Balaam = Bad

Then Balaam left and returned home, and Balak also went on his way. [Numbers 24.25]

To say, "The End" right here would make the story of Balaam a nice lesson. It would seem that Balaam, even through the confusion that landed him in the company of Balak (being told by God not to go, then being told to go, then encountering the angel of the LORD on way to stop him - not to mention his talking donkey, then being told to go on by the angel of the LORD...) ultimately did the right thing. Right?

Well, not so fast. The story of Balaam does not end with Numbers 24.25. Balaam's life did not go down in Jewish history as one of righteousness. There are several mentions of Balaam and this particular set of circumstances throughout the rest of the Bible, but Balaam is not referred to in these later mentions as any kind of hero, but to the contrary, he is called an enemy of Israel! In fact, so significant was Balaam's treachery that he is mentioned in the book of Revelation:

“But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin. [Revelation 2.14]

Ouch - not a good story!

But how did Balaam go from the OT story figure to the Revelation villain?

Well, it is complicated, but all we can conclude is that Balaam's heart was never in obedience to God. God is not to be communicated with through divination and sorcery. It would seem that Balaam was not a righteous man. 

The key to understanding Balaam is perhaps seen in the account of his talking donkey! If we see Balaam as no different than the donkey, which we actually do as the story goes (he could only say what the LORD put in his mouth), then we can more easily comprehend the vile things Balaam is on record of having done (probably as a side note conversation with Balak).

Balaam was not a good person. He was wrapped up in divination. We must remember that Satan had conversations with God but that did not make him good!

While this explanation does not relieve some of the narrative's obvious contradictions, it does satisfy me that 'a book cannot be judged by its cover.'

Father, help me to understand more thoroughly stories like Balaam's in the Bible. Help me to see that in one account of Balaam, he looked like a decent guy, but when all is said and done (Revelation), Balaam is portrayed as a vile and disgusting human being who fought against God and Israel.