Commentary - Numbers 23:1-12

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, we see the kingdom of man, represented by Balak, king of Moab, attempting to use spiritual means to achieve carnal ends. He hires a spiritual mercenary, Balaam, to curse the people of God. The entire setup is an exercise in pagan futility. Balak and Balaam go through all the religious motions, building altars and offering sacrifices, thinking they can manipulate the spiritual world to get the result they want. But the God of Israel is not a local deity to be appeased or bribed. He is the sovereign Lord of all creation. God commandeers the mouth of the hired prophet and turns the intended curse into an unalterable blessing. The central lesson is the absolute sovereignty of God over His covenant people. No curse can land where God has decreed a blessing. Man proposes, but God disposes, and He is not above making His enemies declare His own glorious purposes.

Outline

Context In Numbers

This episode occurs as Israel is encamped on the plains of Moab, on the very doorstep of the Promised Land. They have already defeated Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. The surrounding nations, particularly Moab, are filled with dread. Balak, the king of Moab, does not engage Israel in conventional warfare. Instead, he recognizes the spiritual nature of Israel's power and seeks to fight them on that level. He hires the most renowned diviner he can find, Balaam, to pronounce a curse. This entire section (chapters 22-24) serves as a dramatic demonstration that Israel's security rests not in their own strength, but in the covenant promise of Yahweh. While Israel is camped below, unaware of the spiritual battle raging in the high places, God Himself defends them, turning the machinations of their enemies into a powerful testimony of His faithfulness.

The Sovereignty of God's Word

A central issue in this passage is the nature of the prophetic word. Balak and Balaam operate under a pagan assumption: that words, especially words spoken by a spiritual specialist through the correct rituals, have inherent power to manipulate reality. They believe a curse is a weapon they can aim and fire. But the Bible presents a radically different view. Power does not reside in the prophet or the ritual, but in the God who speaks. God is not constrained by Balaam's altars or sacrifices. Rather, God constrains Balaam. He literally puts a word in his mouth, making the prophet a mere conduit. This demonstrates that God's Word is sovereign. It accomplishes precisely what He intends, and it cannot be thwarted, redirected, or nullified by human will or demonic desire. God's determination to bless His people is an objective reality that Balaam's words are forced to reflect, not create.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 1-3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here." So Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered up a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps Yahweh will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you." So he went to a bare hill.

Balaam begins by setting up his professional apparatus. The seven altars, seven bulls, and seven rams are all part of the standard operating procedure for high-level pagan divination. He is putting on a show for his client, Balak. This is the religious machinery of men who believe they can get God's attention through impressive displays. It is an attempt to create a transactional relationship with the divine: "I will do this for you, God, so that you will do this for me." Balaam tells Balak to wait by the offering while he goes off, hoping "perhaps Yahweh will come." This reveals his uncertainty. He is not a true prophet of Yahweh who stands in the divine council; he is a diviner for hire, casting about for a supernatural encounter that he can then sell to the king. All false religion is, at its root, an attempt to control God. Balaam is trying to create the right conditions to make God appear and deliver the goods.

v. 4-6 Now God met Balaam, and he said to Him, "I have set up the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on each altar." Then Yahweh put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and you shall speak thus." So he returned to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, he and all the leaders of Moab.

And God does meet him, but not on Balaam's terms. Notice the initiative is all God's. Balaam immediately tries to present his resume, to justify the encounter: "I have set up the seven altars..." He is like a student telling the teacher he did his homework, hoping for a good grade. But God is not impressed with the seven altars. He ignores Balaam's religious bargaining chip entirely. Instead, Yahweh simply "put a word in Balaam's mouth." This is a profound statement of divine sovereignty. God does not suggest, or persuade, or negotiate. He commandeers Balaam's vocal cords. Balaam is about to become a mouthpiece, a puppet for the King of Heaven. The message he will deliver is not his own, and it is not for sale. He returns to find Balak and the Moabite aristocracy waiting expectantly, like an audience waiting for the show to begin, entirely unaware that the script has been completely rewritten by the sovereign Playwright.

v. 7-8 Then he took up his discourse and said, "From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab's king from the mountains of the East, 'Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!' How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom Yahweh has not denounced?"

The oracle begins, and it starts with the problem. Balaam states his assignment clearly: Balak hired him to curse and denounce Jacob. But immediately, he runs into a granite wall. The central question of the entire episode is laid bare: "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?" This is the cry of utter impotence. Balaam, the great spiritual gun-for-hire, finds that his weapons are useless against this target. Why? Because Israel's blessed status is not based on their own merit or strength, but upon a prior divine decision. God has already pronounced them blessed. For Balaam to curse them would be like trying to shout down a hurricane. It is a futile gesture against an established reality. This is the bedrock of our assurance in Christ. Who can bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? (Rom. 8:33-34). Balak is asking Balaam to condemn a people whom God has already justified.

v. 9 For I see him from the top of the rocks, And I look at him from the hills; Behold, a people who dwells alone, And will not be reckoned among the nations.

From his high vantage point, Balaam sees Israel not just physically, but prophetically. He sees their fundamental uniqueness. They are "a people who dwells alone." This is not about geographic isolation, but covenantal separation. They are set apart. Their identity, their laws, their worship, and their destiny are all distinct from the surrounding nations. They are not to be "reckoned among the nations" because they belong to God in a way that no other nation does. They are His treasured possession. This principle of separation is carried over to the Church. We are called to be in the world, but not of the world. Our citizenship is in heaven, and we are not to be numbered or defined by the standards of the passing age.

v. 10 Who can number the dust of Jacob, Or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, And let my end be like his!

The oracle concludes with two stunning statements. First, a recognition of the Abrahamic promise. God told Abraham his descendants would be as the dust of the earth (Gen. 13:16), and here Balaam sees the promise coming to fruition. The people are innumerable, a testament to God's faithfulness. Second, we get a startlingly personal cry from Balaam himself: "Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!" In a moment of clear-sightedness, this corrupt prophet sees the blessed state of God's people and desires their end. He sees that it is better to be righteous and blessed by God than to be a wealthy and famous diviner. But his desire is tragically incomplete. He wants the benefits of righteousness without the submission of righteousness. He wants the destination without walking the path. This is the wish of every sentimental unbeliever who wants the peace of heaven without the Prince of Peace. It is a fleeting admiration for a state he is unwilling to enter by faith.

v. 11-12 Then Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly!" And he replied, "Must I not be careful to speak what Yahweh puts in my mouth?"

Balak's reaction is one of pure, frustrated rage. The transaction has gone horribly wrong. He paid for a curse, and he has received a blessing. "What have you done to me?" is the cry of a man whose plans have just been wrecked by a sovereign God. He sees Balaam as the problem, not realizing that Balaam is just the mailman delivering a message from a higher authority. Balaam's defense is simple and, for the moment, true. "Must I not be careful to speak what Yahweh puts in my mouth?" He is under divine constraint. He is not a free agent in this matter. For all his pagan wiles, he has been cornered by the God of Israel and is forced to speak the truth. This is a powerful reminder that God can and does use any instrument He chooses, even the unwilling mouths of His enemies, to declare His glory and the security of His people.