CHAPTER 22
(1452 B.C.)
BALAAM
1And the Children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
2And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the Children of Israel (the Lord will make our enemies to be fearful of us, that is, if our path is a path of obedience).
4And Moab said unto the Elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor (an out-of-Covenant Prophet), which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the Earth, and they abide over against me (even though the miracle of their deliverance had taken place nearly 40 years before, still, it was very well known by all the surrounding countries what God had done there).
6Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people (Balak requests of Balaam); 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 know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed (evidently, Balaam had some type of reputation).
7And the Elders of Moab and the Elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand (which Peter calls the wages of unrighteousness); and they came unto Balaam, and spoke unto him the words of Balak.
8And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam (had he been where he should have been with the Lord, he would not have had to seek the Lord as it regards cursing or blessing Israel; he would have already known they were Gods people).
GOD FORBIDS BALAAM
9And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with you?
10And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent unto me, saying,
11Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covers the face of the Earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12And God said unto Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people: for they are blessed (what God has blessed, nothing can curse).
13And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuses to give me leave to go with you.
14And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuses to come with us.
GOD PERMITS BALAAM
15And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray you, hinder you from coming unto me:
17For I will promote you unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever you say unto me: come therefore, I pray you, curse me this people (the world still gives such allurements; stupid are the people and, above all, the Preachers, who heed such a call; they will find themselves, every time, fighting God, a battle they cannot win).
18And 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.
19Now therefore, I pray you, tarry you also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more (the Lord had already spoken to Balaam; but we know that, in his heart, Balaam doesnt want to obey the Lord; the truth is, the Lord isnt saying what Balaam wants to hear).
20And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call you, rise up, and go with them; but yet the Word which I shall say unto you, that shall you do. (Many have argued that Balaam was not a true worshipper of the Lord and, therefore, not a true Prophet, but merely a soothsayer, etc. But, every Scriptural indication is that whatever Balaam may be at this time, he once was a true Prophet. If Balaam will not obey the Lord, the Lord will use him anyway, to deliver a Message, a series of Prophecies, some of the most astounding in history.)
THE ANGEL
21And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22And Gods anger was kindled because he went (as it regards Believers, even those of Balaams stripe, everything is a test. How will we act? How will we react? Even though Balaam had received permission from the Lord to go, the truth is, he was going anyway, hence the anger of the Lord): and the 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 (he was determined to curse the People of God, and for money; let it ever be said, God is against all who follow such a course).
23And 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 (events are caused by the Lord, but far too often men fail to see that).
24But the Angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25And when the ass saw the Angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaams foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26And the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left (today, as on that day, disobeying God degrades man below the brute beast).
27And when the ass saw the Angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaams anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto you, that you have smitten me these three times? (Self-will refused to be instructed by circumstances, but a will yielded to God is careful to observe them. Three times Balaam refused to learn from the animal on which he rode; and so blinded was he by the love of money that the dumb beast, speaking with mans voice, failed to make him hesitate Williams. No, this is not a fable! The Lord actually caused the animal to speak. If we deny such, then we deny God and His Word.)
29And Balaam said unto the ass, Because you have mocked me: I would there were a sword in my hand, for now would I kill you.
30And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I your ass, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto you? And he said, No. (The astounding thing about this is that Balaam was so full of covetousness that the speaking of the animal didnt seem to faze him. And now he answers the animal, once again brushing aside the phenomenon of what has taken place. Sin can have such a hold upon a person that they take all leave of their senses, in order to carry out their devious design.)
31Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face (he now knows that if he says the wrong thing, hes a dead man).
32And the Angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore have you smitten your ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand you, because your way is perverse before me (perverse means leading headlong to destruction):
33And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had killed you, and saved her alive.
34And Balaam said unto the Angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that you stood in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease you, I will get me back again. (Pharaoh, Balaam, Achan, Saul, David, and Judas said respectively, I have sinned; but only David said this sincerely.)
35And the Angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto you, that you shall speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak (still blinded by greed, the man doesnt realize that he has just signed his death warrant).
BALAK
36And 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.
37And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto you to call you? wherefore did you not come unto me? am I not able indeed to promote you to honour?
38And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto you: have I now any power at all to say anything? the Word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak. (He did speak the Word of the Lord, even as we shall see; however, he also spoke other words, which the Lord did not give him, and which brought about his own death, even as we shall see.)
39And Balaam went with Balak (he could go with the Lord or with Balak; he couldnt go with both), and they came unto Kirjath-huzoth.
40And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes who were with him (there is even a possibility that Balak offered these sacrifices to Jehovah; nevertheless, such, if it be the case, could never be accepted by the Lord).
41And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.