Numbers 22: 1 – 41
The Original Mr. Ed
22 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of [c]the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ” 12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.” 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ” 18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then 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?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever [f]disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perversebefore Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.” 34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.” 35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” 38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him. 41 So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people.
A popular TV channel that I enjoy is called ME TV. They show some old time popular programs. One of these was Mr. Ed. Theories abound as to how Mr. Ed’s lips moved during the eight-year run of the 1960s television show about a comedic and adventurous talking horse. You’ve heard the theme song even if you didn’t grow up in that decade:
“A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course. That is, of course, unless the horse is the famous Mister Ed.”
Some viewers thought the camera focused on the equine until he yawned. Then co-star Alan Young, who played Mr. Ed’s one confidante, Wilbur, told the story that crew put peanut butter in the horse’s mouth to get him to move his lips.
Young later recanted this comment, stating that he had only said that because he didn’t want to disappoint children with the technicality of how it was actually done.
So just how did producers get this palomino to talk?
Initially, a string was used. However, after training with Les Hilton, with whom the horse celebrity formed such a strong bond that he would only respond to him, the gelding learned to wag his lips whenever his hoof was touched.
Many more secrets abound with this iconic black-and-white TV show:
Bamboo Harvester was the name of the palomino show horse that played Mr. Ed. However, his stunt double, Pumpkin, was actually a Quarter horse. They looked almost identical except for a gold spot on Pumpkin’s white patch. The coloration was covered up with white make-up for filming. Because Bamboo Harvester only took direction from his trainer, Hilton had to be on set for every shot.
Actor Alan Young had to dye his naturally blonde hair a darker color because his locks blended in too much with the horse on the black-and-white screen.
Bamboo Harvester decided when he was done for the day and would reportedly just walk off the set when he was ready to call it quits.
Whatever happened to the original Mr. Ed? Unbeknownst to fans, Bamboo Harvester died a couple years after the show’s series end, though recounts of his death vary.
What we do know is that the death happened under the radar, allowing the public to believe that another horse, who later died in 1979, was the original Mr. Ed. In fact, this horse was only used for publicity photo shoots following the closing of the show.
Today we are going to learn about another talking animal. It wasn’t a horse. It was a donkey and the animal actually was given the ability to speak.
22 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.
Their warfare being in successful process of completion, the people of Israel encamped in the plains of Moab opposite Jericho in Beyond Jordan. The plains of Moab were a large relatively uninhabited region north of the Arnon, in former Amorite territory. Israel would remain there for some time and there Moses delivered his final exhortation and encouragement as revealed in Deuteronomy, prior to his death. Here they were on the verge of the territory known as ‘Beyond Jordan’ which extended on both sides of the Jordan. The Moabites in their land south of the Arnon could hardly be anything but worried. They did not like their seeming inactivity. The inevitable question on their minds was, who were these people going to attack next? So they decided to take the initiative in order to protect themselves.
Having defeated the Amorites and being in process of possessing their land Israel are now faced with a more subtle threat. This commences with the approach of the Aramean prophet Balaam, and continues with the results of his later evil plan.
In those days warfare was conducted on a number of levels. The most obvious was the clash of armies. But behind the clash of armies could be a variety of other activities. These could include interchange of correspondence enforcing their case by citing the power of their gods (Judges 11.12-28), both encouraging their own troops and dismaying the enemy. Preliminary ‘battles’ taking place between champions in order to determine whose god was the most powerful (1 Samuel 17). And so on. But nothing was more important than ensuring that the gods were on your side. And that was where certain men seen as possessing awesome powers came in. Such men, ‘prophets’, ‘soothsayers’ and ‘diviners’ were seen as having special influence with the gods, and operated through dreams, visions, trances, omens, enchantments and the occult.
Thus in these chapters we have revealed in the tactics of Balak, king of Moab, a different approach to the challenging of Israel from those before him for while Israel had made no attempt to interfere with Moab, Balak was afraid. Here was a large and seemingly mighty army on his frontiers and he wanted to get rid of them. But he seemingly did not feel up to taking them on in battle. Having probably heard of what Yahweh had done previously, and having seen them destroy the enemy that he himself had been unable to defeat, he decided that he needed ‘similar’ powers on his side, and he needed somehow to influence Yahweh.
