And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jordan from Jericho.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And Moab was much afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
Israel has come up out of the wilderness and camped on Moab's border. What Balak sees fills him with dread, and that fear drives everything that follows.
Moab saw a huge camp and a fresh run of victories. The sight matched words Israel had sung at the Red Sea forty years before.
Moses and the children of Israel sang their song of triumph on the shores of the Red Sea. They said: "The peoples have heard; they tremble … trembling seizes the leaders of Moab … terror and dread fall upon them" (Ex. 15:14-16). This came true to the letter forty years later, when the King of Moab and his people saw the Lord's pilgrim host camped on their borders. In the camp of Israel there were 601,730 men able to carry arms. With women and children there were probably at least three million souls — a vast company. Balak was alarmed; all the more because Israel had just destroyed three military powers that dared to oppose their march.
The verse states Moab's fear twice. Yet nothing Israel had done put Moab at risk. The dread grew out of Moab's own dislike of its new neighbours.
There was no real need for Moab to fear Israel. God was not giving the inheritance of the children of Esau or that of the children of Lot to Israel (Deut. 2:5, 9, 19). The hostility toward God's people was not because of anything Israel had done, or threatened to do, to Moab. Balak does not seem to have expected any attack from Israel either. He said to the elders of Midian, "This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field" (Num. 22:4). Moab did not like the thought of having God's people as their neighbours, and they wanted to get rid of them.
Moab was not a stranger to Israel. Moab came from Lot, and Lot was Abraham's relative.
Moab could have claimed kinship with Israel. Abraham and Lot were relatives, and Abraham rescued Lot out of his position in Sodom. But the likeness stopped there. Abraham's sons in the line of faith began with Isaac, who was born to him by a miracle. They were all men of faith and men of power with God. Lot's descendants, Moab and Ammon, were the persistent enemies of Israel. They proved it at every moment of Israel's testimony.
Balak saw a crowd out of Egypt and nothing more. He never reckoned with the God who brought them out. Rahab heard the same news and drew the opposite conclusion.
Balak and his people had little idea that their hostility toward God's people was hostility against God Himself. Balak only thought of "a people come out of Egypt"; but the faith of Rahab said, "we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt" (Joshua 2:10). Forty years had passed since that great event, but Rahab still had not forgotten the mighty power of Israel's God.
Balak's fear sent him looking for help somewhere else.
Balak saw, feared, and hated this people. He was aware that a power greater than his own was leading them, and he lost all confidence in his own might. He seemed to know that no merely human arm could destroy this people. So he does not march out as Amalek, Sihon, and Og did with their armies… But is there not a power on his side? Yes — and he calls on Baal-Peor through Balaam his prophet.
Fereday also reads Moab as a picture of a type of person alive today.
Moab pictures the comfortable, self-satisfied man of the world — "at ease from his youth and settled on his dregs" (Jer. 48:11), and proud and arrogant as a result (Isa. 16:6). God's saints today need not envy such people, for they have a better and more lasting portion.
Israel knew nothing of the plot, and did not need to.
How little did Israel know or imagine what was going on between the Lord and the enemy. It may be that they were grumbling in their tents at that very moment. Meanwhile God was setting out their perfection through the tongue of the covetous prophet. Balak would gladly have Israel cursed; but, blessed be God, He will not allow anyone to curse His people. He may have to deal with them Himself, in secret, about many things. But He will not allow another to move his tongue against them.
- Sight. Balak looked at Israel's numbers and their victories. What Moses sang at the Red Sea about Moab's trembling came true word for word.
- Fear. The dread had no real basis. God was not giving Moab's land to Israel, and Israel threatened no attack. Moab just did not want them as neighbours.
- Blindness. Balak saw only "a people come out of Egypt". Rahab heard the same news and saw the Lord behind it.
- Hatred. Balak's fear turned into hatred. Instead of marching out with an army, he called on Baal-Peor through Balaam.
- Safety. Israel never knew the plot was happening. God will deal with His people Himself, but He lets no other tongue curse them.
