend doctrine. In such a climate, one might think a sense of unity would pervade the church, but unity must be centered on a core of beliefs. Without the concept of heresy, there are no boundaries, no standards, and no confessions. The answer is to focus on Jesus Christ, the "cornerstone that can bring us together." ("Whatever happened to heresy?" by Riley Case. Good News, Mar/Apr 1995 [Vol 28, No 5]. Pages 18- 190What are the warning signs of false teachers? What are the signals we need to be on the look out for? Let Balaam serve as an example of the ambition, the ambiguity and the ambivalence found in many false teachers. But never forget that it is God who ambushes them every time. We have a true and faithful prophet, Jesus Christ. His ambition was not for personal gain, but our salvation. He spoke with clarity, force and grace. |
