We’re continuing our sermon series on the stories we find in the book of Numbers. Today, we’ve come to one of the most humorous stories in all of Scripture – the story of Balaam and his talking donkey. This is a story that shows us just what God can do, that with Him, truly nothing is impossible, and that He actively works to protect His people. Of course, we don’t have the whole story today; we only heard a piece of it, as it goes on for several chapters. But we’ll talk about it all today as we see the power of God and the futility of working against Him.

You’ll remember that at this point in Numbers, Israel is almost ready to finally enter into the Promised Land. The next generation is poised and ready. Earlier, they had asked for safe passage through the land of Sihon, King of the Amorites. Instead, they were met with an army. Through the Lord’s power, Israel defeated Sihon and his ally, Og, King of Bashan. Watching on the sidelines was another king, Balak, King of the Moabites, who knows that his army will be unable to defeat Israel, who will have to pass through his land to cross the Jordan River. And so, Balak seeks another way; he and his nobles gather together a large sum of money to hire Balaam to curse Israel.

Balaam is a complex character. He’s a foreigner, an unusual character in Scripture. He’s a magician, a sorcerer, a diviner – things that are all roundly condemned in Scripture. Scripture forbids all of these kinds of things which look to something other than God and His Word for guidance in life – so it condemns astrology, tarot cards, palm readings, horoscopes, Ouija boards – anything which looks to the stars, the spirits, the dead or other gods for guidance. And indeed, that was Balaam’s living; he claimed to be a spokesman for the gods, which is exactly why Balak wanted his services. The king wanted all the supernatural powers to come against Israel and to protect the land of Moab.

Little does Balaam know that he is about to come face-to-face with the One True God, the God of Israel, Yahweh, our God. And he’s about to learn that those whom God blesses cannot be cursed, no matter how hard one tries. Balak and his princes try to hire Balaam, but God tells him not to go, not to curse Israel. And we can see that this is a struggle for Balaam. He says he cannot do Balak’s bidding; he says he can only obey God. But later, we find God angry with Balaam, even after He has said that Balaam can go to Balak. Obviously, Balaam has been tempted; obviously, he means to disobey God’s command to bless and not curse Israel.

And so God sends an angel to stop Balaam on his journey. And ironically, hilariously, Balaam’s donkey has more spiritual insight on this journey than Balaam, the supposed prophet and wise man. Three times, the donkey sees the angel and turns aside. Three times, Balaam beats his donkey for saving his life. And finally, "The Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?’" (Numbers 21:28, NIV). And Balaam, hilariously, is so angry, so blinded with rage, that he talks back to his donkey! "‘You have made a fool of me! (Balaam is making a fool of himself! He’s talking to a donkey!) If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.’ The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?’ ‘No,’ he said." (Numbers 21:29-30, NIV, parenthesis added).

And then, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes. He saw the angel there, with its drawn sword. He finally sees what has been going on – that the Lord has been coming against him, preventing him from completing his task for Balak. The angel tells Balaam that he is only to speak God’s words of blessing upon Israel, not the words of cursing that Balak wants. And in the chapters that follow, we find more comedy as Balaam and Balak butt heads, as four times Balaam pronounces God’s words of blessings upon Israel. Time and again, Balak stubbornly tries to get Balaam to do otherwise, saying "Let’s go over here" or "Let’s go over there, and from there curse them for me". But God wins out. Through Balaam, Israel is blessed, not cursed.

So, what do we learn from the story of Balaam, from the story of the pagan prophet and his humorous goings-on? Well, the first lesson is captured in a sign that used to hang in the hallway of one of my college dorms: "If God can use Balaam’s ass, He can use you, too!" We chuckle at that, but it’s very true. God can use anybody and everybody for His purposes – even us! No one is too young or too old, too smart or too ignorant, too wise or too foolish. God uses men and women, adults and children, mature Christians and new believers. Here, we see that God can even open the mouth of a stubborn old donkey to accomplish His purposes, to shame an even more stubborn, more foolish man. God is truly amazing; we never know how He is going to work. So – how is He using You? And are you listening? Are you obedient to His call?

But the other lesson we learn is even more important, and it’s summed up best by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans: "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). This whole story, the story of Balaam and Balak, is about those who are trying to come against God to bring curses upon God’s people. They go to great lengths, to great expense and to great effort to counteract God’s will – and they lose! For in the end, Balaam tells Balak "How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced? . . . Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth? . . . Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?" (Numbers 23:8, 12, 26, NIV). No matter how hard we try, no matter how much money we spend, no matter what lengths we go to, we cannot go against the will of God. No matter how hard we kick against the goads, we will not be successful. In fact, we will only harm ourselves through such efforts. For God turns Balak’s and Balaam’s curses into blessings for His people. Peter tells us that Balaam was "rebuked by a donkey – a beast without speech – who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness" (2 Peter 2:16, NIV). And indeed, in Balaam’s four oracles, he can only speak good things for Israel. For nothing can harm those whom God protects and blesses – neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation! (Romans 8:38-39).

And that’s Good News for us in this Lenten season, my friends. For Satan’s great wish is to harm God’s people, to foil God’s plans, and like Balak and Balaam, to bring curses, death, pain and destruction upon us. We see that all throughout the Gospels, and perhaps you’ve experienced it in your own lives – that Satan comes against Jesus Christ and against us, Christ’s people. Satan will do anything he can to kill, to destroy, to confuse, to tempt, to accuse and to make God into a liar. If He causes God to go back on His promises, then he has succeeded. Indeed, Satan rejoiced when Jesus died, thinking that he had finally won. But little did he know that yet again, God had turned a curse into a blessing. God turned Christ’s crucifixion, His death and His execution into victory for all of us, once-and-for-all defeating sin, death and the devil. Paul tells the Colossians that Jesus, "Having disarmed the powers and authorities . . . made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross" (Colossians 2:15, NIV). Indeed, Jesus Christ died to protect us from the schemes of Satan, and to bring us victory over him. And in His work on the cross, we are free and secure from the evil one. Satan has been defeated. Now, you might ask – why do we still feel the attacks of the enemy? Why do we still bear persecution, accusations, guilt, shame and the like? Well, the answer is that Satan has been defeated, but the loser still fights. Until Christ comes again, Satan’s defeat is not final. But until then, we can still rest in the security we have in Jesus Christ, who has given us victory over our enemy. "Resist the devil", James writes, "and he will flee from you" (James 4:7, NIV).

So, my friends, as we continue to love and serve, as we continue to prepare ourselves to celebrate Easter, remember the story of Balaam and Balak. Remember that God can use anyone and anything for His purposes. If God can use Balaam’s ass, he can certainly use us for great things! And remember that we are safe in God’s hands, safe from those who would harm us, safe from those who would come against us to curse, destroy and confuse. For if God is for us, who can be against us? And indeed, God is for us, my friends. He has even sent His own Son, Jesus Christ to shed His own blood for our souls. That’s how much He is for us! So take heart. Have no fear – no fear of Satan, no fear of the Balaams and Balaks of this world. For we are God’s precious, protected people and He has great plans for us. Like Israel in the desert, God protects us from our enemies, from those who wish to bring curses upon us. And though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blessed assurance control – that Christ hath regarded our helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for our souls! And indeed, no matter who should come against us, it is well with our souls, through the victory Christ has won over sin, death and the devil! Hallelujah! To God alone be the glory!