Revelation 2:14; The Doctrine of Balaam

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Revelation 2:14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Our Lord is speaking to His church to seek the blessings of sins forgiven, reconciliation with God. When we sinned against God, our conscience gives to us no rest until we repent and submit to God’s authority and sovereignty in our lives. The inner struggles of the heart were vividly described by the psalmist in Psalm 32, we saw yesterday, and how he had no peace in his heart until he yielded to God and repented of his sins.

Psalm 32:5-6 “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.”

“To acknowledge” is “to own up, to be honest, and admit” before God where we have fallen short of God’s law. The psalmist described his crooked and perverse ways were not hidden from God. 

Our Lord in His omniscience identified the specific sin of His church for holding the doctrine of Balaam. What did Balaam do? He taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.

Balaam was a false prophet motivated by fortune (Num. 22-25). What is that? Money, money, money! Stuff that has a price tag, material goods, tangible things, the desire to own, to possess, to amass wealth, to get rich, to get wealth, to look rich.[1] Let us be aware of this heinous sin of greed.  A sin that Balaam succumbed. He was a hireling. He was hired by the enemy to curse Israel, to say what they want him to say. Balaam was money hungry.

Although Balaam did not succeed to curse Israel, the Bible tells us that he did a worse act, he counselled the Israelite men to take the Moabite women in inter-marriage. That caused God’s judgment upon Israel! 24,000 died because they committed whoredom and idolatry. Balaam seduced God’s people into idolatry and immorality. 

1 And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. 2 And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel… 9 And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand. Num. 25:1-3, 9 (KJV)

16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.Num. 31:16 (KJV)

How real is temptation and how vigilant must His people be! May the Lord be merciful to protect His own. Amen.

[1]Charles Swindoll, The Quest for Character, Hodder & Stoughton, 1987, 22.