Misguided Leaders  

The story of Balaam isn’t really about a talking donkey. It’s about a prophet who had access to spiritual authority, misused it, hurt God’s people, and wound up dead.

A short overview of the story:

• Balaam is well known as someone with spiritual power and is asked to curse God’s people by an enemy king.
• Balaam can’t do it, but tells the enemy king how to get Israel to curse themselves through sexual immorality and idol worship. (Numbers 25, 31:16)
• Balaam is killed. (Numbers 31:8)

I’ve thought recently about the profound dangers of strong, spiritual leaders. Balaam had profound and unusual gifts related to understanding spiritual elements related to the living God of the universe. And yet, he had the audacity to oppose the will of God. He died.

We need strong, spiritual leaders. People who hear from God and know God, people who understand His Word. And yet, people who fit that category can get it profoundly wrong. And so, we must live with discernment. It is wise to flee any leader who is not genuinely submitted to the authority of others. It may also be tempting to refuse extending trust or our submission to leaders. This heart posture is not a winning strategy and makes the will of God impossible to
fulfill.

May God give us, His people, humility and discernment.