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Balaam | Hearing God Unusually

Balaam | Hearing God Unusually

Last updated on: March 27, 2024 at 2:09 pm by Rev. Jared V. Ingle

Balaam | Hearing God Unusually 2024-03-27T14:09:27-04:00 Rev. Jared V. Ingle

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The story of Balaam can be found in Numbers 22-24

It is certainly a prophetic story that is unusual.

Some scholars believe that Jethro, Job, and Balaam are all contemporaries. They are each Seers or Prophets in their respective regions, possibly also advisors to Pharaoh.

Balaam seems to be the one who is most steeped in false religion. He openly practices divination, an alternative way of getting in touch with the spiritual realm. However, there are really not two spiritual realms.

As a free moral agent, Balaam enters the spiritual realm in Numbers, and encounters God by choice. Well, he does encounter an angel and a talking donkey along the way. Nonetheless he chooses against great odds to speak the words of the Lord.

Before and after this encounter with God, Balaam has the worst track record with God when compared to Jethro and Job. There are a handful of other Scriptures attesting to this. Nonetheless, Balaam speaks oracles of God, blesses Israel, when he is hired to curse Israel, and the Spirit of God is said to have rested on him.

This is all I care to share about the story. Read it for yourself. It is quite fascinating.

there are no 2 spiritual realms

Let me segue by repeating the fact that there are no two spiritual realms. As humans, we are free moral agents. It is quite possible for someone who is spiritual, not Christian but spiritual, to retrieve a message from the Lord.

I have seen this most often in my work in the secular marketplace. Spiritual people respect spiritual people. As a minister, people who are spiritual are often attracted to my personality before they know anything about me.

JVI | on the way to work | 03.25.24

There have been countless times coworkers have spoken prophetically to me, people who are sensitive to spirituality. In 1 Corinthians 12, one of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit is the gift of discerning. I cannot count how many times I have heard truth, or a blessing, come forth from a coworker. Then when I take it home and pray about it, or even commit it to prayer with my Christian advisers, I discern that the truth is actually of God.

I am on a long and arduous journey right now. It would be difficult for me, even as a seasoned Christian minister, to only rely on what I receive from the Lord on Sundays and Wednesdays.

God knows this, so He has raised up free moral agents like Balaam, people sensitive to spirituality, who are speaking blessings into my life. For the most part, their words are life to me during the week at work. God is blessing me in unusual ways.

I don’t advise that you seek out a word of prophecy from someone like Balaam. That would be foolish and dangerous from a Christian worldview. However there may be times in your life when someone like Balaam does speak prophetically and on-point to your situation.

Don’t be surprised. If God can use a donkey to speak to someone like Balaam, he can certainly use a spiritual free moral agent like Balaam to speak to you.

Don’t be surprised if you start hearing God unusually.

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