Balak was astounded and indignant at what Balaam said concerning Israel. “What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and behold, thou hast blessed them altogether” (Num. 23:1111And 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 23:11)). Balaam could only reply that he was in the hands of Jehovah. Do we marvel that Balak did not immediately expel the prophet from his borders? Alas, flesh is always foolish and obstinate where God is concerned! (Rom. 1:2222Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, (Romans 1:22); Eph. 4:1818Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: (Ephesians 4:18)). The King suggested that they should go to another place, and try again. How terribly Satan deceives men made in the image of God whose hearts are not truly subject to Him!
Balak now took Balaam “into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah,” and there seven fresh altars were built, and a bullock and a ram was offered on each one. What low and contemptible thoughts both King and prophet had of their Creator, to imagine that such devices and changes of position could revolutionize His mind concerning His people! The King of Syria and his advisers were just as stupid when they were at war with Israel in the days of Ahab. They suggested that Jehovah was God of the hills, but not of the valleys; consequently if the Syrians fought on the lower ground, victory would be theirs (1 Kings 20).
The words “the Lord” should not have been inserted in the Authorized Version of Numbers 23:1515And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder. (Numbers 23:15). Balsam said to Balak, “Stand here by thy burnt offering while I meet yonder.” He did not go to meet Jehovah; he did not wish Him to cross his path again. In chapter 24:1 it is expressly said that he went to seek for enchantments,” but Jehovah, in His love to His people (although unworthy) would not allow this. Accordingly He intervened a second time, and met Salaam. He put a fresh word in his mouth, and said, “Go again unto Balak and speak thus.” It is immense comfort to our souls to note these divine activities. The God with whom we have to do delights to “stand between us and the foe.”
Balak's question when Balaam returned to him was remarkable: “What hath Jehovah spoken?” From what we know of him, he was not willing to submit to whatever it might please Jehovah to say. His hope was that His second message would be more favorable to Moab than the first. What a delightful contrast to this way the attitude of Cornelius and his friends when Peter went to them in Caesarea by their invitation! “Thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God to hear all things that are commanded thee of God” (Acts 10:3333Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God. (Acts 10:33)). Such an attitude of soul brings blessing. The whole company listened with avidity to Peter's testimony to the Lord Jesus, and in less than an hour (probably) every person present received the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Ezekiel's day some in Israel said to one another: “Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from Jehovah.” They went to Ezekiel and listened to him: they were favored to hear divine truth, but they were nothing the better for it. Jehovah said to His servant: “Lo, thou art unto them a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument, for they hear thy words but they do them not” (Ezek. 33:30-3230Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the Lord. 31And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 32And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. (Ezekiel 33:30‑32)). A condition distressing in its heartlessness! May God preserve us from it!
Faith delights to hear what God has to say, and is sure that His word is true. Thus David, when sitting before Jehovah in communion, said: “For Thy word's sake, and according to Thine own heart, hast Thou done all these great things, to make Thy servant know them” (2 Sam. 7:2121For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. (2 Samuel 7:21)). And when in old age David had to mourn over the unfaithfulness of his own house, he was enabled to say: “Yet He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure; for this is all my salvation and all my desire, although He make it not to grow” (2 Sam. 23:55Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. (2 Samuel 23:5)). This means that God's revealed counsels were sure whatever His apparent delay in the development of them. All that David looked for awaits the coming in power of the Lord Jesus.
Dear Christian reader, whoever you be in a world of change and upheaval the only sure thing is the word of God. Read it; meditate upon it; believe it in its every part. Men are promising one another all sorts of things as we write, and many bewildered souls hope that common sense will yet bring order out of chaos. Nothing but heartache lies ahead for those who thus cherish “confidence in flesh.” But the counsels of God are sure; they have Christ for their center and they will be brought to fruition in God's appointed time.
To return to Balaam. The opening words of his second discourse are exceedingly precious: “Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: hath He not said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” (Num. 23:18-1918And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: 19God 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 23:18‑19)). The wicked speaker is here condemning himself, although probably his seared conscience did not realize it. If God indeed never goes back on His word, why did he consult Him a second time before leaving Mesopotamia? It is terribly possible to read, and even to utter, words of which we know neither the meaning nor the power; are we alive to this danger for ourselves? Are our souls grounded in the great truth of God's unchangeableness? Psalm 119 contains 176 verses, and throughout this long psalm the writer is expressing his confidence in God's word, and is telling us how sweet it was to his taste, and how much more precious than gold and silver. (Balaam would not have agreed with the Psalmist in the last item!)
Balsam's words in Numbers 23:1919God 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 23:19) may well be read again and again. True, the words came from the lips of a bad man, but their source nevertheless was the Spirit of God. There is another Scripture that we must put alongside Numbers 23:1919God 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 23:19). In 1 Samuel 15:2929And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. (1 Samuel 15:29) when Saul was being rebuked for his disobedience to the command of Jehovah, and was told that the Kingdom would now be rent from him, the prophet added: “the Strength of Israel will not repent, for He is not a man that He should repent.” From this solemn passage we learn that God is as faithful and sure in His judgments as in His grace. Solemn consideration for all who are disposed to quibble at His severity (Rom. 11:2222Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. (Romans 11:22)).
Balaam continued: “Behold, I have received commandment to bless; and He hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it.” Here we have an advance on what he said in his first utterance, “God hath not cursed;” now he passes from the negative to the positive, “He hath blessed,” but his added words were venomous, “and I cannot reverse it.” Gladly would he have done so for reward. But how delightful to our souls to hear the enemy of God's people making public confession that he is powerless to reverse God's grace towards His chosen. “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take.”
