Then the LORD Put a Word in Balaam's Mouth: Numbers 23:1-40

Numbers 23:1-40: "1 Then Balaam said to Balak, 'Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.' 2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, 'Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.' So he went to a desolate height. 4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, 'I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.' 5 Then the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, 'Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.' 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his oracle and said: 'Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. "Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!" 8 How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; There! A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!' 11 Then Balak said to Balaam, 'What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!' 12 So he answered and said, 'Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?' 13 Then Balak said to him, 'Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.' 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 And he said to Balak, 'Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there.' 16 Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, 'Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.' 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 18 Then he took up his oracle and said: 'Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! 19 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. 21 He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. 22 God brings them out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox. 23 For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, "Oh, what God has done!" 24 Look, a people rises like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion; It shall not lie down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.' 25 Then Balak said to Balaam, 'Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!' 26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, 'Did I not tell you, saying, "All that the LORD speaks, that I must do?"' 27 Then Balak said to Balaam, 'Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.' 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, 'Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.' 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar."

The persistence of Balak to curse the Israelites, it must be remembered, is on account of the fear of the Moabites toward the Israelites, seeing what they did to the mighty kings of the Amorites. And the Moabites feared them also, because they thought they were next. It must also be remembered that the Lord God has forbidden the Israelites to harm the Moabites (not that they knew this). So this gives us the motivation of Balak son of Zippor to curse the Israelites. For in cursing them, he had hoped that he could either attack them himself, before they attacked him, or if they attacked first, that he might overcome them. But all this is really fruitless, since God has not given the Moabites over to destruction, at this time.

Three times does Balak beseech Balaam to curse Israel, taking him to a different region to look upon the Israelites each time. This is the same number of times that Balaam is prevented by his donkey to go further on his journey to Balak. And each time Balak builds seven altars and sacrifices a bull and a ram on each one, each time. Make note that these burnt sacrifices are offered to the Lord God. That is, Balak is in reality requesting the Lord God, Jehovah, to curse His own people. This shows us the futility of those who desire the demise of the people of God, and the futility of those who pray for evil in general. The prayer may be made to the Lord God, but the pray is flatly rejected. One, because the prayer is not prayed in faith, and God does not answer the prayers of the faithless. Two, they are not answered because God does not grant the evil petitions of those who seek to beset the righteous.

Even though Balak desired the cursing of the sons of Jacob, Balaam could only speak the words that the Lord God gave to him. And Balaam could only bless the people of Israel. Such it is with all those who preach the word of God, they can only proclaim that which the Lord God has given them to preach. They cannot preach false doctrine. They cannot say that which is a sin, is not a sin, or vice versa. They cannot worship in a manner that the Lord God has not given them to worship. They cannot practice and administer the Sacraments in a way that God has not given them to do. Or to teach that such practices and worship are okay in God's sight. They can only preach what the Lord God has put into their mouths to preach.

This is, of course, how one determines a true preacher from a false preacher, for a false preacher does not speak what God speaks in His holy Scripture. This is tested by the teaching of the historic Church on holy Scripture, that is, if the Church has taught something to be true throughout her history, than those who teach differently should be avoided. The Book of Concord, is a correct and true exhibition of holy Scripture, and teaches the historic teachings of the Church, correcting the false teachings that raised their ugly heads throughout the middle ages. These teachings are also always checked against the whole of holy Scripture, for Scripture interprets Scripture, that is, when the teachings of all of holy Scripture are understood, it fills in the blanks and questions that particular verses may raise. The Early Fathers recognized this and passed on to us, their posterity, the teachings of holy Scripture that were passed onto them from the Apostles, which were given to them by our Lord Jesus.

Thus, through the voice of many witnesses both past and present, our Lord God preserves His Church, not permitting those who would seek her destruction to be allowed to harm her. He does this through the mouth of His preachers, who proclaim the words of His which He placed into their mouth, which bless His Holy Church, and curse His enemies.

