The Book Of NUMBERS
Numbers 21:8 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole:
and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live."
Chapter 22 begins a new section of the book of Numbers, bringing into the spotlight two heathen men: King Balak of the Moabites and a false prophet named Balaam. In the wake of their victory over the Amorites, the Israelites settle in the plains of Moab from where they are able to stage the next phase of their conquest of the promised land. The nation of Moab, now freed from the rule of the Amorites, looks at Israel with understandable fear, and this sets the stage for King Balak’s actions in chapters 22-25.
Balaam might at first appear to be a typical servant of God that is often found throughout the Old Testament, and thus it would be easy to treat him as Biblical hero or saint. But a close reading of not only this section in Numbers, but also 2 Peter 2:1, 15, Jude 4, and Revelation 2:14, reveals the truth of him and his character. Balaam is a false prophet, a heathen man whom God uses to fulfill His promise to Abraham, but is, ultimately, no hero or saint. My study Bible has this to say of Balaam: “After the formal encounter with Israel, he then counseled the women of Baal-peor to invite the men of Israel to their religious orgies and ‘to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.’ (Revelation 2:14) He did this for no pay and was killed by the Israelites. (Numbers 31:8)” Balaam is not to be admired, but rather seen as a sobering example of God’s sovereignty over the wicked and the just alike. All mankind is under the hand of God, and He can turn the hearts of men – both Jew and gentile – to His will as He so chooses. Deuteronomy 23:5 makes it clear that God actually changes Balaam’s words as they come out of his mouth. In light of the New Testament verses that specifically mention Balaam, it's also clear that God used him and the Moabites to also bring judgment, when necessary, upon Israel for her sins of idolatry and immorality. Verse 1: The Israelites settle in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan river, which also affords them a view of the city of Jericho on the other side of the river. (Numbers 33:48-49) This verse not only sets the stage for the events of these three chapters, but also foreshadows the conquest of the promised land that will come under the leadership of Joshua. One of Israel’s first and greatest victories is the defeat of the city of Jericho and all its inhabitants, save for Rahab. (Joshua 6:24-25) Verse 2-4: The Moabites and the Ammonites are descendants of Lot. (Genesis 19:36-38) Both nations are among the most wicked and heathen people of the promised land, and they are a never ending source of trouble and conflict for Israel. King Balak, son of Zippor is introduced here. (v.2) (Joshua 24:9, Judges 11:25, Micah 6:5, Revelation 2:14) He witnesses the conquest and destruction of the Amorites by the children of Israel, which causes him great fear. (v.3) (Exodus 15:15) Verse 4 states that Balak sends a message to “…the elders of Midian…” to seek an alliance with them against Israel, lest those people “…lick up all that are round about us…”. (Numbers 25:15, Joshua 13:21) As you’ll recall from Exodus, Moses took refuge in the land of Midian when fleeing from Pharaoh, and his first wife was the daughter of Jethro, a high priest in Midian. Midian is south of Edom which is south of Moab. (Refer back to the map from Chapter 20.) Since we know from chapter 20 that Israel was forced to travel around Edom, and since they have not yet fought with nor conquered that nation, it does raise a logical question of why Balak doesn’t also send a message to the king of Edom. Since the text doesn’t specify, the best answer, of course, is that God doesn’t permit it. The Midianites are descendants of Abraham through his marriage to Keturah after the death of Sarah. (Genesis 25:1-2) Although Moses had good relations with the Midianites in the past, this incident with Balaam and King Balak is the beginning of many decades of conflict between Israel and Midian, as we will see later on (Numbers 25, 31, and Judges 6-8). Verses 5-8: Balak’s entreaty to Balaam is simple: curse the nation of people that has come out of Egypt so that the Moabites and Midianites will win in battle against them. (v.5-6) (Numbers 31:16, Deuteronomy 23:4, Joshua 13:22, Nehemiah 13:1-2, Jude 11) Biblical scholars are divided as to where exactly Balaam is from, mainly because there are a couple different geographical and ethnic designations associated with him. The region known as Pethor (v.5) is described here as being “…by the river of the land of the children of his people…”, and which Deuteronomy 23:4 states clearly is of Mesopotamia, which today is the country of Iraq. Most scholars agree that the river mentioned here is the Euphrates, but given the time frame of the narrative of this story, it seems improbable that Balaam makes several four hundred mile one-way trips all the way from Mesopotamia to Moab. In Numbers 23:7 Balaam states that he is from Aram, which is another name for the region we know today as Syria. That places him in the Transjordan area which is much closer to Moab. However, Numbers 31:8 clearly states that Balaam is among those Midianites that are slain by Israel, so either Balaam is residing temporarily somewhere in the land of Midian at the time of Balak’s request, or that is his current home, and he is originally from Aram. Whatever the mystery of his exact origin and location, Balaam is widely known by all the peoples of this region as a diviner and soothsayer. (v.6-7) This is another reason that we know he is not a true believer in Jehovah, as it might seem from verse 8, for God had already clearly condemned in the Mosaic Law those who practice any form of witchcraft, divination, or sorcery. (Leviticus 20:6, 27, Deuteronomy 18:10-12) Balak references Balaam’s success and fame in verse 6: “…he whom thou blesses is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.” Balaam greets the elders of Moab and Midian and invites them to stay for the night. (v.8) He