Balak
Destroyer
“Balaam’s Example to Avoid”
Numbers 22:2-25:9
Micah 5:6-6:8
excerpted from TorahScope, Volume III
This week’s Torah portion, Balak, is full of some significant descriptions, of the attempted spiritual attack on the fledgling nation of Ancient Israel—as it was encamped on the plains of Moab overlooking the Jordan, while preparing for the invasion of the Promised Land. Recall that the God-blessed conquest over the Amorites was completed (Numbers 21:10-22:1), and the Israelites were now basking in their triumph, having recently placed faith in the raised brazen serpent to ward off the sting of vipers (Numbers 21:6-20). However, the physical challenges of defeating an enemy is one thing—but now as this parashah commences, the relative relaxation of victory, was going to provide the Lord, through demonically-inspired individuals, the opportunity to once again test the hearts of His people. After all, people are generally vulnerable to the wiles of the Devil when they let down their guard, and experience a wide return to fleshly endeavors. So, while studying this Torah portion this week, it is appropriate that we ponder the many questions posed by the Prophet Micah, who recognized in his era, the propensity for Israel to chronically fall back upon its carnal inclinations—by not recognizing what the Lord had done and what was good:
“‘My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me! For I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.’ How shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:3-8, WMB).
The Holy One of Israel never relents from persistently molding His chosen people, to be a light to rest of the world (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6)—with a faithful dependence upon Him, for all they have been called to accomplish for salvation history. In our Torah reading, an opportunity for the Lord to use Balak, the king of Moab, and Balaam, a prophet for hire (Deuteronomy 23:4-5; cf. 2 Peter 2:15), to test the hearts of Israel, arrived during a period of respite from the rigors of warfare, and the arduous final march to the plains of Moab. Balak was aware of Israel’s rout of the Amorites, but rather than engage the Israelites militarily, he chose to elicit the charms of a soothsayer, regionally known for having the power to bless or curse people:
“Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. Moab was very afraid of the people, because they were many. Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel. Moab said to the elders of Midian, ‘Now this multitude will lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.’ Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. He sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, ‘Behold, there is a people who came out of Egypt. Behold, they cover the surface of the earth, and they are staying opposite me. Please come now therefore, and curse this people for me; for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed’” (Numbers 22:2-6, WMB).
The problem, with Balak’s strategy, was that he chose a mere mortal—to try to overturn the ultimate blessing, bestowed upon the descendants of Abraham, by the Creator God Himself:
“I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who treats you with contempt. All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:2-3, WMB).
Needless to say, in the end as the narrative unfolded, readers discover how God’s blessings far surpass anything human beings can conjure. In the case of Balaam, we see a great demonstration of how the Holy One would not even allow him to utter a curse, but rather oracles of blessings upon His own!
Interestingly, upon receiving the request from Balak, Balaam was recorded to have consulted with God, and even referenced Him as a covenant keeping deity:
“Balaam said to God, ‘Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has said to me, “Behold, the people that has come out of Egypt covers the surface of the earth. Now, come curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.”’ God said to Balaam, ‘You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.’ Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, ‘Go to your land; for the LORD refuses to permit me to go with you.’ The princes of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, ‘Balaam refuses to come with us.’ Balak again sent princes, more, and more honorable than they. They came to Balaam, and said to him, ‘Balak the son of Zippor says, “Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me, for I will promote you to very great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Please come therefore, and curse this people for me.”’ Balaam answered the servants of Balak, ‘If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. Now therefore please stay here tonight as well, that I may know what else the LORD will speak to me.’ God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, ‘If the men have come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that you shall do’” (Numbers 22:10-20, WMB).
These interchanges reveal a great warning to God’s people down through the ages, how even those who might know about the Lord at some level—given the wrong motivations steered by a love of money (1 Timothy 6:10) and selfish ambition (Philippians 1:17)—can be used to test those who are His faithful. Jude warned the Messiah followers of his generation, how people like Balaam were often found participating in love feasts or regular fellowship gatherings of the Believers, via some sort of cover of having a “genuine” relationship with the Lord:
“Woe to them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in Korah’s rebellion. These are hidden rocky reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you, shepherds who without fear feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 11-13, WMB).
Believers need to be warned! Discerning the spirits, by examining a person’s or a group’s spiritual fruit, and testing the faith of those attempting to influence one’s relationship with the Most High—is required of everyone who is truly seeking His righteousness. Lamentably, far too many people are easily beguiled by the same demonic principalities which once influenced those like Cain, Balaam, and Korah—because just like the Ancient Israelites, the Lord is constantly testing every heart.
