Balaam and Balak - Bible Hub God does not look favorably upon those who conspire to harm His people, and Balaam's actions go against God's instructions.In Numbers 24, Balaam disappoints Balak once again, but he remains faithful to delivering the message God has given him. Balaam essentially dismisses Balaks question and emphasizes again that he can only say what God puts in his mouth (22:38). These things are an allegory. He sends an angel to interrupt the journey. What Does It Mean to Be "Spiritually Blind"? 23 Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me." 2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 1 By now Balaam knew that the Lord wanted him to bless the people of Israel, so he did not go to look for omens, as he had done before. In 22:18, Balaam refers to God in even more personal terms, as the LORD my God. Balaam a non-Israelite nonetheless seems to know Yahweh, the God of Israel. Here is a people to be cursed, and he will leave no stone unturned to get them cursed. Look again at the content of Balaams blessings. Then he gave the king four more prophecies, gratis. Balaam and Balak: The Full Story - Chabad.org 23 GWT; Ch. Here was an accumulation of inducements, beckoning him in one direction. 22:4-5) . The text uses the very same language to describe Balaams anger (22:27) as it did Gods (22:22), and Balaam beats the animal a third time. 17 I will reward you richly and do anything you say. Balaam was a diviner who lived before Israel entered the promised land. They argue that the eagerness to leave indicates his eagerness to curse Israel, which would arouse the anger of God. Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. 15 Balaam said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering, and I will meet God over there.. The worldly diplomacy of Balak, and the spiritual diplomacy of Balaam, had alike been futile. Balaam said to him, I have built the seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each.. 36 When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at Ar, a city on the Arnon River at the border of Moab. The voice is so low, that it penetrates one ear alone. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. King Balak wanted to weaken the children of Israel, who on their way to Canaan had moved in on his territory. own inner life, let him take the warning to heart in time; lest the last scene also be only too faithfully reproduced in him, when the prophetic voice of conscience shall be once more heardno longer in warning, but now in condemnationbringing the parallel home to him, and stinging him with the conviction: 'Thou art the man.' He takes that low, depreciatory view of man's nature, which the worldling always takes. Read his repeated refusal to abandon his convictions, or to tamper with the truth, under each repeated temptation. Each returned to his own place. 6 They outnumber us, so please come and put a curse on them for me. His power of resistance is diminished. The angel then repeated to Balaam the instruction that he was only to speak what God told him to speak concerning the Hebrews (verses 3335). This description offers us more humor and irony as it plays on Balaams gifts God also uses Balaams mouth as the vehicle for Gods message (22:38; 23:5, 12, 16). He offers him honour, offers him wealth. 5 The Lord told Balaam what to say and sent him back to Balak to give him his message. Numbers 22 NKJV - Balak Sends for Balaam - Then the - Bible Gateway Balak followed Balaams advice, and Israel fell into sin, worshiping Baal of Peor and committing fornication with Midianite women. LICENSEE shall reproduce the following trademark and trademark notice on the copyright page of each copy of the Licensed Products: * Some scholars believe Balak and Balaam to be written by Moses. Balak sends messengers to Balaam, urging him to come and curse the Israelites. A Summary and Analysis of the Biblical Story of Balaam's Ass Numbers 22 New King James Version Balak Sends for Balaam 22 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 'What men are these with thee?' He was hired by the evil King Balak to put a curse on the Israelites as they were entering Moab. Why it is the very historyperhaps on a grander scale, but still the very historyof your own temptation, your own weakness, your own vacillation, which you seem to be reading. In Numbers 2224, we find the story about Balaam and the king of Moab, a man called Balak. Topical Bible: Balaam Then, we read that God opened the donkeys mouth, giving her the power of speech! We carelessly set down such painful inconsistencies to hypocrisy. And so you involved yourself deeper and deeper. Three times gets repeated in verses 32 and 33 as the angel emphasizes Balaams foolishness: though Balaam felt so foolish he wanted to kill the animal, she was actually protecting him from being killed by the angel. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. He spoke, we cannot doubt, from the inmost convictions of his heart, when he said : ' I cannot go beyond the commandment of the Lord, to do either good or bad of mine own mind.' Already we can see the irony in the truth of Balaks sentence. 'The word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.' Balaam the Prophet | My Jewish Learning 21 In his vision he saw the Kenites, and uttered this prophecy: Who are these people gathering in the north? Then Balak said to Balaam, "Fine, but if you won't curse them, at least don't bless them!". It is a law which regulates our probation here, that each concession to temptation involves us still further, and increases the difficulty of resistance. 