History is replete with stories of men and women who come from unknown villages to accomplish great feats. And many times, they didn’t set out to become great; they simply focused on doing what they loved and doing it well.
Had the story of Balaam not ended in the wrong way, he would have gone down in history as one of the good prophets in the Bible.
The fascinating thing about his biography was that Balaam was not an Israelite. We are used to having almost all the prophets in the scriptures being Israelites; that to see one who hears from God outside of that nation becomes interesting.
Balaam was the son of the king of Edom, descendants from Esau, the son of Isaac, the twin brother of Jacob. When the elders of Moab, who had been sent by Balak, king of Moab, arrived and presented their request and rewards, Balaam made a profound statement. He said to his visitors, “Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak to me.”
This shows that Balaam:
1. Knew who God, the Creator of man, was.
2. He has always interacted with God
3. He was sure that God would speak to him that night
4. He always did what God asked him to do.
5. His predictions were always accurate, and his prophecies were always fulfilled.
And true to Balaam’s words, God spoke to him that night, and the following morning he had an answer for the elders and king of Moab.
The point I wish to establish with this article is that you don’t have to come from a certain clique before you can know God and be used by Him. You also don’t need to come from a certain background before you can be famous and attract admiration from kings and elders in other nations. Faithfully doing your bit in that obscure place will attract nations to the gifts you carry.