We come now to the central theme of Jehovah's second message: “He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel.” Yet the whole story of the wilderness journey is full of Israel's “iniquity and perverseness.” Moses, who loved the people, was obliged to say, “You have been rebellious against Jehovah from the day that I knew you” (Deut. 9:2424Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. (Deuteronomy 9:24)). Several of the later prophets traced the perpetual evil of the nation from Egypt to the Captivity. (Read Isaiah 1; Jeremiah 32; Ezekiel 20). Yet Balaam was instructed to say such wonderful words concerning them from the top of Pisgah! It is noticeable also that he used the natural name Jacob (“supplanter”) as well as the name of grace Israel (“prince with God”). God's grace in justifying the ungodly is thus set forth. The full exposition of this wonderful work of God is found in the Epistle to the Romans.
On what principle of righteousness could Jehovah constrain the enemy to say He had not seen iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel? Consider the following precious facts: (1) On the awful night in Egypt, when God was judging wickedness in the Egyptians He sheltered the Israelites, who were as evil as their oppressors, under the blood of the lamb. Beautiful picture of how God has sheltered us from a more terrible judgment by the blood of Christ. (2) Not long before Balsam came upon the scene, when Jehovah chastised His people for murmuring, He provided for dying sinners the brazen serpent—blessedly typical of the uplifted Son of man by whose death we live, all that we were by nature being judged in His great sacrifice. (3) Moreover, in the midst of Israel's camp stood the Tabernacle, with its blood-stained Mercy-seat. All these things—the lamb, the serpent, and the Mercy-seat—spoke to God of Christ and His perfect work. With Christ before Him, now risen from amongst the dead, and exalted at His own right hand, God is able, consistently with His righteousness, to bless His people, and that abundantly. “He hath made Him sin for us, who knew not sin; that we might become God's righteousness in Him” (2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21) JND).
But is this the whole truth? Have the faults of God's justified ones no seriousness in His sight? Will He pass them over lightly, while condemning others severely? He deals with His own on an exactly opposite principle to this. Sins against grace are more heinous than sins committed in ignorance of grace, and are dealt with by God accordingly. Hence the words in Amos 3:22You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. (Amos 3:2): “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities?” This is God's government of those in near relationship to Himself. Psalm 90 the first of the fourth (or “Numbers”) book, was written by Moses. He had observed Israel's evil ways in the wilderness, and also Jehovah's governmental chastening of the people, and he says: “Thou hast set our sins before Thee; our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance” (Psa. 11:8). Is this a contradiction of Numbers 23:1919God 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 23:19)? By no means. The enemy was constrained to proclaim the grace of God which, resting upon a righteous foundation, never varies; Moses gave expression to the government of God. These two truths must be held together in the soul, in order that a proper balance may be maintained. We hope to return to this important matter before these studies conclude.
Balaam gave utterance to another precious truth concerning the people of God. Not only does He justify them in His grace, but He delights to dwell amongst them. “Jehovah his God is with him.” The cloud upon the Tabernacle was proof of this. We have something better than Israel ever imagined. The Holy Spirit is with us. In 1 Corinthians 6:2020For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Corinthians 6:20) we are taught that He dwells in the body of every individual believer, and in 1 Corinthians 3:1616Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16) that the saints collectively constitute His temple. “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwelleth in you?” This is the great forgotten truth of the dispensation—one of its greatest marvels, one of its richest blessings, yet practically forgotten! What power was seen in the Pentecostal Church! What power would yet be experienced if God's saints could be aroused to the immense fact that His Spirit abides with us still! In 1 Corinthians 14:32-25 the case is supposed of a stranger coming into the Assembly of God, and becoming so impressed with the power operating there that the secrets of his heart are laid bare, and falling upon his face he worships God, and reports that God is in His people of a truth!
“The shout of a King is among them,” added Balaam. This is anticipative. God already dwelt amongst them in the Tabernacle, but the King is even yet future. Not David is meant, still less Saul, but Christ. He is the King of Jehovah's choice (1 Sam. 2:1010The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. (1 Samuel 2:10)). He will yet reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before His ancients gloriously” (Isa. 24:2323Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously. (Isaiah 24:23)).
“God brought them out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn (or, buffalo).” How disgraceful therefore their unbelief when they spoke of their enemies as giants, and of themselves as mere grasshoppers in their sight. “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” Had they measured the Canaanites by the God who brought them out of Egypt they would have spoken differently, but God was not in their thoughts (Num. 13:30-3330And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:30‑33)). Caleb and Joshua had no dread of the foe, and both lived to enjoy the blessing of Jehovah in the promised land. Whenever we speak of lack of power, it is to our shame. The Holy Spirit being always with us there is never any lack of power; but too often there is lack of faith to use the power.
Having said all these wonderful things about the people of God—a people divinely blessed and justified, a people concerning whom God's word is unchanging, a people amongst whom God dwelt in fullness of power—Balaam had to publicly acknowledge that the hellish influences which he had sought to invoke against them were impotent. “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there divination against Israel; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob, and of Israel, What hath God wrought!” (Num. 23:2323Surely 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 23:23)). The people of God will be at last triumphant over every foe, and an abiding monument of divine grace. “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.” Micah 5:99Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off. (Micah 5:9) uses similar language concerning Israel's triumph in the day of Messiah's power. “The remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles in the midst of many peoples as a lion amongst the beasts of the forest, as a young lion amongst the flocks of sheep. Who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.”
Our ultimate triumph is stated in Romans 16:2020And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. (Romans 16:20): “the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.” When the last Adam puts down the persistent disturber of the peace the Church will be in manifest association with Him.
Of Jacob and of Israel it will yet be said, “What hath God wrought!” and concerning the Church it is written, “in the ages to come He will show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:77That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:7)).