Balaam’s Second Oracle
23: 13-26
Balaam’s second oracle DIG: Why is Balak back again giving it the old college try? What does he know about Balaam or God that leads him to believe either one can be bought? What is God’s answer to this presumption of Balak’s? What do you see as the central message or key verse of this oracle? How does the blessing of this second oracle compare in scope to the first one? What is Balak’s response to this greater blessing? What truths about the people of Isra’el did God’s message to Balaam reveal? What can we learn from Balaam’s first two oracles that is relevant today?
REFLECT: When are God’s decrees hardest for you to accept? How is God not like a parent or a spouse or a politician who can, and do, change their minds? How do your reactions at these times help you to understand Balak in this story? If you could give Balak one piece of advice, what would it be? What will you do to ensure you follow your own advice? In verse 25 Balak admits that this whole exercise is backfiring. When have you felt like Balak in this regard? How can you avoid situations like that in the future? How might the story of Balak and Balaam help you to do just that, “the next time?”
The second intervention on God’s part corresponds to the second time the donkey was turned aside (22:24-25); just as the Angel of ADONAI forced the donkey against the vineyard wall, once again,
God forced Balaam to turn aside from cursing Isra’el (22:23).
Hebrew poetry is not based on the concept of Western meter. The poetry of Isra’el was infused with rhythm, and the accentuation (with basically one “beat” per word) most likely signifies that pattern. The predominant feature of Hebrew poetic structure is the repetition of meaning in parallel expressions . . . or poetic parallelism. The biblical verse of poetry normally has two or more of these parallel units. The first line makes a statement, followed by the second line which elaborates on it in some manner. The words are not meant to rhyme, but are parallel in thought. Thus, Balaam’s second oracle is written in eleven tightly parallel couplets. At the beginning of the oracle proper, the speaker shifts from third to first person, with Balaam now speaking in his formal role as the oracle speaker.
Disappointed, but not deterred, King Balak took Balaam to the top of another mountain. He said to Balaam, “All right, come with me to another high place where you can see the Israelites” (23:13a). Obviously the king thought that a change in locations would change his luck. The high places, very simply, were places of worship on elevated pieces of ground. High places were originally dedicated to idol worship (Numbers 33:52; Leviticus 26:30), especially among the Moabites (Isaiah 16:12). These shrines often included an altar and a sacred object such as a stone pillar or wooden pole in various shapes identified with the object of worship (animals, constellations, goddesses, and fertility deities). It seems that, at times, high places were set up in a spot that had been artificially elevated, like the tower of Babel (see the commentary on Genesis, to see link click Dl – The Tower of Babel).
The Israelites, forever turning away from God, practiced Molech worship and built high places for Ba’al (Jeremiah 32:35). Although Solomon built the Temple of God in Jerusalem, he later established idolatrous high places for his foreign wives outside of Jerusalem and worshiped with them (see the commentary on the Life of Solomon Bx – Solomon’s Wives), causing him the loss of his Kingdom (First Kings 11:11). The people were still sacrificing at the pagan high places before the Temple was built, and Solomon joined them. After God appeared to him in a dream at Gibeon, the king returned to Jerusalem and sacrificed offerings; however, he continued to waver between the two places of worship.503
God met Balaam (23:13b-16): So Balak took Balaam through the field of Tzofim to the top of the Pisgah Mountain Range, some 2,600 feet above sea level, the very place where Moses would view the whole Land before he died (see the commentary on Deuteronomy Gj – The Death of Moses). Again, they built seven altars and offered the bribe-sacrifices of a bull and a ram on each altar. The king declared: You will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, you can curse them for me. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.” YHVH met Balaam, put a Word in his mouth and said, “Go on back to Balak, and speak as I tell you.” Rather cursing Isra’el, God’s Word was a message for Balak.
Balak met God (23:17-24): So Balaam went back and found Balak standing by his burnt offering, along with all the Moabite rulers. Balak asked him, “What did ADONAI say” (23:17)? It is remarkable that Balak, the Moabite king, would even inquire of the God of Isra’el. But Balaam had given him no choice, so the mouthpiece of the Most High made his pronouncement (23:18a):
(A) Get up, Balak, and listen!
(A) Turn your ears to me, son of Zippor (23:18b)! Ha’Shem called the king to attention, preparing him to receive the coming remarkable pronouncement. The naming of Balak in the second line as son of Zippor is a fine example of parallelism.
