Donkeys, insanity, and eternal security

February 5, 2021 (Friday)

 

When we left Balaam, he managed to escape death because his donkey saved him. After being told not to go, then told to go, then almost killed because he went, “And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.” [Numbers 22:35 ESV]

 

Let’s get back to the core of Balaam’s story. Speaking about false prophets, Peter tells us, “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness.” [2 Peter 2:15 – 16 ESV] Ouch.

 

This is a picture of someone who has willfully, intentionally, and knowingly abandons “the right way.” Balaam is the example. We are told the motivation is loving the pay. The bit of insight in this verse, “a speechless donkey… restrained the prophet’s madness.”

 

When insanity sets in, we tend to lose perspective and a sense of reality. The human tendency in these circumstances is to gravitate to myths and secret knowledge. If you don’t believe me you have not been paying attention to current events. The scary part is when money is made from leading people astray.

 

Despite the fact that Balaam blesses Israel, not once, not twice, but three times, we come to the end of his story in Numbers 31:8c, “They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword.” [NLT] Why, what did Balaam do to deserve this? “These very women, on Balaam’s advice, made the Israelites break faith with the Lord in the affair at Peor, so there was a plague among the Lord’s community.” [Numbers 31:16 CEB]

 

Unable to curse Israel, Balaam plotted to undermine God’s blessing. The bait was sex. The compromise was idol worship. The consequences were horrific. Here’s the rest of the story… “While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab.” [Numbers 25:1 ESV] Step one, seduce. Once the mind is seduced to act inappropriately outside of God’s design then anything is possible.

 

Step two, pollute. “These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods.” [Numbers 25:2 ESV] Throughout Israel’s history, they tended to add the worship of other god’s to their practice. It wasn’t until the time of Ezra that they became monotheistic (only one God) in practice. However, there were many throughout Israel’s history that battled the pollution.

 

Step three separate. “So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.” [Numbers 25:3 ESV] This is on oversimplification of a dance that still repeats itself today. We are seduced by something like: lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. This leads us to think mixed loyalty is okay with God. (Hey, it’s called “grace.”) Finally, we find ourselves separated from God and in the cross hairs of His anger.

 

But wait, doesn’t this contradict the doctrine of “eternal security?” If this is your argument, I have some questions for you. Are you willing to dare the justice of God? Are you willing to bet your soul, and eternity, in Hell? Are you arrogant enough to think you were ever secure?

 

The verse in 2 Peter talked about people who are “forsaking” the right way. In other words, these prophets were in the right way at some point but are now in process of “forsaking” it and have gone astray. Maybe, instead of discussing theology, we need to discuss sanity.

 

May God provide a donkey to speak into these situations to restrain the madness!