Numbers 23:1 ¶ And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams.
Numbers 23:2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.
Numbers 23:3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place.
The chapter breaks are really unfortunate since the narrative continues unbroken from the previous chapter.
Balak had taken Balaam up to one of the high places where Baal was worshipped. Still, Balaam doesn’t hesitate to prepare sacrifices to offer the LORD in an attempt to change His mind. He tells Balak to build seven altars and prepare seven oxen and seven rams for sacrifice—one of each on each altar. He then left Balak to wait by the burnt offerings while he went to meet with the LORD. He is careful to tell Balak that he will only tell him what the LORD tells him to tell him.
It seems that Balaam went further up the mountain.
JFB offers some helpful insight: “Balaam blended his own superstitions with the divine worship. The heathen, both in ancient and modern times, attached a mysterious virtue to the number seven; and Balaam, in ordering the preparation of so many altars, designed to mystify and delude the king.”
Numbers 23:4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram.
Numbers 23:5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
Numbers 23:6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab.
God met Balaam according to His own purposes. Balaam told God (like He didn’t know) that he had sacrificed seven oxen and rams upon seven altars.
The LORD put His word into Balaam’s mouth and told him to go back and share that message with Balak. Balaam did so and stood by the burnt offerings to speak to Balak and the princes of Moab (who had probably accompanied them and helped with the sacrifices).
I couldn’t help but chuckle at Guzik’s observation on this section: “God spoke through a donkey in the previous chapter and now He spoke through a bigger donkey.”
Numbers 23:7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel.
Numbers 23:8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?
Numbers 23:9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
Numbers 23:10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
The word “parable” is a reference to God’s message. Balaam’s message (my paraphrase): Balak the king of Moab brought me from Aram in the mountains of the east to curse Jacob and rant against Israel. I cannot curse whom God has not cursed or defy whom He does not defy. As I look down upon their camp, I see a people that have been set apart as unique among the nations. They number so many that I can’t count them; in fact, I can’t even count the fourth part of them. (It seems that from his vantage point he could discern the four camps surrounding the tabernacle.) May I die before God as righteous and as blessed as Israel.
“the dust of Jacob” - Hearkens back to God’s promise to make Abraham’s seed as the dust of the earth.
Genesis 13:16 “And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.”
Numbers 23:11 And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether.
Numbers 23:12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
Balaam’s message did not at all please Balak. He recognized the message as a threat to him since it blessed Israel. Balaam reminded Balak that he could only speak what the LORD put in his mouth.
Numbers 23:13 ¶ And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence.
Numbers 23:14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Numbers 23:15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder.
Balak is persistent. He decided it would be better to take Balaam to another place from which he could see the camp of Israel, but not all of them. I guess he reasoned he could better curse them if he weren’t so overwhelmed by their numbers.
So, he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah. Again they built seven altars and offered an ox and ram on each of them. Again, Balaam has Balak wait by the burnt offerings while he goes to meet the LORD.
I liked Coffman’s application concerning Balak’s strategy: “This is still the strategy of the Devil. He challenges his Satanic followers not to look at the mighty hosts of true believers who receive and obey the truth, seeking to focus attention upon the ‘fringes’ of God's kingdom, the weak, the failing, the backsliders, and the quitters.”
Numbers 23:16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus.
Numbers 23:17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?
Once again, in accordance with His own purposes the LORD meets with Balaam and puts a message in his mouth with instructions to go and deliver it to Balak.
Numbers 23:18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:
Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
Numbers 23:20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
Numbers 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
Numbers 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
Numbers 23:23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!
Numbers 23:24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
My paraphrase of this message: Listen to me Balak. Men may lie, but God does not lie; neither does He change what He has purposed; He does not change….
Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I change not….”
…Whatever He promises to do, He does….
Isaiah 14:24 “The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:”
…I have blessed Israel by the LORD’s command, and I cannot reverse it. I see no trouble in Israel’s future because they follow the LORD God as their king. God brought them out of Egypt using invincible strength. There is no magic or sorcery that can bring evil upon Israel. The nations will know it is through the power of God that they are victorious. The nation is like a great, strong lion that will not be satisfied until they have conquered all their enemies.
Coffman included an interesting historical note concerning the phrase “What hath God wrought”—“When S. F. B. Morse, having duly prepared for it, sent the first message by wireless telegraph from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, MD, on May 24,1844, these four words constituted the message.”
Numbers 23:25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.
Numbers 23:26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do?
Balak is beside himself. He basically told Balaam that if he couldn’t curse Israel, don’t say anything. Again, Balaam told Balak that he had to speak as the LORD directed him.
Numbers 23:27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence.
Numbers 23:28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon.
Numbers 23:29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams.
Numbers 23:30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
Amazingly, Balak doesn’t give up. He decided to take Balaam to yet another place, hoping that “God” (not in reference to YHWH) would yet allow him to curse Israel. He took Balaam to the top of Peor, looking toward Jeshimon (a wilderness area to the south of the Dead Sea). Eerdman’s Dictionary describes Peor as “the focal point for the worship of a local manifestation of Baal….somewhere near Mt. Nebo.”
Once again Balaam told Balak to build yet seven more altars and sacrifice a bull and ram on each of the altars.
Numbers 24:1 ¶ And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
Numbers 24:2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
Again, the chapter break is unfortunate and the narrative continues from the previous chapter.
