Balaam (Cliff Notes)

I went through and pulled out some of the concluding statements made by Bob Deffinbaugh. in his set of essays on Balaam where are found Here, at bible.org. I encourage you all to read the story of Balaam which comes out of Numbers from Chapter 22 through chapter 25 or so.

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It is never more dangerous or foolish than to be for what God is against, and against what God is for.

Our challenge is not to “convert” God to be on our side, but to be converted, so that we may be on His side.
Getting away with sin for a season should in no way lead one to conclude that there will be no dire consequences in the future.

Many people who attempt to convince us they are eagerly seeking God’s will, but without success, are those who already know God’s will, and have no intention of doing it

The story of Balaam underscores the vital role which the Pentateuch plays for Old and New Testament saints alike

Beware of the grave danger of seeking to “use” God.

There is nothing more important than being on the right path, nor more dangerous than being on the wrong one.

When we neglect the Word God has spoken to us, we do so to our own peril.

Our Lord is the fulfillment of Israel’s blessings. We are blessed or cursed of God, based upon our response to Jesus Christ

Being close to God is not enough. As I read through these chapters in the Book of Numbers, I see Balaam getting closer and closer to the truth. He even speaks some of the most beautiful words of prophecy we could ever hope to read. And yet in spite of all this, we know that Balaam never comes to faith. He, like Balak, will perish because of his sin.

God is in complete control. He does what He wants, and what He says, He does.

This text does have much to teach us about leadership. Israel fell into sin, and God called for the death of all of its leaders. Its leaders were not doing their job, part of which was to remove evil from the nation. These leaders were guilty, and worthy of death for knowing about sin and doing nothing about it.

Leaders must not only be men of character, they must also be men who truly lead, men who take action when it is required

There is surely a lesson here for us concerning what we might call “sin in the camp.” There certainly appears to be great reluctance to deal with sin decisively. Sin is like a cancer—the longer we leave it alone, the more likely it is to kill us.

We learn from Numbers 25 that we are never more safe and secure than when we are hated and opposed by the enemies of God.

St. Paul said:“The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” 8 And let us not be immoral, as some of them were, and twenty-three thousand died in a single day.

Our text teaches what observation confirms: sexual sin is often linked with spiritual adultery and apostasy. The statistics are alarming when it comes to how many pastors are leaving the ministry.