Readings for today: Numbers 21-24
When I was in college, I used to go to lunch at Daddy’s Bruce’s Pit BBQ. It was a little hole in the wall place near the campus run by one of the most godly men I have ever met. “Daddy Bruce” - as he was affectionately called - was a larger than life African-American man who loved Jesus with all his heart. His father - the original Daddy Bruce - had become famous in Denver for serving the homeless a turkey dinner each year for Thanksgiving. The Daddy Bruce I knew followed in his father’s footsteps, often serving those in need alongside paying customers. The first time I met Daddy Bruce, he found out I was a Christian. From that point forward, every time I showed up I had to have a Bible verse memorized in order to get my food. Daddy Bruce taught me to love the Scriptures. He told me story after story from the Bible. I am convinced he had most of it memorized. As I would sit at his little bar and eat my BBQ, he would get more and more wound up. He’d start preaching up a storm and the whole restaurant would stop to listen. It was amazing. Daddy Bruce had a way with words. He was a gifted orator. Steeped in the rich black preaching tradition, his preaching was verbal art. I still remember him introducing me to the story of Balaam. “Doug”, he said in his thick southern accent, “when you come in here I don’t want to hear no Footprints in the Sand. I don’t want to hear ‘bout some Prayer of Serenity. Tell me about the donkey that spoke! Now that’s in the Bible!” Oh, how I miss that man!
The story of Balaam is a significant one in Scripture. Believe it or not, it becomes a sort of cautionary tale that is referenced throughout the Old and New Testaments. Over and over again, God’s people are warned to avoid the sins of Balaam. And what are those sins? Divination. Sorcery. Fortune-telling. Balaam was a hired gun. He would bless or curse others for money. He was an ancient witch doctor with a powerful and fearsome reputation in that part of the world. So when Israel comes up out of Egypt and threatens Moab, the king sends for him. “Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." (Numbers 22:6) The idea being that Balaam will fire the first salvo in the coming battle and weaken Israel so Moab might prevail. Shockingly, the Lord speaks to Balaam through his pagan rituals, warning him off. But Balak knows Balaam’s greedy reputation so he sends more princes and more money and Balaam relents. This stirs the anger of the Lord. So He essentially tells Balaam, “Thy will be done” and sends him on his way. However, the Lord isn’t finished. He’s not going to let Balaam off the hook quite yet. Under no circumstances will Balaam be allowed to curse Israel. So God sends an angel to oppose Balaam. To stand in his way. To humble Balaam. And thus we have this strange conversation between Balaam, his donkey, and the angel of the Lord.
Sometimes God uses the “foolish things of this world to shame the wise.” I can think of many times over the course of my life where God has used my children to teach me things I was too proud to see. I can think of many times over the course of my life where the simple faith of desperately poor men and women showed me things about Jesus that I - a trained theologian - had forgotten. I can think of many times over the course of my life where God has confronted me in my pride, privilege, relative wealth and power. In each case, He used something simple. Something weak. Something the world might easily dismiss to show me the error of my ways. No, my dog has never spoken to me! But God forbid I ever get to the place where he would have to! Instead, I pray daily for the humility to not think more highly of myself than I ought or less of my self than I ought but simply to think of my “self” less.
Readings for tomorrow: Numbers 25-28