promises them an answer to their request in the morning. Verses 9-20: During the night, God comes to Balaam and asks him a rhetorical question. (v.9) This is not the first time that God has directly interfered to alter the course of men’s actions against those whom He has called for a specific purpose. (Genesis 20:3) Like King Abimelech, Balaam seems to not be surprised to hear from God, and he tells Him what Balak’s messengers have requested. (v.10-11) God commands Balaam to not do as they have asked and to remain where he is. “…thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” (v.12) Balaam obeys (v.13) and sends “…the princes of Moab…” packing. (v.14) But Balak doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He sends back princes of even higher stature and rank than the previous envoy. (v.15) This time, the king promises Balaam “…very great honour…” (v.17), as well as whatever payment Balaam demands, if he will only curse the Israelites on behalf of the Moabites. (Numbers 24:11) But Balaam stands firm in his refusal, insisting that no amount of the king’s wealth will change his mind, for he “…cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God…”. (v.18) (Numbers 24:13) It does seem strange, given Balaam’s status here as a soothsayer and a heathen gentile, that he would use such an honorable title for God, as if he was a true believer. But, knowing what we know about Balaam’s future actions regarding Israel, his words here indicate a certain level of practiced hypocrisy, the same hypocrisy that was common to the Pharisees and other religious rulers of Jesus’ time, whom He accused of being of the devil. (John 8:44) They appeared to others as righteous and spiritual, but their hearts were not at all right with God. Nevertheless, Balaam tells the messengers to spend the night, and he will consult with God once more. (v.19) This is another indication that Balaam is, indeed, motivated by material wealth and power, as revealed by 2 Peter 2:15-16. God had already made clear His will, yet Balaam says he will ask God once more, perhaps hoping that the LORD has changed His mind. And verse 20 does indeed seem to support this. God tells Balaam that if Balak’s ambassadors entreat Balaam once more in the morning, then he is to go with them. But God also makes it clear to Balaam that he is to say only what God instructs him to say. Verses 22-35: The way that verses 20-22 are written, it’s easy for the reader to be confused as to why God is angry with Balaam when He seems to have given permission for Balaam to go to Moab to meet with King Balak. It’s important to keep in mind that just because God allows something or seems to change His will about a certain matter does not necessarily mean that God approves or is pleased with that person’s choices. God had already made clear to Balaam His will in this matter, and the fact that Balaam came back again with the same request to which he had already received an answer is partly what angers the LORD. Balaam, in other words, is being disobedient. This is clear in verse 22: “And God’s anger was kindled because he went…”. God is also angry with Balaam because “…thy way is perverse before Me…” (v.32). The appearance of the angel of the LORD in verse 22 is most likely another example of a Christophany, as discussed earlier in my commentary of Genesis. Since there is no mention of Balak’s messengers in any of these verses that describe Balaam’s encounter with the angel, we can presume that they had either gone ahead, leaving Balaam to travel by himself with his servants, or they were some distance behind Balaam and had not yet caught up with him. Balaam’s donkey sees the angel of the LORD, but neither Balaam nor his servants see Him. (v.23) (Joshua 5:13, 2 Kings 6:17, Daniel 10:7, Acts 22:9) Three times the donkey tries to avoid the angel, injuring his master in the process, and Balaam strikes the poor animal in anger. (v.23, 25, 27) When the donkey speaks with a human voice after the third incident (v.28), Balaam seems not at all astonished by this, further evidence of his longtime practice of divination and sorcery. He is used to interacting with the supernatural and has very likely conjured up the spirits of the dead for other clients before now. (1 Samuel 28:7-8) After a short, humorous exchange with the animal, God opens Balaam’s eyes to see the angel of the LORD. Although the text says Balaam falls prostrate before Him, Balaam is not doing so out of reverential fear of the one, true God. He is not acknowledging or worshiping God as others are described as doing in similar circumstances in the OT. Verse 32 makes this clear when the angel states that Balaam’s practice of divination is an abomination before God. He also says, “I went out to withstand thee…”, meaning that God is Balaam’s adversary, not His friend. Balaam’s confession in verse 34 is not true repentance. Like Pharaoh when confronted by Moses, Balaam is only reacting out of selfish fear for his own life. Although he promises to return home, he is only obeying in order to save himself, not because he truly fears God. Verse 35 reveals that God had intended all along for Balaam to go to King Balak. In His foreknowledge, God knew Balaam’s true motives and actions, and now the LORD is going to use this heathen sorcerer to carry out His divine will in blessing His chosen people. Now that Balaam understand who’s truly in charge here, he is allowed to resume his journey to Moab. The angel of the LORD warns Balaam that “…only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.” (v.35) Balaam’s future obedience in the scenes of the next two chapters demonstrates that he recognizes and understands God’s sovereignty even though he is not all truly repentant. His heart remains stubborn and wicked for the rest of his life. Verses 36-41: Balaam warns King Balak that he can only speak the word that God speaks to him and nothing more. (v.38) Balak takes Balaam to Kirjath-huzoth, which is one of several sites of altars (high places) to the false god Baal. (v.39, 41) (Numbers 21:28, Deuteronomy 12:2)
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