(B) God (El) is not a human being who lies,
(B) or a mortal who changes His mind (23:19a). Balaam is himself a foil for God. The sorcerer was constantly shifting, evading, vacillating – he is the prime example of the distinction between God and mortal human beings.504 Through the mouth of Balaam, El explains to Balak why Isra’el cannot be cursed. Three times in his oracle (23:19a, 22, and 23b) the word for God is El, which derives from the basic word for deity in Semitic languages. Most often the term in the TaNaKh occurs in the plural form Elohim, denoting the power and majesty of the One True God.505 God is not fickle. Having already promised to bless Isra’el, He could not reverse Himself. The LORD cannot change His mind. Unlike mortal human beings, He cannot be manipulated by black magic or dictated to by sorcerers, even those of the stature of Balaam. He is the Creator, not a creature. It is people who are unreliable and fickle, God is neither. Therefore, any attempt to place a curse upon Isra’el was, and is, utterly futile. We already know that YHVH has declared a blessing on Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:2-3a).506 Moreover, God doesn’t lie, so God always keeps His promises; He doesn’t change, so His character remains the same. He isn’t weak, so He is able to fulfill what He promises. He was, and is, faithful to the people of Isra’el and continues to reign throughout history as their King.507
Here we have an antimony, God disciplines Isra’el, yet God blesses Isra’el. An antimony means two things that are mutually exclusive, but both are true. For example, the Trinity in an antimony, where you have God as being three distinct people, Father, Son, and Spirit, yet the Bible teaches that God is One (Deuteronomy 6:4-9). The antimony here is that sometimes Scripture clearly says that God never repents (First Samuel 15:29; Malachi 3:6; Romans 11:29; James 1:17). But sometimes it does say that God does relent (Genesis 6:6). God’s larger purpose does not fail, but His relationship with mankind will vary with certain individual cases. For example in Exodus 32:14, ADONAI relented about the disaster He had planned for His people after the intercession of Moses. Now it is obvious that in God’s overall plan, He would never destroy Isra’el because of His covenantal promises Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But the means of the people’s survival included Moshe’s intercession. Jeremiah 18:8 says: If a nation turns from evil, which prompted Me to speak against it, then I relent concerning the disaster I had planned to inflict on it. But this also was part of God’s overall plan, so the change is only apparent on a human level. The same thing is true in Jeremiah 26:3. And in Amos 7:3 and 6 we read how the prayer of Amos averted a divine judgment, but that also was part of God’s overall plan. This can also be seen in Jonah when the Ninevites repented and God relented (see the commentary on Jonah Az – Jonah’s Anger at the LORD’s Mercy).508
(C) When he says something, He will do it;
(C) when He makes a promise, He will fulfill it (23:19b).
(D) Look, I am ordered to bless;
(D) and when He blesses, I can’t reverse it (23:20). These two verses explain 23:19a in greater depth. What YHVH has said will come true without fail, and what God has said is that Isra’ael is blessed (23:7-10). This concept, of course, would contradict Balak’s understanding of God. The king’s whole motive in moving the site of the second oracle was to force El to change His blessing into a curse. As a result, Balaam rebukes Balak for his idea of God, and in essence, tells the king that his plan was doomed. No human – sorcerer or otherwise – can contradict the revealed will of God.509
(E) He has not planned misfortune, or evil, for Jacob,
(E) no trouble is in store for Isra’el (23:21a). At first blush the wording of this verse is seemingly farfetched. The whole course of Isra’el’s experience in the wilderness was one misfortune after another. Yet, it was evidently their standing before Him that is in view here, rather than their sinful nature. God didn’t have to plan for their misfortune, they were perfectly capable of handling that on their own! Nevertheless, with God in their midst, they were safe from utter destruction.510
When God looked upon Isra’el, He didn’t see any evil; and therefore, had reason to judge them. They were a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6), even though He had to discipline them for their unbelief and disobedience (see the commentary on Hebrews Cz – God Disciplines His Children). Believers today are God’s chosen people (Ephesians 1:4), hidden in Messiah (Colossians 3:3), clothed in His righteousness (Second Corinthians 5:17 and 21), sealed with the Ruach (Ephesians 1:13b-14) and seated with Him in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:4-6). Because we are in Messiah, God sees us as His own special people (First Peter 2:5, 9-10), and He loves us unconditionally, and eternally (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). Once again, God turned the curse into a blessing!511
(F) Elohim their God is with them,
(F) and the shout for a King is among them (23:21b). As 23:21a is negative, 23:21b is positive. What set Isra’el apart was not their population, their power, or their perseverance over the past forty years; what set Isra’el apart was their God. Isra’el was, and is blessed, because ADONAI goes with them. Opposed to king Balak, YHVH is the King in the midst of Isra’el. The word translated as shout in Hebrews is teruah. It is the same word commonly used for the shofar blast. Therefore, the second line could be translated as the trumpet blast of the King is among them.512 This was a joyful shout for a King, and their King was not in some far-off, remote place, but was in their very midst. The Divine Presence was, of course, in the Tabernacle (see Exodus Hh – The Glory of the LORD Filled the Tabernacle), with the camp of Isra’el around Him.513 And, of course, in the far eschatological future, Messiah will rule and reign as King of Isra’el during the Messianic Kingdom.
