The Profitable Prophet

“Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness” (2Pet 2:15-16).

There’s no business like God’s business. Turn on the TV and see for yourself. Fast-talking televangelists promise the Lord’s blessing for three easy payments of $99.95. Don’t make the mistake of thinking this is some sort of modern American phenomenon. No, these spiritual hucksters have been up to their tricks for thousands of years. As a matter of fact, Peter lets his readers know that the false teachers who are infiltrating local churches are pulling an ancient con. They’re just like Balaam, the profitable prophet. Yup, there’s no business like God’s business.

Pete’s sounding the alarm about a posse of spiritual snake oil salesmen who are tearing churches apart from the inside out (2:1-3). They’re peddling an empty gospel that’s really no Gospel at all. Earlier, the apostle reminded us that Jesus has graciously given us everything we need through a relationship with Him. “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence” (1:3). You don’t need to waste your money on the trash these jokers are selling.

The false teachers seem to have started out in the right direction. But something has happened. Something VERY bad. “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray” (v15). If you were to look back at their beginning, these dudes had a great start. First in their class. The best and the brightest. But at some point, they took an exit from the straight and narrow and stopped following Jesus. Every one of us has to be careful and not take our eyes off our Savior. A bad decision here. A questionable choice there. Before we realize it, we’ve put something other than God on the pole position of our lives. If you’re on the path, stay on it. If you took an off ramp, get back on road immediately. If you have a friend who’s gone astray, do what you can to get them headed in the right direction. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. The false teachers had a great start. You can see that’s not doing them much good now.

So if these dudes stopped following Jesus, who were they following? “They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing” (v15). If you’re in the market for an Old Testament comparison to these spiritual shysters, you’re talking about Balaam. You can read all about this metaphysical mercenary back in Numbers 22-24. Here’s a quick recap. The Israelites have Mt. Sinai in their rearview mirror and are on the short and winding road to the Promised Land. They’re in Moab, just across the Jordan, on the doorstep of the land of milk an honey. When the king of Moab realizes that his nation could end up as the next notch in the belt of God’s people, he calls for Balaam. King Balak hits up the prophetic hired gun to curse the invaders. 

You see, Balaam isn’t a prophet like Elijah or Isaiah. No, he uses whatever paranormal powers he possesses to make a profit. He’s a seer for sale. He’s out to turn a quick buck. Balaam’s got quite a racket, don’t you think? When a team repping the king knocks on his door, they have “the fees for divination in their hand” (Num 22:7). Balak knows the curse comes at a cost. The profitable prophet doesn’t just give his work away. For Balaam, it’s all about the Benjamins.

And if that’s not bad enough already, Balaam knew EXACTLY what he was doing. He loved making a felonious fast buck. He “loved the gain from wrongdoing” (v15). He knew it was a crime and he did it anyway. Think of him like some sort of spiritual hit man. For a price, the prophet would call down a curse on your enemy. So when King Balak was in bind, there was only one person for the job. So he loaded up a briefcase full of loot and sent it to Balaam. There’s no business like God’s business.

There’s just one problem. God absolutely refuses to allow a curse to fall on His chosen people. The Almighty lets Balaam know in no uncertain terms, “You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (Num 22:12). This is an AWESOME reminder that God’s blessing cannot hindered. Not even by the best prophets money can buy! Despite the divine warning, the profitable prophet loaded up his donkey and headed out. Let’s just say, the LORD was NOT happy. “God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary” (Num 22:22). One jackass may not have seen God’s angel, but the one he was riding sure did. When the donkey wouldn’t budge, Balaam beat the living daylights out of his beast. At that point, “God opened he mouth of the mouth of the donkey” (Num 22:28)! A few thousand years before Mr. Ed chatted it up with Wilbur, the prophet “was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness” (v16). 

So what does a money grubbing medium and his talking donkey have to do with the false teachers Pete’s writing about? He wants us his readers to know that they are cut from the same cloth. These hucksters don’t want to speak for God. They’re out to bilk Jesus’ followers. Jesus’ little brother Jude knew all about these same mercenaries too. He writes that the false teachers have “abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error” (Jude 11). The apostle also wants to reassure us that if God can handle Balaam by using a talking donkey, He can certainly take care of these jokers. 

If Jesus has called you into ministry, are you still true to His original invitation? Are you like these false teachers? Is Balaam your hero? Are you “forsaking the right” (v15)? Have you “gone astray” (v15)? Let’s cut to the chase. Too many folks who get into the ministry for the right reasons get distracted by dollars. Satan can use success to steal our original focus. We must be VERY careful not to choose money and fane over faithfulness and obedience. Just so you know, I’m talking to the dude with his fingers on the keyboard. Is my financial security more important than eternal security? Anytime we choose money over the Messiah, we’re making a big mistake. Jesus made that clear. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Mt 6:24).

Be careful. There’s no business like God’s business.