Commentary - Numbers 22:36-41

Bird's-eye view

We have here the long awaited meeting of two men who are both entirely devoted to their own self interest, but one of whom is on a very short leash held by the living God. Balak, king of Moab, is a man in a panic. He has heard about the Israelites and he wants them cursed. He has sent for Balaam, a prophet for hire, who has finally arrived after a memorable conversation with his donkey. This passage details the initial meeting between the king and the prophet. It is a fascinating study in two competing worldviews. Balak believes that everything, including divine power, can be bought and managed with the right price and the right rituals. Balaam, greedy as he is, has been forcefully reminded that he is not his own master. He is a tool in the hand of the God of Israel, and he can only speak the words God gives him. This sets the stage for a grand collision between pagan manipulation and divine sovereignty.

The scene is thick with the formalities of the ancient world: a royal greeting at the border, a feast of sacrificed animals, and a trip to a pagan high place. Every action Balak takes is designed to indebt and control Balaam, to bring him into the fold and get him on message. But God has already set the terms of this engagement, and Balak's attempts to manage the situation are doomed from the start. This is a story about the utter futility of resisting the declared will of God.

Outline

Commentary

36 Then Balak heard that Balaam was coming and went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the Arnon border, at the end of the border.

Balak's desperation is palpable. He doesn't send a subordinate, and he doesn't wait for Balaam to arrive at the capital. The king himself goes to the very edge of his kingdom, the Arnon border, to greet this foreign prophet. This is a full state reception. It shows the high value Balak has placed on Balaam's services. He is rolling out the red carpet because he believes Balaam holds the key to his kingdom's survival. In his mind, this is a transaction of the highest order, and he is treating it as such. He is the customer, and he is eager to receive the goods.

37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not urgently send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I indeed unable to honor you?”

Here is the worldview of the pagan, the materialist, the man of this world. Balak's first words are a mild rebuke, a chiding question. He is a king, and he is used to being obeyed promptly. But notice the ground of his complaint. It all comes down to honor, and for Balak, honor is synonymous with payment. "Am I indeed unable to honor you?" is another way of saying, "Don't you think I can pay you enough? Did you doubt my credit?" He cannot conceive of any reason for Balaam's delay other than a negotiation tactic, a holding out for a better offer. The idea that a higher power, the God of Israel, might have intervened is completely outside his frame of reference. For Balak, gods are powers to be managed, and prophets are technicians to be hired. Everything has a price tag.

38 So Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come now to you! Am I able to speak anything at all? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.”

Balaam's response is a bucket of cold water on Balak's transactional expectations. He affirms his arrival, yes, but he immediately qualifies it with a stark warning. "Am I able to speak anything at all?" This is a rhetorical question that means, "I have no power in this matter." After his encounter with the angel and the donkey, Balaam is under no illusions. He may have wanted Balak's money, and his heart is still very much inclined that way, but his mouth is now the sovereign property of God. He is a man on a divine leash. He makes it plain: he is not a freelance sorcerer who can conjure up a curse to order. He is a mouthpiece. The message will not be his own. This is the central conflict of the story: Balak's money versus God's Word. And Balaam, caught in the middle, declares from the outset that God's Word will win.

39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth.

Despite the warning, the transaction proceeds. Balak has heard Balaam's disclaimer, but it likely went in one ear and out the other. He is a man who believes in process, in ritual, in the power of the right setting. So they travel together, the pagan king and the compromised prophet, to Kiriath-huzoth, which means "city of streets." This is the staging ground for the main event. Balak is still confident that he can manage the prophet and get the result he has paid for.

40 And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent some to Balaam and the leaders who were with him.

This is not simply a welcome dinner. This is a religious and political act. The sacrifice is made to Balak's gods, likely Chemosh or Baal, to consecrate this enterprise. By sending the sacrificial meat to Balaam and his entourage, Balak is doing two things. First, he is showing great honor and hospitality, further attempting to place Balaam in his debt. Second, and more importantly, he is binding Balaam to him in a covenant meal. In the ancient world, to share a meal, especially a sacrificial meal, was to establish a bond of loyalty and shared purpose. Balak is trying to assimilate Balaam, to make him part of the team, to entangle him in a web of obligation so that he will have no choice but to curse Israel. It is a shrewd, worldly move.

41 Then it happened in the morning that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, and he saw from there the end of the camp of the people.

The next day, the work begins in earnest. And where does Balak take him? To the "high places of Baal." This is enemy territory. High places were centers of pagan, idolatrous worship, often involving gross immorality. Balak is taking this prophet, who has just declared he can only speak what the God of Israel tells him, to a pagan sanctuary dedicated to a false god. The irony is thick. He believes that the location, the religious atmosphere, will influence the outcome. From this vantage point, Balaam can see a portion of the Israelite camp. The pagan assumption is that you need a line of sight to curse effectively, as though a curse were a kind of spiritual missile. But Balak has brought Balaam to the wrong mountain. He thinks he is setting the stage for a curse, but God is setting the stage to magnify His own name from the very pulpits of the devil.

Application

This passage is a stark reminder that God is sovereign over all human plans and machinations. Balak represents the world's system. It operates on money, power, and influence. The world believes it can buy anything, even spiritual outcomes. We see this today in the health and wealth gospel, which treats God like a cosmic vending machine. Put in your tithe, and God is obligated to give you a blessing. This is the spirit of Balak, and it is pagan to the core.

Balaam, on the other hand, is a picture of a man who is forced to reckon with God's absolute authority. Though his heart is corrupt, his mouth is captive to the truth. This should be a great comfort to the believer. The mouths of our enemies are in God's hands. He can turn their intended curses into blessings. He can make even a compromised vessel speak His truth. Our security does not rest in our own strength, but in the God who directs all things, even the words of those who oppose us.

Finally, notice the utter folly of trying to fight God on the devil's turf. Balak brings Balaam to the high places of Baal to get a curse. He thinks the pagan rituals and the idolatrous setting will get the job done. But all he accomplishes is providing God with a platform to declare the blessedness of His people. We must not be intimidated when the world arrays its power and its rituals against the church. The high places of finance, media, and politics are all under the feet of our risen Lord. From those very places, God can and will cause His truth to be spoken, and His people to be blessed.