Balaam's first oracles: blessing and victory certain

Text Numbers 22:36-23:24 Time 17/02/13 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church 

We have begun to look at the story of Balaam and how Balak the King of Moab hired him hoping that he could bring a curse on the Israelites in the desert. We looked last time particularly at the incident with the donkey who spoke and we suggested that God brought this about in order to illustrate and foretell certain things. So, for example, we read of the donkey taking Balaam to various places just as in the section that follows Balak takes Balaam to various places where he tries to get him to curse Israel. Just as God opens the mouth of the donkey to speak so he later opens Balaam's mouth to speak. Just as the donkey complains of being beaten three times so later Balaam complains of being duped by Balak three times. The story of Balaam's donkey in Chapter 22 is a sort of miniature version of the later story in Chapters 23, 24.

Altogether we have four oracles in these chapters and what I want to do is to look at two of them this time and two of them next time. So two things tonight

1. Realise that blessing is inevitable for the people of God for God keeps his promises

We take up the story in verses 36 and 37 of Chapter 22 where we read that
When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the Moabite town on the Arnon border, at the edge of his territory. Balak said to Balaam, Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?
Balak goes a good distance (to the very edge of his territory) to meet Balaam. This is probably not because he wanted to show respect but because he was very anxious about the matter. Balak felt threatened by the people of God and he wanted to be sure that his plan to have them cursed was going to come off.

The people of this world have their plans and they are often very anxious to see them fulfilled. Nevertheless, for all their anxiety, it is the Lord's will that prevails in the end. Remember that.

Balaam replies (38) Well, I have come to you now, … But he adds can I say just anything? I must speak only what God puts in my mouth. Balaam is keen to receive Balak's gifts but he knows he has to rely on what God prompts him to say as a prophet. Balak is not his boss but God is. This is one of the things that Balaam gets right. This is how it should be.

This is how it always has to be if an arrangement is to have any integrity at all. In the scientific world there is a recognised problem with experimenter's bias. At at least seven points, researchers say, any given scientist is liable to be biased (reading-up on the field, specifying and selecting the study sample, executing the experimental manoeuvre (or exposure), measuring exposures and outcomes, analysing data, interpreting the analysis, publishing the results). A particular problem is funding or sponsorship bias. There can be "funding outcome bias" or "funding publication bias". So for example, a 1996 study on the effects of nicotine on cognitive performance revealed that findings that nicotine or smoking improved performance were more likely to be published by scientists who acknowledged support from the tobacco industry. A 2006 review of experimental studies examining the health effects of using mobile phones found that studies funded exclusively by the industry were least likely to report a statistically significant result.
So in churches, there is always the danger of preacher's bias. It can come in while he's preparing, when he's preaching, after the preaching, etc. If we had a situation where I could only preach what you wanted me to preach, then there would be a distinct and obvious possibility of me just saying what you wanted to hear. That cannot be. I have to tell you what the Bible actually says. There is still room for bias, of course, but this method cuts out a lot of problems. So here Balaam has to say what God tells him to say.

With the oracles or prophetic sayings we have a preamble and then the oracle itself.

1. The pre-amble to the first oracle

And so we read first of all how (39) Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. There (40) Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the princes who were with him. We are not sure exactly what this was about but it may have been that Balak was seeking to tie Balaam into the Moabite gods and the Moabite understanding. Whatever was the case, the first attempt to curse Israel was begun The next morning as in Chapter 23 we read how Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, high places associated with the worship of Baal and from (w)here he saw part of the people. This it seems was important – it was believed for some reason that he could only curse the people if he could see them. Balaam now made his own sacrifices saying Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me which Balak did. Seven is, of course, a special number, a number of fullness. He may have arranged altars to seven different gods, hoping to corner the market as it were. Then (3-6) Balaam said to Balak, Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. This is like in the previous chapter where Balaam had previously gone aside alone to consult with God. He says to Balak
Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you. Then he went off to a barren height. God met with him, and Balaam said, I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram. The Lord put a message in Balaam’s mouth and said, Go back to Balak and give him this message. So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the princes of Moab.

2. The first oracle

It is in verse 7 that this first oracle begins, Then Balaam uttered his oracle:. What we then have is a collection of what have been called wisdom sayings arranged in what is apparently a highly structured set of seven couplets.

