2 Peter 2:16

2 Peter 2:16 ‘but he received. rebuke for his own transgression; for. dumb donkey, speaking with. voice of. man, restrained the madness of the prophet.'

‘but he received. rebuke for his own transgression' -God made it clear that Israel was His people (2 Peter 22:12). But Balaam continued to ask God-when more enticing offers were made by Balak (2 Peter 22:17-19). God was angry when Balaam went to meet with Balak, because God knew that Balaam secretly was willing to sell out Him and His people for the money that Balak was offering (2 Peter 22:22).

‘for. dumb donkey, speaking with. voice of. man' -‘Peter regards the account as authentic, it was to him, no imaginary incident, no fictious account. Modernistic scholars in seeking to eliminate the supernatural from the sacred writings entirely, allege that Balaam merely heard the promptings of an uneasy conscience on this occasion and that the beast did not really speak' (Woods p. 174). Again, we find the New Testament endorsing all the miraculous events in the Old Testament which liberal scholars criticize and attempt to rewrite or remove. ‘Peter makes. good deal of the Balaam incident in order to encourage the simple orthodox among his readers, who might easily be overwhelmed by the specious arguments of their seductive teachers. “A dumb donkey possessed sounder prophetic vision than. religious official whose moral sense had been perverted by gain from wrongdoing.' (Green pp. 113-114)

‘restrained the madness of the prophet' -‘restrained'-to check or restrain. ‘madness'-insanity. This madness was caused by. love for money (1 Timothy 6:9). From. practical standpoint, every sin is. form of insanity. For it is crazy to think that one could rebel against God and not suffer for it. Or that one could ignore the will of God and build. secure and happy future at the same time.

Points to Note:

Balaam is often cited as an example by other biblical writers (Deuteronomy 23:4; Joshua 2:22; Joshua 2:9; Nehemiah 13:2; Nehemiah 13:27; Micah 6:5; Revelation 2:14... He is the classic example of willing to compromise the truth in order to profit financially. 3. God had prevented Balaam from cursing Israel, and thus forfeiting the huge reward offered by Balak. But Balaam found. way to get that reward. Balaam's greed wasn't to be denied and probably some time after Balak's anger had cooled, Balaam suggested that while he couldn't curse them, that didn't mean that he couldn't offer advice (for. price) concerning how Balak could defeat them. From the chapter that follows Numbers 2:1. it seems that the advice was to lure the Israelite men, with Moabite women into immoral and idolatrous practices (hence they would be cursed in the sight of God) (Numbers 2:1 ff). He counseled Balak to send forth the daughters of Moab and entice the men of Israel to join them in their lascivious worship (Numbers 2:1; Numbers 2:1; Numbers 2:16 ***; Revelation 2:14). When God had Israel take revenge, we find that Balaam was killed for he was among the idolaters (2 Peter 31:8). 4. Like Balaam, these false teachers were willing to sell out their brethren for money, fame and prestige. 6. ‘He tempted many of the people down. path of moral and theological compromise.' (Lucas/Green p. 113). And carefully note, Balaam didn't directly tempt the Israelites, he only offered the advice. But he was still held accountable. 7. Some try to excuse their error by saying, ‘But. am not directly advocating that anyone should do this.' God doesn't buy that excuse. God does hold us accountable for what we say and the fate of those who act upon our advice.