PROPHET FROM
THE
(An Exposition of Balaam’s Parables)
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BALAAM AND HIS PARABLES
By
FREDK. A. TATFORD
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1.
THE DIVINER’S TEMPTATION Page 7
Chapter 2.
A FURTHER APPEAL Page 9
Chapter 3. FROM
THE TOP OF THE ROCKS Page 27
Chapter 4. THE
FIELD OF THE WATCHERS Page 39
Chapter 5. THE PARABLE OF PEOR Page 47
Chapter 6.
THE COMING KING Page 55
Chapter 7.
THE PARTING OF THE WAYS Page 65
Chapter 8.
THE FINAL ATTEMPT Page 79
APPENDIX 1.
THE MOABITES Page 85
APPENDIX 2.
THE ANGEL OF JEGOVAH Page 89
BIBLIOGRAPHY Page 91
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[Page 7]
PREFACE
AT one
of the residential conventions of the Prophetic Witness Movement International,
the responsibility for the morning Bible readings fell to the author, and he
decided to give a series of simple talks on the subject of Balaam and his
parables. To his surprise the addresses
seemed to attract a good deal of interest.
They were recorded at the time and one group of Christians subsequently
held a full day’s conference at which the whole of the tape recordings were
played over for the benefit of others.
Several friends have since asked whether the addresses could
be put into print and this little book is the result. The author is very
conscious of its shortcomings and has hesitated about publishing it, but if it
proves of help to any fellow-believers, he will be amply rewarded for the work
which has gone into it.
-
FREDK. A. TATFORD.
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[Page 8 blank: Page 9]
CHAPTER 1
The Diviner’s
Temptation
FROM time to time, the Old Testament
draws aside the veil to disclose that spiritual knowledge was not always
restricted to the chosen race and that occasionally the revelation of the
Divine will and purpose came through totally unexpected media. It is only necessary to turn to the profound
discussions of philosophy in the Book of Job, or to the story of the mysterious
king-priest Melchizedek, to whom Abraham paid tithes, to realise that God is
sovereign and that He uses whomsoever He will to convey His message. Barriers of racial and national privilege
mean nothing to Him in that respect.
This was plainly indicated in the experience of that strange Old
Testament character, the Gentile Balaam of Mesopotamia.
Balaam hailed from Pethor, a city located on the west bank of
the Euphrates, near the point at which the river is joined by its tributary,
the Sajur, approximately twelve miles south of the old Hittite capital of
Balaam (whose name meant a devourer of the people, or a
subverter) was the son of Beor (a name meaning a consumer or a destroyer). Bela, the first king of the Edomites, was
also described as a son of a man named Beor (Gen.
36: 32), but there was clearly
no connection between him and Balaam.
The Biblical record refers to Balaam, not as nabi, a
prophet, but as kosem, a soothsayer (see also Josh. 13: 22), and it is clear that he had no mean
reputation as a magician and imprecatory prophet, “Of
the magicians and seers found in Mesopotamia,” says The World of the Bible, “the best
known were the priests called in the Akkadian baru (seers), who fulfilled functions similar to those of Balaam. They pronounced the will of God to His
worshippers and they were also called upon to invoke blessings and curses by
means of charms and incantations.” Balaam was presumably an adept in all
the arts of the baru and was, in fact, so eminent a practitioner that his fame had
travelled across the Assyrian desert to the shores of the
Origen described Balaam as famous for his
skill in magic, and Philo wrote (Vita Moysis, § 48), “There was a man at that time celebrated
for divination who lived in Mesopotamia, and was an adept in all forms of the
divining art; but in no branch was he more admired than in augury; to many
persons and on many occasions he gave great and astounding proofs of his
skill. For to some he foretold storms in
the height of summer; to others drought and heat in the depth of winter; to
some scarcity succeeding a fruitful year, and then again abundance after
scarcity; to others the overflowing and the drying up of rivers; and the
remedies of pestilential diseases, and a vast multitude of other things, each
of which he acquired great fame for predicting.”
The divination practised by the baru and men of this type [Page 11] was normally an attempt to discern the future, not merely through a kind
of inspiration or afflatus, but, in most cases, by means of signs and auguries,
which were strictly forbidden to Israel (Lev. 19:
26; Deut. 18: 9-14). Apart from
astrology (Isa. 47: 13), where deductions were made from the
conjunction of the stars, the most popular method employed was hepatoscopy (Ezek. 21: 21), which involved the examination of
the disposition of the liver and other entrails of a sacrificed sheep or other
animal. By the use of hydromancy,
conclusions were also reached from forms seen in water or in the configuration
of drops of oil on water (Gen. 44: 5), while
in pyromancy the fire was observed for signs. In arithmancy numbers were used,
and in botanomancy plants (especially sage and fig leaves) formed the basis. In
addition, omens were seen sometimes in the flight of birds, or in rhabdomancy -
the throwing of sticks in the air (Ezek. 21: 21)
- or by casting lots. A further practice
which sprang up was that of necromancy, or consultation with the spirits of the
dead (Deut. 18: 11; 1 Sam. 28: 8). The Scriptural record does not indicate the
form of divination adopted by Balaam but, from the number of sacrifices he
demanded before uttering his messages, it has sometimes been deduced that he
probably practised hepatoscopy. The
ancients apparently categorised every shape and marking of the liver and
reached their conclusions regarding future events by carefully examining and
collating the details in each case.
At the same time, it cannot be ignored that Balaam
claimed some knowledge of and contact with the true God. He can
scarcely, therefore, be casually classified as a wizard or false prophet. Indeed, it is doubtful whether he was an
idolator. A. Gosman (Lange’s Commentary
on Numbers, p. 121) writes, for
instance, “He is at least a monotheist; he clings as a
Mesopotamian, perhaps as a descendant of Abraham, to the name of Jehovah in its
more general significance, which it had before acquiring its specific meaning (Exod. 3 and 6): and hence the writer
uses in connection with him the name Elohim, not recognising him as strictly a
worshipper of Jehovah. He thus lies
within the primitive, monotheistic [Page 12] traditions, the religious
twilight which Melchizedek also represents (see Gen. 14: 18).”
Balaam appeared upon the Biblical stage because of the
threatened invasion of the territory of the Moabites. The Israelites had made
their exodus from
Their next advance brought
The Midianites had established themselves in considerable
numbers in
Balak naturally held consultations with his neighbours and
blood relations, the Midianite rulers, and it was ultimately decided that other
help should be sought. No military
alignment with neighbouring powers appeared practicable, but messengers were
sent to the well-known soothsayer, Balaam, [Page 13] to persuade him to use magical
incantations against the invaders. To
reach him was a twenty days’ journey of 400 miles across the Assyrian desert,
but the embassy set out with presents and promises (Num.
22: 1-7). “Behold,” said Balak, “a people has come out
of
From what followed, there is a strong inference that Balaam
was not only acquainted with the recent happenings, but was aware that the hand
of God was with
THE DIVINE WILL
And God (Elohim) came to Balaam and said, Who
are these men with you? And Balaam said
to Elohim, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has
sent to me, saying, Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, who cover the face
of the earth; come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overcome
them and drive them out. And Elohim said
to Balaam, You shall not go with them.
You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the
princes of Balak, Go to your own land; for [Page 14] Jehovah refuses to let me go with you. So the princes of
It is clear from the Scriptural record that Balaam. actually possessed some ability (possibly by the use of
enchantment) to bless and to curse. “This power,” says Keil, “is not traced, it is true, to the
might of heathen deities, but to the might of Jehovah, whose name Balaam
confessed; but yet the possibility is assumed of his curse doing actual, and
not merely imaginary, harm to the Israelites.” The power was not intended by God to be
exercised at the vagaries of the prophet himself, however. As with all gifts, whether natural or
spiritual, the intention was unquestionably that it should be used in
accordance with the will of God and for His glory.
The Bible states that the embassy sent to Balaam was composed
of “the elders of
With the messengers of Balak lodged at his home, Balaam awaited
some nocturnal indication that he could safely respond to the request which had
been made to him - virtually anticipating that God would permit what was
obviously evil. There could be only one
possible outcome. In the stillness of
the night came the Divine enquiry, “Who are these men with you?”
And Balaam was compelled to confess the origin and purpose of the
mission on which his guests had come to him.
Balak had invited him to lay a curse upon
[Page 15]
The word translated “curse” is derived from a root, signifying “to hollow out.”
The object was, therefore, to lay a spell upon
But the forlorn hope was doomed to disappointment and,
additionally, Balaam’s cupidity was frustrated.
“You shall not go with them,” came the
Divine declaration. “You shall not
curse the people, for they are blessed.”
Nothing could have
been more explicit. God’s will was
perfectly clear. The prophet was not
allowed to accept the invitation or the reward, and the Almighty made it plain
that
There seems to have been no change of heart or repentance on
the part of Balaam. There was no
evidence of regret that he had harboured those whom he knew to be God’s
enemies. His conscience still slumbered
and his inclinations were unaltered. He
merely carried out his instructions, albeit plainly with reluctance, or he
would never have entertained the men a second time.
In the morning Balaam rose early and told the Moabites to
return to their own country, since he had been refused permission to accompany
them. No persuasion seems to have been
used to induce him to change his mind.
Evidently the messengers accepted the statement as conclusive. Jehovah had declined to allow the prophet to
go, and Balaam had accepted the decree as final and patently expected them to
do the same. There was no dubiety and
they returned to their royal master with the unwelcome news. Nevertheless, the lack of success attending
their mission seems to have only strengthened Balak’s resolution to secure the
help he had sought.
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CHAPTER 2
A Further Appeal
BALAK’S first
mission had failed, but this was not the end.
His purpose was not so easily thwarted and he was, in any case,
desperate for help.