We have here references to the past, present and future.

1. The past (1, 2)

• Balaam's call by Balak - Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.
• Why Balak wanted Balaam - Come, he said, curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.

2. Present (3-6)

• Balaam asks, however, (8) How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced?
• As Balaam looks at the people (9 From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them he says)
• He understands what he is seeing I see a people who live apart he says and do not consider themselves one of the nations. These people are special. They are God's people.
• He adds (10) Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? This could be future but already they have grown to be an impressive number.

3. Future (7)

• In the final couplet Balaam exclaims Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my end be like theirs! He rightly envies these chosen ones, knowing that they cannot be cursed but must be blessed and so their future is certain. Matthew Henry notes how Balaam acknowledges at least four things here – first that death is the destiny of all people. We will all die one day. Nevertheless, there is something beyond death. If death was the end of everything, how on earth can he say that there is something desirable about the death of the righteous? Thirdly, he makes clear that the righteous are blessed in life but beyond that also in death. To be truly righteous is the great thing. Of course, fourthly, Balaam was not righteous. He saw how desirable it was to be righteous but he got no further. We must be careful to get beyond him and see how vital it is to be righteous by trusting in Jesus Christ.

 And so far from cursing the people as he was requested, Balaam blesses them.

11, 12 Balak said to Balaam, What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them! He answered, Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?

So the first lesson is that it is God's Word that prevails. Try as he might Balak could not persuade Balaam to curse God's people. And try as he might, Balaam was not able to curse them. No, they will be blessed. It cannot be otherwise. This is because, of course, of God's promise to Abraham. In Genesis 13:16 God said to Abraham I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted. And here is Balaam seeing that he cannot count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel. It is because God's promises cannot fail that those who belong to the people of God cannot but be blessed. Are you one of his? Are you resting only in Jesus and what he has done? Then you must be blessed. It has to be. Praise God!

2. Realise that victory is inevitable for the people of God for God cannot lie

We read next about the second oracle.

1. The pre-amble to the second oracle.

In verse 13 we read that
Then Balak said to Balaam Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will see only a part but not all of them. And from there, curse them for me. So we read he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, again a high place and there he built seven altars again and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam again said to Balak, Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there. Again
(16-18) The Lord met with Balaam and put a message in his mouth and said, Go back to Balak and give him this message. So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, What did the Lord say? Then he uttered his oracle:
So here is the same procedure once again but it is a different place and leads to another oracle. The oracles have a certain pattern. According to Gordon Wenham it is

1. Mention of Balak or Balaam with a title or description

2. A comment on God's character

3. Israel's appearance

4. Israel's future king

5. The exodus

6. Defeat of enemies

Not every oracle has all six traits, though this second one does. There is a certain progression from oracle to oracle as well.

This second one is longer than the first containing 11 couplets this time, it would seem. Again it uses Hebrew parallelism and is quite symmetrical in the way it is set out.

This time we have

1. A call to Balak Arise, Balak, and listen; hear me, son of Zippor.

2/3. Then this striking pair of statements about God (19) God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?

4. That leads to the ironic admission by Balaam (20) I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

5. He observes (21a) that No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel.

6. The reason is (21b) that The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them a first reference to the coming Messiah, no doubt.

7. He refers to the exodus itself (22) God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.

8. He confesses (again ironically - 23a) There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel.

9. Again he looks to the future (23b) It will now be said of Jacob and of Israel, See what God has done!

10/11. He closes (24) The people rise like a lioness; they rouse themselves like a lion that does not rest till he devours his prey and drinks the blood of his victims. Victory is certain for the people of God.

Balak and Balaam knew all about capricious gods who changed their minds and who were difficult to be sure of but the true God is not like them. He is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil? Far from it. He is utterly trustworthy. This is why we know we can rely on him. Trust on him. He is utterly reliable. Victory is certain with him. Success is certain. We will win. If he blesses, no Balaam or Balak or anyone else can change it. Misfortune and misery are in the end impossible. He is with his people, in their midst, and so no sorcery and no divination can prevail against God's own people.

How this ought to encourage us and give us hope if we are trusting in Jesus. God is faithful and true and so if we are joined to him we cannot fall or fail. Victory is certain.