How plain does God have to make something before we get the point? Balaam was a self-made prophet for the King of Moab. A Far Easterner and smooth talker, he had worked his way into high places. This story, in an Old Testament book usually considered too dry to read, deals with sin: S-I-N. Here was a person easily tempted to sin, who, for pay, was willing to prophesy anything that the King wanted, as if it were God speaking. Payola is nothing new, after all.

There was constant war between the Israelites and Moabites, as there is still today war between their descendants. The army of Israel was so great that it frightened King Balak of Moab, so he felt a need for more than an army. He needed Divine intervention, he needed to get God on his side. Ever hear of that before?

Abe Lincoln was asked…