You’ve probably heard the story:
Balaam was a prophet, riding on an ass
Blocked by an angel, in a narrow pass
He pressed forward, and now I’m sad to tell
In the end for Balaam, it did not go too well.
It is easy to forget that the after Balaam blessed Israel, he decided to teach them to sin, so that they would lose God’s favor. In the end, he fell in battle fighting against Israel.
But a serious study of the Old Testament reveals Balaam as one of several very human prophets. In fact, a number of scholars have noted that if we took the Old Testament seriously we would learn that one of its major lessons is the humanity of prophets. The image of the hand of God, the examples of the essential humanity of prophets (they are not infallible) and the lessons that has for each of us is something we learn from a real study of Balaam and other prophets rather than stopping at the simple triumph narrative where Balaam blesses Israel after being tempted and paid to curse them.
He is a type for many, many other human prophets and a warning that over and over again next year, as we read the Old Testament, we will encounter prophets who while speaking for God and touched by the divine, were also prey to human weaknesses, short sighted diversions and were as flawed as any other human being. We neglect that, and expect more, at our peril.
For more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balaam
“Revelation 2:14, Balaam told King Balak how to get the Israelites to commit sin by enticing them with sexual immorality and food sacrificed to idols. The Israelites fell into transgression due to these traps and God sent a deadly plague to them as a result (Numbers 31:16).”
“Joshua 13:22 records that Balaam died “by the sword” during a battle for the Reubenite occupation of Moabite land.”
“In 1967, at Deir Alla, Jordan, archaeologists found an inscription with a story relating visions of the seer of the gods Bala’am, son of Be’or, who may be the same Bala’am mentioned in Numbers 22–24 and in other passages of the Bible.”
Questions:
- What did you learn from the story of Balaam the first time you heard it?
- What about what you learned when you thought about “the rest of the story?”
- Do you think of prophets as being infallible or do you think of them as human beings, touched by God, but still mortal?
- Should we respect prophets more or less to realize that they are struggling, just as we are, seeing through a glass darkly, but striving to do as God directs?
- Does it surprise you that there is a historic Balaam?
- Can you think of other Old Testament prophets who made bad mistakes like Balaam did?
- Did Moses’ mistakes justify the Children of Israel in the times they decided to ignore him? Why not?
- What other questions or points would you use with a study of the story of Balaam?
Wheat & Tares 
The OT story that this reminded me most of is the one in 1 Kings 13. An unnamed prophet is sent by God to Jereboam to issue a message of condemnation. He is commanded not to eat or drink during this journey. After delivering his message to Jereboam, during the return trip, he meets a second prophet who pressures him into visiting him at his home and having dinner. For his disobedience, the prophet meets up with a lion on his return trip and is killed.
The part that I find intriguing is what motivation to assign to the second prophet. Was he, as suggested by the KJV, lying to the first prophet about the angel, or, as suggested by the JST, following instructions of an angel where God wanted to try the first prophet to see if he would be obedient?
Perhaps more in keeping with the OP’s line of thinking, what does it imply that a prophet could succumb to peer pressure in this way?
The Balaam “poem” is a long lost verse to the beloved Primary song “Follow the Prophet”,
The other verse that usually get left out is
“Elisha was a prophet
didn’t have much hair
So the children teased him
Said his head was bare
Then came out the grizzlies
Ate them through and through
If you mock the prophet
Bears will eat you too”
I think the chief value of this story is beyond a close analysis of the actual event. Church can be boring and we need some comic relief. Balaam and his ass provides it.
Mike, It doesn’t take a close reading to learn that there may be times when even a dumb ass can see better than a prophet. Is that just comic relief?
Did JR just call me a dumb ass?
(Who can see better than a prophet?)
Thank you. I accept the complement.
Mike, no, I didn’t. I simply noted a key element of the OT Balaam story — an [otherwise] dumb ass who could see better than the prophet and the possibility that there could be other such times. (A valuable lesson, and not just comic relief, in my book.) On the other hand, I have a friend who insists he’d rather be a smart ass than a dumb ass. I’ve probably been both at times, but neither in the comment above.
Smart ass , dumb ass. I’m still working on the first.
I agree with your main point.
Bishop Bill, There are more that 2 verses commonly omitted. This one from “Grasshopper” was in comments over at Times and Seasons:
Jonah was a prophet, swallowed by a whale.
When he was on board, the ship just couldn’t sail.
So they tossed him over, next thing that he knew,
Nineveh repented, Jonah had to, too.
Swallow the prophet, swallow the prophet, swallow the prophet, won’t get away;
Swallow the prophet, swallow the prophet, swallow the prophet; he’ll find the way.
So there’s another OT prophet who made mistakes (unless of course the Book of Jonah is really just a fictional satire on the Israelite fixation on prophets.)
Interestingly, I happened to pull up “Open Line with Michael Rydelnik this morning on the local Christian radio just as Dr. Pritchard fielded a call in question about Balaam. To summarize, Dr. Pritchard said something to the effect of “yes Balaam was called by God to deliver a message, but got in trouble for going beyond that message.” I think it was his use of the term “going beyond” that struck me. We Mormons are frequently accused of adding to the word of God. There has been recent discussion, in response to BYU relenting on selling caffeinated soda pop about “hedges around the law.” It seems that much of Christ’s criticism of some of the Jewish observances around the Sabbath were about going beyond what the law required (or, as Nephi put it, looking beyond the mark). How often do prophets go beyond the message God asks them to deliver?