Numbers 22:1 - Meaning and Application

The Israelites have now finished their long wandering in the wilderness, and they are camped on the plains of Moab near the Jordan. They stayed there until, after Moses died, they crossed the Jordan under Joshua. Here the writer turns to what happened next.

First, we see the fear that came over the Moabites when Israel approached. They had no real reason to expect harm if they had remembered the command God had given Israel not to fight Moab or attack them (Deuteronomy 2:9). But if they knew that, they likely thought it was only a trick to make them feel safe before being overrun. So they treated Israel as an enemy, even though they had no cause to do so.

This is a common pattern in wicked people. Those who mean harm often pretend harm is being planned against them. Their groundless suspicion becomes the excuse for their own unjust anger. The Moabites heard about Israel’s victory over the Amorites (Numbers 22:2), and they saw how many people Israel had. So they concluded that if they did nothing quickly, Israel would sweep over them and everyone around them, the way an ox eats grass.

They were terrified, and they spread their fear to the elders of Midian so they could plan together for their safety. If Moab fell, Midian would not last long either. Yet the Moabites could have used Israel’s success for good. Israel had freed them from Sihon king of the Amorites, who had taken part of their land and might have taken more. They should have welcomed Israel and sought peace with them, but they had turned away from the faith of their ancestor Lot and fallen into idolatry. So they hated the people of the God of Abraham, and God allowed them to be confused and distressed in their plans.

Second, the king of Moab formed a plan to have Israel cursed, meaning he wanted to turn God against them, because he saw that God had been fighting for them. He trusted more in clever schemes than in armies. He thought that if he could find some prophet or magician to speak evil over Israel and bless his own side, then he might defeat a people that seemed too strong for him.

This idea came partly from what remained of religion among them, because it assumes that unseen powers govern human affairs and that people must seek help from those powers. But it also came from the ruins of true religion. If the Moabites and Midianites had not drifted so far from the faith of Abraham and Lot, they would never have imagined they could harm God’s people by curses.

Third, Balak, the king of Moab, sent for Balaam son of Beor, a well-known diviner, to ask him to curse Israel. Balaam lived far away, in the same general region from which Abraham had come and where Laban had lived. There may have been other fortune-tellers closer by, but none had Balaam’s reputation, and Balak was determined to use the best help he could find, even if he had to send far away for it.

Balak first tried to win Balaam’s friendship by speaking to him as a trusted adviser and telling him how dangerous Israel seemed because of their numbers and their camp near him: they covered the land and lived across from him (Numbers 22:5). Then he almost treated Balaam like a god, giving his words a power they did not have. He said that whoever Balaam blessed would be blessed, and whoever he cursed would be cursed (Numbers 22:6).

Bishop Patrick and many Jewish writers thought Balaam may once have been a true prophet, and that people had come to trust him because his predictions and prayers seemed to come true. But as pride and greed grew in him, God left him, and then he turned to evil arts to keep his reputation alive. He is called a prophet in 2 Peter 2:16 because he had once been one, or because he had built his name through magical practices, like Simon Magus, who fooled people so much that they called him “the great power of God” (Acts 8:10).

When God’s true prophets pronounce a curse in the Lord’s name, it can have great effect, as Noah’s curse did (Genesis 9:25) and Elisha’s did (2 Kings 2:24). But an undeserved curse will not land on its target (Proverbs 26:2), just as Goliath’s curse against David did not succeed, even though he called on his gods (1 Samuel 17:43). We should want the prayers of God’s ministers and people for us, and we should fear having them against us, because God takes their blessing and curse seriously.

Still, Balak’s flattery was not enough by itself to win Balaam. The real lure came next: they brought the payment for divination in their hands, the reward of doing wrong, which Balaam loved (2 Peter 2:15).

Fourth, God restrained Balaam and forbade him to curse Israel. Balaam was likely familiar with Israel’s history and character, and he must have known that God was truly with them. He should have sent the messengers away at once and said he would never curse a people whom God had blessed. Instead, he kept them overnight, which gave him time to think and to receive direction from God (Numbers 22:8). When we stop to bargain with temptation, we put ourselves in danger of being overcome by it.

That night God came to Balaam, likely in a dream, and asked what those men wanted with him. God already knew, but he wanted Balaam to say it. Balaam explained their request (Numbers 22:9-11), and then God told him not to go with them and not to curse that blessed people (Numbers 22:12). In this way God sometimes spoke to evil men for the sake of protecting his people, as he did with Abimelech (Genesis 20:3) and Laban (Genesis 31:24). We even read of some who did evil, yet still prophesied and worked miracles in Christ’s name.

Balaam was told not only not to go to Balak, but also not even to offer to curse this people, something he might have tried from a distance. The reason was clear: they were blessed. This was part of the blessing given to Abraham, “I will curse those who curse you” (Genesis 12:3). So any attempt to curse Israel would have been not only useless, but dangerous.

Israel had often provoked God in the wilderness, yet he would not let their enemies curse them. He does not repay them according to their sins. The blessing belongs to those whose sin is covered, as Paul says in Romans 4:6-7.

The messengers then returned without Balaam. Balaam was not fully honest when he gave them God’s answer, as we see in Numbers 22:13. He only said, “The Lord refuses to let me go with you.” He did not tell them, as he should have, that Israel was a blessed people and must not be cursed at all. If he had said that, the whole plan would have collapsed, and the temptation would not have been tried again.

Instead, he effectively sent his greetings to Balak and let him know that he approved of the plan and would have been glad to help, if only he had been allowed. He put the matter in the safest possible words for himself, saying he had a prophet’s standing and could not go without God’s permission, which he had not yet received. So, for the moment, he had to decline.

This shows a serious danger. People are an easy target for Satan’s temptation when they speak lightly of God’s commands, as if obedience were only a matter of asking permission. Going against God’s law is not merely going ahead without leave, it is rebellion.

The messengers also were not honest when they reported back to Balak. All they said was, “Balaam refuses to come with us” (Numbers 22:14). That made it sound as if Balaam simply wanted a better offer or more honor. They did not want Balak to know that God himself had refused the plan.

In this way, great men are often badly deceived by the flattery of those around them. Their advisers do everything they can to keep them from seeing their own faults and foolish choices.