THE SECOND
Again Balak sent princes, more in number and more
honourable than they. And they came to Balaam
and said to him, Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray you, hinder you from coming to
me. For I will promote
you to very great honour, and I will do whatever you say to me. Come, therefore, curse this people for
me. And Balaam answered and said to
Balak’s servants, Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and
gold, I cannot go beyond the command of Jehovah my God (Elohim) to do less or more.
Now, therefore, I pray you, tarry here this night also, that I may know
what more Jehovah will say to me. And
Elohim came to Balaam at night and said to him, If the men came to call you,
rise and go with them; but only the word I say to you, shall you do (Num. 22: 15-20).
The rebuffed monarch’s determination
to secure his ends only increased. He
was apparently more convinced than ever that the prophet’s powers of
enchantment were the answer to his need, and he sent a larger and more
distinguished embassy to entreat Balaam to come to him. He was emphatic that nothing should prevent
him from coming. He repeated his request
and now offered greater attractions. “I will do you [Page 18] great honour.”
Presumably richer presents were conveyed to induce a change of attitude on
Balaam’s part, but there is no mention in the record of increased rewards. The royal suppliant professed himself to be
ready to do whatever Balaam dictated.
Balaam’s immediate reaction, as Hirsch remarks, “betrays his real
character. However much he seeks honour,
he seeks wealth still more. Balak had
not intimated in his message anything about gold. He had spoken only of great distinction, and
said that every wish should be gratified.
But Balaam immediately translated honour into gold. This was the supreme good with him.”
His conduct was completely inexcusable. He was fully acquainted with the Divine
will. He had been forbidden to accompany
Balak’s messengers and commanded not to curse the people of
In pious insincerity, he declared that he could not go beyond
God’s word, whatever it might be, although he knew quite well that, if he could
possibly do so, he would. Yet how many Christians today follow the same foolish path. Allegedly desiring only to do God’s will,
they still allow their desires to rest upon that which is patently out of
accord with His will. While declaring unctuously that their treasure is in heaven, they
determinedly seek the material prosperity of this world. Claiming that Christ is the sole object of
their affection and His will their only thought, they allow their minds to be occupied
with the unclean and defiling. The Gentile prophet was not the only one whose
actions belied his words.
It is amazing that, with his knowledge of the Divine
will, Balaam should thus put himself at risk of Divine punishment. However restricted his knowledge of God, he
had obviously had contact with Him
previously and could not but be aware [Page 19] of God’s methods and purposes. He demonstrated an unhappy “contradiction between an ostentatious and vaunted faith in
Jehovah, and the ever reappearing and strong lusting after the rewards of
unrighteousness, after the glory and the gold which ultimately leads him to
ruin.” Poor Balaam! Yet his story
was recorded for our warning, whose hearts are possibly cast in the same mould.
In gracious condescension, God again came to him at night,
whether in a vision or merely through the spoken word is not disclosed. He had declared that he would discover what
Jehovah (the ever-present covenant-keeping God) would say to him, but it was as
Elohim (the mighty strong One) that He spoke to him. On this occasion, the prophet was told that,
if the men came to call him, he was to rise up and go with them. But he was to do only what God said. The R.S.V.
possibly tends to imply that he was allowed to go because the men had come to
summon him (“If
the men have come to call you”). The emphasis seems rather upon
whether or not the men called him. The
answer sufficed for Balaam, however. He
evidently waited for no call, but rose early and prepared to depart. He had virtually received two clear
indications of God’s will, but he had quite deliberately chosen his own way.
THE ANGEL OF JEHOVAH
So Balaam rose in the morning, and saddled his ass,
and went with the princes of
In blind adherence to his own desires
and ignoring the will of God, Balaam departed with the Moabite envoys and two
of his own servants. The infatuated
prophet threw in his lot with a race which had originated in incest and whose
king had [Page 20] sought his help against the chosen people of God. It is little wonder that the Almighty’s anger
was aroused and that an adversary confronted the guilty man. The adversary was described as the angel of
Jehovah. This term is frequently used in
the Old Testament with reference to a theophanic appearance, or a manifestation
of God Himself (see Appendix 2). In Gen. 22: 11, 12 and Exod. 3: 2, 6,
14, for example, the angel of Jehovah is explicitly described as
God. It would seem, therefore, that the Eternal Himself had decided to intercept the prophet in his folly.
The angel stood in the road with a drawn sword and, although
he was invisible to Balaam, he was seen by the ass, and the animal turned aside
into the field. Unconscious of the
reason for this unusual behaviour on the part of his beast, Balaam struck it
with the staff he carried and forced it back into the road. Apparently it never occurred to him to
attempt any investigation to discover the cause of the strange conduct of the
animal. Some commentators question
whether the ass actually saw the angel, but the statement is clear and there
seems no possible alternative interpretation.
THE VINEYARD
PATH
Then the angel of Jehovah stood in a narrow path
between the vineyards, with a wall on each side. And when the ass saw the angel of Jehovah,
she pushed herself against the wall, and pressed Balaam’s foot against the
wall; and he struck her again (Num. 22:
24, 25).
The small party rode on until, after a while, they came to a
narrow path between some vineyards.
Again the angel of Jehovah barred the way, and again the ass was
miraculously afforded the vision of the adversary, which was evidently denied
to Balaam. Naturally the brute beast
tried to avoid the danger and attempted to pass the angel by pressing into the
wall. But Balaam’s foot suffered in the
process, for it was also crushed against the wall and, indignant at the
animal’s conduct, he again struck it with his staff - still unaware of the
cause of the unusual behaviour.
The editors of The World of the Bible consider that “The
incident probably occurred in the
In the distance which had been traversed and in the warnings
which he had been given, Balaam might well have given some thought to the
course he was pursuing and to the clear revelation he had been given of the
Divine purpose. But he seems to have
been completely oblivious to what should have been plain. There was no heart-searching and no evidence
of any hesitation or uncertainty: he had determined upon his path and nothing
apparently could shake him from his intention.
THE ASS SPEAKS
Then the angel of Jehovah went farther, and stood in
a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the
left. And when the ass saw the angel of
Jehovah, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he
struck the ass with his staff. Then
Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, What have I done
to you, that you have struck me these three times? And Balaam said to the ass, Because you have made sport of me. I wish there was a sword in my hand, for then
I would kill you. And the ass said to
Balaam, Am I not your ass, on which you have ridden ever since I was yours unto
this day? Was I ever accustomed to do so
to you? And he said, No (Num. 22: 26-30).
The angel of Jehovah had not finished with the prophet
yet. Going on ahead, he presently stood
in a narrow place where there was no room to turn. Once more the eyes of the ass were opened to
see the potential danger. It was
impossible to [Page 22] turn aside or to avoid the angel in
any way if the animal continued. Following
its natural instincts, the beast accordingly halted and lay down in the road, leaving the prophet
reclining uneasily on top of her.
Balaam’s anger was now thoroughly aroused and he once more struck the
ass furiously with his staff. Under the
cruel and insensate scourgings which it suffered, the ass finally reacted in a
totally unexpected way. Doubtless, in
the violence of his passion, Balaam had punished the groaning, shuddering
animal as he had never done before, and his unbridled rage might well have
carried him to further excess, as, in fact, his subsequent words implied. But the ass suddenly spoke, not in the
inarticulate groans of brute creation, but in words of human speech.
It is, of course, frequently argued that the ass was anatomically
incapable of uttering articulate expressions, but the Scripture specifically
states that Jehovah gave the ass the ability to speak (v. 28), and the apostle Peter plainly states
that “a dumb ass spoke with human voice and restrained the
prophet’s madness” (2 Pet. 2: 16).
It is idle to contend that the whole thing was visionary and that Balaam
heard the ass in a dream, or that the hearing was some internal occurrence and
that no external sound was involved.
This was no natural happening, nor is it explicable by natural or
scientific explanation. A miracle had
taken place, and God attributed it to His own action.
Lange argues logically that the line which
separates the intelligent and the brute creation was not crossed, and that the ass
was not represented in the narrative as a rational creature. “Mere articulate
sounds do not constitute human speech,” he says, “but words as the vehicle of thought, expression of the
spirit. When the Lord opened the mouth
of the ass, He enabled it to use articulate sounds instead of inarticulate
groans. The form was changed, not the
nature. She made no revelation from God,
does not speak to Balaam of his headlong way, simply
utters the animal feeling and experiences under the brutal treatment of her
master. Balaam would not understand her shudderings
and groans, the natural and ordinary method of expression. God gave her articulate [Page 23] utterances in her case ... It is the mere animal
soul, feeling, experience put into the form of human speech. The animal has not changed its nature, has
not passed into the rank of intelligent creatures.”
Gregory of Nyasa endeavoured to explain away the miracle by treating it as the experienced
diviner’s interpretation of his beast’s groans, while Le Clerc and others solved the problem to
their own satisfaction by assuming a belief on Balaam’s part in the
transmigration of souls, but these attempted explanations do not dispose of the
explicit Scriptural statement that Jehovah opened the mouth of the ass. The only satisfactory course is acceptance of
the plain Biblical record as meaning what it says.
The protesting animal asked what it had done to be so severely
beaten three times, and was told that it had made a mockery of its master by
its actions. In the eyes of those around
him, he had been rendered the object of ridicule and, if he had had a weapon in
his hand, Balaam declared that he would have killed the ass. So blind was he to the obvious fact that what
had happened could not have been without cause. The animal asked whether there had ever been
similar conduct on its part during all the years he had ridden it, and the
perplexed prophet was compelled to admit that there had not. It was then that he was brought face to face
with reality.
THE PROPHET SEES
Then Jehovah opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw
the angel of Jehovah standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and
he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of Jehovah said to him, Why have you
struck your ass these three times?
Behold, I have come forth to withstand you, because your way is perverse
before me; and the ass saw me, and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely
now would I have slain you and let her live.