God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

Then Jesus Entered and Passed Through Jericho: St. Luke 19:1-40

St. Luke 19:1-40: "1 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. 2 Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and saw him, and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.' 6 So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. 7 But when they saw it, they all complained, saying, 'He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.' 8 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.' 9 And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.' 11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: 'A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, "Do business till I come." 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, "We will not have this man to reign over us." 15 And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, "Master, your mina has earned ten minas." 17 And he said to him, "Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities." 18 And the second came, saying, "Master, your mina has earned five minas." 19 Likewise he said to him, "You also be over five cities." 20 Then another came, saying, "Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow." 22 And he said to him, "Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?" 24 And he said to those who stood by, "Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas." 25 (But they said to him, "Master, he has ten minas.") 26 "For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me."' 28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, 'Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, "Why are you loosing it?" thus you shall say to him, "Because the Lord has need of it."' 32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, 'Why are you loosing the colt?' 34 And they said, 'The Lord has need of him.' 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: '"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD!" Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' 39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.' 40 But He answered and said to them, 'I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.'"

Our Lord Jesus passes through Jericho, like the Israelites of old, who passed through Jericho after they had crossed the River Jordan into the promised land of Canaan. Our Lord passes through Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, so that He might win for us an eternal promised land in Heaven. And while traveling through Jericho, He meets a man named Zacchaeus, who was a tax collector. And not just any tax collector, but we are told that he is a "chief" tax collector, that is, a ruler over tax collectors. Now, it is no secret that tax collectors were considered sinners, for they would often cheat those whom they would collect from, in order that they could skim off of what has been collected in order that they might keep it for themselves.

Zacchaeus, being a ruler of the tax collector, became very rich. We can assume from this statement from the Evangelist St. Luke that that means he was good at his job and that he was very corrupt. This is what makes this narrative of redemption truly remarkable, for Zacchaeus is not simply a sinner, but a chief of sinners. But it is to the chief of sinners, to whom our Lord Jesus comes. And having spotted Zacchaeus, He calls him down out of the sycamore tree, and invites Himself into the home of Zacchaeus.

We see in this the pattern of conversion, for our Lord does the calling, He does the inviting, He is the one who comes into Zacchaeus' home. And having received Him, Zacchaeus is converted, so that his heart desires to amend himself of his past sins, by giving to those in need, and restoring up to four times what he took from those he cheated. It should be pointed out that half of his possessions were given to the poor, and out the other half the repayment of fourfold was was made to those to whom he had cheated, that is, he sold all that he had and gave it to the poor and followed our Lord Jesus. For we are told by Eusebius, that this man Zacchaeus later became a Bishop of the Church. But even more wonderful than that is the proclamation of our Lord upon the changed heart of Zacchaeus, "Today, salvation has come to this house."

Therefore, so should we confess our sins, and amend our sinful ways, and follow our Lord Jesus. And having confessed our sins, to our Minister, as to God Himself, we receive the words of absolution, that is, forgiveness from the man of God, who sits in the place of our Lord Jesus, pronouncing to our repentant ears, "today, salvation has come to you, for our Lord Jesus, has come to seek and save the lost, like you, and give you forgiveness, life and salvation."

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas

The Word That God Puts In My Mouth, That I Must Speak: Numbers 22:2-41

Numbers 22:2-41: "2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, 'Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.' And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: 'Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.' 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner's fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, 'Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.' So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 Then God came to Balaam and said, 'Who are these men with you?' 10 So Balaam said to God, 'Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 "Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out."' 12 And God said to Balaam, 'You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.' 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, 'Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.' 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, 'Balaam refuses to come with us.' 15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, 'Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: "Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me."' 18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, 'Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.' 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, 'If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you--that you shall do.' 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?' 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, 'Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!' 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?' And he said, 'No.' 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.' 34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, 'I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.' 35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, 'Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.' So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, 'Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?' 38 And Balaam said to Balak, 'Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.' 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. 41 So it was the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people."

With this reading we are introduced to Balaam the son of Beor. Much speculation has been put forth about Balaam. Who was he? Was he a true prophet, or a false prophet? These questions are debated both among the Early Fathers, and among modern commentators. But the answer to what kind of prophet he is, can be seen from Holy Scripture.

Balaam the son of Beor (which in the King James Version is written as Bosor, which means "flesh," hence Balaam is the son of flesh, or sinful mankind, and) is mentioned several times outside of the Book of Moses, commonly called Numbers. Most enlightening is what two of the Apostles say about him, and even our dear Lord Jesus in the Book of the Revelation. St. Peter in his second epistle refers to Balaam (2 Peter 2:15) as a false prophet, because he performed the office of prophet for money, even taking money to give a prophecy that wasn't true, just to appease the one paying. We have such a case in this reading. For Balak, sends emissaries carrying "the diviners' fee" to get Balaam to curse the Israelites. More on this later.

