So
Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place1
from which you may see them; you shall see only part of them, and
shall not see them all;2
then curse them for me from there.”
So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt-offerings, while I meet the Lord over there.”3
The Lord met Balaam,4 put a word into his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.”
When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt-offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?”5
Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, O son of Zippor:
God is not a human being, that he should lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his mind.6
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?7
See, I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.8
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.9
The Lord their God is with them,10
acclaimed as a king among them.
God, who brings them out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for them.11
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;12
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
'See what God has done!'13
Look, a people rising up like a lioness,
and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”14
So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah. He built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt-offerings, while I meet the Lord over there.”3
The Lord met Balaam,4 put a word into his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and this is what you shall say.”
When he came to him, he was standing beside his burnt-offerings with the officials of Moab. Balak said to him, “What has the Lord said?”5
Then Balaam uttered his oracle, saying:
“Rise, Balak, and hear;
listen to me, O son of Zippor:
God is not a human being, that he should lie,
or a mortal, that he should change his mind.6
Has he promised, and will he not do it?
Has he spoken, and will he not fulfil it?7
See, I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.8
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob;
nor has he seen trouble in Israel.9
The Lord their God is with them,10
acclaimed as a king among them.
God, who brings them out of Egypt,
is like the horns of a wild ox for them.11
Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob,
no divination against Israel;12
now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,
'See what God has done!'13
Look, a people rising up like a lioness,
and rousing itself like a lion!
It does not lie down until it has eaten the prey
and drunk the blood of the slain.”14
Then
Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless
them at all.”15
But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, 'Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do'?”16
1 Interesting that Balak doesn't just dismiss Balaam and go his own way. He is sure that the cursing from God (or at least from this prophet) is very important. But he still doesn't understand that the Lord cannot be directed by the prophet himself, but the other way around.
But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, 'Whatever the Lord says, that is what I must do'?”16
1 Interesting that Balak doesn't just dismiss Balaam and go his own way. He is sure that the cursing from God (or at least from this prophet) is very important. But he still doesn't understand that the Lord cannot be directed by the prophet himself, but the other way around.
2
A rather funny connection for Balak to make – not viewing them all
will make the curse possible?
3
Balaam is going along with Balak's efforts, but he is still clear
about who he is meeting with, and gives no implications that he's
holding out hope for a different answer.
4
God is still faithfully meeting Balaam.
5
Strange that Balak still acknowledges that it is the Lord who speaks
to Balaam.
6
Balaam's oracle gets right to the heart of Balak's problem – God
is not like a mortal. In other parts of the Pentateuch (Gen
18:16-33, Exodus 32:1-14, Numbers 14:10-35) God actually has been
shown to change his mind, but He has never taken back the blessings
He promised to Israel.
7
In other words, “Why are you trying to ask the same thing again?”
8
Balaam makes it clear that he does not do this on his own authority.
9
A little odd, considering that Israel has actually seen a lot of
misfortune.
10
Now he makes the second point – God is with Israel, and there is
no changing that.
11
Clearly they cannot be defeated in battle as long as God is with
them.
12
So stop trying, you mortal!
13
Making clear that Balak's quest is already hopeless.
14
This does not bode well for Balak.
15
Is he still ignorant to the whole point that it is not within
Balaam's power?
16
Balaam tries to make the point to Balak yet one more time.
Take-home: God's word holds true, and no man can overcome that. A true prophet of God can only promise what God has allowed him to promise, and in this case the foreign prophet yet again attests: God is with Israel, and the enemies of Israel will fall.
Take-home: God's word holds true, and no man can overcome that. A true prophet of God can only promise what God has allowed him to promise, and in this case the foreign prophet yet again attests: God is with Israel, and the enemies of Israel will fall.
No comments:
Post a Comment