Balaam

Last night I was reading in Numbers when the story of Balaam came to my attention. His story is told in Numbers 22-24, and is a story I remember hearing in Sunday school. Now when I read these same stories as an adult I find more things and more questions arise than as a child. As a child I never fazed me that the donkey talked to Balaam, that happens in stories quite often. Of course it is helpful to know that I use to think all biblical people were Flannel Graph men until I was like 10. Jesus was real, but no one else.

Now as the story unfolds before me I wonder, why did God tell Balaam to go with men (vs 20) and then send an angel to kill Balaam on the road when he was with the men. Balaam was obeying God by going, and yet God sent the angel. Balaam even obeyed the first time when God told him to send the men away and not to go. He is obviously listening and obeying, which is more than I can say about my self at times. This part also reminded me about in Exodus when Moses is going back to Egypt and the Lord comes to kill him because his sons are not circumcised. Moses' wife Zipporah circumcised the boys and turned away God's wrath. Is sending danger a way of God getting us to do something we should have done from the start like Moses circumcising his sons? But what about Balaam? What was the purpose of the angel being sent? Was Balaam going to disobey God by cursing the Israelites instead of listening and saying only what God told him to say? I can't find an answer. Balaam does say he has sinned but doesn't really say what his sin was. The intent of the heart is never show, but I can imagine it was that which caused the angel to be sent.