Another Apostle, Thaddeus, or according to his surname attached to his epistle, Jude, states, the same thing (Jude 11) as St. Peter, that Balaam's error was that he was a false teacher who prophesied for profit. Our Lord Jesus also, in the Revelation of Jesus Christ to St. John (Revelation 2:14), tells St. John to write to the Angel of the Church of Pergamos that there are some among them who hold "the doctrine of Balaam who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel." The doctrine of Balaam, is the doctrine which leads men astray. In the case of the Church at Pergamos, those who held the doctrine of Balaam, were those who taught it was okay to eat food offered to idols, and practice sexual immorality. Therefore these false teachers were putting a stumbling block in front of the faithful in Pergamos.

It is important to understand these things about Balaam, for he is mentioned quite a bit in the next chapters of the Book of Moses, commonly called Numbers. However, Balaam has one thing to his credit, and that is that when the emissaries from Balak arrive, and after consulting with the "LORD" (and this is to be understood as the Lord God, Jehovah) he sends the men away, because the LORD would not let him curse Israel.

However, after another larger group of emissaries comes with more money, and after consulting with the Lord God once again, he is told by the Lord God to only go with them only if they call him, and he was only to speak what the Lord God gave him to speak. Here we are told that Balaam got up in the morning saddled his donkey and went with the men. Since the Lord's anger is aroused against Balaam, we can assume that the men did not call him, and that he went of his own free will, against the will of God.

Therefore, we have this interesting narrative of Balaam's donkey speaking to Balaam. This is the second time that an animal, without reason or sense, speaks in holy Scripture (the first being the serpent in the Garden of Eden). We see in this pericope how those who have set their mind to committing sin run headlong into the danger and their destruction, not heeding the warnings. Hence, the donkey of Balaam, who sees the admonition of the Lord put forth by the Angel of the Lord standing in Balaam's path and wielding a sword, tries to deliver her master from the destruction. She does this three times. Each time that the donkey tries to lead Balaam from his path of sin and destruction, she is rebuked for it.

How clearly we can see in this the response of those who are set in their way to sin. For they rage all the more, and desire all the more to do that which is evil in our Lord's eyes, not heeding the warnings. How often have we pushed forward through adversity and warnings to commit sin? How often have we ignored our Lord's Word and done that what we know we ought not to do, simply because of our own sinful will. Such is the case of Balaam. And blinded by his will to curse the Israelites, and gain favor with Balak, he runs headlong into danger. But the donkey, a simple beast of burden, tries to prevent him from this sin and destruction.

And even when the donkey speaks, Balaam's heart is not changed. Nor is he astounded that his donkey is speaking. He instead wishes for a sword in his hand to kill the donkey for its insolence. Therefore, our Lord has the donkey reason with Balaam, showing him from his past experiences with the donkey that something extraordinary is happening, so that even Balaam has to admit that the donkey has never acted like this before. Here Balaam is shown by the Lord the Angel with the sword standing before him blocking his way.

Here we see the response of those who realize their sin portrayed in the response of Balaam, who fell flat on his face, and admits, "I have sinned." Balaam even suggests that if the journey that he is on displeases the Lord, he will turn back again. Here we also learn that it is not the journey that upsets the Lord, but the heart of Balaam, who is only doing this for money and honor. The admonition of the Lord to only speak that which He gives Balaam to speak, also indicates that Balaam may have had a heart set on cursing the Israelites, something he was already told that he was unable to do. But if he could this would bring him into a place of honor and high standing with Balak and among the Moabites. Therefore, the Lord God repeats again the admonition to Balaam to speak only that which He gives him to speak.

From the Book of Joshua, we learn that Balaam, who was living in the region where Abraham had lived, and Laban, Jacob's uncle, lived, now was living in Canaan, and we are told that the Israelites killed him in their battles to take over the promised land of Canaan. Therefore, we see in Balaam, the life and end of those who are false prophets and teachers, who only seek their own will, and live for earthly possessions and honor; Those who curse the children of God, and try to set stumbling blocks in front of them. Therefore, we must heed this warning, and be wary of those who would preach false doctrine, and have nothing to do with them. But we should rather listen to the simple preachers, who only wish to lead us from the path of destruction, and free us from our error.

May God be with you!

Deacon Dulas