Douglas Jacoby Podcast

OT Characters: Balaam

Episode Summary

Douglas continues his series on Old Testament characters now discussing the life of Balaam. This episode includes an in-depth look at the story of Balaam as well as what we learn about the character of God through his life. Douglas also provides ideas for how to share this material in a family devotional.

Episode Notes

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.

Hebrew words:

• Bil'am (Balaam in the Greek version) appears 63x in the Bible. The Hebrew Bil'am means "devourer."
• 'Athon (female donkey, as in this account). Chamor is a male donkey, while pere'means wild donkey.

Further study:

• Passages the podcast covered or referred to:
  • Numbers 22-24 (many verses); 31:1-8, 16
  • Other O.T. books: Deuteronomy 23:4-5; Joshua 13:22, 24:9-10; Nehemiah 13:2; Micah 6:5
  • Divination: Leviticus 19:26; Deuteronomy 18:10,14; 1 Samuel 15:23; Galatians 5:20
  • Parallel passages: Joshua 5 (opposed by the angel of the Lord), 1 Kings 18 (the altars and sacrifices)
  • In the N.T.: 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 11, Revelation 2:14
• Advanced
  • Balaam is the prototype of Judas Iscariot. Explore this notion!
  • Two eminent and ancient Jewish writers also comment on Balaam: Josephus and Philo.
  • Archaeological inscription discovered (1967): At Deir Alla, Jordan, an Aramaic prophecy by Balaam was found, dated to c.800 BC. For more, click here.
  • Helpful commentaries on Numbers:
    • Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (for the average reader): volume by Gordon Wenham.
    • Word Biblical Commentary (advanced): volume by Philip J. Budd

Some things we learn about God:

• God knows the hearts of all men!
• God sometimes will oppose our path when it is reckless.
• If our hearts are wrong, he may or may not expose us before the end of our lives (or even the end of time).

For kids:

• Read selections from the Balaam cycle (Numbers 22-24) and introduce and assign the main characters:
  • Balaam: "I must say only the right thing... you can trust me." (Repeat this, like a mantra.)
  • Balak: "Curse your church..." (He bad-mouths the local church, just as Balaam was asked to curse the Israelites.)
  • The donkey: Bray like a donkey.
  • The angel of the Lord: "Stop, prophet! These are bad people!" -- or something to this effect.
• Act out the story, in a manner age-appropriate for your own family.
• Paraphrase the N.T. verdict (2 Peter 2).
• Do you have any family pets? Ask, "How is ____ better than we are? Does he/she ever show better sense than we do? How?" (E.g. doesn't complain, quickly forgives, learns from his/her mistakes.)