And Moab said to the elders of Midian, Now will this company lick up all that is round about us, as an ox licks up the green herb of the field. Now Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.
Israel had just crushed the Amorites, and now camped on Moab's border. Moab's king pictured the threat as an ox eating a field down to bare ground — but was there anything to fear at all?
One writer notes that God had already placed Moab's land outside Israel's inheritance.
There was really no need for Moab to fear Israel. God was not giving Israel the inheritance of Esau's descendants or of Lot's descendants (Deut. 2:5, 9, 19). The enmity towards God's people was not because of anything that Israel had done, or threatened to do, to Moab. Nor does it appear that Balak expected any attack from Israel... Moab did not like the thought of having God's people as their neighbours, and they wanted to get rid of them.
The fear did have a trigger. Israel was vast, and it had just beaten three armies. Moab's dread fulfilled a song Israel sang forty years earlier at the Red Sea.
When Moses and the children of Israel sang their song of triumph on the shores of the Red Sea, they said, "The peoples have heard; they tremble … the leaders of Moab, trembling seizes them … Terror and dread fall upon them" (Ex. 15:14-16). This came true to the letter when the king of Moab and his people saw the Lord's pilgrim host camped on their borders forty years later. In Israel's camp there were 601,730 men able to carry arms. With women and children there were probably at least three million people — a huge company. Balak was alarmed, all the more because Israel had recently destroyed three military powers that had dared to oppose their march.
The same writer points to what Balak never thought of doing.
When people are in trouble, the right thing is to turn to God in prayer. God cares about the affairs of nations as truly as He cares about the troubles and sorrows of individual men and women. But Balak knew nothing of God.
The verse closes by naming the king: Balak the son of Zippor. The two names pull in opposite directions.
"Balak" seems to mean "waster." The name looks like a deliberate contrast with his family line, since he was only ben-Zippor, "son of a sparrow." What grand titles men take to cover their real insignificance! And they glory far more in the power to destroy — in being a Caesar or a Napoleon — than in the angels' message of peace and goodwill!
Balak would not face Israel alone. One writer sees in his alliance a pattern that still repeats.
He was terrified. The fate of the Egyptians and the Amorites seemed to foretell his own. So his heart filled with fear and hatred, and he wanted to oppose and curse Israel. He allied himself with the elders of Midian. It is nothing less than the history of anti-Semitism in a nutshell. Non-Jewish nations, Christian in name, still hate and fear this people. No Pharaoh and no fortune-teller could overcome them. They are disobedient, judged and suffering, yet always conquering.
Moab's hostility is stranger than it first looks, because Moab and Israel shared a family tree.
Moab, as we know, was a blood relation of Israel. He was descended from Lot, who was a relative of Abraham. So the Moabites were the natural kinsmen of the Israelites. Lot's tie to Abraham was largely a natural, fleshly one. In his descendants' case it was entirely fleshly. Israel had no more bitter and relentless enemies than these Moabites and Ammonites — their own relatives.
Balak thought he was dealing with a border problem. By hiring Balaam to curse Israel, he was doing something far more serious.
Balak and his people had no idea that their hostility towards God's people was enmity against their God. By sending for Balaam to curse God's people, Balak challenged the mighty God of Jacob. God was not slow to accept that challenge. There is no word in Balak's message to Balaam of any evil purpose against him... Balak did not, as Rahab did, connect Israel's coming out of Egypt with the Name of the Lord.
Rahab, who spoke with Israel's spies, heard the same reports and believed. Faith and fear read the same facts in opposite ways.
- Fear — Moab's terror had no basis. God had ruled Moab's land out of Israel's inheritance, and Israel never attacked or threatened Moab.
- Blindness — Balak saw a people out of Egypt and heard of great victories. He never saw the God behind them. Rahab heard the same news and believed.
- Alliance — Moab could not face Israel alone, so it joined Midian and sent for a curse.
- Kinship — Israel's most bitter enemy was a relative. Descent from Lot gave Moab no friendship with Israel, only relentless hostility.