Balaam knew that it was God’s desire to bless Israel, so he abandoned the pretense of going aside to seek enchantments. As he looked toward the camp of Israel in the wilderness, the Spirit of God came upon him.
Reminder—God uses anyone and anything necessary to accomplish His purposes.
Numbers 24:3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Numbers 24:4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Balaam began to speak by declaring himself fully cognizant of what he was saying. He declares that he has heard the words of God and seen a vision of the Almighty. The Spirit, speaking through Balaam, notes that though he is in a trance, he is fully cognizant of what he is saying.
Numbers 24:5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
Numbers 24:6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
Numbers 24:7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
Numbers 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
Numbers 24:9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
My paraphrase of Balaam’s message: How pleasant are the tents in which Israel dwells. They appear to me as bountiful and prosperous, like a well-watered garden and strong cedar trees. Their progeny will be blessed with plenty. Their king is greater than Agag (the Amalekite king); in fact, His kingdom will be exalted above all others. God has delivered Israel from Egypt with invincible strength, and will empower them to destroy their enemies and possess their nations. Israel is like a strong lion, crouching and ready to pounce. Blessed are those that bless Israel, and cursed are those that curse her.
This last phrase actually calls to mind God’s promise to Abraham.
Genesis 12:1–3 “Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
In effect, Balaam was telling Balak that if he persisted in cursing Israel, he would himself be cursed.
This promise has never and will never be revoked. If only the leaders of America and the other nations of the world grasped that truth. I believe that America has been blessed in great part because of the way she has provided support for Israel since its rebirth as a nation. Slowly but surely, we have taken actions that have made them more vulnerable to attack from other nations. Just as surely as we have been blessed for blessing Israel, so will we be cursed by cursing Israel. According to Webster cursing entails causing “…great harm, evil, or misfortune; that which brings evil or severe affliction; torment.” Our foreign policy continues to allow for just that regarding Israel.
Numbers 24:10 ¶ And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
Numbers 24:11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.
Balak was livid and smote his hands together in anger (an Oriental expression of rage). He ranted at Balaam for blessing his enemies three times instead of cursing them as he had asked. I guess he was still a bit in fear of Balaam, because he told him to go back home without harming him. He reiterated that he had hoped to bestow great honor upon Balaam, but the LORD had prevented that; in other words, Balaam got no pay for his attempted service to Balak.
Numbers 24:12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
Numbers 24:13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
Numbers 24:14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
Balaam once again reminded Balak that he had explicitly told his messengers that even if he had been promised Balak’s house full of silver and gold, he could not go against the command of the LORD. He could not act in accordance with his own desires (implying that he would liked to have accommodated Balak); he could only speak as the LORD directed him.
Balaam declared that he had one more message for Balak and his people before going home. This message concerns “the latter days,” a phrase that references end times.
Numbers 24:15 ¶ And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Numbers 24:16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Once again, Balaam clarifies that he had clearly heard the words of God and had seen a vision of the Almighty; though he was in a trance, he was clearly cognizant of what he was saying.
Numbers 24:17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Numbers 24:18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Numbers 24:19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
My paraphrase: In the future—not soon—there will come a “Star” (or prince) out of Jacob and a “Sceptre” (or ruler) out of Israel. This ruler will destroy Moab. (Sheth appears to be renaming Moab.) The people and land of Edom will be conquered by her enemies as Israel grows stronger. Out of Jacob (another name for Israel) will come a ruler that will destroy all of Israel’s enemies.
This prophecy obviously references the Messiah, Jesus. John affirms this in the Revelation.
Revelation 22:16 “I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”
Numbers 24:20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
I assume that Balaam had a vision of Amalek as he uttered this next part of the message. He declared that though Amalek was the most powerful of nations now, it would perish never to rise again.
Numbers 24:21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Numbers 24:22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
Easton’s describes the Kenites as follows: “They were wandering smiths, ‘the gipsies and travelling tinkers of the old Oriental world.’”
Balaam next has a vision about the Kenites and declares that though they live in a strong place in the rocks, they will be taken captive by Asshur (the Assyrians).
This prophecy would necessarily exclude the Kenites from the family of Moses’ in-laws that had joined themselves to the nation of Israel.
Judges 1:16 “And the children of the Kenite, Moses’ father in law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad; and they went and dwelt among the people.”
Numbers 24:23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
Numbers 24:24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
Balaam completes his message by basically declaring that no one can survive when God has purposed that he be destroyed. He declared that Assyria and “Eber” would be attacked by ships from Cyprus.
Eber, descendant of Shem, was the father of the Hebrew race. We know that God is not going to destroy the Hebrews according to His covenant with Abraham. Isaiah prophesied that Assyria would one day be blessed with Israel.
Isaiah 19:24 “In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land….”
So, I have to conclude that it is Cyprus that will be destroyed.
After completing the chapter and looking at some commentaries, a note in the NIV Commentary struck a chord. It noted that this same word referencing Cyprus is used in reference to Rome. (see commentary on Daniel 11) This actually makes better sense to me since we know that the Messiah will completely defeat the Antichrist, the leader that will arrive from the area of the revived Roman Empire.
Numbers 24:25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
Then both Balaam and Balak returned to their homes—both in utter defeat. This same result is assured anyone that tries to thwart the will of God.