And Balaam said to the angel of Jehovah, I have sinned, for I did not
know that thou didst stand in the way against me. Now, therefore, if it displeases thee, I will
go back again (Num. 22: 31-34).
[Page 24]
His eyes opened, Balaam saw the danger in which he stood. The angel of Jehovah faced him with a drawn
sword. He had chosen his way in
deliberate defiance of God. The
instructions given to him on two occasions in the darkness of the night had now
been followed by three clear warnings, which he had implicitly ignored. There was no doubt as to his
culpability. Was the angel now about to
execute a well-deserved sentence?
Utterly subdued, he fell flat on his face, whether in fear or in the
realisation of the identity of the one who confronted him is not indicated.
Then the angel of Jehovah condescended to explain. Because of the prophet’s
perverse behaviour and his disobedience to God’s express prohibition, the angel
had come out to withstand him.
(The words of the angel, “Your way is perverse before me,” and not “perverse
before God,”
clearly confirm that the angel was no other than God Himself in a theophanic
appearance). Only the action taken by
the ass on three occasions had saved her owner’s life: yet he had rewarded her
in such cruel fashion.
“I have sinned,” said the thoroughly frightened man, but there was no evidence of any real penitence or contrition for his
wrongdoing. If it had
displeased God, or if his actions seemed evil in His sight, he was prepared to
return home. There was no obvious
recognition of the character of the sin, no admission that he had transgressed
the explicit command of God, “You shall not
go ... You shall not curse.” His heart was still on the reward
of unrighteousness, but if it was a question of saving his life, he was
prepared to withdraw from his mission and to return home. This was not repentance. There may have been an admission of guilt,
but how significant was it? How deep was
the sense of sin? His words were merely
the outcome of fear and not of any heart exercise.
The test came. Was it a
sincere determination to return home and to live henceforth in a manner
glorifying to God? Or was the desire for
gain still the motivation? It soon
became apparent.
[Page 25]
HE WENT ON
And the angel of Jehovah said to Balaam, Go with the
men; but only the word that I speak to you shall you speak. So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak (Num. 22: 35).
The temptation was too great.
The opportunity to repent and to return home had been before him, but
God knew his heart and the desires that were paramount, and He bade him to go
with the men. Even then, Balaam might
have turned in contrition and declined the permission to continue with the enemies
of God’s people. They had come for him to curse
Again he was warned that he would only be allowed to speak
what Jehovah determined (The angel’s reference to “the word that
I speak to you”
again identified him with Jehovah). Whatever
the prophet’s inner purpose, God would work out His will. But Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.
How often in life are similar circumstances found. The believer, who has become
obsessed with materialism or with the attractions of this world, is suddenly
brought face to face with reality. At
that moment he becomes conscious that now is the opportunity to repent, to
change the mind and attitude, and resolutely to eschew the old life, and
deliberately to decide to follow the Master’s will. But the temptation is too great, and only too
frequently the pull of the world proves stronger than the constraining love of
Christ, and he weakly drifts on.
So Balaam went on.
Five clear indications of the Divine will had proved
insufficient to divert him from his purpose.
Balaam went on. He went - not to
achieve the honour and fame he sought, not to enrich himself with the treasure
of a Moabite king, not to demonstrate his powers of enchantment against a
migrant [Page 26] people. He went
- to leave a besmirched name on the pages of history and a dead body among the
heathen on the battlefield. But Balaam
went on.
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[Page 27]
CHAPTER 3
From the Top of the Rocks
IN
hiring Balaam to curse the people of
Balaam reached the country of
[Page 28]
And Balak said to Balaam, Did I not earnestly send
to you to call you? Why did you not come
to me? Am I not able to advance you in
honour? And Balaam said to Balak, Lo, I
have come to you. Have I now any power
at all to say anything? The word that
Elohim puts in my mouth, that must I speak (Num. 22: 37, 38).
When Balak eventually met the man for whom he had sent two distinguished
embassies, he not unnaturally reproved him for his apparent reluctance to
respond to the royal invitation. Had he
not summoned Balaam? Why had he not responded immediately to the royal command? It was within the king’s power to honour him
and, by inference, to reward him richly for his services. Balak obviously felt aggrieved that he should
have been treated with such a complete lack of respect and that this prophet
should regard his summons so lightly.
Balaam ingratiatingly replied, however, “Lo, I have
come to you.” He admitted the respect due to his royal host
and inferred that there had been a willing and ready response to the
invitation. At the same time, however,
he disclaimed any ability to utter words of cursing (or of prophecy) of his own
volition. He virtually represented
himself as but an instrument, used by a superior power, and he frankly declared
that he could utter nothing but what the mighty God put into his mouth. (It is interesting to note that, although he
knew Jehovah, he used the more general name of Elohim when referring to God in
his conversation with Balak.)
His admission was patently genuine. Whatever his normal practice - and it seems
evident that he was usually prepared to prostitute his gift for material reward
- he recognised that, in this case, it was impossible for him to act of his own
volition. Whether or not this was an
exceptional experience with him is not indicated, but certainly he realised a
Divine restraint in this instance. Only
what God put in his mouth would he be able to speak. This was not some pious platitude. He was conscious by this time that there was
a special [Page 29] relationship between God and the people whom he had
been summoned to curse. Only by Divine
permission, therefore, could he utter anything concerning this people.
THE SACRIFICIAL
APPROACH
Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to
Kirjath-huzoth. And Balak sacrificed
oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. And on the morrow Balak took Balaam and
brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from thence he might see the
nearest of the people. And Balaam said
to Balak, Build for me here seven altars and provide for me here seven bullocks
and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam
had said; and Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bullock and a ram (Num. 22: 39 to 23: 2).
Balak then led the way to Kirjath-huzoth. (literally,
“the town of streets”), a city which cannot be identified
today, but which was apparently located near the river Amon and also near
Bamoth-Baal (Num. 21: 19; Josh. 13: 17),
which was probably identical with the Beth-Bamoth named in Mesha’s inscription
on the Moabite stone. Here the king
sacrificed oxen and sheep - evidently for a feast - and honoured his guest
(with whom apparently he did not eat) by sending selected portions to him and
his companions. It is not stated whether
portions had also been presented to Baal, but presumably they had, in which
case the prophet would have acknowledged the person and power of Baal if he had
eaten of the meat, of which part had been offered to the pagan deity (c.f. Acts
15: 29; Rev. 2: 14).
Impatient to proceed without delay in carrying out the real
purpose of the prophet’s coming, Balak took him to Bamoth-Baal, a place on the
top of the mountains where offerings were presented to Baal. From this spot Balaam could see the nearest
groups of the Israelites (the majority were possibly hidden by the hills), and
the heathen ruler waited optimistically for the achievement of his purpose.
Lange takes the view that the cunning and
politic Balak led Balaam to a mountain summit from whence he could see [Page 30] only the ends of the Israelite camp, lest he should be too deeply
impressed and his curse be affected. But Gosman
(ibid., pp. 131, 132) points out that “a comparison of chapter
22: 41 with chapter
23: 13 seems to show that, in the former case, the words, ‘the ends or the utmost of the people’, refer not to a small part of the camp, but to its extreme
limits. He overlooked the whole people,
even to the ends or utmost bounds.”
The point is arguable, however, and commentators differ in their view.
First of all, the prophet requested that seven altars should
be constructed and that a bullock and a ram should be sacrificed on each
altar. His intention was obviously to
propitiate God, in the hope of securing His help and guidance. Yet the offerings were presented at the very
place where sacrifices were made to Baal - almost as though a deliberate
attempt was being made to link heathenism with true monotheism and to eliminate
the differences between the two. How
could contact with God be expected in this chosen place? To present sacrifices to Him in the centre
where Baal was worshipped was virtually an insult to God. How could He smile on the one who acted so
foolishly? Balaam stood in the high
places of Baal and, by implication, viewed
Balak obeyed the prophet’s instructions, and the smoke of the
offerings soon ascended from each of the altars. The offerings presented were
all burnt offerings, which were regarded as the food of God and were devoted
entirely to Him (Lev. 1). There was no acknowledgment of personal need
or admission of sinfulness requiring atonement, for no sin or trespass
offerings were presented. The sacrifices
were intended to invoke the favour of God, and the number of altars and animals
implied that He might more easily be propitiated with a number of offerings
than with one. It is possible, however,
that several animals were provided in order that the liver and other entrails
might be available to furnish auguries for Balaam, although there is no
specific evidence that he actually employed this means of divination.
[Page 31]
And Balaam said to Balak, Stand beside your burnt
offering, and I will go. Perhaps Jehovah
will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me, I will tell you. So he went on to a high place. And Elohim met Balaam; and he said to him, I
have prepared seven altars and I have offered on each a bullock and a ram. And Jehovah put a word in Balaam’s mouth and
said, Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak. And he returned to him, and lo, he and all
the princes of
Balaam bade the king to remain by his burnt offering on the site
of the evil Baal-worship, while he went on to a bald peak, possibly to seek for
omens, but professedly to meet Jehovah.
At the mountain summit, with the people of
He went to meet Jehovah, the covenant-keeping God, but it was
in the character of Elohim, the God of power and might, that the Almighty met
him. Balaam attempted to curry favour by
reference to the altars and sacrifices which had been prepared and offered -
primarily by Balak, although he claimed the full credit for it. How could the offerings be acceptable to the
holy and true God? Were they presented
by men of sincerity and loyalty to Him?
Even the place of sacrifice was defiled by the filthy worship of Baal.
Nevertheless, what the prophet had sought was granted to
him. God put His message in Balaam’s
mouth and commanded him to return and to convey the message to Balak. Whether or not he was aware of the contents
of the message before he uttered it is not indicated, but plainly his mouth was
controlled. There was no room for
interpretation or for manoeuvre. He had
been given the precise words to utter.
