Day 49

“But I have a few things against you, because you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So you too, have some who in the same way hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” Rev 2:14-15 NASB.

Here is a classic example of Revelation using an Old Testament story. Apparently, teachings similar to those of Balaam were held in the church at Pergamum. They, like him, attempted to entice others astray with these teachings. The text also mentions the teaching of the Nicolaitans. The Greek root for the word Nicolaitans (nikolaos) means “the one who conquers the people” while the Hebrew name, Balaam, means “one who swallows up the people.” These two terms reflect different languages yet they mean essentially the same thing.

When the king of Moab saw the Israelites coming, he realized that the God of Israel was far too powerful for his armies to overcome. So the king, Balak, had a brilliant idea. He would find a true prophet of their God who was willing to come and curse them. Then perhaps their God would forsake them and he could conquer them in battle. Having heard about Balaam, Balak sent a representative to approach him. Balaam was a greedy sort and decided to accept the offer of money in spite of Yahweh’s displeasure.

On his way to Moab, Balaam had his famous conversation with a donkey! In spite of this hint from God that he was on the wrong track, he continued on his journey to Moab and tried to curse Israel. But instead of curses, blessings came out of his mouth. The king who hired him was furious (see Numbers 22-24 for the larger story).

Balaam then used the fascination of pagan feasts and the lure of sexual immorality to attract a number of Israelites to sin through food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. As a result, God withdrew His protection from Israel and a great plague destroyed many of them (see Numbers 25 and 31:16).

The story of Balaam illustrates our dependence on God’s protection. The sins that seem so innocuous to us have disastrous implications if they succeed in separating us from God. The church at Pergamum felt justified in its compromises, yet placed itself in grave danger.