They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness.
Summary: The story of Balaam provides us with a powerful illustration of how a false teacher operates.
Of all the “bad guys” in the Bible, Balaam, son of Bezel, is one of the best. If the Old Testament was a story from the Wild West, Balaam would be the guy in the black hat. If the Israelites were in a Batman episode, Balaam would be the Penguin. If Israel were “Lost In Space,” Balaam would be the nefarious Dr. Smith.
On the surface, Balaam seems like a normal guy. When we first get to know him, Balaam appears to be a pretty straight arrow. He is your above-average prophet-for-hire. You might say he was a prophet in search of profit.
Balak, son of Zippor, is the king of Moab. Moab is a country on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The Israelites had escaped Egypt, and God had led them directly to the southern border of Canaan, but they disobeyed God and earned a forty-year detour through the desert. Because of their disobedience, they wandered through the desert until all of those who had disobeyed God had died. Then God led them back to the Promised Land through a different route.
Their new route took them past Moab, and the king of Moab wanted to put a curse on these invaders, so he hired Balaam. In the story, Balaam tells the king, “I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.” (Numbers 22:38)
See what I mean? It seems like Balaam is an honest guy. Yet, because God did not allow him to curse the Israelites, he did not collect the money he had been promised. The story ends with Balaam going home without his divination fee, but Balaam could not stop thinking about the money.
After Balaam leaves stage right, he does some “wheeling and dealing” with King Balak behind the scenes. He devises a plan and teaches Balak “to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.” (Revelation 2: 14) The plan works, and the Israelites fall into temptation (again) [See Numbers, chapter 25].
Peter uses Balaam to tell us about false teachers. Balaam covets the money Balak had promised him, and once paid, I am sure he did some carousing in broad daylight (2 Peter 2:13). It was Balaam’s knowledge of adultery (2 Peter 2:14) that was used to seduce Israel (Numbers 25:1-3). Even though he knew God had blessed the Israelites, Balaam connived with Balak to entrap the Israelites with false teachings.
The lesson here is another insight into how false teachers operate. It is not what Balaam did in public that got him in trouble. It is what he did behind closed doors that earned him the wages of wickedness.
Application: You may never know what the false teacher does in secret, but God does.
Food for Thought: What are the “wages of wickedness?”
Romans 6: 23 reminds us that the wages of sin is death. It is spiritual separation from God and thus we need a Savior. Balaam could enjoy his worldly riches but the spiritual cost was severe. Wickedness appears to pay well from the standpoint of our fleshly nature, but the cost is devastating.
Rich,
Well said! Your words put me in mind of Judas as well. His thirty pieces of silver did not bring the happiness that he might have hoped for.
11-16-2021, 2 Peter 2:15, What are the “wages of wickedness?”
I’m taking the long way around on this one, but I feel it is important to review all God has done to provide a path to salvation to all, including those who choose the path to destruction.
God desires all people to be saved, God wrote the laws in our hearts, convicts the world about the guilt of sin and the need for a Savior, and about righteousness, and about judgment: He gave His only Son, as the sacrifice for all sin, and whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
1 Timothy 2:4, Romans 2:12-16, John 16:8, John 3:16,
So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin, and the wages of sin is death. They bring upon themselves swift destruction and will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.
James 4:17, Romans 6:23, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:9
Thank you, Ron!
You make an important point: The message of the Gospel is about our hope of salvation through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
The frustration I see in Peter’s words is that there are a lot of “false teachers” attempting to undermine the work of Christ on the cross.
Just so you know: I do not believe that they will succeed. Not for a minute. (Romans 14:4)
O-Master of Fine Humor,
I simply wanted to show how God has done everything possible to provide these people a way out. But they have make their own choice. No-one can say they didn’t know.
Uh-huh.
Sounds like somebody is angling for accolades with a bit of flattery. (If you were Irish, Ron, I’d call this “blarney.”) 🙂
As to your comment, I think you succeeded well at making your point. It is amazing to me how passionate our Lord is at doing everything possible to get our attention. You have shared many personal stories here that illustrate that point well. We are very blessed, my friend!
I may be off track, but when I read that he “loved the wages of wickedness” it makes me think that the wages are him delighting in the evil that he is perpetrating. This is a man, pretending to speak on behalf of God, but it “tripping up” the Israelites, and is very happy about it. Sin can be pleasurable, but only for a season.
Hebrews 11:25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
Of course we know that sin is an empty pleasure and brings death.
Proverbs 11:18
The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
Proverbs 11:19
Genuine righteousness leads to life, but the pursuit of evil brings death.
On a side note: “You might say he was a prophet in search of profit” has got to be one of the most clever puns I have ever heard!
Chris,
I am delighted to see that you are a connoisseur of fine puns!! Please consider yourself elevated to the status of Premier Commentator here at ThreeMinuteBible.com. Sadly, not everyone is as discerning in the area of Fine Humor as you are. Maybe someday… 🙂
As to you comment, I agree. There is an emotional component here. The false teacher loves what they do.