Below are some preliminary questions to assist in the study of this passage. For a comprehensive study of the passage, download the Study Guide (PDF download).
1. What happens when Balaam seeks to curse the people of Israel? See Numbers 23:7-10 (printed below)
Then Balaam uttered his oracle: Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab has brought me from the eastern mountains. Come, he says, curse Jacob for me. Come and denounce Israel. (8) How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce those whom Jehovah has not denounced? (9) From the rocky peaks I see them, and from the hills I observe them. They are a people who live apart; they shall not be counted among the nations. (10) Who can count the dust that is Jacob, or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like his! (Numbers 23:7-10)
Balaam acknowledges that Balak has brought him to Moab for the express purpose of pronouncing a curse upon the people of Israel. But under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Balaam asks the question, “How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?” Balaam then utters a blessing upon Israel, indicating that they shall be fruitful and enjoy the favor that God bestows upon the righteous. Note: the people of Israel are counted as righteous because of the character and work of their divine Redeemer.
2. What happens the second time Balaam seeks to pronounce a curse against Israel? See Numbers 23:18-24 (printed below)
Then Balaam uttered his oracle: Arise, Balak, and listen; pay attention to me, son of Zippor. (19) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he spoken, and will he not act? Has he promised, and will he not fulfill it? (20) Listen; I have received a commandment to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it. (21) He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, he has not observed obstinate behavior in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him; the shout of a king is among them. (22) God brought them out of Egypt; he is for them like the strength of the wild ox. (23) There is no sorcery that can prevail against Jacob, neither is there any divination that can succeed against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, “See what God has done!” (24) Look; the people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion. He shall not rest until he has devoured his prey and drinks the blood of his victims. (Numbers 23:18-24)
Having failed in his first endeavor to pronounce a curse upon Israel, Balak has Balaam try again. But to Balak’s dismay, not only is the word of blessing not retracted, it is reaffirmed by God and made even more sure. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Balaam declares, “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he spoken, and will he not act? Has he promised, and will he not fulfill it?” (Numbers 23:19) Again, moved by the Holy Spirit, Balaam solemnly calls upon Balak to understand that God has blessed His people and Balaam cannot reverse it (verse 20). Balak is further advised that “there is no sorcery that can prevail against Israel.”(verse 23)
3. Balaam declares that God “has not seen iniquity in Jacob, he has not observed obstinate behavior in Israel” (Numbers 23:21 printed below). In the light of Israel’s behavior throughout their wilderness journey, how can Balaam say this?
He has not seen iniquity in Jacob, he has not observed obstinate behavior in Israel. Jehovah his God is with him; the shout of a king is among them. (Numbers 23:21)
How can Balaam say these things, and say them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Not because Israel was without sin, and not because the Lord was indifferent to their sin, but because the Lord has dealt with their sin. Moses, as their mediator, would make intercession for Israel—in his capacity as mediator Moses was an Old Testament model of Christ. The Lord Himself provided the atoning blood—of the Passover Lamb and the sacrificial blood that covered the mercy seat upon the ark of the covenant—to cover the sins of the people (all of the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to the one great sacrifice of Christ upon the cross). As the Lord promises through the prophet Jeremiah, “In those days, at that time, declares Jehovah, search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare.” (Jeremiah 50:20)
4. How does Balaam describe the people of Israel in his third oracle? See Numbers 24:3-9 (printed below)
Then he uttered this oracle: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eyes see clearly, (4) the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are open. (5) How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel! (6) They are spread out like valleys, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by Jehovah, like cedars beside the waters. (7) Water shall flow from his buckets; his seed shall have abundant water. His king shall be greater than Agag; his kingdom shall be exalted. (8) God brought them out of Egypt; he is for them like the strength of the wild ox. (9) They shall devour hostile nations and break their bones into pieces; with their arrows they shall pierce them. (Numbers 24:3-9)
By the Spirit of God, what Balaam describes is not a people encamped in the wilderness, but a people dwelling in Paradise. The picture presented here is that of great abundance and blessing: luxurious gardens beside flowing rivers, fragrant trees with ample sources of water, buckets with water flowing out of them. What is being described here is the abundant blessing the Lord has in store for His people—some of which is experienced in this present life, but the fullness of which shall be experienced in His eternal presence. Note Psalm 23:6, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow (or, pursue) me all the days of my life.” The Psalm presents the divine goodness and mercy as a great pursuer of God’s people, only overtaking them and bestowing the fullness of its blessing upon them in the eternal kingdom of God.
5. In his final word of prophecy Balaam reveals to Balak what will happen in the future. List the future events he describes. See Numbers 24:14-24 (printed below)
Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me advise you as to what this people will do to your people in the future. (15) Then he uttered his oracle: The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, (16) the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are open. (17) I see him, but not yet; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. (18) Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will also be conquered, but Israel will perform valiant deeds. (19) One coming out of Jacob shall have dominion, he shall destroy the survivors of the city. (20) Then Balaam saw Amalek and uttered his oracle: Amalek was first among the nations, but he will come to ruin at last. (21) Then he saw the Kenites and uttered his oracle: Your dwelling place is secure, your nest is set in the rock; (22) nevertheless, you Kenites will be destroyed when Asshur takes you captive. (23) Again he uttered his oracle: Ah, who can live when God does this? (24) Ships will come from the shores of Kittim; they will subdue Asshur and Eber, but they, too, will come to ruin. (Numbers 24:14-24)
Numbers 24:17-20 prophesies the coming of a mighty Israelite monarchy; this prophecy was fulfilled in the reign of Saul and David. Numbers 24:21-22 prophesies the rise of a Middle Eastern superpower; this prophecy was fulfilled with the rise of the great military empires of Assyria/Babylonia and Persia, each of whom came from the east and advanced west to the Mediterranean Sea. Numbers 24:23-24 prophesies the rise of a world superpower; this prophecy was fulfilled by the great conquering empires of the west, the Greeks and the Romans. Numbers 24:24c prophesies the final overthrow of the superpowers and empires of the world: one power rises to supplant another, but the final word is that “they, too, will come to ruin.” Verse 24c shall be fulfilled when our Lord Jesus Christ returns in glory and brings the great day foretold in Revelation 11:15; “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
