Numbers 22:1-14
THE FIRST INVITATION REFUSED... [ Continue Reading ]
THE FIRST INVITATION REFUSED... [ Continue Reading ]
And the children of Israel set forward and pitched in the Plains of Moab on this side Jordan, on the eastern side, BY JERICHO, for these rich bottom-lands had formerly been a part of Moabitis and were still called by the name of their former owners.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balak, the son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. The Moabites had not interfered with the children of Israel while the latter journeyed along their eastern border, but had even sold them bread and water, Deuteronomy 2:29. At the same time, they seem to have entertained the... [ Continue Reading ]
And Moab was sore afraid of the people because they were many; and Moab was distressed, filled with a sickening terror even to the point of nausea, BECAUSE OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, the two nations evidently being allies, NOW SHALL THIS COMPANY LICK UP ALL THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT US AS THE OX LICKETH UP THE GRASS OF THE FIELD, for that is the impression which one receives, since cattle will sometimes crop off the grass to its very roots. Th... [ Continue Reading ]
He sent messengers, therefore, as the sequel shows, at the suggestion of his Midianitish allies, who may have learned of Balaam's reputation on their journeys, UNTO BALAAM, THE SON OF BEOR, TO PETHOR, WHICH IS BY THE RIVER OF THE LAND OF THE CHILDREN OF HIS PEOPLE, probably near the Euphrates, in Me... [ Continue Reading ]
come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, afflict them with an evil which will render them powerless; 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 (know) THAT HE WHOM THOU BLESSEST IS BLESSED,... [ Continue Reading ]
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand, for the rich presents were to induce Balaam to come all the more readily. AND THEY CAME UNTO BALAAM AND SPAKE UNTO HIM THE WORDS OF BALAK. Balaam was not a common wizard, indulging in cheap tricks... [ Continue Reading ]
And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me, for he knew that the God of Israel was the true God and feared to do anything contrary to His will. AND THE PRINCES OF MOAB ABODE WITH BALAAM. The false prophet was merely trying to put of... [ Continue Reading ]
And God came unto Balaam, He manifested Himself to him in some form, probably in a dream during the night, AND SAID, WHAT MEN ARE THESE WITH THEE? The purpose of the searching question was to make Balaam realize the peril of his position in dealing with the messengers at all.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam said unto God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,... [ Continue Reading ]
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, and drive them out. Balaam was careful to tell the Lord the whole truth, since he feared His almighty power.... [ Continue Reading ]
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them'; thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed, and therefore all statements which were intended for curses would have no effect.... [ Continue Reading ]
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. This was a cunning way of putting it, for it withheld that part of God's message which might have broken off the negotiations definitely, and at the sa... [ Continue Reading ]
And the princes of Moab rose up; and they went unto Balak and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us, thus intimating that it was merely a greater reward which was needed to produce the desired effect. Note that the power of soothsaying and of its curses is not denied in this story, just as it is els... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. So he had taken the hint which was conveyed to him by his messengers; he felt that it was merely a matter of coaxing the reluctant wizard by means of greater presents.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SECOND INVITATION ACCEPTED... [ Continue Reading ]
And they came to Balaam and said to him, Thus saith Balak, the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me;... [ Continue Reading ]
for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me, thus practically giving Balaam leave to mention his own reward. COME, THEREFORE, I PRAY THEE, CURSE ME THIS PEOPLE. As a true heathen Balak apparently believed himself able to influence not only Balaam, but... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot g-o beyond the word of the Lord, my God, to do less or more. These words sound very pious, but they merely reveal Balaam's real character. Much as he desired distinction before... [ Continue Reading ]
Now, therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.... [ Continue Reading ]
And God came unto Balaam at night and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. This was not a concession due to a change of mind, for God expressly stipulates that only that saying dared to be pronounced... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with. the princes of Moab. Balaam is an example of warning, both in his attitude toward God, from whom he obtained permission to go with the Moabitish princes only by his defiant persistence, and in his love of filthy lucre. Truly, the... [ Continue Reading ]
Balaam's Ass Speaks... [ Continue Reading ]