Upon given permission to travel to adhere to Balak’s request, our Torah reading depicts the somewhat amusing reality of how God can, at times, use a common animal to communicate to His people. In this case, the infamous Balaam’s donkey was actually noted for speaking words which the angelic host called into action:
“Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. God’s anger burned because he went; and the LORD’s angel placed himself in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. The donkey saw the LORD’s angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned out of the path, and went into the field. Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the path. Then the LORD’s angel stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. The donkey saw the LORD’s angel, and she thrust herself to the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. He struck her again. The LORD’s angel went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. The donkey saw the LORD’s angel, and she lay down under Balaam. Balaam’s anger burned, and he struck the donkey with his staff. The LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ Balaam said to the donkey, ‘Because you have mocked me, I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would have killed you.’ The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long until today? Was I ever in the habit of doing so to you?’ He said, ‘No.’ Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the LORD’s angel standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. The LORD’s angel said to him, ‘Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me, and turned away before me these three times. Unless she had turned away from me, surely now I would have killed you, and saved her alive.’ Balaam said to the LORD’s angel, ‘I have sinned; for I didn’t know that you stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases you, I will go back again.’ The LORD’s angel said to Balaam, ‘Go with the men; but you shall only speak the word that I shall speak to you.’ So Balaam went with the princes of Balak” (Numbers 22:21-35, WMB).
The Lord used this unique encounter, to demonstrably warn Balaam, that he was not to speak anything but what He instructed him to say. Then, because there was a delay in Balaam’s arrival, Balak’s anxiety was responded by Balaam indicating that he would only be able to speak the word which God put in his mouth:
“When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. Balak said to Balaam, ‘Didn’t I earnestly send for you to summon you? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I not able indeed to promote you to honor?’ Balaam said to Balak, ‘Behold, I have come to you. Have I now any power at all to speak anything? I will speak the word that God puts in my mouth’” (Numbers 22:36-38, WMB).
Obviously, despite some impure motives centered on gold and silver, the frightening episode with Balaam’s donkey speaking to him—had communicated to Balaam that he had better speak only the words given to him by the God of Israel Himself.
As our parashah continues, we find that Balaam was definitely aware of many of the rituals associated with properly approaching the Lord. By sacrificing seven bulls and seven rams on seven different altars, Balaam obviously knew a considerable amount about the revealed ways of the Almighty. The lesson to be learned is that none of us are to be fooled by someone who claims to know the Lord—and perhaps can quote Scripture to tickle the ears (2 Timothy 4:3), with all sorts of teaching using the Bible as a basis for unsound conclusions. In the case of Balaam, he was once again constrained to speak only what the Lord allowed, despite the pleas of Balak to curse Israel:
“Balaam said to Balak, ‘Build here seven altars for me, and prepare here seven bulls and seven rams for me.’ Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram. Balaam said to Balak, ‘Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.’ He went to a bare height. God met Balaam, and he said to him, ‘I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.’ The LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, ‘Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.’ He returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. He took up his parable, and said, ‘From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel. How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy whom the LORD has not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him. From the hills I see him. Behold, it is a people that dwells alone, and shall not be listed among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!’ Balak said to Balaam, ‘What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them altogether.’ He answered and said, ‘Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?’ Balak said to him, ‘Please come with me to another place, where you may see them. You shall see just part of them, and shall not see them all. Curse them from there for me’” (Numbers 23:1-13, WMB).
Instead of cursing Ancient Israel, Balaam uttered some profound words, which echo the blessing bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 12:2-3). Balak was mortified that rather than cursing the Israelites, Balaam actually blessed them. So to get another vantage point and perhaps elicit the desired curse, Balak relocated Balaam to a higher perch, so he could see all of the encamped Israelites.
A second oracle came forth from the mouth of Balaam, which was even more mellifluous, almost waxing poetically when compared to the first discourse. Naturally, Balak was once again appalled with the words he heard:
“He said to Balak, ‘Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet God over there.’ The LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, ‘Return to Balak, and say this.’ He came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ He took up his parable, and said, ‘Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, you son of Zippor. God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it. He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox. Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, “What has God done!” Behold, a people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.’ Balak said to Balaam, ‘Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.’ But Balaam answered Balak, ‘Didn’t I tell you, saying, “All that the LORD speaks, that I must do”?’” (Numbers 23:15-26, WMB).
Balak’s reaction to silence Balaam, so that no more words of any kind would be uttered over Israel, was received by deaf ears. Balaam had to have realized how the Lord God was using him to bless Israel, and he was overcome by the Spirit of God, being led to eloquently proclaim yet another oracle:
“When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he didn’t go, as at the other times, to use divination, but he set his face toward the wilderness. Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him. He took up his parable, and said, ‘Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says; he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open: How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your dwellings, Israel! As valleys they are spread out, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which the LORD has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets. His seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag. His kingdom shall be exalted. God brings him out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox. He shall consume the nations his adversaries, shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Everyone who blesses you is blessed. Everyone who curses you is cursed.’ Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, ‘I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times. Therefore, flee to your place, now! I thought to promote you to great honor; but, behold, the LORD has kept you back from honor’” (Numbers 24:1-11, WMB).