- Challenge — Hostility to God's people is hostility to God Himself. Balak's move against Israel was a challenge God was not slow to take up.
And he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is on the river in the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people is come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the land, and they abide over against me.
Balak, king of Moab, has watched Israel destroy the armies in front of him. Now he sends messengers to a distant land to hire one man. Two questions follow: why does a frightened king hire a soothsayer instead of praying, and what does it mean that Israel never knew about the plot?
One writer counts the camp, then weighs Balak's fear against what he should have done with it:
The King of Moab and his people saw Jehovah's travelling host camped on their border. In the camp of Israel there were 601,730 men able to carry arms. With women and children there were probably at least three million people. Balak was alarmed. He was all the more alarmed because Israel had just destroyed three military powers that dared to oppose their march: the King of Arad, Sihon King of Heshbon, and Og King of Bashan. Sihon had earlier fought a successful war with Moab and taken some of her land. How then could Balak hope to stand against a nation which had destroyed his powerful neighbour? When men are in trouble, the proper thing is to turn to God in prayer. He cares about the affairs of nations as much as He cares about the troubles and sorrows of individual men and women. But Balak knew nothing of God.
Balak did not look for help nearby. He sent to Mesopotamia, and one writer explains the thinking behind it:
He was not satisfied that military power would be enough to withstand the conquerors of Sihon and Og. So he sent messengers to a well-known soothsayer — Balaam the son of Beor, who lived in Mesopotamia. Outsiders were already crediting Israel's victories to divine power... In sending for Balaam, Balak sought to oppose the supernatural by the supernatural. People said this Mesopotamian prophet had influence with the invisible world.
The names in this verse carry meaning. One writer sets Balak's name against his parentage, and Balaam's against his trade:
"Balak" seems to mean "waster." The name looks like a deliberate contrast with his family line, since he is only ben-Zippor, "son of a sparrow." What grand titles men take to cover how small they are! Balaam the son of Beor matches this Balak in every way. He is a "devourer of the people," son of the "consumer." Men sought him out for his skill in cursing, and he was ready to take a bribe and destroy a whole nation. No doubt he claims loyalty to Jehovah, but he has no real knowledge of Him, as his actions show. In his efforts to destroy the people of God, you cannot even say he hates them. He would destroy them in cold blood, for money.
Balak's message never names Israel. He describes them by where they came from and how many they are. One writer sees the same fear and hatred repeating long after Balak:
He knew that the people had come out of Egypt. He was very afraid. The fate of the Egyptians and Amorites seemed to foretell his own. So fear and hatred fill his heart, and he wanted to oppose and curse Israel. It is nothing less than the history of anti-Semitism in a nutshell. Nations that call themselves Christian still hate and fear this people, whom no Pharaoh and no soothsayer could overcome — a people disobedient, judged and suffering, yet always conquering.
Balaam did not send a quick refusal. One writer explains the delay:
If Balaam's heart had been right with God, he would have dealt with Balak's message at once. It would not have cost him a moment's thought to send a reply. But Balaam's heart was all wrong... His heart was set on going, because it was set on the silver and gold. But at the same time he made some reference to God — an appearance of religion put on as a cloak to cover his greed. He longed for the money; but he wanted to get hold of it in a religious way.
Israel knew nothing about any of this. One writer draws out what that silence means:
The people of Jehovah were now in grave danger. They had been ungrateful and disobedient all through their wilderness journey. They did not know about the danger, so they did not pray to God about it. But Jehovah Himself took the matter up, and there we are reminded of His unchanging favour. He loved the people, despite all that they were, and He would not allow the enemy to harm them.
- Fear sends. Balak watched Israel destroy three kingdoms. Trouble should drive a man to prayer. Balak knew nothing of God, so he sent for a man.
- Fear buys. Armies had not stopped Israel, so Balak fought the supernatural with the supernatural. He hired a far-off soothsayer said to have influence with the invisible world.
