But had a rebuke of his own iniquity from a donkey—a beast without speech—speaking with a man's voice he restrained the prophet's madness.
Truth to Learn
Following God’s leading may be hard, but it is the best way.
Behind the Words
The word translated “iniquity” is paranomia. This is a compound word made up of para, meaning “against or opposed to” and nomos, meaning “law.” Hence, paranomia refers to action that is, as we might say, “against the law.”
“Restrained” is from kōluō, which literally means “to cut off or weaken.” In general terms it means “to hinder, prevent, or restrain.”
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse we talked about the prophet Balaam who “loved the wages of unrighteousness.” We talked about how he initially refused to go with Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the Israelites as they were about to enter the Promised Land. The reason that he refused is because God told him not to go. When Balak promised him great honor and riches, Balaam decided to go with them after all.
He traveled on a donkey, and part way to his destination the Angel of the Lord stood in the road and the donkey refused to go forward but turned aside into the field instead. As a result, Balaam struck his donkey and brought him back into the road. Then the Angel of the Lord stood in the road in a narrow spot with walls on either side of the road. When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, he refused to go forward and turned into the wall, smashing Balaam’s foot against the wall. In response Balaam again struck his donkey. Then the Angel of the Lord stood in yet another place where there was no way for the donkey to turn either way, so the donkey simply lay down. At this point Balaam struck the donkey with his staff. Here is what happened then, from Numbers chapter 22.
And Jehovah opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, What have I done to you that you have struck me these three times?”
And Jehovah opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of Jehovah standing in the road with His sword drawn in His hand. And he bowed and fell on his face.
As a result, the Angel of the Lord allowed Balaam to proceed but strictly charged him to only speak the words that were given him from God. Balaam did go to Balak and when told to curse the Israelites, he blessed them instead because those were the words given him from God.
The point that Peter is making is that the false teachers of his day and of ours are willing to preach their own message instead of the message that God wants to be preached, and they do so for personal gain. They know that a message of acceptance and tolerance will attract many more listeners (and their money) than a message of willful submission and obedience to God as the supreme authority for our lives and actions.
Application
Which do you want from your pastor? Do you want a message that will make you feel good and allow you to indulge in the sinful practices of your flesh? Or, do you want a message that is straight from the Word, a message that demands obedience and submission to the Spirit of God, even if your toes get stepped on?
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved