The Fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers
Numbers 22
Chapter XXII · Vol. I, pp. 451–453
2 Balak's first message for Balaam is refused. 15 His second message obtaineth him. 22 An angel would have slain him, if his ass had not saved him. 36 Balak entertaineth him.
1 AND the children of Israel a set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab,1 on this side Jordan2 by Jericho.
a ch. 33.48,49.
1 Literally, Arboth-Moab, 'the white dry places of Moab.' Arabah was the name given to the deep valley through which the Jordan flows. That section of it lying along the base of the mountains at the north-east angle of the Dead Sea was called Arboth-Moab. It was due east of Jericho, and was separated from the plain of Jericho by the river Jordan. It is a low plain, partially covered with a white nitrous crust, intersected by deep gullies and water-courses, and studded with shrubberies of tamarisk, acacia, and myrtle. The beauty and fertility of this great plain, with the rapid river running through it, must have reminded the Israelites of Egypt.—P.
2 Moses died on the east side of Jordan, and therefore 'this side,' in his narrative, means east side.—C.
3 And Moab was sore c afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto the d elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
d ver. 7, 8, 15; 25.15; 31.8. Jos. 13.21.
5 Hee sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor, to f Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his 3 people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they g cover the face4 of the earth, and they abide over against me.
e Jos. 24.9; 13.22. Ne. 13.2. Mi. 6.5. De. 23.4. ch. 24.1. 2 Pe. 2.15,16. Jude 11. Re. 2.14.
f ch. 23.7.
3 Some manuscripts read 'children of Ammon,' but as Balaam came from beyond the Euphrates, ch. 23.7, and as the children of Ammon do not appear to have ever emigrated to Mesopotamia, we prefer the Authorized Version, and consider it as recording not merely the priestly office but hereditary dignity of Balaam as a prince of his own people, a circumstance which renders his covetousness and acceptance of a bribe the more shameful, as poverty had no part in undermining his principles.—C.
g ch. i. ii. xxvi. Ps. 105.24. Ex. 1.9. Ge. 12.2; 13.16; 15.5; 17.3-7; 22.17.
4 Heb. eye.
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, h curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.5
h Ac. 8.9, 10; 16.16. De. 23.4. Ne. 13.2.
5 They thought that if soothsayers, diviners, or the like, imprecated a curse or blessing upon persons or things, it would certainly take effect.
7 And the elders of Moab, and the elders of Midian, departed with the i rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
i De. 23.4. 2 Pe. 2.15. Jude 11. Pr. 17.8,23; 18.16; 19.6.
8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this k night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me. And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
k ch. 12.6; 23.12. 2 Ki. 17.41. Eze. 33.31.
9 And l God came unto Balaam,6 and said, What men are these with thee?
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
l Ge. 20.3; 31.24; 41.25. Da. 2.45; 4.21,22.
6 That Balaam was by profession a believer in, and by office a priest of, Jehovah, there can be no reasonable doubt. And that God should honour such a man with a vision and a commission need not appear strange, when it is considered that Balaam bears a testimony to Moab that a better man could not have borne, because he would not have been induced to accompany the messengers for love of reward, Jude 11.—C.
10 And Balaam said unto God, m Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
m ver. 4-6.
11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them,7 and drive them out.
7 Heb. I shall prevail in fighting against him.
12 And God said unto Balaam, n Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.8
8 The distance from Moab to Pethor in Mesopotamia is great, and the journey must have occupied at least twenty days; but it will be remembered that the Israelites encamped for a long period on the plains of Moab. The campaign in Bashan could not have been a brief one. The towns and villages of Moab, Gilead, and Bashan were captured, and, as we read, in many cases rebuilt; and during the whole of this period the camp was permanently fixed on the plains of Moab.—P.
15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from9 coming unto me:
9 Heb. Be not thou letted from, &c.
17 For o I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, p If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
p ch. 24.13. Ps. 12.2. Eze. 33.31. 2 Pe. 2.15. Jude 11. 1 Ki. 22.14.
19 Now therefore, I pray you, q tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, r If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them;1 but s yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
r Ps. 81.12. Eze. 14.3-5. 2 Ki. 2.17. 2 Th. 2.10,11.
1 God had said to Balaam, ver. 12, 'Thou shalt not go with them;' now he says, 'Go with them;' is he not therefore changeable in his purpose, and even contradictory in his prohibitions and permissions? No; God prohibits him from going with the first messenger, and the anxiety of Balak, Moab, and Midian is excited, and their attention doubly drawn to the coming and the words of Balaam. God permits or orders Balaam to go with the second messengers, who were 'more honourable,' ver. 15, than the first, not out of respect to their rank, but out of regard to his own proper time of employing Balaam's warning—a warning which their confidence in Balaam should have induced the Moabites to observe.—C.
21 And Balaam t rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
s Is. 37 29. Ps. 33.10,11. ver. 35; ch. 23.12,26.
t Is. 59.7. Pr. 1.16; 4.16. 1 Ti. 6.10.
22 And God's anger was kindled u because he went:2 and the x angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. (Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.)
u ver. 20,32.
2 God had directed Balaam to go; why then is his 'anger kindled because he went?' Is not this capriciousness! No. God had said, ver. 20, 'If the men come to call thee, rise up and go.' But Balaam, listening, not to God, but to a covetous heart, 2 Pe. 2.15, seizes the permission to go, but disregards the condition of the call. rises in the morning, saddles his ass, and anticipates the princes in his covetous desire to go with them for gain.—C.
x Christ, ver. 35. Gen. 16.7-13. Ex. 23.20,21. Is. 63.9-13; 48.21.
23 And y the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the LORD stood in a z path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.3
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
3 This incidental note of the improved condition of the country, at this early period, is not unworthy of remark; agricultural skill and industry being as much the gift of God as mildness of climate or fertility of soil.—C.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and a crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
a Job 5.13-15. Is. 47.12.
26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, b where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and c Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the LORD d opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I e would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
e Pr. 12.10,16; 14.16; 27.3,4. Ps. 92.6; 94.8.
30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden4 ever since5 I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, 6 Nay.
4 Heb. who hast ridden upon me.
5 Or, ever since thou wast, &c.
6 The miracle of the ass has been a subject of perplexity to believers, and of banter, ridicule, and reproach to infidels. There is room for neither, unless the believer admit, or the infidel assert, a limit to omnipotence. This, we know, the believer will not, and we think the infidel dare not. The narrative, therefore, rests upon the unimpeachable credibility of Moses as a man of God; the miraculous attestation to his divine commission which God so constantly and publicly afforded; and those unfulfilled but progressive prophecies, which, like a stream of living water, is flowing, in these latter days, as pure and abundant from the fountain of truth, as in the morning when the Spirit of the Lord taught Moses to send it forth.—C.
31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he f saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and g fell flat on his face.
f Lu. 24.16. 1 Ch. 21.16. Ge. 21.19.
g Or, bowed himself, Ge. 17.3.
32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, h Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee,7 because thy way is i perverse before me:
h Ps. 36.6. 1 Co. 9.9. 10. Pr. 12.10,16; 27.3,4.
7 Or, to be an adversary unto thee.
33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I k had slain thee, and saved her alive.
k 1 Ki. 13.24. ch. 16.31-35; 14.37.
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I l have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee,8 I will get me back again.9
l Ex. 9.27; 10.16,17. Ps. 78.34,37. 1 Sa. 15.23,24. Mat. 27.4.
8 Heb. be evil in thine eyes.
9 The character of Balaam, however strange and contradictory it may appear when superficially considered, is nevertheless one of the most common—a man determined to obey God in one department, easily tempted, and strongly inclined to disobey him in another—a man eagerly desiring the comfort of being religious, yet as eagerly seeking the profit of unrighteousness—a man wishing to be honest, yet 'hasting to be rich,' and therefore 'not innocent,' Pr. 28.20—a man labouring to lay hold upon heaven with the one hand, yet grasping the earth with the other—a man vainly endeavouring to reconcile impossibilities by 'serving two masters' at the same time, Mat. 6.24, and faithlessly in the end forsaken by the one, and righteously condemned by the other, Pr. 23.5. Ps. 52.5,7.—C.
35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, m Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
m ver. 20. Ps. 81.12. 2 Th. 2.10,11. Is. 37.26,29.
36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he n went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of o Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.
n Ge. 14.17,18; 46.29. Ex. 18.7.
37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am p I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?
p ch. 24.11. Mat. 4.8,9. ver. 17.
38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have q I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjath-huzoth.1
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
1 Or, a city of streets
40 And Balak r offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam,2 and to the princes that were with him.
r ch. 29.2,14,30. Ge. 31.51. Ex. 18.12.
2 Balak seems to have gone up to the 'high places of Baal' for sacrifice, leaving Balaam and the princes below; and it is by no means improbable that Balaam would have declined or refused to accompany him in the worship of Baal; and the Midianite princes may have joined him in this scruple.—Note, A scrupulous conscience is no certain evidence of a pure conscience, Ac. 24.26. The Jews refused to enter Pilate's judgment-hall for fear of ceremonial pollution, Jn. 18.28, but they stood without, with murder in their hearts, against the innocent Jesus, crying, 'Away with him, crucify him,' Jn. 19.15.—C.
Notes
[Ver. 4. Midian, in which Jethro the father-in-law of Moses was priest, was situated near Horeb. How then do the Moabites, who lay at a great distance to the north, enter into consultation with the Midianitish elders? Some think there were two Midians, and it may have been so. But as Moses gives no note of distinction, this opinion does not seem probable. Those who reflect in how many parts of the world the British people are settled, will easily comprehend how the Midianites may have had possessions both at Horeb and in Moab. Nor are we to be surprised at the special consultation with the Midianites. The history of Jethro sufficiently testifies his political sagacity, Ex. 18.10-12, 14, 29, and it is by no means improbable that his kindred in Moab may have been distinguished by similar qualities. C.—See note on Ex. 2.15. P.]
Reflections.—Relations by blood are sometimes the bitterest enemies to one another, and seek to ruin those who might expect kindness from them. The most awful things in religion, imprecations of divine wrath not excepted, are often transformed into ordinances of the devil: and sinners, with great expense and toil, court the assistance of hell, when they might have freely from heaven whatever they need. Yea, great men, who scorn to worship their Maker, frequently cringe as slaves to the very slaves of the devil! What inestimable value do carnal men put upon earthly riches and honours, as if these were sufficient to determine to anything! And there is great need to realize eternal things, that nothing temporal may be able to decoy us. But religion is sometimes put on as a cloak by those who have no real regard to it. And the most presumptuous claims to God, and pretence of high regard to his will, are used when they would gladly counteract it. Wicked messengers indeed rarely report the whole of the truth as it really is: and the Lord often apparently indulges dissemblers in their own way, and permits them to follow the course which he had once prohibited: and how fond are they with eagerness to follow his permission, and even go beyond it! The brute creation are often endangered, and suffer for man's sin; even by the wickedness of those to whom they have been assistant. But vain is every attempt to destroy the church, while her God can so easily check it. In the most unexpected form he can rebuke such as think to oppose him, however hearty sinners may be in their evil work, or liberally kind to such as they hope will assist them in it.