Numbers 22:33

_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:_ No JFB commentary on these verses....

22-35 We must not think, that because God does not always by his providence restrain men from sin, therefore he approves of it, or that it is not hateful to him. The holy angels oppose sin, and perhaps are employed in preventing it more than we are aware. This angel was an adversary to Balaam, because Balaam counted him his adversary; those are really our best friends, and we ought so to reckon them, who stop our progress in sinful ways. Balaam has notice of God's displeasure by the ass. It is common for those whose hearts are fully set in them to do evil, to push on violently, through the difficulties Providence lays in their way. The Lord opened the mouth of the ass. This was a great miracle wrought by the power of God. He who made man speak, could, when he pleased, make the ass to speak with man's voice. The ass complained of Balaam's cruelty. The righteous God does not allow the mea...

Verse Numbers 22:33. _SURELY NOW ALSO I HAD SLAIN THEE_] How often are the meanest animals, and the most trivial occurrences, instruments of the preservation of our lives, and of the salvation of our souls! The messenger of justice would have killed Balaam, had not the mercy of God prevented the ass from proceeding....

EXPOSITION THE COMING OF BALAAM (Numbers 22:2). NUMBERS 22:2 BALAK THE SON OF ZIPPOR. The name Balak is connected with a word "to make waste," and "Zippor" is a small bird. Balak was, as is presently explained, the king of Moab at this time, but not the king from whom Sihon had wrested so much of his territory (Numbers 21:26). He seems to be mentioned by name on a papyrus in the British Museum (see Brugseh, ‘Geogr. Inschr.,' 2, page 32). The later Jews made him out to have been a Midianite, but this is nothing but the merest conjecture....

AND THE ASS SAW ME, AND TURNED FROM ME THESE THREE TIMES,.... The ass saw the angel when Balaam did not, and that was the reason of its turning aside; and it was well for him it did, and therefore he should not have smote it: UNLESS SHE HAD TURNED FROM ME; if she had pushed on, endeavouring to make her way: SURELY NOW ALSO I HAD SLAIN THEE, AND SAVED HER ALIVE; had certainly and only slain him, and not the ass; and from hence the Jewish writers t gather, that the ass was now slain, lest it should be said, this is the ass that spoke, and so be made an idol of. t Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 20. fol. 227. 4. Aben Ezra in loc....

III. EVENTS IN THE PLAIN OF MOAB FACING THE LAND 1. Balak and Balaam and Balaam's Parables CHAPTER 22 _ 1. Balak's message to Balaam (Numbers 22:1)_ 2. The journey of Balaam (Numbers 22:21) 3. Balaam with Balak (Numbers 22:36) The last section of the wilderness book begins with the story of Balak and Balaam. An enemy, the Gentile Balaam, has to speak the words of prophecy, predicting wonderful blessing and glory for the hosts of Israel. The advancing Israelites inspired terror and Balak (waster), the king of Moab, not willing to meet Israel in open battle, sent for Balaam (devourer of the people) to put his powerful magic spell upon Israel and curse them. Balaam, or

BALAAM'S JOURNEY TO BALAK WITHOUT GOD'S CONSENT. This section is clearly not the sequel of the preceding, but the continuation of Numbers 22:5, and (as far as Numbers 22:34) is derived from J. Balaam disregards the Divine prohibition to go to Balak which is recorded in Numbers 22:12, but is made aware of Yahweh's anger in the course of his journey. The ass was the animal commonly used by the Hebrews for riding in times of peace (Genesis 22:3; Exodus 4:20; Judges 10:4;...

Jehovah was angry with Balaam for going, and His -Angel" hindered him on the way....

UNLESS SHE HAD TURNED FROM ME, SURELY NOW ALSO I HAD SLAIN THEE, &C.— The words of the angel respecting the ass, candidly interpreted according to the Hebrew idiom, and duly compared with the context, may be thus paraphrased: "How couldst thou thus unjustly and repeatedly abuse thine innocent beast, and not rather conclude, from her unusual starting aside, and crouching under thee, that something extraordinary must have stood in her way, and obliged her to do so? For, behold! I was, indeed, sent on purpose to oppose thee, because thy views were perverse before God, and opposite to his design in permitting thee to go with all this people, The sight of me hath made thine ass decline me these three times: and well it is for thee that some divine impulse enabled her both to perceive and avoid me, which was a sure signal to me that I should spare and let thee go on; and that the Divine Provid...

C. BALAAM YIELDS TO BALAK vv. 15-41 TEXT Numbers 22:15. And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. 16. And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, let no thing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: 17. For I will promote thee unto very great honor, 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, 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. 19. Now therefore, I pray you, 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, 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