23 When the donkey saw the angel standing there holding a sword, it left the road and turned into the fields. Ultimately, this story is one of blessing. 16 They went to Balaam and gave him this message from Balak: Please don't let anything prevent you from coming to me! Publisher "He whom you bless is blessed indeed, and he whom you curse is cursed," Balak tells him in Numbers 22:6. Copyright 2023 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. 21 KJV; Ch. This weeks Lectio, however, has a different flavor full of humor and irony. Your character would have been strengthened; your temptation would have passed away. 23 There is no magic charm, no witchcraft. Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray; Following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor. Numbers 23:25 - Bible Hub But with Balaam the case was wholly different. Download all Lectio podcasts from iTunes. Balaam is the tempter and Balak the tempted now. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Balaam is one of the most enigmatic figures in the Hebrew Bible, and one of the earliest to be referenced outside the biblical text. We carelessly set down such painful inconsistencies to hypocrisy. 22 God was angry that Balaam was going, and as Balaam was riding along on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants, the angel of the Lord stood in the road to bar his way. Is it not so, when a minister of religion, whose soul-stirring eloquence has stung the conscience and moved the hearts of awestricken thousands, is detected in some shameful act, and he that has preached so often and so forcibly to others has himself been found a castaway? In the texts (and interpretations) after Numbers 2224, Balaam is described as wicked [see Authors Note 1]. He trusts to the arts of diplomacy in dealing with God, just as he would trust to them in dealing with a rival prince. God's voice within him was still too strong for his own baser desire. We should start by remembering that when Balaam first told God about the invitation to go to Moab, God told him not to go (22:12). You can check out what Dr. Frank Spina said about the two in our Genesis/Exodus series from last fall: https://lectio.spu.edu/exclusive-election-and-inclusive-purpose/ and https://lectio.spu.edu/survival-in-the-wilderness/. 'Peradventure the Lord would come to meet him.' 22 CEV; Ch. 'Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together.' Balaam again dismisses Balaks offer of material gain, and repeats that he is but a spokesman of God (24:13). Balaam, non-Israelite prophet described in chapters 22-24 of the Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), as a diviner who is importuned by Balak, king of Moab, to place a malediction on the people of Israel, who are camped ominously on the plains of Moab. Each went on his own way, to his own place. 8 Balaam said to them, Spend the night here, and tomorrow I will report to you whatever the Lord tells me. So the Moabite leaders stayed with Balaam. All of Balaks gold and silver will not sway him from saying only that which God commands him (22:38; 23:12, 26; 24:1213). know more of it . Let him that standeth, but even now is tottering,' take heed lest he fall.'. tries to stop Balaam from speaking, intimating that if Balaam cannot curse the Israelites, he should at least stop blessing them (23:25). Balak promised to pay Balaam handsomely for bringing evil upon the Hebrews, whom he feared. 21 KJV; Ch. I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me; but now if you think it is wrong for me to go on, I will return home.. Of Hebrew origin; Bosor, a Moabite. Balaam was a wicked prophet in the Bible and is noteworthy because, although he was a wicked prophet, he was not a false prophet. Unity Village, MO 64065. Instead, he would be happy to end up like them (23:10)! King Balak then sent other officials, more numerous and more distinguished than the first (verse 16), promising a handsome reward. 25 When the donkey saw the angel, it moved over against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against it. Numbers 23 NIV - Balaam's First Message - Bible Gateway Balak asked what the Lord had said, 18 and Balaam uttered this prophecy: And when God blesses, I cannot call it back. Bible text from the Good News Translation (GNT) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). Herein lies the solemnity of the lesson. Throughout the Bible, we see imperfect individuals who failed at times, yet God accomplished His will through them. Is it not so, when the poet, whose divine gift of imagination has enabled us to realise with a keener zest, and to acknowledge with a deeper thanksgiving, the manifold glories of nature, whose insight into the workings of the human heart has stirred our sluggish sensibilities, lifting us above ourselves and inspiring us with larger and more generous sympathies, then uses the ascendency, which he has gained, to corrupt the wells of his country's literature with the poison of sensuality? English Standard Version Balak, king of Moab, is afraid because of what Israel did to the Amorites in the very recent past: the previous chapter, Numbers 21, told about how the Israelites defeated the Amorites and possessed their land (Numbers 21:2131). The man will go about his daily task, will pursue his daily amusements once more, as if nothing had happened.
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