1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.
37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?
38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjathhuzoth.
40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.
41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.
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GiGi's Numbers Chapter 22 comment on 6/29/2023, 8:07pm...
NUMBERS CHAPTER 22
Cont.
Balaam asks if he should continue to go to Balak, God tells him yes, but he was not to curse Israel, but bless them and to only say what He tells Balaam to say.
Here the chapter ends. The rest of the account is in chapter 23.
It is unclear if Balaam was descendant of Abraham (through sons other than Isaac or through Esau) or a descendant of Lot, or otherwise a gentile. The chapter says that his God is YHWH, because the text uses this specific name. It does not say how He knows of YHWH or whether YHWH was the only God he worshipped of one of many. He may have heard of what occurred with the Israelites over the past 40 years. He may have known about the blessings God gave to all of Abraham's sons and the promises specific to Isaac since 400-500 years had passed since Abraham lived.
So there are many questions about Balaam's belief system. Regardless, Balaam did have a sense that YHWH is to be obeyed, having power and authority over men. Balaam seemed to attest to one thing but in his heart, he really was inclined to the opposite of what he attested to. We need to be careful to not be double-minded like Balaam. We need to be careful to not go along with people we know to be evil or against God, like Balaam did. We need to be careful to not put God to the test by not fully accepting His directions to us and continuing to seek to see if He would change His will, like Balaam tried to do.
If we know that an action or way is wrong for us to do or follow, we should not seek God to grant us permission to do something that is against His will. We also should not seek the counsel of anyone who is not a believer or any source that does not align with His Word, whether a Bible teacher or secular source.
Balaam could have told Balak, "No, I will bless Israel because God is with them and His will is for them to be blessed. I want to follow God and His command to me." But Balaam did not hold his ground before the princes of Balak and refuse.
GiGi's Numbers Chapter 22 comment on 6/29/2023, 7:54pm...
NUMBERS CHAPTER 22
This is the first part of the account of Balak and Balaam.
The Israelites had conquered many peoples of the east Jordan area and the king of Moab heard about these conquests.
The Israelites came into Moabite territory and camped across the Jordan from Jericho.
The king of Moab. Balak, was very alarmed and contacted the king of Midian to help them come against the Israelites and route them out of their land.
Balak sends some of his officials to the land of northern Mesapotamia to seek Balaam, who was a prophet that God spoke to and through but also he was a diviner and worker of evil prophecy, too. Balaam knew of the Israelites and of YHWH.
At first, after seeking God about going with the men to Moab to curse Isarael, God told him, No, Israel is blessed, so you are not to go and curse them. Balaam informed the men and they returned to Balak.
There is a second attempt to get Balaam to come to Balak and curse Israel. But God says no.
Then Balak sent his princes, men of more importance than the first group, and money for payment for his services. He again inquires of God about going with the princes to Balak and cursing the Israelites. God says that if the men come to them then he can go with them, but he must not curse the Israelites, only bless them. Balaam was to only say the words that God gives him to say.
As Balaam is on his way to Moab, riding on his donkey, God is angry at Ballam because He knows the intent of Balaam's heart event though Balaam affirms that he wants to do what God commands. The angel of the Lord appears and stands in the way. Although the donkey sees the angel, Balaam does not. Three times the donkey veers from the path to avoid the angel, but Balaam beats her each time. After the third beating, God makes the donkey speak to Balaam where she reveals that the angel is in her way and she was avoiding him. Then God allows Balaam to see the angel. He falls on his face, admits he has sinned.
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