Balaam as a failed Christ; Knowing-doing gap revisited

Today's post will be a bit more diverse.
I believe it may be a sign of growing in the Lord, or that today's reading was particularly fruitful.
Regardless, here are my thoughts ...
First is the observation that there are forces that God can use that are not, on the surface, edifying.

Take Balaam for instance. He obviously wasn't a willing servant (which hearkens to Jonah), but more than that - his motivation wasn't fear, but greed. Spiritually influential people (prophets) in the Bible are regarded as of two categories - successful and unsuccessful. The unsuccessful ones were stoned. Therefore, a prophet that is mentioned in the Bible, one that was referenced and respected by a king, implies not only that he was successful, but that he was particularly successful. And so it was that in Numbers 22, that Balak asks Balaam for a curse upon the Israelites. I have read the Bible, and don't recall any spiritual representative prior to Balaam being called upon to curse anyone, so Balaam was the first, and as the first of a category of people, he will be our model for that class of people.
We see he was known as having the ability to curse effectively. In addition, Balaam is obviously used to being on speaking terms with God, and in a way unlike Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, or anyone else that we've seen that has reverence - in fact, the last person I know of that had this level of familiarity with God, or at least a lack of apparent need to sacrifice, was Adam. And Adam was no person to emulate.
Likewise, Balaam is approached by someone who does not wish to do his people good, but to do another people harm. Much like Satan. And Balak's similarity to Satan is magnified when we evaluate what he offered to Balaam.
As an aside, king's will yes - offer what they have available as a means of enticing those they wish to employ. But Balaam has already been referenced as someone known for cursing people. The fact that Balak didn't think about who to contact, didn't consider a host of people, but went straight to Balaam, implies (again) that Balaam was known for this sort of thing.
His first offer Balak makes are the "rewards of divination". One can imagine them to be jewels, spices, or foodstuffs - possibly something to sacrifice (at the very least) or precious foods - and this is comparable to "all the riches of the world" ... at the level that Balaam was at. Balaam declines. Not out of any moral fibre, but out of fear of the Lord - because God tells him not to go with them. And what God says is interesting. He starts out saying "What mean are these with thee?" ... as if two things were true. One, that God has visited Balaam before, and so such men were not frequently resident during those visits. And two, that God wanted to wait to see if Balaam would "hang himself" by identifying something about them that He knew Balaam would reveal, something less than stellar.
The second offer Balak makes is that of "very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me". This is much like the Satanic offer of "All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." via Matthew 4:9 - for in the same way, Balak would have Balaam serve Balak, and not God. And Balaam's response isn't anything even remotely like "Nope, sorry - God said I can't." It is more like "Um, well, even if (hint, hint) you came back with more money than I could count, I can't go with you. But lemme ask God, just in case he changed his mind." And he goes and asks God. Now God's response is interesting. He sounds like he's changed his mind. And on the surface, it might appear that way - he tells Balaam that, if Balak's people come a calling again, he can go, just don't contradict what God tells him to say.

So, in these first two introductions to Balaam, we have a kind of mixed and incomplete picture of God, as well as of Balaam, but we can see clearly that Balaam's motivations are either explicitly carnal (hence Balak offering particularly material blessing), or Balak is guessing about Balaam's character ... which, I think, is ruled out, because Balaam is obviously responding to Balak's request - implying he wants the money, power, and prestige.

Second, I noticed in today's reading in Luke, that we have John, child of Elizabeth and the still mute Zacharias, as yet unborn, actively responding to the salutation of Mary. The question becomes, how old was the child. Well, being as Mary hadn't given birth yet, and stayed with Elizabeth for three months, that she was no further along than six months. This is further verified in Luke 1:36. So we have evidence, here, that a fetus, as yet in a womb, is a human being, responsive to the outside environment. I know, I know, abortion is explicitly wrong - but it's nice to have the Bible corroborate this fact.

Third, we have a comparison between two groups - the wicked and everyone else. Everyone else includes the righteous and the upright. And if you consider hypocrites to be wicked, everyone else also includes the just. I consider that it is wicked to be hypocritical (one might could use Job 20:5 as a clear indication that those who are hypocritical are also wicked - it seems more like subclasses upon subclasses - you can be wicked without being hypocritical, but if you're a hypocrite, you're also wicked). And so, we have the wicked (lying, hypocritical, unrepentant, etc) and everyone else (much smaller group, the just, righteous, and upright). In essence, we have further validation for considering the Bible to be a training manual on how not to be wicked. What does today's proverbs teach?
0 - Hypocrites destroy their neighbors with their mouth
One can imagine this relates to the words of ones mouth, and it could just as well be what they say to what they don't ... although, being hypocrites, it is likely more in what they do than what they say. Given this lack of inactivity, and its comparison to the next point, this particular verse (Proverbs 11:9) must be an intense call to action for all of us - don't assume that, because you know the right thing to do, that you will actually act on it. It is almost an assumption that you won't do the right thing, especially if you know it, and for us to blame it on the knowing-doing gap. That isn't good enough. It never has been, but especially not now, in the end times.
1 - Knowledge will improve the likelihood of deliverance
Unlike the English application of this word, in practice (via Greek), this refers to the absence of the knowing-doing gap - that, if you know something, you know it so fundamentally that it actually alters your steps, and you ACT on that knowledge. A simple way to explain this is to think of knowledge, and wisdom, as verbs instead of nouns, and try resolving how it would likely be evidenced.
2 - When the righteous do well, everyone gains and everyone rejoices
This suggests, to me, that the righteous aren't implicitly just a blessing, but are using their blessings for everyone's benefit, and that one of the reasons that everyone rejoices is that the righteous will be sharing their blessings, in addition to the fact that it is likely the righteous are genuinely pleasant to break bread with, and so people will truly, and earnestly, wish the best for them. Another thing to note is that even the wicked gain when it goes well for the righteous.
3 - When the wicked perish, there is shouting
An inverted complement to the righteous, seeing the wicked perish would have to necessary effects. First, the wicked (likely undesirable, but possibly highly charming) perish - and the result is the people shout. They don't just celebrate, share the information, and pray in thanks ... they shout! These must be particularly wicked, and oppressive people, and it is interesting that apparently, everyone gains when the wicked perish, both the righteous and the wicked.
4 - The blessing of the upright exalts the city
Another interesting point - the city isn't passively blessed by what is happening to the upright. Instead the city is actively exalted by the blessing of the upright. To me this means that, in addition to the righteous doing well (2), the righteous are actively blessing the city. It doesn't specify whether the blessings are material (giving to the poor, tithe-based block party, paying their servants well, etc) or spiritual (tithings and sacrifices), but one can easily imagine someone who loved God, and was doing well, wishing to honor God through any one, or all, of these.
5 - The mouth of the wicked can overthrow a city
A powerful point - how, even with the blessings of the righteous, and the fact that knowledge can the just be delivered, that the wicked are not powerless. It hearkens to the fact that our focus should not be on cities, or countries, or groups, but out God and on individuals. Bemoaning the loss of a city directs the focus poorly and entices us to disregard trusting the Lord. Likewise, it is a point that the focus of the wicked, whether intentional or not, will inevitably touch the lives of many. Thus, again, no man is an island, the wicked even less so.