Whether or not the man had ever truly prophesied before, he was to do so
now.
[Page 32]
He returned to Bamoth-Baal, to find the king and all the
princes of
THE FIRST PARABLE
And he took up his discourse and said, Balak the
king of Moab has brought me from Aram, out of the
mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce
Israel! How can I curse those whom God
(El) has not cursed? How can I denounce
those whom Jehovah has not denounced?
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold
him. Lo, the people dwell alone and are
not reckoned among the nations. Who can
count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of
Standing in the stronghold of the evil one, Balaam might well
have been expected to hurl the lightning bolts of hatred and denunciation upon
the hosts encamped below. He could
scarcely have been unaware of their behaviour in their wilderness journeyings
and of the way in which they had rebelled against Jehovah. The Divine hand of punishment had fallen upon
them on more than one occasion. There
was surely strong presumptive evidence that God was weary of this disobedient
and erring race and that denunciation for their sins was all that they could
justifiably anticipate. Doubtless the
Moabite princes shared the same view.
As Balaam looked at the leaders of
[Page 33]
“How can I curse those whom God has
not cursed?” he
asked. “How can I denounce those whom
He has not denounced?” However logical it might seem that
God should reject such a wayward people, He had, in fact, laid no curse upon
them, and there was nothing on which Balaam could build. The words he had intended to utter died upon
his lips and he now spoke under the inspiration of God and in words of His
choosing.
The Divine attitude must have seemed amazing to the heathen
prophet. Jacob was a deceiver, a supplanter, known for his cunning and duplicity. He had defrauded his brother, deceived his
father and deserted his mother. But
there was no curse to light upon Jacob.
And for
The prophet’s “parable” was
delivered in the form of seven brief couplets.
Granted a glimpse of the Divine purpose, un-obscured by earthly views or
human considerations, he realised that this was an elect people. Their blessedness was indicated in three
respects: first, they were separate from all the nations of the world; second,
they were countless in number; and third, the end of the righteous in
Above all the mists of the valley, Balaam saw clearly. He stood at the summit of the mountains with
unimpeded view. The foothills were
apparently no obstacle to his vision (although this is questioned by some). He saw from the Divine angle and not from the
low level of human reasoning. The serried
hosts of
“The people dwell alone and do not
reckon themselves among the nations,” he declared.
When God called Abraham (or Abram, as he then was) out of
They were (and are) not reckoned among the nations. This does not imply that there was to be no
contact with other peoples. God’s intention had been that His glory should shine through
We too are a separate people.
The Christian has been separated from the world and sanctified to
God. This does not
suggest for one moment that he should live in monastic seclusion, with no sense
of responsibility to those around him.
The intention of our Lord Jesus Christ is that His glory might be
manifest in the lives of His people and that others might be brought into
blessing by their testimony to Him. If
[* NOTE That is, not just half of the divine truth
but the whole of His counsel!
That is, (1) the “gospel” (good news) of
God’s “grace” (His unmerited favour) and His “free
gift” of eternal life - after resurrection in “a new heaven and a new earth” through
“faith” in our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ:
and (2) the gospel (good news) of Messiah’s kingdom for “a thousand years”
- after the “First Resurrection” upon this earth, and life
in the “Age” to come.
God hates the sectarianism He sees in His redeemed
people! “The
works of the flesh are manifest, which are these … factions, divisions, heresies, envyings, drunkenness,
revilings, and such like: of the which I [Paul] forewarn YOU,
that they which practise such things
shall not inherit the kingdom
(presumably the millennial kingdom, since God’s eternal kingdom is
not an inheritance based upon the believer’s works) of God:” (Gal. 5: 19, 21).]
No one could count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part
of
As he visualised the blessings of the Israelite host, Balaam
cried, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my latter end
be like his.” Matthew
Henry somewhat caustically remarks, “There are
many who, like Balaam, desire to die the death of the righteous, but do not endeavour to live the life of the righteous. They could be saints in heaven, but not
saints on earth.” So impressed
was the prophet by the peaceful scene before him, and by his realization of the
Divine purpose for this people, that - while unwilling to associate
himself with them in fact - he envied their end. When his time came, his divination and
enchantments would be valueless; soothsaying would then be ineffective, and
auguries and omens would no longer be of interest. But Jehovah’s people were sheltered in Him [and in the truth of His Word]. Their
future was not the grave: there was the hope of [“a better] resurrection” and future blessing.* If he
could have had the same assurance, Balaam's mind would have been at ease.
[* See Heb. 11: 35b. cf. Luke
20: 35.]
[Page 36]
By his “latter end”, he may
have looked beyond death to what he knew (perhaps relatively little) of the
ultimate end. But he may also have had
in mind his own posterity.
If the blessings of God’s people do not arouse the interest
and proper envy of others, there is something lacking in their life and
witness. It should be only natural for
the unbeliever to experience the longing that his future might be similar to
that of the Christian.
A DISAPPOINTED
KING
And Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to
me? I took you to curse my enemies, and
behold, you have blessed them completely.
And he answered, Must I not take heed to speak
what Jehovah puts into my mouth? (Num. 23: 11, 12).
It is not surprising that Balak should have been resentful at
the utterance of the hireling prophet. He
had sent two missions a journey of 400 miles across the desert to fetch a man
of considerable reputation to undertake a task for which, in his view, he was
admirably suited. Evidently Balaam
commonly used his gifts for gain and presumably a substantial reward had been
offered to him in this instance. But the
king’s plans had gone seriously awry. He
might justifiably have questioned whether Balaam was working for him or for
He had summoned Balaam to lay a curse upon
Balaam presented no apology and offered no excuse. “Must I not take heed to speak what
Jehovah puts into my mouth?” [Page 37] he asked, as if this was final. His powers of divination and enchantment had
failed him. He was subject to the will
of Jehovah, and whatever Jehovah gave him to speak, he was compelled to
utter. He was without choice, but was in
the hands of One greater than all the powers he had
previously known. It is significant that
he implied that he was virtually an automation - that
the very words to speak were dictated to him by the Almighty. The inspired prophets whom God used to reveal
His truth were no automata, the Holy Spirit used them to convey the mind of God
and safeguarded them from error in their utterances, but He used words from
their own vocabulary and adapted Himself to their own personality.
The event was the sixth indication the soothsayer had had of
the Divine will. He had heard the voice
of the Eternal on two occasions in the dead of night. He had been intercepted three times on the
way by the angel of Jehovah. And now the
curse he had intended announcing had, been transmuted into blessing on his
lips. Was this not enough to convince
him? Yet he ignored every
warning and resolutely continued in the attempt to earn his reward. How many another has foolishly followed the
same path!
* * *
[Page 38 blank: Page 39]
CHAPTER 4
The Field of the Watchers
BALAK evidently concluded that his own
mistake was the cause of what he must have regarded as the calamitous turn of
events. He had shown Balaam the whole of
the host of
A FURTHER ATTEMPT
And Balak said to him, Come with me, I pray you, to
another place, from which you may see them.
You shall see only the nearest of them, and shall not see them all; and
curse them for me from thence. And he
took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of the Pisgah, and built seven
altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on each altar, And he said to Balak,
Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder (Num. 23: 13-15).
The schemers’ plans had so far failed, and Balak now led
Balaam to the top of Pisgah, where he might see only the extremity of the host
of
“‘The Pisgah’,” says A. H. McNeile
(The Book of Numbers, p. 117), “seems to have
been the name applied to the broken edge of the Moabite plateau where it falls
steeply to the Dead Sea and the Jordan valley; and ‘the top, or head, of the
Pisgah’ (Num. 23: 14, Deut. 3: 27; 34: 1)
is a collective term for the projections or promontories slightly lower than
the main plateau and standing out from the western slopes. The word is derived from a root, which in
Aramaic and later Hebrew signifies ‘to cleave’; and it may describe the
appearance of the range as seen from the west, standing out in a series of
separate peaks.”
When Moses had been debarred from entering the promised land, he was Divinely allowed an extensive view of
it from the top of Pisgah (Deut. 3: 27), although not allowed to cross the river
UNALTERED PURPOSE
And Jehovah met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth,
and said, Return to Balak and say thus, And when he came [Page 41] to him, lo, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and
the princes of Moab with him. And Balak
said to him, What has Jehovah spoken? (Num. 23: 16, 17).
On the first occasion, Balaam went forth to meet Jehovah, but
the record described the One who met him as Elohim, although stating that Jehovah
put a word in his mouth and directed him what to say. In the second case, it was as Jehovah, the
covenant-keeping God of Israel, that He met the
prophet and again put His message into his mouth and restricted his utterance
to the words He had given him.
Balaam returned to the king of
AN UNCHANGING
GOD
And he took up his discourse and said, Rise up,
Balak, and hear; hearken to me, 0 son of Zippor. God (El) is not man that he
should lie, nor a son of man that he should
repent. Has he said, and will he not do
it? On has he spoken, and will he not
fulfil it? Behold, I have received a
command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor has
he seen perverseness in
Balaam had gone forth to seek signs and had found none. Instead, he had been given a clear commission
from Jehovah, which could not be evaded and could not be amended. Almost as though addressing a subordinate, he
bade Balak to rise up and hear: there may even have been a suspicion of
contempt in his command to the son of Zippor
(sparrow) to listen to him. The might
and power of
Balak had brought him to the elevated plateau of the field of
the watchers for a more limited view of the people, hoping that thereby he
might ensure that some curse or enchantment was laid upon
“Listen”, said the prophet, “God is not
man that He should lie, nor a son of man that He should repent” (cf. 1 Sam. 15: 29). Caprice may affect
the decisions and actions of men, but God is not a [mortal] man. Once He has made a statement, that is final
and conclusive. Nothing can reverse what
He has said. His plans are irrevocable:
nothing can affect their immutability.