And God's anger was kindled because he (Balaam) WENT, because he was going with a blind and dogged determination to carry out his own plan and to obtain the promised reward. AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD, the Son of God, who, as so often in the Old Testament, assumed this form, v. 35, STOOD IN THE WAY,... [ Continue Reading ]
And the ass saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way, and His sword drawn in His hand. In the same measure that Balaam allowed his insincerity and covetousness to blind him, the dumb and irrational brute, by a miracle of God, became clear-sighted. AND THE ASS TURNED ASIDE OUT OF THE WAY AND WEN... [ Continue Reading ]
But the Angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side and a wall on that side, thus making it impossible for the beast to turn aside very far.... [ Continue Reading ]
And when the ass saw the Angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall, to crowd past the fearsome apparition, AND CRUSHED BALAAM'S FOOT AGAINST THE WALL; AND HE SMOTE HER AGAIN, angry over this behavior, for which he was not able to account except on the basis of meanness.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left, since His person filled the entire space.... [ Continue Reading ]
And when the ass saw the Angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam, for it was impossible for her to proceed. AND BALAAM'S ANGER WAS KINDLED, AND HE SMOTE THE ASS WITH A STAFF, such as travelers commonly carried with them.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, giving her power to speak articulately and distinctly in the speech of human beings, 2 Peter 2:16; AND SHE SAID UNTO BALAAM, WHAT HAVE I DONE UNTO THEE THAT THOU HAST SMITTEN ME THESE THREE TIMES?... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam, in his excitement apparently not at all taken aback by the strange phenomenon of the dumb brute's speaking, SAID UNTO THE ASS, BECAUSE THOU HAST MOCKED ME, made a fool of him; I WOULD THERE WERE A SWORD IN MINE HAND, FOR NOW WOULD-1 KILL THEE.... [ Continue Reading ]
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am. not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? Was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he answered, Nay. If the beast had shown a mean disposition before, then the attitude of Balaam and the treatment which he accorded her might h... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way, He made the form of the Angel visible to the eyes of Balaam, as He had done before in the case of his ass, AND HIS SWORD DRAWN IN HIS HAND, ready for sudden slaughter and destruction. AND HE BOWED DOWN HIS... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Angel of the Lord said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? Behold, I went out to withstand thee because thy way is perverse before Me; the way which Balaam had chosen was a steep and slippery one, and not at all in agreement with the will of God, whence there w... [ Continue Reading ]
And the ass saw Me and turned from Me these three times; unless she had turned from Me, surely now also I had slain thee and saved her alive. So the brute had actually saved Balaam's life by her strange behavior.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam said unto the Angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that Thou stoodest in the way against me. Now, therefore, if it displease Thee, I will get me back again. This addition spoiled the confession of sins with which Balaam had begun to address the Angel; they show that there had... [ Continue Reading ]
And the Angel of the Lord said unto Balaam, Go with the men; since there was no trace of real repentance in his heart, he should continue in his undertaking; BUT ONLY THE WORD THAT I SHALL SPEAK UNTO THEE, THAT THOU SHALT SPEAK. This was to be distinctly understood and obediently followed by Balaam.... [ Continue Reading ]
And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him. unto a city of Moab which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast, in the extreme northeastern section of the country, where the sources of the Arnon are found in the hills of the desert. This showed the eagerness of... [ Continue Reading ]
Balak's charge to Balaam... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? Wherefore camest thou not unto me? Am I not able indeed to promote thee to honor? Balak felt that he must reprove Balaam at least to that extent, since the wizard's behavior at the first invitation was such as to imply doub... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I have come unto thee, a statement which implied that his coming had been connected with some difficulties; HAVE I NOW ANY POWER AT ALL TO SAY ANYTHING? THE WORD THAT GOD PUTTETH IN MY MOUTH, THAT SHALL I SPEAK. This was not a statement of humble submission to the wil... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balaam went with Balak, ready, if possible, to do his bidding; AND THEY CAME UNTO KIR-JATH-HUZOTH, a city or town near the hills which run parallel to the Jordan.... [ Continue Reading ]
And Balak offered oxen and sheep, sacrifices of prayer which he apparently intended for the true God, whose favor he hoped to gain in this manner, AND SENT TO BALAAM, AND TO THE PRINCES THAT WERE WITH HIM. To share in the sacrificial feast of the king was considered a great honor.... [ Continue Reading ]
And it came to pass on the morrow that Balak took Balaam and brought him up into the high places of Baal, to Bamot-Baal, the first height from which a person could get a glimpse of Israel's camp, THAT THENCE HE MIGHT SEE THE UTMOST PART OF THE PEOPLE. Balak acted upon the idea that Balaam must have... [ Continue Reading ]