From this description of Israel, uttered through the mouth of a prophet for hire, came some beautiful words, which defined Israel as blessed with prosperity and might among its adversaries. These are words which have been incorporated into the traditional Jewish liturgy of the Shabbat service, and hence are employed at many Messianic congregations and fellowships. Balak was sternly warned that all who blessed Israel would be blessed, but those who cursed Israel would be cursed. Balak was livid. Despite the opportunity for Balaam to significantly cash in on Balak’s request to curse Israel, Balaam was constrained to only speak what the Lord was ultimately directing by His Spirit. In fact, Balak’s command for Balaam to stop speaking was ignored, as Balaam continued to proclaim a final oracle which directs one to the future, and how the Holy One would be dealing with the adversaries of Israel:
“Balaam said to Balak, ‘Didn’t I also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can’t go beyond the LORD’s word, to do either good or bad from my own mind. I will say what the LORD says”? Now, behold, I go to my people. Come, I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.’ He took up his parable, and said, ‘Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eyes are open says; he says, who hears the words of God, knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open: I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and crush all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemy, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city.’ He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, ‘Amalek was the first of the nations, but his latter end shall come to destruction.’ He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, ‘Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock. Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, until Asshur carries you away captive.’ He took up his parable, and said, ‘Alas, who shall live when God does this? But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim. They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber. He also shall come to destruction.’ Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way” (Numbers 24:12-25, WMB).
Sometimes, the Spirit of the Most High can be so compelling to vessels of righteousness—or in the case of Balaam, one seeking personal gain, financial acquisitions, and/or self-elevating notoriety—that people cannot terminate the flow of revelation coming forth from God. Here, we find a reference to the coming of the Messiah in days to come (Numbers 24:17). Also seen is a list of regional powers to the Ancient Near East, which would either be ruled by Israel, or experience some kind of judgment from God. Regardless of the details, the point made was that the still-sojourning Israelites, and the Lord they served, would be a power to contend with.
After what was surely an exhausting exercise, Balaam finally left, and the disappointed Balak returned to his city to contemplate what, for him, had been depressing words declared over Israel. Needless to say, Balak probably had a few restless nights, as the Israelites were encamped around the Tabernacle and were anticipating entering into the Promised Land. However, as the Israelites were gathered, we do see how later, that Balaam gave the Moabites some wicked advice on how to have the Israelites curse themselves:
“Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and so the plague was among the congregation of the LORD” (Numbers 31:16, WMB).
The conclusion to our parashah ends on some disappointing developments and actions taken, which resulted in the deaths of many Israelites, who were on the precipice of entering into Canaan:
“Israel stayed in Shittim; and the people began to play the prostitute with the daughters of Moab; for they called the people to the sacrifices of their gods. The people ate and bowed down to their gods. Israel joined himself to Baal Peor, and the LORD’s anger burned against Israel. The LORD said to Moses, ‘Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to the LORD before the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.’ Moses said to the judges of Israel, ‘Everyone kill his men who have joined themselves to Baal Peor.’ Behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought to his brothers a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the middle of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand. He went after the man of Israel into the pavilion, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. Those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand” (Numbers 25:1-9, WMB).
It is here where the sin of Baal Peor is detailed, with the introduction of the grandson of Aaron, the son of Eleazar, named Phinehas. He was to eventually become the high priest of Israel, and will be discussed in much greater detail in next week’s reading (Numbers 25:10-30:1[29:40]). Nevertheless, Phinehas’ zealousness for the Lord, brutally dealing with the sin in the camp, is mentioned. When seeing this action, perhaps it is much clearer why the Jewish Sages turned to Micah 5:6-6:8 as the Haftarah. They surely wanted to see people faithful to God be reminded of the imperative, to do justice and walk humbly before Him (Micah 6:8).
Of course, the requirement to serve the Lord in righteousness, walking humbly before Him—and not being like a Balaam, who was perverted by his lust for riches—never goes away. The need to remember the poor examples of those who are spoken about in the Bible, and how the people of God will have their faith in him challenged by a number of ways—should necessarily direct us to implore Him for wisdom, discernment, and steadfastness! This is even more imperative for those who know that Yeshua the Messiah has come, as Believers in Him have each experienced a transformation of their hearts and minds, via the presence of the Holy Spirit.