He does not change His mind because of argument or plea. Sacrifices are no bribe to influence His
will. Balaam assured Balak of
the complete irreversibility of the Divine purpose. If God had announced His intention, He would
do what He had said. His pledges would
be redeemed and His word would be fulfilled.
He had commanded the prophet to bless.
Indeed Jehovah had Himself blessed His [redeemed] people. Nothing that Balaam could
do could annul that blessing. Revocation or abrogation was impossible.
How often we need the reminder that we have an unchanging
God. He is not affected by the changing
circumstances of life. Nothing can affect His purpose and He will unquestionably perform what
He has promised. We are so
often disturbed by the vicissitudes and vagaries of life that we [Page 43] lose sight of the immutable One. In
Him we may confidently trust, knowing that, however much we may change, He
changes not.
The character of
The [regenerate] believer today is equally undeserving, but the love
of Christ has been set upon him. God
sees no blemish in His people because He views them as in Christ. Their eternal
blessing does not depend upon either their merit or their fidelity: it is
completely unmerited. God has determined to bless them [eternally] because of
the work of Christ and nothing can consequently affect His purpose or alienate
them from Him. Their perfection is not
in themselves but in Christ.
Jehovah, the everlasting God, was with
The mighty God brought
Whether or not Balaam had attempted to use his arts of
enchantment against the people, he was compelled to admit the utter futility of
so doing. Soothsaying and divination
were completely ineffective against
Balaam’s eye may have travelled beyond the camp to the river
Jordan, with the thick bushes which provided a lair for the lions, and he may have
seen one of the royal beasts emerging from the thicket (Jer. 49: 19),
and the similitude patently impressed him.
Like a great lioness, he declared, would
A COMPROMISE
And Balak said to Balaam, Neither curse them at all,
nor bless them at all. But Balaam answered
Balak, Did I not tell you, All that Jehovah says, that I must do? (Num. 23: 25, 26).
Realising the evident impotence of the prophet to provide what
he sought, the unfortunate Balak turned pathetically to Balaam with the plea
that, if it was impossible for him to lay an enchantment upon Israel, he should
at least neutralise the blessing he had pronounced. “Neither curse
them at all, nor bless them at all.” He patently considered
that his own position might be improved vis-a-vis
But the prophet, in another momentary flash of honesty,
reminded the king of his initial declaration that he could convey only the
message given him by God (Num. 22: 38). He was powerless, either to bless or to
curse. He had become merely a mouthpiece
for the utterance of Jehovah’s will. A
more honest man might perhaps have refused to continue in his attempt to earn
his reward, but Balaam’s desire for Balak’s gold was too strong, and he
listened to the king’s entreaties.
Probably, by this time, he was well aware that all his efforts were
doomed, but he was prepared to complete the tragic farce.
* *
*
[Page 46 blank: Page 47]
CHAPTER 5
The Parable
of Peor
THE parables from Baal-Peor and Pisgah
had been diametrically opposed to all that Balak had anticipated, and he seems
to have been thoroughly perplexed by the unexpected turn of events. Hence his somewhat astonishing request that
Balaam should neither curse nor bless
THE DESERT VIEW
And Balak said to Balaam, Come, I pray you, I will
bring you to another place; perhaps it will please Elohim that you may curse
them for me there. And Balak brought
Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks toward
Jeshimon. And Balaam said to Balak,
Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bullocks and
seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had
said, and offered a bullock and a ram on each altar (Num. 23:: 27-30).
From Baal-Peor, the king had led the prophet to Pisgah, and
now they travelled still farther north to Peor, one of the peaks of the Abarim range, on the other side of the
The view stretching out before Balaam here was extensive. “Behind him,”
writes Gosman (ibid, p. 136), “lay
the vast expanse of desert extending to the shores of his native Assyrian
river. On his left were the red
mountains of Edom and Seir; opposite were the dwelling-places of the Kenite, in
the rocky fastnesses of Engedi; further still was the dim outline of the
Arabian wilderness, where ruled the then powerful tribe of Amalek; immediately
below him lay the vast encampment of Israel, amongst the acacia groves of
Abel-Shittim - like the water-courses of the mountains - like the hanging
gardens beside his own river Euphrates, with their aromatic shrubs and their
wide-spreading cedars. Beyond them, on
the western side of the
The two men had climbed to the top of the mountain to a place
where sacrifices were probably often presented to Baal and possibly to other
pagan deities. Here, as on the previous
occasions, Balaam requested that seven altars should be built, and the stones
were once more piled together for the purpose.
The sacrificial animals were prepared as before and, upon each altar,
Balak again offered a bullock and a ram.
The prophet was obviously convinced that God would be propitiated by the
offerings and that a sevenfold work would secure perfect acceptance with
Him. On no occasion does there seem to
have been any sense of the incongruity of presenting sacrifices to Jehovah, the
true God, in the very place where offerings were made to the false deities of
[Page 49]
THE AWAKENED PROPHET
When Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless
Num. 24: 1 indicates quite clearly that, on the two earlier occasions,
Balaam had gone forth to seek auguries before returning with his message. Whether he carried with him the entrails of
one of the sacrificial victims in the attempt to divine by examination of the
liver, or whether he gazed into the sky above to observe the drift of the wisps
of cloud or to detect the direction of the flight of the birds, we do not know. But his divination had proved valueless. This time he made no attempt to look for
omens. He was at last convinced of the
Divine purpose and of the hopelessness of trying to alter it. As he turned to the desert, he surveyed the
great company of
The Holy Spirit seized hold of him.
“He no longer attempted by any magical art to
control the purpose of God,” says Hirsch,
“but became the organ which God used in the
communication of His will. He spoke now in the spirit of prophecy.” In the two previous “parables,” Jehovah had placed His message in
his mouth and had rendered it impossible for him to speak any other word. But now, possessed by the Spirit of God, he
spoke freely. His words were inspired
but unconstrained.
His eyes were now open to a full realisation of the Divine
will. It was not merely his earthly
vision to which he referred, but the inward prophetic understanding. Overcome by his experience - as Saul, Daniel
and John in later experiences [Page 50] of a similar character - he fell to
the ground and yielded himself completely to the power which held him. Here was no trance or phantasy:
his eyes were open to see the vision of the Almighty (Shaddai).
THE BLESSED OF GOD
How fair are your tents, 0 Jacob, your encampments,
0
As he saw the orderly arrangement of tents below, the prophet
involuntarily burst out, “How fair are your tents, 0 Jacob, your
encampments, 0
A later prophet declared that, in a coming day,
The people, declared the prophet, were like a water carrier,
whose buckets were overflowing in blessing to others. Not only would
Israel as yet had no royal dynasty but, anticipating the
future, Balaam predicted that her [future] king would be exalted above the ruler of the
Amalekites, the kingdom which, at that time, was her strongest foe.
The kings of Amalek were all designated Agag,
as the rulers of Egypt were all called Pharaoh, or those of Philistia were
referred to as Abimelech, or later those of Russia as
Czar. The reference,
therefore, was not to a particular king of Amalek, but to the rulers of that
country generally. The term “king” was also, of course, equivalent to the word “kingdom,” and the prophet was virtually implying the
supremacy of
This was confirmed by the succeeding statements. Like a wild ox or aurochs - the great homed
beast almost the size of an elephant -
Then the prophet went on to picture the people like a mighty
lion crouching in the thicket. In his
previous parable he had seen the lion rising up to seek out its prey and to
satisfy its hunger. But now the great
beast was painted as lying down, having devoured its prey and, completely
satiated, resting satisfied and triumphant.
Those who aroused it would only do so at their own peril. The dying Jacob said of
Balaam daringly applied the words to the whole nation and not
merely to the royal tribe, but patently what was appropriate to Judah and the
king who was yet to come, must have a repercussive effect upon the whole
nation. When the “Lion of
the tribe of
Well might the old soothsayer conclude his third parable with
the words, “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.” It was
completely logical. If
The terms of Balaam’s parable and particularly his closing
words - with their obvious allusion to the attitude of the Moabite king - could
only have one effect upon their hearer.
The expense he had incurred and the trouble to which he had [Page 53] gone to seek the help of the diviner from the
BALAAM’S DISMISSAL
And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he
struck his hands together. And Balak
said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have
consistently blessed them these three times.
Therefore now flee to your place.
I intended to promote you to great honour, but, lo, Jehovah has held you
back from honour. And Balaam said to
Balak, Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, If Balak should give
me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of
Jehovah, to do so, either good or bad, of my own will; what Jehovah says, that
will I speak (Num. 24: 10, 13).
In sheer exasperation the king struck his hands together. He had been bitterly disappointed and he
angrily rebuked the prophet. He had
summoned Balaam to curse his enemies and had fully expected that some
enchantment would be laid upon them to render them impotent or, at least,
incapable of resisting his army until he had overcome them. Instead, to his utter chagrin, Balaam had
three times declared their blessing and so completely that it was clear that
his message was inspired of God. There
was no doubt in Balak’s mind: his plans had been completely frustrated.
Indignantly he reminded the prophet of his intention to reward
him and to bestow great honour upon him.
But he accepted that it was Jehovah who had thwarted his purpose and who
had consequently robbed Balaam of his coveted reward. Ruthlessly and abruptly he dismissed him, “Flee to your
place.” There was possibly an implicit threat in the
words. If the prophet failed to depart
at once, the furious [Page 54] ruler might well have thrown him out
physically or even have put him to death.
Yet Balaam ventured to reason with the irate man. When the king’s messengers had come for him,
he had distinctly warned them that, whatever the size of the reward, he was
unable to go beyond the word of God. He
had, in fact, repeated the warning to the king himself (Num. 22: 18, 38). If
Balak felt aggrieved, it was not entirely fair to wreak his wrath upon the man
who had virtually advised him of the very contingency, which had now aroused
his ire.
