The
Israelites set out, and camped in the plains of Moab across the
Jordan from Jericho. Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had
done to the Amorites. Moab was in great dread of the people, because
they were so numerous; Moab was overcome with fear of the people of
Israel.1
And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up
all that is around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the
field.”2
Now Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates, in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, “A people has come out of Egypt; they have spread over the face of the earth, and they have settled next to me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are stronger than I;3 perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land; for I know that whomsoever you bless is blessed, and whomsoever you curse is cursed.”
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand;4 and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, just as the Lord5 speaks to me;” so the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
God came to Balaam6 and said, “Who are these men with you?”7
Balaam said to God, “King Balak son of Zippor of Moab has sent me this message: 'A people has come out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.'”8
God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
9
So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the officials of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”10
So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”11
Once again Balak sent officials, more numerous and more distinguished than these.12 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: 'Do not let anything hinder you from coming to me; for I will surely do you great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse this people for me.'”
But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Although Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God,13 to do less or more.14 You remain here, as the others did, so that I may learn what more the Lord may say to me.”15
That night God came to Balaam and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you to do.”16 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.
God’s anger was kindled because he was going,17 and the angel of the Lord18 took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.19 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road,20 with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey,21 to turn it back on to the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again.22 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.23
Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”24
Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”25
But the donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you in this way?”
And he said, “No.”26
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road,27 with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me.28 The donkey saw me, and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely I would by now have killed you and let it live.”29
Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now therefore, if it is displeasing to you, I will return home.”30
The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but speak only what I tell you to speak.”31 So Balaam went on with the officials of Balak.
Now Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates, in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, “A people has come out of Egypt; they have spread over the face of the earth, and they have settled next to me. Come now, curse this people for me, since they are stronger than I;3 perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land; for I know that whomsoever you bless is blessed, and whomsoever you curse is cursed.”
So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand;4 and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, just as the Lord5 speaks to me;” so the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam.
God came to Balaam6 and said, “Who are these men with you?”7
Balaam said to God, “King Balak son of Zippor of Moab has sent me this message: 'A people has come out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.'”8
God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
9
So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the officials of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.”10
So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”11
Once again Balak sent officials, more numerous and more distinguished than these.12 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: 'Do not let anything hinder you from coming to me; for I will surely do you great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse this people for me.'”
But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Although Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God,13 to do less or more.14 You remain here, as the others did, so that I may learn what more the Lord may say to me.”15
That night God came to Balaam and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you to do.”16 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.
God’s anger was kindled because he was going,17 and the angel of the Lord18 took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.19 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road,20 with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey,21 to turn it back on to the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again.22 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.23
Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”24
Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!”25
But the donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you in this way?”
And he said, “No.”26
Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road,27 with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face. The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me.28 The donkey saw me, and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely I would by now have killed you and let it live.”29
Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now therefore, if it is displeasing to you, I will return home.”30
The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but speak only what I tell you to speak.”31 So Balaam went on with the officials of Balak.
1
He has good reason to be afraid at this point.
2
Quite vivid
3
He believes that to some extent, trusting in God (or a prophet of
God) can overcome human strength.
4
Balaam's divination comes at a cost.
5
“The Lord”? So has Balaam always been in contact with YHWH?
6
Confirming that he is not delusion – God does speak to him!
7
Implying that God already knows Balaam. Interesting how God lets
Balaam give him the answer to the question, even though He
presumably already knows the answer.
8
Emphasizing again that the King has some degree of trust in the
power of God.
9
Does this mean that Balaam, despite a relationship with YHWH, had no
knowledge of YHWH's people?
10
Balaam is obedient to God. In comparison to the Israelites, his
obedience is striking.
11
The officials fail to mention Balaam's reasoning for not going with
them.
12
Balak assumes that his request must have been lacking.
13
The Lord MY God!!!
14
Affirming that God's power far exceeds man's.
15
He at least gives them a chance by going to God again.
16
God allows him to go, with qualifications.
17
Didn't God give him permission to go?
18
“THE angel of the Lord”, not just any
19
Where are the officials of Balak now?
20
We get the donkey's perspective!
21
Balaam is violent towards his animal.
22
Again violence against the donkey.
23
Yet again violence.
24
The donkey speaks! Though empowered by God to speak, it really
looks like the donkey itself is speaking, not God through the
donkey.
25
Balaam takes his donkey's speech completely in stride. Remarkable.
26
How hilariously understated, considering the circumstances. Balaam
still isn't reacting to the fact that his donkey has suddenly gained
the power of speech.
27
God grants yet another divine revelation to Balaam.
28
Strange, considering that he seemed to be following God's
instructions. My Study Bible gives Genesis 32:22-32, Exodus
4:24-26, and Joshua 5:13-15 as parallels. Perhaps we just always
need to be open to the current will of God, and not only what we
heard Him say in the past?
29
The donkey saved his life.
30
Full repentance.
31
Isn't that what he was already obediently doing?
Take-home: The blessedness of Israel and their special status with God is confirmed by an independent witness, a foreign prophet. The need to continually listen to and be obedient to God is emphasized.
Take-home: The blessedness of Israel and their special status with God is confirmed by an independent witness, a foreign prophet. The need to continually listen to and be obedient to God is emphasized.
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