Numbers 22

Nu 22:1-20.

BALAK'S

FIRST

MESSAGE FOR

BALAAM

REFUSED.

1. Israel . . . pitched in the plains of Moab--so called from having

formerly belonged to that people, though wrested from them by Sihon. It

was a dry, sunken, desert region on the east of the Jordan valley,

opposite Jericho.

2. Balak--that is, "empty." Terrified

(De 2:25;

Ex 15:15)

at the approach of so vast a multitude and not daring to encounter them

in the field, he resolved to secure their destruction by other

means.

4. elders of Midian--called kings

(Nu 31:8)

and princes

(Jos 13:21).

The Midianites, a distinct people on the southern frontier of Moab,

united with them as confederates against Israel, their common

enemy.

5. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam--that is, "lord" or

"devourer" of people, a famous soothsayer

(Jos 13:22).

son of Beor--or, in the Chaldee form, Bosor--that is,

"destruction."

Pethor--a city of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates.

6. Come . . . curse me this people--Among the heathen an opinion

prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen

powers as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or priest

and accompanied by the use of certain rites. Many examples are found

in the histories of the Greeks and Romans of whole armies being devoted

to destruction, and they occur among the natives of India and other

heathen countries still. In the Burmese war, magicians were employed to

curse the British troops.

7. the elders of Moab and . . . of Midian departed with the rewards of

divination--like the fee of a fortune teller, and being a royal

present, it would be something handsome.

8-14. Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the

Lord shall speak unto me, &c.--God usually revealed His will in

visions and dreams; and Balaam's birth and residence in Mesopotamia,

where the remains of patriarchal religion still lingered, account for

his knowledge of the true God. His real character has long been a

subject of discussion. Some, judging from his language, have thought

him a saint; others, looking to his conduct, have described him as an

irreligious charlatan; and a third class consider him a novice in the

faith, who had a fear of God, but who had not acquired power over his

passions [HENGSTENBERG].

13-15. the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you--This answer

has an appearance of being good, but it studiously concealed the

reason of the divine prohibition

[Nu 22:12],

and it intimated his own willingness and desire to go--if permitted.

Balak despatched a second mission, which held out flattering prospects,

both to his avarice and his ambition

(Ge 31:30).

19, 20. tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord

will say unto me more--The divine will, as formerly declared, not being

according to his desires, he hoped by a second request to bend it, as

he had already bent his own conscience, to his ruling passions of pride

and covetousness. The permission granted to Balaam is in accordance

with the ordinary procedure of Providence. God often gives up men to

follow the impulse of their own lusts; but there is no approval in thus

leaving them to act at the prompting of their own wicked hearts

(Jos 13:27).

Nu 22:21-41.

THE

JOURNEY.

21. Balaam . . . saddled his ass--probably one of the

white sprightly animals which persons of rank were accustomed to ride.

The saddle, as usually in the East, would be nothing more than a pad or

his outer cloak.

22. God's anger was kindled because he went--The displeasure arose

partly from his neglecting the condition on which leave was granted

him--namely, to wait till the princes of Moab "came to call him"

[Nu 22:20],

and because, through desire for "the wages of unrighteousness"

[2Pe 2:15],

he entertained the secret purpose of acting in opposition to the solemn

charge of God.

24. the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards--The roads

which lead through fields and vineyards are so narrow that in most

parts a man could not pass a beast without care and caution. A stone or

mud fence flanks each side of these roads, to prevent the soil being

washed off by the rains.

28. the Lord opened the mouth of the ass--to utter, like a parrot,

articulate sounds, without understanding them. That this was a

visionary scene is a notion which seems inadmissible, because of the

improbability of a vision being described as an actual occurrence in

the middle of a plain history. Besides, the opening of the ass's mouth

must have been an external act, and that, with the manifest tenor of

Peter's language, strongly favors the literal view

[2Pe 2:15, 16].

The absence of any surprise at such a phenomenon on the part of Balaam

may be accounted for by his mind being wholly engrossed with the

prospect of gain, which produced "the madness of the prophet"

[2Pe 2:16].

"It was a miracle, wrought to humble his proud heart, which had to be

first subjected in the school of an ass before he was brought to attend

to the voice of God speaking by the angel" [CALVIN].

34, 35. I have sinned . . . if it displease thee, I will get me back

again--Notwithstanding this confession, he evinced no spirit of

penitence, as he speaks of desisting only from the outward act. The

words "go with the men" was a mere withdrawal of further restraint, but

the terms in which leave was given are more absolute and peremptory

than those in

Nu 22:20.

36, 37. when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet

him--Politeness requires that the higher the rank of the expected

guest, greater distance is to be gone to welcome his arrival.

38. the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak--This

appears a pious answer. It was an acknowledgment that he was restrained

39. Kirjath-huzoth--that is, "a city of streets."

40. Balak offered oxen and sheep--made preparations for a grand

entertainment to Balaam and the princes of Midian.

41. high places of Baal--eminences consecrated to the worship of

Baal-peor (see on

Nu 25:3)

or Chemosh.