- Fear hates. His message names no nation, only "a people has come out of Egypt" — the fear and hatred one writer calls anti-Semitism in a nutshell.
- The hireling. Balaam's heart was set on the silver and gold. He wrapped that greed in religion, wanting the money in a religious way.
- The unseen defence. Israel never learned of the danger and never prayed. God took the matter up Himself, because He loved them.
And now come, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are mightier than I perhaps I may be able to smite them, and drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
Balak, king of Moab, watches a nation camped on his border. He reaches for the one weapon he thinks can stop them: a hired curse from a famous prophet in Mesopotamia. His words treat blessing and cursing as goods a man can sell. But can anyone curse a people God has already blessed?
Moab's terror was real. The danger was not. Israel had no orders to touch Moab at all.
There was no need for Moab to fear Israel. God was not giving Israel the inheritance of the children of Esau or that of the children of Lot (Deut. 2:5, 9, 19). The hostility toward God's people was not because of anything Israel had done, or threatened to do, to Moab. Balak does not seem to have expected any attack from Israel. He said to the elders of Midian, "This horde will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field" (Num. 22:4). Moab did not like the thought of having God's people as their neighbours, and they wanted to get rid of them.
Balak could not stand their presence, not any threat they made. Commentators trace that reaction back to its source.
We see the hostility of the world against the people of God brought out, and especially against the power of the people of God. God's power was with His people, and this drew out the hostility of Satan. … When that happens, Satan seeks to force others into open opposition to the people of God. Their presence becomes unbearable to their enemies.
Israel had already conquered Sihon and Og. Balak knew his army was not enough, so he changed weapons.
He was not satisfied that military power would be enough to withstand the conquerors of Sihon and Og. So he sent messengers to a well-known soothsayer — Balaam the son of Beor, who lived in Mesopotamia. Outsiders were already crediting Israel's victories to divine power… In sending for Balaam, Balak sought to oppose the supernatural by the supernatural. People believed the Mesopotamian prophet had influence with the invisible world.
Balak's own rule about blessing and cursing pointed the wrong way for him. God had already said who is blessed and who is cursed.
Balak is in complete and all-distorting darkness. First Israel was forbidden to touch Moab. Next he says, "He whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." He was seeking to bring the curse on Israel when God had said, "Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you." So he was simply bringing it on himself.
Balak's confidence rested on Balaam's name among people. God's verdict on him was the opposite.
Balaam clearly had a great name among men. Balak had said, "I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." But before God he was perverse, self-willed, covetous, and an enemy of His people. There was great religious pretence — the claim to be a servant of the true God — but he was a wicked and foolish man… The same features are not hard to see in some people today. They appear great in the eyes of men, yet they are still perverse, rebellious and foolish.
Balak's request is not finally about Moab's border. The real test comes at the end of Israel's journey, just before they enter the land.
Balak sends for Balaam. The great question in this moving scene is this: "Can Satan succeed in cursing the people of God, so as to stop their entrance into the land of promise?" It is not merely a question of redemption and of the joy of redemption at the beginning of their course. The question comes at the end, when all their unfaithfulness has come out — their unfaithfulness even after the Lord has brought them to Himself. Can Satan succeed then? No.
Moses later explained to Israel why the hired curse came to nothing.
Moses told the people about the danger that had threatened them. He said: "They hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. But the LORD your God would not listen to Balaam; instead the LORD your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the LORD your God loved you" (Deut. 23:4-5). Precious words — "because the LORD your God loved you!"
- Fear. Moab dreaded a people who had no orders to harm them. The world resents God's people for their presence and their power, not for any harm they do.
- Hire. Balak could not win by force, so he tried to buy the invisible world and fight the supernatural with the supernatural.
- Boomerang. His own rule about blessing and cursing turned on him. God had already said that whoever curses His people is cursed.
- Reputation. Balaam was great in the eyes of men and perverse in the sight of God. A big name proves nothing.
- Love. God turned the curse into a blessing, and He did it because He loved His people.