An Outline Of Balaam’s Messages To Balak Series

25 And Balak said unto Balaam, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 26 But Balaam answered and said unto Balak, Told not I thee, saying, All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do? 27 And Balak said unto Balaam, Come, I pray thee, I will bring thee unto another place; peradventure it will please God that thou mayest curse me them from thence. 28 And Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor, that looketh toward Jeshimon. 29 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.

--Balak clearly wasn’t pleased with the blessing by Balaam so he tried something else. He brought Balaam to a different place where he would only see “the utmost part” of Israel. This may mean the last few tents of any of the four sections around the Tabernacle per Numbers 2.

--Again Balaam commanded Balak to build seven additional altars, and then sacrifice a ram and a bullock on each one. So far that’s 14 each or a total of 28 animals sacrificed.

--Pisgah, mentioned in verse 14, was the same mountain where God told Moses he would die bur God buried his body in another location (see Deuteronomy 34). Here, Pisgah is another place, perhaps at a higher elevation, than where Balaam and Balak had stood before.

--God gave Balaam another message (“parable,” KJV) for Balak. Verses 19-24 contain that message, a reminder of how God had chosen and blessed Israel. Note the allusions to other Old Testament passages in this message here.

--Again, Balak was not pleased with Balaam’s message. He told Balaam, probably in the heat of the moment, “Neither bless them at all nor curse them at all (seems impossible, to me!).” Balaam again replied he could only reveal to Balak what the LORD had revealed to him.

--Balak took Balaam to still another place, hoping Balaam would finally curse Israel from there. Again, Balaam asked for and received seven altars, plus a bullock and ram for a sacrifice to be made on each altar.

4 Balaam’s third message

Text, Numbers 24:1-14, KJV: 1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. 3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! 6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.