Numbers Chapter 22: Balaam is Sought by Balak
Numbers 22:1-41
Day 75. Last night was not a good night with respect to riots across America. I believe the President has had enough and he’s calling for Law & Order. We’ll see what happens. The world is watching. Meanwhile God is waiting on individual hearts to turn to Him. Today’s study involves a talking donkey. You heard me right. God is waiting for people to believe that He has the power to make donkeys talk. It’s that simple. He either is God and can do so or He’s not. I know where I stand. Read on.
The Passage
22 Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho.
2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 So Moab was in great fear because of the people, for they were numerous; and Moab was in dread of the sons of Israel. 4 Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this [a]horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5 So he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, at Pethor, which is near the [b]River, in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people came out of Egypt; behold, they cover the surface of the land, and they are living opposite me. 6 Now, therefore, please come, curse this people for me since they are too [c]mighty for me; perhaps I may be able to [d]defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam and [e]repeated Balak’s words to him. 8 He said to them, “Spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the Lord may speak to me.” And the leaders of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent word to me, 11 ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt and they cover the surface of the land; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I may be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam arose in the morning and said to Balak’s leaders, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 The leaders of Moab arose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 Then Balak again sent leaders, more numerous and more distinguished than [f]the former. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Let nothing, I beg you, hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will indeed honor you richly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then, curse this people for me.’”18 Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the [g]command of the Lord my God. 19 Now please, you also stay here tonight, and I will find out what else the Lord will speak to me.” 20 God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”
21 So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey and went with the leaders of Moab.
22 But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. 26 The angel of the Lord went further and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. 28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 Then Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?” And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed [h]all the way to the ground.32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was [i]contrary to me.33 But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.” 34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” 35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I [j]tell you.” So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, [k]at the extreme end of the border. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I really unable to honor you?” 38 So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.” 39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.
41 Then it came about in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to [l]the high places of Baal, and he saw from there [m]a portion of the people.
Footnotes
Thoughts on the Passage
Balak was the king of Moab and he saw how the Israelites had conquered the Amorites. We note that he acted out of fear of the people (the Israelites but may also have been his own people). We also learn that the plight of the Israelites and their history was well known throughout the area.
He sends word to Balaam [who appears to be a prophet of God although not an Israelite] asking him to come and curse the Israelites so that Moab would be able to defeat them, because he knew that whomever Balaam blessed was blessed, and whomever he cursed was cursed. Chuck Smith says it seems “that he was used to creating enchantments or curses” and “had a reputation for power” because of these curses.
Balak’s men go to Balaam to ask for help. But God asks Balaam a question, in verse 9: “Who are these men with you?” Don’t think God didn’t know. He wanted Balaam to remember that they were evil men representing an evil leader. And Balaam knew that. He knew who Balak was, but did he know that he was needed to curse God’s people? I don’t think so. He knew of God, but not of God’s plan for His people. And God tells Balaam not to go, [that was God’s direct command] and Balaam doesn’t, causing the men to go back to Balak with the news. We also note that he told them (in verse 13) that “God has refused to let me go with you.” The message he sent was clearly, “I would go, but God . . .” I am reminded of my children when they were growing up, or even my grandchildren now, “I want to go to your wild party, but my parents won’t let me.” We know where Balaam’s heart was.
Matthew Henry points out that the messengers did not tell their sponsor the truth about what Balaam had told them God had said, saying only that Balaam likely just wanted more reward than what was offered. I guess they figured they could get another road trip with expenses paid out of it although they too were foiled as others more prominent than them were sent. Balak doesn’t seem to want to take no for an answer and sends other men back, this time promising even more rewards to Balaam. He says he can only do it if God tells him to. What is interesting here is what Balaam says in verse 18. Look at that verse. The day may come when many of will face such a choice. “If you want to eat, to live, to buy and sell, do so and so.” Will we respond like Balaam did here?
