Numbers 22-24

Balaam was a diviner from the region of Babylon. Numbers 22 discusses his prayers to God about traveling to Moab. Balaam may not have been told the name of the nation that he was to curse but God knew it was Israel and initially forbid it. Eventually God relented and allowed Balaam to go to Moab with this warning: "you may only speak the word that I will speak to you."(Num 22:20) On the trip Balaam's donkey saved her master from God's wrath three times by diverting from the path Balaam intended. When questioned about beating the animal Balaam explained: "You have made me look stupid"(Num 22:29). I wonder if this was the same reason God sent his angel? Would Balaam's desire to gain from Balak make God look stupid? When the diviner saw the judgment from which he had been saved he heard again the same message from God: "you may only speak the word that I will speak to you."(Num 22:35) As a teacher this is a message that I need to always take to heart. It doesn't matter what I want. I need to be sure I don't make God look stupid. I must be careful to speak only what God has revealed in the Bible.
Stuart