Numbers 23:24

_AND HE TOOK UP HIS PARABLE, AND SAID, RISE UP, BALAK, AND HEAR; HEARKEN UNTO ME, THOU SON OF ZIPPOR:_ _ `Rise up, Balak, and hear! Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippori! God is not a man, that he should lie; Neither the son of man, that he should repent:_ Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not execute it? Behold, I have received insructions to bless: He hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He beholds not iniquity in Jacob, And sees not fault (sorrow) in Israel: Yahweh his God is with him, And the shout of a king is in him. God brought them out of Egypt: Their strength is like that of a room. For there is no incantation against Jacob, Neither any divination against Israel: At the time it shall be said to Jacob and to Israel, What hath God wrought (done)! Behold, the people like a lioness shall rise, And like a young lion ripe in strength (literall...

24._Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion. _This comparison is not in every respect accurate; for it does not signify that the Israelites should be cruel or rapacious, but merely bold and strong, and prompt in their resistance if any should provoke them. In the next chapter, it will occur again with a slight change in the words. What Balaam here predicates generally of the whole people, is applied in the blessings of Jacob to the tribe of Judah alone, (Genesis 49:9,) because it especially excelled in bravery. The sum is, that however the people of Israel might be attacked on every side, it should be endued with invincible fortitude, to overcome all assaults, or to repel them vigorously. Let us, finally, remember that this courage, wherewith Israel was to defend itself against all its enemies, was counted amongst the gifts of God; as: if Balaam had said that they should be p

11-30 Balak was angry with Balaam. Thus a confession of God's overruling power is extorted from a wicked prophet, to the confusion of a wicked prince. A second time the curse is turned into a blessing; and this blessing is both larger and stronger than the former. Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to repent, it does not mean any change of his mind; but only a change of his way. There was sin in Jacob, and God saw it; but there was not such as might provoke him to give them up to ruin. If the Lord sees that we trust in his mercy, and accept of his salvation; that we indulge no secret lust, and continue not in rebellion, but endeavour to serve and glorify him; we may be sure that he looks upon us as accepted in Christ, that our sins are all pardoned. Oh the wonders of pro...

Verse Numbers 23:24. _BEHOLD, THE PEOPLE SHALL RISE UP AS A GREAT LION_] לביא _labi_, the _great, mighty_, or _old lion_, the king of the forest, who is feared and respected by all the other beasts of the field; so shall Israel be the subduer and possessor of the whole land of Canaan. And _as a young lion_, ארי ari from ארה _arah, to tear off_, the _predatory lion_, or the lion in the act of _seizing_ and _tearing_ his prey; - the nations against whom the Israelites are now going shall be no more able to defend themselves against their attacks, than the feeblest beasts of the forest are against the attacks of the strong lion....

NUMBERS 23:1 BUILD ME HERE SEVEN ALTARS. According to the common opinion of the heathen, it was necessary to propitiate with sacrifices the God with whom they had to do, and if possible to secure his favourable consideration on their side. The number seven was especially connected with the revelation of the tree God, the Creator of the world, and was probably observed here for this reason. The sacrifices were offered no doubt to Jehovah. NUMBERS 23:3 PERADVENTURE THE LORD WILL COME TO MEET me. It might be concluded from Numbers 24:1 that Balaam went only to look for "auguries," _i.e; _for such natural signs in the flight of birds and the like a

BEHOLD, THE PEOPLE SHALL RISE UP AS A GREAT LION,.... Or rather, "as the lioness" n, which, as Aelianus says o, is the strongest and most warlike beast, the most fierce and furious, as is believed both by Greeks and Barbarians; and he mentions the heroism of Perdiccas the Macedonian, and Semiramis the Assyrian, in engaging with and killing, not the lion or leopard, but lioness: AND SHALL LIFT UP HIMSELF AS A YOUNG LION; both phrases denoting the courage and strength of the people of Israel, in attacking their enemies and engaging them: HE SHALL NOT LIE DOWN; being once roused up and engaged in war: UNTIL HE EAT OF THE PREY, AND DRINK THE BLOOD OF THE SLAIN; as the lion does when it has seized on a creature, tears it to pieces, eats its flesh and drinks its blood: this may refer to the slaughter of the Midianites that would be quickly made, and among the slain of whom Balaam himself wa...

THE PARABLES OF BALAAM Chapter S 23-24 _ 1. The first parable (Numbers 23:1)_ 2. Balak's surprise and Balaam's answer (Numbers 23:11) 3. At Zophim (Numbers 23:13) 4. The second parable (Numbers 23:18) 5. Balak's request and Balaam's reply (Numbers 23:25) 6. Balaam's third parable (Numbers 24:1) 7. Balak's anger and Balaam's firmness ...

BALAAM'S SECOND ORACLE. This goes beyond the preceding in frustrating the hopes of Balak, for it declares that God has not only not cursed Israel, but has positively blessed it, and describes Israel's freedom from adversity and its formidable strength. NUMBERS 23:19. _Cf._ 1 Samuel 15:29 Numbers 23:20. he hath blessed, etc.: read (LXX), I must bless and I must not reverse it. Numbers 23:21. He hath not beheld, etc.: read (Syr.), I have not beheld calamity in Jacob, nor have I seen trouble in Israel. THE SHOUT OF A KING: _i.e._ the shouting in honour of a king (a title of Yahwe

_Balaam's second prophetic message_. This consists of eleven, or (see on Numbers 23:23) more probably ten, couplets. Balaam declares that God will never change His mind (as Balak had thought, Numbers 23:13), and that He had bidden him to bless and not curse (Numbers 23:18; Numbers 23:18). Israel is without calamity, and is victorious (Numbers 23:21). God brings him triumphantly from Egypt, and all men must tell of His doings (Numbers 23:22 a,...

E. BALAAM'S SECOND BLESSING vv. 13-24 TEXT Numbers 23:13. And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me to another place, from whence thou mayest see them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. 14. And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15. And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. 16. And the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. 17. And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the Lord spoken? 18. And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: 19. God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he s