God Will Use an Ass: Prophetic Accuracy vs. Attitude
The prophet Balaam should be thoroughly studied by every prophet who wants to avoid the flaws that biblical character showed.
He could give a true word of the Lord, yet he became a false prophet in his personal attitude and way of life. His example should teach us that judging the prophet and judging the prophetic word are two different matters.
Prophecy Judged in Three Areas
We must judge the content of a prophecy in three areas. First, its spiritual message must conform to biblical truth. Second, objective, verifiable statements about the past and present can be checked against the facts. And third, predictions for the future are judged by whether they come to pass.
On the other hand, we must judge the prophet or prophetess in a different way. True and false prophetic ministers are discerned by their character, the spirit of wisdom, the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their personal lives, and the fruit of their ministry that remains after the initial manifestations of miracles or other signs.
As we read all the scriptural references to Balaam throughout the Bible, we find several pitfalls and character flaws. To his credit, we must note that he held to one important prophetic rule—he refused to prophesy anything except what God had given him to say. In fact, he even declared to Balak that he could prophesy no differently even if he gave him half his kingdom and great positions. Yet Balaam was nevertheless ambitious for fame, fortune, and prestige.
Some “M’s”” in Order, Some Not
Evidently, though Balaam had some of his “10 M’s” in order (I talk about the “10 M’s” more in my book, Prophets, Pitfalls, and Principles), he had enough of them out of order to cause him to be judged a false prophet by Jesus, Peter, and Jude in the New Testament (see Rev. 2:14; 2 Pet. 2:15-16; Jude 11). His “M’s” of message, ministry, manhood, and morality appear to have been in order, but his “M’s” of motive, maturity, methods, and money were not. Though he was committed to speaking nothing but pure words from the Lord, yet he was self-determined and lusted enough for power and possession to persist in hoping that God would allow him to prophesy something that Balak would reward.
God told Balaam when he first inquired that he was not to go with Balak to curse Israel. After further offers of reward, however, Balaam inquired again of God to see if there were not some way he could go. God told Balaam that he could go if the men came for him again. Yet there is no indication in the scriptural text that this confirmation came before Balaam saddled up his donkey to go to Balak to prophesy against Israel.
A Self-Willed Prophet Takes a Mile When God Gives an Inch
God was angered because Balaam went ahead anyhow. He sent an angel to cause a breakdown in the prophet’s transportation so that he would be stopped. The donkey saw God’s angel of providential restriction, but the prophet Balaam was too blinded by his self-will to see that God was involved in his frustrating situation.
A Point for Prophets to Ponder
Judging from Balaam’s story, even a donkey can discern the spiritual world and God’s divine restrictions better than a prophet blinded by lust for riches, power, and promotion. Prophets with the character flaws of Balaam allow the potential rewards of riches to influence them toward displeasing God in their striving to please people for earthly gain.
Balaam tried to please God and serve Mammon at the same time. He had the root problem that Paul calls the root of all evil, the love of money (see 1 Tim. 6:10). I believe Balaam held a secret resentment in his heart toward Jehovah for not allowing him to prophesy anything that Balak desired against Israel—thus causing him to lose all of Balak’s promised riches and promotion.
Balaam could not prophesy anything except what God told him. But he finally bypassed that restriction by not prophesying in the name of Jehovah. Instead, he pulled upon his prophetic insight and gave counsel to the Moabites and Midianites about how they could destroy the Israelites by causing them to sin against God by adultery and idolatry (see Rev. 2:14). By doing so, Balaam finally received the riches and position he wanted, but he was also destroyed with the Midianites under the judgment of God (see Josh. 13:22).
Seeing Prophets as God Sees Them
When we read the account of Balaam in Numbers, he does not look like a false or wrongly motivated prophet. Only in light of Peter’s, Jude’s, and Jesus’ comments about Balaam do we begin to see him as God saw him. If we were to judge this prophet only by the accuracy of his prophecies, we would have to declare him a true prophet.
Balaam prophesied only what God spoke to him even though he was offered great riches to prophesy differently. The references in Numbers make him look like a man of integrity in the prophetic ministry who resisted all temptations. In fact, he gives the only Messianic prophecy in the book of Numbers, and he was the greatest prophet among his peers.
So on what basis does the New Testament declare him to be a false prophet? His false status is only perceived by God’s spirit of discernment, which searches the heart and motive. The Scriptures declare that human beings judge by outward looks and performances, but God judges the heart, weighs the spirit, and identifies the motive behind the performance (see 1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 16:2).
Motive Plus Action Equals Deed
The book of Revelation says that every person’s eternal reward and destiny will be determined by his or her deeds. Deeds are more than actions; they are formed by the equation I call “M + A = D”—that is, Motive plus Action equals Deed. So in judging whether someone is a true or false prophet, God evaluates the person’s motive as well as ministry.
Several incidents recorded in Scripture show people who seem to be right nevertheless giving false prophecies and then being judged as false prophets. But Balaam is the only one who portrays the reality that a prophet can give accurate prophecies and yet be a wrong enough person on the inside to be judged a false prophet. Sadly enough, most Christians would not realize that a Balaam prophet is a false prophet. Most of them only know the passage in Deuteronomy (18:22) that declares a person’s “true prophet” status is determined by whether the word that person gives is accurate and comes to pass.
Balaam spoke only God-directed words, and they came to pass. But the New Testament uses him as an example of what a prophet should not be and do. God is more concerned about the purity of His prophets than the accuracy of their prophecies; He values the men and women themselves and their motives as well as their message and ministry.
Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing
Listen to the words of Jesus concerning inward spirit and motivation:
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits…. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matthew 7:15-16,21-23).
Jesus said a prophet can have the outward clothing and ministry of a sheep but the inward spirit and motivation of a wolf. These are prophets with accurate prophecies and miraculous works, but they are not righteous—not right inside.
Intimate with God
The verb “to know” is used in the Hebrew of the Old Testament to convey the intimate relationship between husband and wife, as in “Adam knew Eve his wife” (Gen. 4:1). I think Jesus’ use of the word “know” here conveys a similar meaning in a metaphorical sense.
When speaking of these false prophets, Jesus says that at one time, they went through the spiritual “legal ceremony” of being married to Him by being born again and called to the ministry. They took the power of attorney of their “husband” (Christ) and wrote checks on the bank of heaven, signing it with the name of Jesus. Now they prophesy and work wonderful works by God’s grace, faith, and divine enablements. But they never allow Jesus’ life and motive to become their motivation and purpose for ministry. So on that day, Jesus will say to them that He never knew them.
Prophetic ministers must guard against self-deception, self-justification, and improper motivation. So we need others to help us see ourselves in areas where we have blind spots. The book of Proverbs tells us that “all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes” (Prov. 16:2), and the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9).
For that reason, every prophet needs to submit to someone whom he or she respects enough to be willing to listen when the other person provides instruction and correction. That is why in the CI-NPM (Christian International Network of Prophetic Ministries) we have established a structure of accountability—the senior apostolic prophet with the vision and burden for prophetic ministers serves as president, and then a board of governors consisting of anointed and mature apostles, prophets, and pastors serves as part of the headship and as a place of accountability and relationship for all the ministers in the network.
