Bird's-eye view
This brief passage marks the explosive culmination of the relationship between Balak, the terrified king of Moab, and Balaam, the hired gun of a prophet. For the third and final time, Balaam has opened his mouth to curse Israel and has instead pronounced a glorious, Spirit-wrought blessing. The dam of Balak's frustration finally breaks, and the whole sordid business arrangement collapses into recrimination and threats. The central theme here is the absolute, unassailable sovereignty of God over the words of men, even the words of a compromised and greedy prophet. God is not just frustrating Balak's plan; He is commandeering the mouth of Balak's chosen instrument to declare His own immutable purposes for His people. The passage serves as a powerful demonstration that no scheme, no bribe, and no human anger can thwart the declared will of Yahweh. It ends with Balaam, having failed to get his paycheck, offering one final, unsolicited prophecy about Israel's ultimate triumph in "the last days," a prophecy that points forward to the coming of Christ the King.
We see here a clash of two worlds. Balak operates entirely in the realm of political expediency and pagan superstition; he believes the right ritual and the right price can manipulate the gods. Balaam is a man caught in between; he has a genuine connection to the prophetic gift of Yahweh but a heart that belongs to the world of Mammon. And over it all, Yahweh presides, not as a party to be negotiated with, but as the sovereign King who works all things, including the greed of a pagan king and the duplicity of a wayward prophet, after the counsel of His own will.
Outline
- 1. The Deal Goes Sour (Num 24:10-14)
- a. Balak's Fury: The Frustration of a Pagan King (Num 24:10)
- b. The Divine Paycheck Withheld (Num 24:11)
- c. Balaam's Defense: The Prophet's Forced Integrity (Num 24:12-13)
- d. A Parting Shot: The Prophecy of the Last Days (Num 24:14)
Context In Numbers
This episode occurs as the Israelites are camped on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the Promised Land. The generation that came out of Egypt has died in the wilderness, and this new generation is on the cusp of fulfilling God's promise. King Balak of Moab, seeing this vast host, is gripped by "dread" (Num 22:3). He does not try to fight them with swords and spears; instead, he attempts to engage in spiritual warfare, hiring the famous Mesopotamian prophet Balaam to pronounce a curse upon them. The entire narrative of Balaam (Num 22-24) is an extended demonstration of God's covenant faithfulness. Despite Israel's own internal failings, God protects them from external spiritual attack. He first forbids Balaam to go, then permits him, but only under the strict condition that he speak only what God tells him. The talking donkey incident in chapter 22 is a comical but deadly serious sign that God is in complete control of this situation. The three subsequent oracles, of which this passage is the immediate aftermath, all turn into magnificent blessings for Israel, revealing God's irreversible intention to bless His chosen people.
Key Issues
- The Sovereignty of God in Prophecy
- The Conflict Between God and Mammon
- The Nature of a Compromised Prophet
- The Meaning of "The Last Days"
- Covenant Blessing vs. Pagan Curses
The Hired Gun Misfires
The scene is dripping with divine irony. Balak has gone to great expense and trouble to import a spiritual mercenary, a man with a reputation for getting results. He has built seven altars on three different high places, offered dozens of bulls and rams, and has done everything he can to create the right atmosphere for a potent curse. And what does he get for his money? He gets three of the most glorious prophecies in favor of Israel found anywhere in the Pentateuch. God has turned Balak's entire scheme on its head. He has not simply neutralized the curse; He has hijacked the proceedings entirely.
This is a fundamental lesson in how our God operates. He does not just play defense. He is not wringing His hands in heaven, hoping Balaam makes the right choice. He is the one putting the words in Balaam's mouth. He is the one orchestrating this entire fiasco to demonstrate His absolute authority over heaven and earth, and His unshakeable love for His people. Balak thought he was hiring a prophet to manipulate God. He discovered that God was using his prophet to mock him.
Verse by Verse Commentary
10 Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have blessed them repeatedly these three times!
The rage is palpable. Balak's anger "burned," a common biblical description for intense fury. Striking the hands together was a public gesture of contempt and utter frustration. The deal is off. Balak states the obvious with the exasperation of a man who has been completely swindled. The charge is simple: "I hired you for one job, to curse, and you have done the precise opposite, not once, but three times." Balak's worldview cannot process this. In his mind, prophets are technicians of the spiritual realm. If you pay the fee and perform the rites, you get the desired result. He is confronting the reality of a God who cannot be bribed, manipulated, or co-opted into anyone's political agenda. This is the rage of impotence. Balak has come face to face with the God who does whatever He pleases, and all the king's horses and all the king's men cannot do a thing about it.
