Those Who Should Know Better

Our scripture reading comes from Numbers 22, and is a strange one. Start by re-listening to the story after you read it. Click on the video to listen.

That’s how the passage goes isn’t it?  I can guess that that’s probably not what you were expecting was it?

Without the Shrek reference, have you ever heard, or read the story of Balaam’s donkey?  How you have ever tried to figure it out?  Do you think this is a strange story? (it's okay if it is).

There’s a lot of stuff in the Old Testament that is beyond our understanding. Not because it’s hard, but because its just plain weird. How do we make sense of it? The challenge is for us to look beyond the weird to see where God is, where we are, and how even strange stories have lessons that shake us up and help us grow in faith.

Our question that we’ll be working on throughout this series is, where is God?

Balaam was a guy who lived in the grey areas.  Basically, he was a fortune teller, which was far more common back then.  The comparison is that they are a lot like prophets, only this was before prophets were a thing.  Balaam served as an analyst. He would help people figure things out.

Balaam was also faithful to God, but he lived in the grey areas and still needed to make a living.  These things weren’t always compatible, and this is where we see him start to get into trouble.

Balaam is called on to curse the Israelites by a rival kingdom. Remember, these are God’s chosen people.  What he should have done when asked this was to say no.  But, he needed to make some money, and because his job means he lives in the grey, more…squishy areas, he drags things out.  So he ends up going to Moab, even though he shouldn’t.

Because of that, because he is focused in a place that he shouldn’t be focused in, and probably knew it, it meant that he wasn’t paying attention to the places that he should have been….like to the messenger of God that is stopping in his path.  He can’t see it, but his donkey does.

The donkey doesn’t want to go in that direction, so tries to go elsewhere, and Balaam treats him like people would a stubborn animal.  We’ll leave the question alone about which one of them was the stubborn animal, and they go back and forth like this a few times, before God gets frustrated with Balaam. God does with stubborn people what God does, and he does the unexpected…like making the donkey talk. God shows up, and puts Balaam back in his place.

Hold on to that story.  Because we aren’t done yet with animals, and people who should really know better yet.

Now take a look at 2 Kings 2:23-25, this is the story of Elisha and the bear.

Elisha went up from there to Bethel. As he was going up the road, some young people came out of the city. They mocked him: "Get going, Baldy! Get going, Baldy!" Turning around, Elisha looked at them and cursed them in the LORD’s name. Then two bears came out of the woods and mangled forty-two of the youths. From there Elisha went to Mount Carmel and then back to Samaria.--2 Kings 2:23-25

Have you heard this one before? Its an awful story isn’t it?  It's okay to say that about a story you read in the Bible.

Elisha was Elijah’s successor.  At this point, he was brand new into that role.  He is on his way to Bethel from Jericho.  So he is in an area where he would be recognized as a prophet of the Lord.

Here is where Elisha comes to the hardest part of the story. It’s the hardest because instead of “young people” the King James says little children, others will say boys.  That makes what is already an awful story exponentially worse.  Young people is probably a better translation, but its still a very recent way of translating that.

So, Elisha comes across a group of young people, meaning they are of age to know what they are doing, who all start calling him names, like literally “baldy.” They’re laughing and carrying on, and Elisha replies with, not quite so literally, “get off my lawn!” Basically, he curses them, but it’s the equivalent of raising his fist in the air and yelling at a group of unruly teenagers.

And "then” a bear comes out and mauls 42 of the young people. We’re not given any indication that Elisha’s curse has anything to do with this, in fact, the way that the story goes, it is going out of it’s way to show that one doesn’t cause the other.  This is a sequence of events, not necessarily cause and effect. "Then," is a very important word here.

So, what’s going on?  In all of their name calling and revelry, they’re missing something. Taken in context, which will come in a moment, this is a familiar way of telling stories.

Only watch a couple minutes. You'll get the idea.

Hold on to that as we answer a big question or two.  

The first thing to do when we look at these stories, any of the strange stories that we’re going to look at in this series, and even just reading through the Bible and the Old Testament in particular, is that we have to remember context.

Context is very important.  The Old Testament was a very different world than ours.  And the things that happen don’t make a lot of sense to us.  Just as folks from that time would look at us today and they wouldn’t understand a lot about what we do.  In our eyes, the Old Testament world is a much harsher place, so all the examples and stories that we read are going to be levels harder, harsher, more destructive, and more tragic than anything we’re used to.

The second thing is to not get caught up in the strange. I think this is the thing we do far too much. It’s okay to talk about them, and look at them, and discuss them, but don’t get caught up in them.  Much like the story about Jonah and the whale, the whale isn’t the main point.

When we get caught up in the strange, then we run the risk of doing what Balaam did, or the young people did.  We should know better, and then we miss the important things.  Because what we’re doing is…

The third thing, which is to look for God.

Both of these are stories about people who should have known better, but still did the wrong thing.  Meaning they sinned. Balaam should have known better than to string the others on and go someplace he shouldn’t have.  

The young people should have known better than to make fun of a prophet.  And if they hadn’t been focused on that, and if Elisha hadn’t been responding to them, he might have seen the bear and warned them, or they might have seen the bear and been able to run.

Those things are wrong and they become sin because they miss something important.

For us, how do we respond when we find ourselves in the middle of a strange story?  The challenge is not to get caught up in the strange, but to look for God in the midst of it.  God will be working to get our attention.

Because lets face it, we live in a strange world: one that is harder, harsher, more destructive, and more tragic than it should be. Not all of it is, but too much of it is and we have to know how to respond.

When we see something happen, we should listen and respond. Just offering our thoughts and prayers isn’t enough.

When mass shooters hit, we should listen for the voices that call us to change, and change that doesn’t ultimately mean more of the same. Otherwise we aren't listening for God's voice.

When bullies strike, we should listen to the victims so that we can understand what has happened and can work to prevent it from happening in the future.

When leaders say things that aren’t what Jesus would say, we should stand up and call it out, because otherwise we become like the young people who were a part of the group, even if they didn't call Elisha anything.

When others are causing pain, we should be there for those who have been hurt, even if we don’t understand why they have been hurt.  Part of our being there is to work on understanding.

It is in those moments when God is trying to get our attention.  God isn’t using donkey’s and bears to get our attention, but the voices of victims, and leaders, and experts, and witnesses, and others that are a part of the communities that have been affected.

God is calling out to us.  How do we respond?

Because there is one thing that is clear.  All through scripture, through all the strange things that happen, God is always calling to his people, especially to the ones who have faith to change the world.  We are called to make it better, to do something that shares that love that God has for us with others.

When we listen, God also gives us the tools to make those change.  God from here and ask yourself, where is God in the midst of the strange things we see. When you think you hear God’s voice, to know if it is God's or not, ask yourself who you are in the story.  Are you Balaam or the donkey? If you’re balaam, it’s time to stop and listen again.  

But know that God will not give up! He will always be reaching out, and we can be ready to hear and respond and change the world.  Go out, see where God is, and then help change the world, and do it in Jesus’ name. Amen