~ Bad News for Balak ~
BALAAM THE PROPHET arrives in Moab, and king Balak “took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.” (Num. 22:41) The scope of the issue is clear to Balaam; from the high point, he can see how large the Israelite forces are that are gathering for war. He tells Balak to “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.” (Num. 23:1) He tells the king “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.” (Num. 23:3)
Balak has gone to great lengths to assure his upcoming victory over Israel. Dealing as he has undoubtedly done before with other prophets of other gods, he has a prophet of this people’s God, Balaam, from a far country. He is sparing no expense, having built the altars and supplied the offerings Balaam requires. He is offering a large sum for the prophet’s influence over God: “Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me.” (Num. 22:16b-17) Surely he has appeased this God, and the favor he has paid for will be granted.
Balaam goes alone before the LORD, saying “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.” (Num. 23:4b) And so, “God met with him.” (Num. 23:4a) God tells Balaam exactly what to say: “Go back to Balak and give him this word.” (Num. 23:5b) Balaam goes back to the king, and finds “him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.” (Num. 23:6a) And then, saying only what the LORD has told him, “Balaam spoke this message.” (Num. 23:7)
The message to come is not the message that Balak paid for; it’s not the message he or his retinue want to hear. In fact, it is a message that will bring fear to their hearts—they know well that the Israelites have already defeated two other kings and taken their lands. (cf. Num. 21:32-35) The prophet first reviews the situation to date, saying “Balak brought me from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.” (Num. 23:7) Now the bad news for Balak starts. Balaam asks a rhetorical question. “How can I curse those whom God has not cursed. How can I denounce those whom the LORD has not denounced?” (Num. 23:8)
The news gets worse. Reinforcing the king’s already-heightened anxiety, Balaam speaks of the Israelites’ strength of numbers. “From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel?” (Num. 23:9-10) Balak’s anxiety spills out in a fearful response. “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!” (Num. 23:11)
Desperate, he tries to get the prophet to change his prophecy by taking him to another vantage point. “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse them for me.” (Num. 23:13) He then builds another “seven altars, and offers a bull and a ram on each altar.” (Num. 23:14) Surely this God of Israel will see his sincerity and support his plea.
Or, again, maybe not—the prophecies just get worse for Balak. Balaam next tells the king of the character and consistency of God. “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Num. 23:19) God will not favor Balak and Moab over his chosen people. Balaam continues, “I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it . .” (Num. 23:20) And the outcome will not be good for Balak, for “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them. There is no divination against Jacob, no evil omens against Israel.” (Num. 23:21, 23) Although Balak continues to protest, Balaam reminds him, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord—and I must say only what the Lord says?’” (Num. 23:12-13)
Finally, the prophetic ultimatum of God is spoken: “Amalek was first among the nations, but their end will be utter destruction.” (Num. 24:20) Balak is ruler over the Amalekite region of Moab; his fate, and the end of the Amalekites, is sealed. This will fulfill an earlier prophecy made through Moses about the Amalekites. It will also say much of God’s relationship with Israel. “When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” (Deut. 25:19)
Balaam will soon return home. Balak is left to his demise. We are left to consider in awe the inexorable nature of the character and promises of God. We also begin to understand more deeply the fact that God’s covenants cannot be separated from who he is—his word of promise cannot be subtracted from the integrity and omnipotence of the purity of his name. As the Psalmist says, “I will worship toward your holy temple, and praise your name for Your lovingkindness and your truth; for You have magnified your word above all your name.” (Psa. 138:2, NKJV) Indeed, “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Num. 23:19) No matter how long it takes, God keeps his promises. He has all eternity in which to accomplish this.
Q. What has God promised me that he has not yet fulfilled, and why might that be?
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