Yet, Balaam asked the men to stay overnight and he’d give them an answer in the morning. The temptation had returned, and Balaam doesn’t sent it away. David Guzik says this was Balaam’s first mistake – a compromise with Balak’s agents allowing them to stay overnight. It revealed his heart and put him on a dangerous course. Perhaps, thinking of all the rewards he would get, he begged God to let him go.
He also utters these words, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.” That’s not God changing His mind; that’s God allowing us to follow our way at our peril, but outside His will. The consequences are on us.
And in the morning, Balaam gets up, saddles his donkey (known more familiarly to bible readers as Balaam’s ass) and goes to Balak with the men that he had sent to get him. Did you notice that the men did not come to call him in the morning; but instead he got up on his own and went to them? That’s not following God’s direction and we know what had happened to Moses when he didn’t exactly follow God’s directions fully. We also note here, with Smith’s help, that God may have given in to Balaam’s plea, gives him permission to go, but clearly it was not His will for him to go. Smith calls this entering into the “permissive will of God. Yes, God will permit you to do it but He doesn’t want you to do it.” Think of how we parents sometimes exercise that permissive will with our children who whine and plead and cry until they get their way. And then the story takes an interesting twist as Balaam moves out of the center of God’s will.
Verse 22 tells us that “God was angry because he (Balaam) was going. So, God sends the angel of the Lord to stand in his way as “an adversary against him”. The next few verses relate several moments when the donkey he was riding on seemed to refuse to move forward and Balaam kept striking him. Because of the donkey’s actions, Balaam’s leg get caught against a stone wall which further infuriates Balaam. At some point, the angel of the Lord becomes visible to the donkey but not to Balaam and the donkey sat down with Balaam on her. Balaam hits her again at which point God “opens the mouth of the donkey” and she speaks to Balaam. Basically, asking him why he has been striking her three times. Balaam explains that it was because she was making a mockery of him and tells her that if he had a sword, he would have killed her. Now it’s bad enough that the donkey is talking to Balaam, but to have Balaam converse with her is really special. How mad do you have to be to talk with a donkey? Can you and I identify with that? God blocks our desire and we get angry, not at Him, but at others, perhaps our pet, or at things. Smith suggests that once you are out of the will of God, your whole personality is at risk.
Balaam finally realizes his mistake and then God opens his eyes so he can see the angel of the Lord standing in the way, causing Balaam to bow all the way to the ground.
The angel now speaks to Balaam asking him the same question as the donkey asked him with regard to hitting the animal, and tells him that he (the angel) has come as an adversary because Balaam’s way “was contrary to me” [some texts say ‘perverse’] and that had the angel had his way, he would have killed Balaam and let the donkey live. When we go against God’s preferred will for our lives, we are being ‘perverse’ before God, or put another way, we are “going the wrong way in a rash manner”.
Balaam realizes his sin and offers to turn back home. But notice what he says to God in verse 34, “If this is displeasing to you, I will turn back.” Are you kidding me, Balaam? You really don’t know that this is indeed displeasing to God?! How much more evidence do you need? God speaks to you and tells you so. Your donkey shows you. And God sends His angel to tell you. And you’re still wondering if this pleases God! Have you ever been there – have you ever been Balaam?
The angel of the Lord says, “No, go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.” As if to say, “Listen, Balaam, you’ve come this far; you know you want to go.” God gave him over to his sinful desire. So Balaam proceeds to go to Balak, who upon hearing that he was coming, goes out to meet him and asks him why he didn’t come earlier? Balaam tells him that he can only speak to him what God tells him to say. Balak accepts that and together they go to Kiriath-huzoth where they Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep and shared that with Balaam. And in the morning, Balak to Balaam up to the high places of Baal, and there he saw some of the Balak’s people.
What happens next is most interesting and we’ll look at that in our study of Numbers 23.
It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.
I really appreciate your study on this. This passage has always confused me since the KJV version seems to have God contradicting Himself in his responses to Balaam. At one moment He tells Balaam to go with the men and then later appears to be angry at Balaam for doing so. I couldn’t seem to make this fit in my mind, but now that you explain it, it makes a lot more sense. Thanks for putting this together for us, Ken. I look forward to your next episode.
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