However, he had been commanded to flee from
* * *
[Page 55]
CHAPTER 6
The Coming King
BALAAM’S covetousness was to go
unsatisfied, for there is no indication that any payment was made to him. There was, therefore, no incentive to appease
the angry king. He had already been
ordered to leave
THE LATTER DAYS
And now, behold, I go to my people. Come, and I will advise you what this people
will do to your people in the latter days (Num. 24: 14).
The breach was complete.
“I am going to my people,” said Balaam, but be announced that,
before he left, he would inform Balak what
Willy-nilly, the pagan ruler was now forced to listen to the
ultimate purpose of God through
THE STAR OF JACOB
And he took up his discourse and said, The oracle of
Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eyes are open, the oracle
of him who heard the words of God (El) and knows the knowledge of the Most
High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, but having his eyes
open. I see him, but not now: I behold
him, but not nigh. A star shall come forth
out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of
The introduction to the fourth “parable” was very similar in phraseology to
that of the third one. Balaam declared
that his discourse was the oracle of the man who eyes were open, who had heard the
words of the mighty God, and to whom had been imparted the knowledge of the
Most High, and the one who saw the vision of the Almighty - not in any dream,
but in full consciousness. There was no
question of sooth-saying or divination now: no acts of enchantment were to be
employed and no auguries to be sought.
He knew the mind of God and was not prepared to make any attempt to
frustrate or to alter the Divine will.
His claim to have heard the words of God and to know the knowledge of
God was stupendous [Page 57] enough, but he also claimed that a vision of the Almighty had been
afforded to him, which caused him to fall to the ground, although he was fully
conscious and had his eyes uncovered.
Like the seer of
His prediction now reached on to a time still future as he
foretold the coming of a mighty ruler, breaking like a tempest upon
Ibn Ezra considers that the words applied to
David but adds that many interpret them of Messiah. E. W.
Hengstenberg (Christology of the Old
Testament, p. 35) argues that the prophecy has nothing to do with the
Messiah, but that it was “completely fulfilled in David.” He says, “This king
destroyed many of the Moabites, and made the remainder tributary. ‘He smote
This prophecy is possibly an example of the fact that more
than one fulfilment of a Biblical prediction may frequently be sought, but it is difficult to accept that the significance of this one was
completely exhausted in David.
As Lange and others point
out, the Jews at any rate regarded the prophecy as Messianic. “So widespread was
this explanation.” Writes [Page 58] Lange (Commentary on Numbers, p.
142), “that
the renowned pretender, or pseudo-Messiah, in the reign of Hadrian styled
himself Bar-Cochba (the son of the star), with a
clear reference to this prophecy ... It is no objection to this view that, at
the time of Christ,
It is sometimes suggested that the star referred to by Balaam
may be identified with that seen by the wise men at the time of our Lord’s
nativity (Matt. 2: 1, 2), but this is a
confusion of the obviously symbolic with the literal and does not seem a very
satisfactory interpretation of Num. 24: 17.
Moreover, the prophet’s words seem to have reference to our
Lord’s Second Advent rather than to His First Advent.
“I see him, but not now,” said Balaam. “I behold him, but
not nigh.” In other words, although
the glimpse had been given of a mighty One, it was not relevant as at the time
then present. Although he beheld
(possibly “looked for”) that One, he was aware
that He was not near at hand. The words
clearly implied a future fulfilment rather than an immediate one. The universal judgment and
complete destruction portrayed in the succeeding verses have not yet been
experienced and no events of past history can be regarded as satisfying the
description given.
There has not yet appeared a descendant of Jacob of such
outstanding character and power as to be termed a star and a sceptre.
Possibly the words might have been fulfilled at our Lord’s First Advent
had the nation of
[Page 59]
That One, declared Balaam, would smite through the princes of
The rulers of
All the sons of Sheth were also to
be destroyed. It is doubtful whether
this was an allusion to any particular tribe.
The expression might equally well have been rendered, “all the sons of tumult or confusion.” The mighty Ruler, who is still to come, will crush every rebel and
trouble-maker, and there is no doubt that these words anticipated that future
event (Zech. 14: 3).
The possessions of
Again, Balaam looked on to the future and foretold that, out
of Jacob, would issue the One to whom dominion rightly belonged - the One of
whom the dying Jacob spoke in his blessing of
THE JUDGMENT
OF THE NATIONS
Then he looked on Amalek, and took up his discourse
and said, Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall be even
to destruction. And he looked on the Kenites and took up his discourse and said, Strong is your
dwelling-place, and you set your nest in the rock. Nevertheless, Kain
shall be wasted. How long shall it be
ere Asshur carry you away captive? And
he took up his discourse and said, Alas, who shall live when God (El) does this? And ships
shall come [Page 61] from the coast of
The Moabite king must have listened with increasing fury, but
the story was not yet complete, and the prophet continued to predict the destruction
of other nations as well, undoubtedly adding thereby to the perturbation felt
by Balak. To the extreme south and south‑west, barely visible from where
Balaam stood, the eye might catch the outlines of the countries of the
Amalekites and the Kenites, and these were the next
to come under review.
The Amalekites were the first of the nations who warred
against
The shadows of the Kenites’ country
could be seen against the sky. They
dwelt securely in their rocky fortresses in the northern mountains of
Ellicott, however, points out that an
alternative rendering of verse 22 is, “For surely
the Kenites shall not be destroyed until Asshur shall
carry thee into captivity” (cf. Jud. 1: 16).
He adds that “This version has the support of
the Targum, of
As the prophet saw the picture - and possibly an even fuller revelation
than he disclosed to Balak - he burst out with the cry, “Alas, who
shall live when God does this?” The Biblical
descriptions of the awful judgments of the great tribulation and of the
widespread devastation of the nations of the world, would lead to a similar
cry, and it is not unreasonable to deduce that some of the horrors of that day
flashed across the prophet’s gaze. His
prophecy certainly anticipated that dreadful period, even if it had an earlier
and partial fulfilment in the past, and his words were remarkably echoed by the
Master Himself when, centuries later, He said that, “except those
days should be shortened, there would be no flesh saved” (Matt. 24: 22).
There was a further reason for his evident distress. While other countries were to suffer under
the punitive hand of the Almighty,
There has been a certain amount of controversy regarding the
identity of Chittim. Keil maintains that it “is
Ships were to come from Chittim to attack
Nor was
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CHAPTER 7
The Parting
of the Ways
THE Moabite king had hired the eastern
soothsayer to lay an enchantment upon the people of
THE DEPARTURE
Then Balaam rose and went and returned to his place;
and Balak also went his way (Num. 24: 25).
Both men were by this time fully cognisant of the Divine will
and, after such a complete revelation, might perhaps have been expected to
submit to it and possibly even to seek the friendship of the people of
The disappointed prophet, robbed of the reward he had
anticipated, turned his back upon the king, to take the long and arduous
journey back to his own home, unaccompanied this time by Moabite princes and
their retinue, but to ride alone with his thoughts. There is no mention even of the two servants
with whom he had commenced his journey from
The pagan Balak, undoubtedly thoroughly incensed by all that
had occurred, showed none of the normal eastern [Page 66] courtesies and apparently offered no
provisions for the journey, but disgustedly went his way. His hopes had been dashed to the ground and
he wanted no more of Balaam. The
Israelite hosts were at his border and he was still confronted with his
unsolved problem.
This, at any rate, is what might be deduced from the
concluding verse of Num. 24. But there is a curious account
in Micah’s prophecy, which implies that a final discussion of an entirely
different character took place between Balak and Balaam. It must be admitted that, apart from the
introductory verse, the passage is commonly assumed to be a general statement,
unrelated to the story of Numbers. But
it is, at least, possible that the whole of the relevant four verses are a
report of a discussion which actually occurred between the two men.
THE DIVINE REQUIREMENTS
0 my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab
devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, and what happened from
Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous
acts of Jehovah. With what shall I come before
Jehovah, and bow myself before the high God (Elohim)? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old? Will Jehovah be
pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, 0 man, what is good; and
what does Jehovah require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with your God (Elohim)? (Mic. 6: 5-8).
Like many another Old Testament prophet, Micah referred to
Jehovah’s controversy with His wayward people, who, despite all His goodness to
them, completely ignored His claims upon their allegiance. Then, in illustration of his message, the
prophet suddenly called upon Israel to consider the story of Balak and Balaam,
to remember the machinations of the king of Moab and what the eastern
soothsayer had uttered in response, and additionally to recall what had
happened between Shittim and Gilgal. Thus they might understand the [Page 67] righteous acts of Jehovah. This
might quite reasonably be regarded as the significance of verse 5, and the following verses 6 to 8 would then be
construed as the reply of
At first it may appear difficult to discover any connection
between the story of Num. 22-24 and the
reference to Shittim and Gilgal. As T.
K. Cheyne says (Commentary on Micah, p. 50), “Shittim was
the last station of the Israelites on the other side Jordan; Gilgal the first in the
The words may not be entirely irrelevant, however. Immediately after the record of Balaam in Num. 22-24, the Scripture states that
If the people had sinned at Shittim, the curse was rolled away
at Gilgal, when the rite of circumcision (the symbol
of separation to God) was renewed (Josh. 5: 3-9). Shittim and Gilgal
were, therefore, appropriately associated in the people’s minds.
If this passage of Micah does, in fact, represent a discussion
between Balak and Balaam, it is extremely significant in view of the events
which followed. On the assumption that
the [Page 68] verses refer to what took place between the king and the
prophet (and they do not seem otherwise to cohere), it would appear that the
revelation of God’s purposes of blessing for
These were questions which he presumably flung at Balaam as
soon as the prophet’s discourse concluded.