11 So now, flee to your place. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, Yahweh has held you back from honor.”
Balak dismisses him. "Flee to your place" is a command of utter contempt. Get out of my sight. He then adds a bitter, sarcastic jab. He reminds Balaam of the "great honor" promised, which included not just wealth but also political standing and favor. But then he identifies the culprit. He says, "Yahweh has held you back from honor." And in this, Balak speaks a deeper truth than he knows. He means it as an insult: "Your God has cost you a fortune." But in the economy of the kingdom, it is profoundly true. Yahweh does indeed hold His people back from the kind of "honor" that comes from compromising with the world. Balaam's divided heart is laid bare here. He wanted Balak's gold, but he was constrained by Yahweh's power. Balak correctly identifies the source of his frustration, but he cannot comprehend the nature of that source. He sees Yahweh as a cosmic killjoy, a spoiler of profitable business deals, rather than as the sovereign Lord of all things.
12-13 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything to trespass the command of Yahweh, either good or bad, of my own accord. What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’?
Balaam now defends himself, and his defense is, on the surface, entirely orthodox. He reminds Balak that he had been upfront from the very beginning. He quotes his earlier statement to Balak's messengers almost verbatim. He claims that no amount of money could induce him to "trespass the command of Yahweh." He insists that he is bound to speak only what Yahweh speaks. Now, is this true? Yes, it is. But it is not the whole truth. His actions have already betrayed the fact that his heart lusted after that house full of silver and gold. He kept going back to God, hoping for a different answer. His integrity here is a forced integrity. He is like a dog on a very short, very strong leash. He may want to run after the rabbit, but he cannot. He is not speaking God's word because his heart is pure, but because God's grip on his prophetic gift is absolute. He is an unwilling vehicle for a divine message, and his defense here is a self-righteous justification that papers over the greed that got him there in the first place.
14 So now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the last days.”
Having been fired, Balaam prepares to leave. But he has one last thing to offer. It is a piece of unsolicited advice, a final prophecy. This one is on the house. He says he will tell Balak what Israel "will do to your people in the last days." The phrase "the last days" is a crucial eschatological marker. In the prophets, it consistently refers to the age of the Messiah, the era when God would bring his covenant purposes to their climax. Balaam is about to look down the corridors of time and see the ultimate triumph of the people of God, culminating in the reign of a king from Jacob. This prophecy, which follows in verses 15-24, speaks of a Star and a Scepter rising out of Israel who will crush Moab and all the enemies of God. This is not some far-off, end-of-the-planet prediction. It is a prophecy about the coming of King David in the short term, and ultimately about the coming of King Jesus, who is the true Star and Scepter. Balaam, the compromised prophet, is made to be the first prophet to explicitly predict the coming of the Gentile-crushing King, a stunning irony. He is telling the enemy of Israel that their ultimate doom is sealed because a King is coming from Israel who will rule the nations.
Application
The first and most obvious application is the glorious, rock-ribbed sovereignty of God. Our God is not a celestial consultant whom we can hire to bless our projects. He is the King, and His purposes are invincible. When men set themselves against His people and His will, He does not just defeat them; He often makes their own efforts the very instrument of their defeat. He puts His words in the mouths of His enemies. He uses the wrath of man to praise Him. This should be a profound comfort to the believer. The powers of this world, with all their money and influence and rage, are on a leash. They can do nothing apart from what the sovereign hand of God has ordained.
Second, the character of Balaam is a stark warning against spiritual duplicity. It is possible to have genuine spiritual gifts and a corrupt heart. It is possible to say all the right, orthodox things while inwardly serving Mammon. Balaam was a man who knew the power of Yahweh but did not love the character of Yahweh. He wanted to have it both ways: God's power and the world's reward. The New Testament holds him up as a quintessential example of a false teacher who uses religion for financial gain (2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11). We must constantly examine our own hearts. Do we serve God because He is God, or do we see Him as a means to some other end, be it wealth, reputation, or comfort? God can use a man like Balaam, but it is a fearful thing to be used by God as an instrument while your own heart remains in rebellion.
Finally, we are reminded that God's plan for His people will triumph. Balaam was forced to prophesy about the victory of Israel in "the last days." We live in those last days, the age inaugurated by the death and resurrection of the Star from Jacob, the Lord Jesus Christ. His kingdom is advancing, and it will crush all opposition. The enemies of the Church today are no different from Balak. They may rage and plot, but their end is determined. Our job is not to curse our enemies, but to trust in the King who has already secured the victory.