Numbers 22:36-41: a reflection

36When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. 37Balak said to Balaam, “Didn’t I earnestly send for you to summon you? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I not able indeed to promote you to honor?” 38Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you. Have I now any power at all to speak anything? I will speak the word that God puts in my mouth.” 39Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath Huzoth. 40Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him. 41In the morning, Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal; and he saw from there part of the people.

When Balaam finally comes to King Balak, who has summoned him to curse Israel, Balak greets him with a note of wounded pride and an implied boast: Did I not send to summon you? Why did you not come? Am I not able to promote you to honor? Balak assumes that he, the king, can command Balaam and reward him richly to get the outcome he wants. But Balaam answers: I have come to you; but do I have any power to say anything? I will speak only the word that God puts in my mouth.

Notice the clash of assumptions. Balak assumes that as king, with wealth and honor to offer, he can command and purchase the result he wants; the outcome, he thinks, is his to buy. But Balaam, for all his own failings, has to admit the truth: he has no power to say anything but what God gives him. God's word and God's will are not subject to a king's command or a king's wealth; they cannot be bought or ordered by human power.

That exposes a common assumption among those who have wealth and influence: that they can command and purchase the outcomes they want, that everything, even truth, even God's will, is subject to their power and their money. But it is not so. God's word and will are not for sale, not subject to human command; no amount of wealth or influence can bend them. Do not fall into the assumption that you can command or buy the outcomes you want, or that truth and God's will bow to money and influence. God's purposes are his own, not subject to human power; and the one who thinks he can command the outcome, like Balak, will find that God's word is not his to buy. Submit to God's will rather than presuming to command it; his word and purpose are not for sale.

Lord, when Balaam came to Balak, the king assumed that with his summons, his wealth, and his honors, he could command and purchase the result he wanted; but Balaam had to admit he had no power to say anything but what you put in his mouth. Expose in me the assumption that clashed with the truth there. Those who have wealth and influence often assume they can command and purchase the outcomes they want, that everything, even truth, even your will, is subject to their power and money. But it is not so. Your word and will are not for sale, not subject to human command; no amount of wealth or influence can bend them. Keep me from falling into the assumption that I can command or buy the outcomes I want, or that truth and your will bow to money and influence. Your purposes are your own, not subject to human power. Help me submit to your will rather than presuming to command it; your word and purpose are not for sale, and I bow to them.