By what means could he pacify Jehovah?
What ought he to bring to Him as an offering if he was to come before
Him and bow low in the presence of the Most High God? Quite naturally, his thoughts ran immediately
to the sacrifices of bullocks and rams presented to Him already on the altars
on the mountain-tops. He was prepared to
bring burnt offerings of yearling calves if that would suffice. If that was not enough, perhaps Jehovah would
deign to accept the sacrifice of thousands of rams. In the multitude of offerings, he reasoned,
he might atone for his guilt. The cost
seemed to matter little, provided he could regain his peace of mind.
As though he was bargaining with man, he offered to pour out
torrents of oil (cf. Job 29: 6), or even, if
necessary, to make what he regarded as the supreme sacrifice of his first-born
son. This final offer tends to confirm
that the words were those of a heathen, since
A pagan ruler might well ask what God required, since the
revelation had not been made to him.
There must be the establishment in life and practice of the
norm of justice. Secondly, there
must be demonstrated mercy or kindness in relation to others, a sincere
compassion for one’s fellows.
Furthermore, there must be a realisation of the greatness of God that
will induce a quiet, humble walk before Him, without pride or conceit.
It was not too late for Balak to make the right choice. In the four parables of Balaam and probably
in their final discussion, Jehovah had disclosed His will and purpose. There could be no dubiety in the king’s
mind. He was, by this time, perfectly
acquainted with the Divine will, and submission to God might well have saved
the lives of himself and his people and might have preserved his kingdom. If Micah’s words represent the final
opportunity of repentance, Balak had certainly been shown grace and patience.
The choice was his and the record declares that “Balak also went
his way.” He rejected the revealed will of God and, as
the subsequent events clearly show, hardened his heart against Him. He chose his own way. Baal was his god and he would have none of
Jehovah. In consequence of the path he
took and the events which followed, the Moabite was permanently excluded from
the presence of Jehovah – “even to [Page 70] their tenth generation shall
they not enter into the congregation of Jehovah for ever” (Deut.
23: 3-6; Neh. 13: 1, 2).
The blessing he had rejected was for ever denied to his people.
In some respects, Balaam’s was an even greater tragedy. From the outset he had known God’s mind. When the emissaries of Balak first called
upon him, God had forbidden him to go with them or to embark on the course to
which they solicited him. At their
second visit, he was fully aware that his proper action was to dismiss them and
to refuse to participate in their master’s designs. Three times en route to
The story is not without its salutary and challenging lesson
for [all]
others. How frequently we fly in the
face of God, deliberately ignoring His revealed will and choosing our own
way! The words of Jephthah to the
Ammonites, who sought to fight
Micah’s statement of the Divine purpose for man might
profitably be studied by God’s people today.
He does not call for mighty exploits or marvellous victories, for
outstanding achievements or praiseworthy deeds.
His requirements are within the scope of all who belong to Him and are,
moreover, due to Him from them.
The believer is to practise justice in daily life. As a follower of Christ, he is to demonstrate
the righteousness, or right [Page 71] living, which was evidenced so fully in the Master’s life. His thoughts, words and actions will be in
accord with the Divine will, he will be just and fair in his relations to
others, and nothing that is wrong will mar his witness for Christ.
The one, who adopts Micah’s standard for life, will reveal the
love and compassion of Christ for his fellow-men (cf. Matt.
5: 7). Our Lord never tolerated
evil, but He showed infinite mercy to those around Him. The tenderness and sympathy of
the Saviour should still be seen in His people.
To walk humbly with God is perhaps the most difficult thing
for human beings. There is always the
tendency to pride in achievement, possessions or name, an unjustified conceit
which may blind the individual to true values. The disciple of Christ will follow
the footsteps of that perfect Exemplar, who never exalted Himself, but
constantly sought to glorify the One who had sent Him into the world.
Micah still has a message for the present day.
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*
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CHAPTER 8
The Final Attempt
THE closing verse of Num. 24 implies that Balaam returned directly to
his own home near the
Inflamed with hostility against Jehovah and
It seems, therefore, that the prophet returned to Balak, at
some time after leaving him, with the foul proposal that the
Israelites should be inveigled into participation in the religious festivals of
He evidently convinced the king, and the wiles of the Moabitish
women were employed to trap the people of God.
Apparently the plan succeeded without difficulty. The Israelites took part in the
sacrifices to the heathen gods and in the lascivious pleasures associated with
the idolatrous worship. The
Scriptures specifically state that “the people began to commit whoredom
with the daughters of
The Israelites had proved the power of
Jehovah and had experienced His deliverance, but immediately temptation came,
they succumbed to it. Not only did they
commit adultery with the Moabites, but willingly responded to the invita tion to the pagan festival, to feast upon food,
of which part had been presented to the false gods. Their sin was complete, for they thus paid
their homage to the idols and acknowledged the existence of Baal, as they
adopted his worship at Baal-peor.
It seems incredible that the vile plan
should so easily have succeeded, but human
nature has not changed very much since that day. In the midst of a permissive
society, the Christian today is also confronted with a similar temptation and
may, equally well, harbour thoughts and visions which [Page 75] are as unclean as the actions of
the Israelites. Moreover, the tendency to compromise,
whether in business, social life, or religion, is as prevalent today as ever it
was. God’s people may as readily bring
dishonour on His name today as His people did centuries ago.
The outcome was inevitable.
God cannot tolerate sin. His
anger was aroused, and a plague of an undescribed
character broke out among the people.
One writer considers that the plague was a venereal disease - a fitting
punishment for their sinful promiscuity - but this is pure speculation since no
indication whatever is given of the character of the plague.
The climax came when, apparently at the height of the plague,
when Moses and the people were weeping before the tabernacle. An Israelite blatantly brought a Moabite
princess into the camp in full view of everyone. At the sight, Aaron’s
grandson, Phinehas, took a javelin and pursued the guilty pair into their tent
and killed them (Num. 25: 6-8; Psa.
106: 28-30). With this judicial
act, the plague stopped, but not before a total of 24,000 had already died (Num. 25: 9). The apostle Paul refers to the number who died
in one day as 23,000 in 1 Cor. 10: 3. Ellicott
suggests that the difference in numbers is explicable by 1,000 being put to
death by the judges.*
[* Hear Pastor Royce Powell’s comment on this “difference
in numbers” by listening to his sermon entitled: “The Doctrine of Balaam.”]
The subsequent record indicates that every man who had been involved
was destroyed (Deut. 4: 3). A holy God dealt drastically and effectively
with the sin of His people and thereby cleansed the nation from its impurity. He cannot countenance sin in the
lives of His own, and it is a lesson [the implications of] which still needs to
be understood.
Balaam doubtless had concluded that Jehovah would wipe out a
people who had sinned in such a fashion, or, if He showed mercy at all, would
unquestionably revoke His promises to them. But the purposes of God are immutable. His pledges depend upon His own faithfulness
and not upon the loyalty or integrity of those whom He has designed to bless. The sin had been judged and put away, and His
unalterable intentions for
First of all, however, the instruments employed by Balaam [Page 76] and Balak had to be punished. God,
therefore, commanded Moses to smite the Midianites (a term which may have been
intended to include the Moabites, although the Midianites were presumably the guiltier
instruments), because “they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled
you in the matter of Peor” (Num. 25: 16-18;
31: 2). The destruction was complete. Twelve thousand armed warriors of
Five kings of Midian were slain on the battlefield, but another
body also lay with them, for Balaam, the son of Beor, had also been slain with
the sword (Num. 31: 8; Josh. 13: 22). Unrepentant to the last, the
prophet had faced the battle in the company of the enemies of God’s people. The instigator of the crime which had led to
this wholesale destruction, it was only meet that he
should also find his end there. The expression used of his death tends to
imply that, in his case - unlike that of the five rulers of Midian - there was
a separate, judicial execution, although no specific details are given. His sin was known to Jehovah,
and possibly to Moses and the people in addition, and the arch-conspirator may
well have been slain in full view of all the people. Even if this was not the case, and even if he
perished in the same way as his confederates, his death was undoubtedly at the
hand of Jehovah (no matter what hand struck the blow) and no doubt was left of
his fate, for his body was clearly identified among the Midianites.
He was a man who had known the will of God and who had
received warnings from God. The words of the Almighty had been in his mouth and
the Spirit of God had spoken by him. Yet he deliberately chose his own way and
perished with the rulers of Midian. So much light had been given to him, but he despised the privileges he
had had. It is a warning to many [regenerate believers]
today to whom spiritual light has been afforded, but who
only [Page 77] too often chose their own way and do despite to the Spirit
of grace.
* *
*
CHAPTER 9
The Later Counterpart
THE story of Balaam remains on record
that others may understand the ways of God and the folly of pursuing a similar
course*
to that of the prophet. Its significance
may be deduced from the fact that three New Testament writers
refer to it as an outstanding illustration of a particular nature.
[* That is, a “course”
whereby efforts are now being made – (by apostates who were once instructed in the
deep truths of God, but have since wandered off the right path) - and are now actively
seeking to prevent Christians from obtaining an inheritance the coming millennial
kingdom of Messiah upon this earth by a denial that such a future blessing, for
those “accounted worthy” to be with Messiah
during “that Day,” does not exist! See,
Luke 22: 28-30; Rev. 20: 4-6. cf.
Col. 3: 23-25; 1 Pet. 2: 1-8; Rev. 3: 19-22,
R.V.]
The apostle Peter, in his second epistle used the Old Testament
character as an illustration of the false teachers of his (and of a later) day.