(G) God (El) has brought them out of Egypt,
(G) He gives them the strength (Hebrew: toaphah, meaning horns) of a wild ox (23:22). It was God who gave the Israelites their victories, beginning with their exodus from Egypt. The nation was like an ox in its strength, in particular the powerful and protruding horns of the animal, and like a lioness and a lion in its determination to catch its prey and kill it. Therefore, no sorcery could succeed against God’s people because He was at work in them and through them.514
(H) Surely, no one can put a curse on Jacob,
(H) no black magic will work against Isra’el (23:23a). The oracle specifically speaks against Balaam being able to put a curse on Jacob. Isra’el did not need sorcerers or magicians to have success against their various enemies. Balaam speaks here from his fearsome experience. Those who practiced black magic try to determine the will of God through the casting of lots via dice or darts, the consulting of domestic deities, or in reading the patterns animal entrails via liver dissection or intestinal examination. The denial regarding Isra’el’s possession or adherence to black magic is remarkably contrasted with the positive praise of what God has done on behalf of Isra’el.515
(I) For now it can now be said of Jacob,
(I) Oh, what wonders God (El) has done for Isra’el (23:23b)! As 23:23a is negative, 23:23b is positive. The second line builds the crescendo of thought, erupting in this compelling confession: Oh, what wonders God has done for Isra’el! This verse is the key to all of Balaam’s pronouncements. He had come to use his black magic on Isra’el, but in the end, he wanted his end to be like theirs (23:10b). He had come to bring a curse, but he found them blessed. He had come to use his sorcery, but he found it ineffective. God was in control, and Balaam was His puppet in this spiritual battle.516
(J) These people rise up like a lioness,
(J) like a lion raising himself up (23:24a). Rather than delivering a curse, Balaam compares the camp of Isra’el (see Am – The Camp of the Twelve Tribes of Isra’el) to a lion, rising up to pounce upon its prey. The lion imagery points back to Jacob’s blessing over Judah (see the commentary on Genesis Lg – The Scepter Will Not Depart from Judah Until He Comes to Whom It Belongs).517
(K) They will not lie down until they have eaten up the prey,
(K) and drinks the blood of the slain (23:24b). As a lioness, Isra’el was about to rouse herself and would soon bring her foes to destruction. She would not rest until the enemy was devoured; its blood licked clean at the end of the chase. The effectiveness of the lion image was not lost on the northern kingdom of Isra’el. Witness the seal from Megiddo with the figure of a roaring lion, inscribed, “Belonging to Schema, servant of Jeroboam.” The use of the image of the lion was a way of speaking of Isra’el’s destiny as the warrior of God.
The remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which mauls and mangles as it goes, there is no one to rescue them (Micah 6:8).518 As long as Isra’el walked with God and obeyed His will, they were an undefeated nation and God did great wonders for them.
And this is the victory that has overcome the world . . . our faith (First John 5:4). The battles God’s people fight today are not with flesh and blood, but with Satan’s demons (see the commentary on Ephesians Ca – The Spiritual Battle), and we can’t win the victory in our own strength. We must first see ourselves as the people of God, purchased by the blood of Messiah, indwelt by the Spirit of God, and more than conquerors through Messiah (Romans 8:37). Our protection is the whole armor of God (see Ephesians Cb – The Armor of God), and our chief weapons are the Word of God and prayer (see Ephesians Ci – Praying at All Times).519
Balaam’s warning (23:25-26): Balaam declared that just what Balak feared would happen: Isra’el would destroy their enemies and nothing could stop them. At that news, Balak appeared incredulous and was angry once again by Balaam’s defiance of his request to curse Isra’el. He gasped: Obviously, you won’t curse them. But at least don’t bless them already!” In other words, “Shut up!” Balak preferred silence to the words of blessing. But Balaam, once again, reminded the king, “Didn’t I warn you that I must do everything ADONAI says?” Balak was now growing weary of hearing this (22:38, 23:3 and 12). I am sure it reverberated through his heart and mind, but he would hear it again after the third oracle (24:13).520
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for Your promise to bless those who love You. Your promises are as a solid rock that can always be counted on. You allow trials into my life, but they are allowed for the purpose of blessing me by giving me an opportunity to be shaped by Your loving hand and result in praise and glory. These trials are so that the true metal of your faith (far more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire) may come to light in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Messiah Yeshua (First Peter 1:7).
It is always wise to trust Your hand of love and mercy, even when the skies look dark, for You are Almighty and the God of compassion. For ADONAI Elohim is a sun and a shield. Adonai gives grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. ADONAI-Tzva’ot, blessed is the one who trusts in You (Psalms 84:11-12). There is evil in this world, but You can turn what someone means for evil – into good! Yes, you yourselves planned evil against me. But God planned it for good (Genesis 50:20a). Praise and thank You for Your great and merciful love for me. For God Himself has said, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5c). You never sleep, never yawn (Psalms 121:4); but are always watching over me with a father’s tender heart of compassion, seeking to guide and bless me as I obey Your Word. What a comfort it is to trust in Your almighty power and tender love at all times! In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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