In 2 Pet. 2:
3 he declared that, in covetousness, with well-turned words, these teachers
would make merchandise of those whom they taught. William
Kelly (The Epistles of Peter, p. 128) writes, “those
who are false in doctrine are bold enough to set conscience at defiance, and
cleave to their position and emoluments when they abandon the truth which they
had solemnly pledged themselves to preach and teach.* It is not therefore the Lord and the truth only which they
betray; but they sacrifice plain honesty of principle for a place and a living
which they value. This depravity is seriously
exposed in the apostle’s words.” In
their greed, they exploited believers for reward, but judgment will one day
fall upon them.
[* Listen to A. L. Chitwood’s sermon on “False Teachers”; and read more on this important,
but much neglected subject. from writings by various authors under the title: “Acts
of Apostates” on this website: www.themillennialkingdom.org.uk]
Peter then proceeded to give examples of divine retribution in
the past - the fallen angels, the deluge,
THE WAY OF BALAAM
Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son
of Boser (Beor), who [Page 80] loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his
transgression: the dumb beast of burden, speaking with a human voice,
restrained the madness of the prophet (2 Pet. 2: 15-16).
The apostle, it should be noted, confirmed the accuracy of the
Old Testament account of the miracle of the ass speaking with a human voice. Whatever explanation may be offered of this
extraordinary event, its actual happening cannot be questioned if the
reliability of the Bible is accepted. Since
it was physically impossible for the ass to speak, the occurrence must be
deemed a miracle.
The emphasis in Peter’s letter was on the material gain
derived by false prophets and teachers from their wrong-doing, and his
implication was that their unsound teaching did not spring from conviction, but
from cupidity. He selected
the case of Balaam as a pertinent example of such practices in Old Testament
days and declared that the Mesopotamian seer loved the wages of
unrighteousness.*
[* That is, by choosing to please the people and
by withholding responsibility truths for ‘material
gain,’ false teachers are today unwilling to disclose to
regenerate believers the possibility of them loosing their “Crown,” and their “inheritance”
in the “age” yet to come!
Like Saul, the first king of
“No more solemn or
apposite warning could be drawn from the Book of God,” says Kelly (ibid, p. 141), “None of one who more deceived himself and others; none that
so combined the most glowing and grand anticipations for Israel from Jehovah
with the subtlest efforts to ensnare into evil which would compromise and
endanger them. Yet had he crafty
care for his own interest while pretending to be quite above it. Whatever his words, he loved the wages of
unrighteousness.” He
ignored the direct revelation of the Divine will, but then had the warning
through the mouth of the ass. Yet he
still chose the path of unrighteousness in order to secure his reward. “How much more guilty
are false teachers since the Son of God came and gave us understanding to know
Him that is true.”
Peter described the prophet’s course as “madness,” a term not used elsewhere in the New
Testament, although the verb derived from the same root is used in 2 Cor. 11: 23.
Our Lord’s younger brother, Judas, also used the Old Testament story as an illustration in his
short letter. Like [Page 81] Peter, he emphasised the covetousness of the prophet and his eagerness to
secure the reward offered by the Moabites, and he employed the story to
describe the character of those who had crept in secretly and were doing
despite to the grace of God and were denying the Lordship of
Christ.
THE ERROR OF BALAAM
Woe to them! For they walk in the way of Cain; and run
greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perish in the rebellion of
Korah (Jude 11).
The R.S.V. renders the second clause of Jude 11 somewhat more forcefully as “abandon themselves for the sake of gain
to Balaam’s error.”
C. I. Scofield writes, “Balaam
is the typical hireling prophet, seeking
only to make a market of his gift. This
is ‘the way of Balaam’ (2 Pet. 2: 15) and characterises
false teachers. The ‘error of Balaam’ (Jude 11) was that he
could see only the natural morality - a holy God, he
reasoned, must curse such a people as
Jude’s word indicates the violence of the
prophet’s desire: like him, those who follow the same course run greedily after
his error for reward. As Thos. Manton says (An Exposition of the Epistle of Jude, p. 271), “men sin with full bent of heart, and
are carried out violently against all restraints of conscience; as Balaam notwithstanding the checks and disappointments which he met with in the
way. ... yet was still hurried on by the violent
impulsions of his own lust and greedy desire of reward. ... The motions of lust are rapid and violent; we are in
earnest when we do the devil’s work.”
In the Apocalyptic message to the church at
THE DOCTRINE
OF BALAAM
I have a few things against you. You have there those who hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block before the children of
The sect of the Nicolaitans is alleged by Irenaeus to have been founded by Nicolas of Antioch, one of the seven
deacons mentioned in Acts 6: 5. Tertullian
describes the sect as gnostics
and libertines, and Clement of Alexandria refers to their unbridled and excessive lusts. Sir Wm.
Ramsay says that the Nicolaitan teachers “tried to
retain in the Christian life practices that were in diametrical
opposition to the essential principles of Christianity, and thus
they had strayed into a syncretism of Christian and anti-Christian elements
which was fatal to the growth and permanence of Christian thought.” Ellicott
describes them as “the Antinomians of the
The Nicolaitan sect was said, at a later date, to have adopted
a community of women and to have plunged into every kind of excess and licentiousness,
professing Christianity, while practising all the filthy impurities of the
heathen. They apparently participated in idolatrous worship and were prepared to
partake of food offered to idols. Wm. Kelly seems justified in his
conclusion that “The essence of Nicolaitanism
seems to have been the abuse of grace to the
disregard of plain morality.”
It has been suggested that the Greek word Nicolaitan
represents a translation of the Hebrew name Balaam. The reference to the doctrine (or teaching) of
Balaam in the message to
[Page 83]
The reference is clearly to Balaam’s plot to use Midianite
women to seduce the Israelites to idolatry and sexual immorality. The doctrine (or teaching) of Balaam was,
therefore, in complete conformity with the libertinism of those who taught
that conversion to Christianity left the individual free to live as he pleased
and that attendance at heathen festivals, engaging in pagan worship, and
participation in religious prostitution were not practices for which a
Christian should be condemned. Whether the teaching of the Nicolaitans is to
be identified with that of Balaam, the ultimate effect was similar.
Scofield writes, “Spiritually, Balaamism in teaching never rises above natural
reasonings; in practice, it is easy world-conformity.” A mixture of carnality and spirituality is
always nauseating to God. The indulgence
of selfish desires and the practice of the sins of the flesh are not for the
true believer. Christ demands true
discipleship and a purity of heart and motive. (See The
Nearly three and a half millennia have elapsed since Balaam
crossed the stage, but the lessons from his life remain
for the instruction of those [Christians] who read so many centuries later.
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APPENDIX 1
The Moabites
After their flight from
The Ammonites, who descended from the younger daughter’s son,
Ben-Ammi, moved northeast, but the Moabites - the decendants of the elder daughter’s son,
[Page 86]
Making their journey from
The Moabites were not renowned as a
warlike race, but rather as a peace-loving people.
Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zephaniah all threatened the Moabites
with retribution for their attitude to
It is interesting to note that Ruth, a Moabitess,
became an ancestress of David and thus of our Lord Himself (Ruth 1: 22; 4: 17; Matt. 1: 5).
It is also of interest to see that women of the
Moabites were among those who led Solomon’s heart away from the true God (1 Kings 11: 1), so that the seductions of Balaam’s
day were reintroduced in that later day.
The Midianites, who were linked with the Moabites in the earlier
seduction of
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APPENDIX 2
The Angel of
Jehovah
The following note is taken from the Cyclopedia of
Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, by John McClintock and
James Strong (Vol. 1, p. 226).
“There are many passages in which the
expression, the ‘angel of God,’ ‘the angel of Jehovah,’ is certainly used for a manifestation of God Himself. This is especially the case in the earlier
books of the Old Testament, and may be seen at once by a comparison of Gen. 22: 11 with 12, and of Exod. 3: 2 with 6 and 14, where He, who is
called the ‘angel of God’ in one verse, is called ‘God’ and even ‘Jehovah,’ in those that
follow, and accepts the worship due to God alone. ... See also Gen. 16: 7, 13; 21: 11, 13; 48: 15, 16; Num. 22: 22, 32,
35; and compare Isa. 63: 9 with Exod. 33: 14, etc. ...
“It is to be observed also that, side
by side with these expressions, we read of God’s being manifested in the form
of man; e.g. to Abraham at Marnre (Gen. 18: 2, 22; cf. 19: 1); to Jacob at Peniel (Gen. 32: 24, 30), to Joshua at Gilgal (Josh. 5: 13, 15), etc. It is hardly to be doubted that both sets of
passages refer to the same kind of manifestation of the Divine Presence. This being the case, and we know that ‘no man hath seen God’ (the
Father) ‘at any time’ and that ‘the only begotten
Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath revealed him’ (John 1: 18), the inevitable inference is that by the ‘Angel of the
Lord’ in such passages is meant He who is from the beginning, the ‘Word’, i.e. the Manifester or
Revealer of God. These appearances are
evidently [Page 90] fore-shadowings
of the incarnation. By these God the Son
manifested Himself from time to time in that human nature which He united to the
Godhead forever in the virgin’s womb. ... As He is the ‘Son of God’, so also
is He the ‘angel’ or ‘messenger’ of the Lord.”
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[Page 91]
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. J. ELLICOTT: Bible Commentary, Pickering
& Inglis Ltd., Glasgow, 1972.
A. GROSMAN: The Book of Numbers in J. P.
Lange’s Commentaries (see below).
E. W. BENGSTENBERG: Christology of the Old
Testament, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids,
1970.
C. F. KEIL: Commentary on the Pentateuch, T.
& T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1891.
W. KELLY: Epistles of Peter, C. A. Hammond,
J. P. LANGE: The Book of Numbers, Zondervan Publishing House,
J. MCCLINTOCK AND J. STRONG: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, Baker Book
House,
A. R MCNEILE: The Book of Numbers,
T. MANTON: An Exposition of the Epistle of
Jude, Banner of Truth Trust,
F. A. TATFORD: The
THE END