So he sent for Balaam (the ‘nation-swallower’), the famous prophet-diviner, requesting that he come to him so that he might curse Israel. Balaam, the prophet-diviner, was a man of great reputation who apparently lived in northern Syria. Such people professed to be able to influence events by use of various occult methods. They would often enter into drug induced trances in which they could see and hear almost anything. They hired themselves out for gold, and their fees were high. The subsequent story in fact reveals what an enigmatic figure he was. For while he was certainly wanting to oblige Balak by bringing divine powers to his rescue, at the same time he openly acknowledged that they were not fully under his control. He acknowledged that unless the ‘gods’ were cooperative he could not achieve his ends. Indeed in seeking to exercise his gifts with Yahweh he was revealed as being limited in what he could achieve right from the beginning, by the response that came when he commenced his sorceries.
However, while not approving of his methods, the account does suggest certain genuineness in what he sought to do, so much so that God was willing to have dealings with him and reveal things to him on behalf of His own people. Yet it is quite obvious that Balaam involved himself in the occult. He clearly considered that he did get in touch with other world beings, and did expect to receive messages from them. He was thus seen as engaging in spirits and divination. Using Moses’ terms, he contacted devils (Deuteronomy 32.17). But as with the medium of Endor later (1 Samuel 28.6-25), where confronted with such, God was willing to use them in order to bring home His own message.
Balaam was not a worshipper of Yahweh, but that he was willing to listen to Him and respond to Him the account makes clear. It would seem that at first he mistakenly thought that he could treat Yahweh like any of his other other-world ‘contacts’. But he soon learned that he was dealing with something outside his previous experience. What harm he could actually have done to Israel we do not know, but certainly at the time everyone thought that he could do great harm.
A good question asked is ‘why is so much space given in Scripture to this rather strange history when seemingly larger affairs are dealt with in a few sentences?’ The answer lies mainly in the words which God put in Balaam’s mouth. Three times he spoke, followed by further prophecy, and in doing so he confirmed the promises of God to His people. That they were spoken by a non-Israelite prophet of the status of Balaam made them even more significant. The words of such a man as Balaam would be a major encouragement as Israel prepared to enter the land in order to take possession, for they would be seen as coming from an external prophetic source. It was only human nature among the weaker of them that while they might have some doubts about what Yahweh promised, the promises seemed much more certain when spoken by such a man as Balaam. And God graciously allowed it to be so for their sakes.
We also can see that God’s control of Balaam was probably seen as an example of the greatness of Yahweh. The mighty Balaam was feared throughout the Ancient Near East, but he was nothing before Yahweh. He was seen as subject to Yahweh’s will. The thought would be that if Yahweh could defeat Balaam, He could defeat anyone.
The story began with Balak sending important messengers to Balaam. These were ‘chieftains’ who would seek to persuade him to come to Moab and curse Israel.
2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
Balak, king of Moab had received notice of all that Israel had done to the Amorites. This would especially relate to what he knew had happened in the adjacent kingdom. Whether Og had also been defeated at this time we do not know. We can, however, understand Balak’s fear when he saw all the Amorites slain and their cities taken, for he himself had not been able to withstand the Amorites who had possessed half his land. He was not aware of Yahweh’s word to Moses that Moab was not to be disturbed, or if he had received messages to that end he probably thought that he had cause not to believe them. He clearly did not lay as much stress on the family relationship as God did (Deuteronomy 2.9).
3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel.
So Moab was dreadfully afraid of Israel, because of the size of their army. And as they saw them encamped seemingly permanently almost on their borders and heard what they were accomplishing elsewhere they were ‘distressed because of the children of Israel’. They waited pensively and apprehensively, wondering when the attack would be turned on them.
4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
In their dilemma they also consulted with their allies, a group of Midianites (probably including Amalekites and Kenites, both of whom were inter-related to the Midianites through Abraham) who had been settled in the kingdom of Sihon (Joshua 13.21) and who had quite possibly escaped to Moab territory. They described to the ‘elders’ (chief men and advisers) of these Midianites how Israel were whipping out their neighbors like a hungry ox eats up a field. It would surely be their turn next. They suggested that they needed to act together to rid themselves of this menace.
Having consulted with the Midianite elders, Balak, king of Moab, sent messengers to Balaam pleading with him to come and help them against Israel, emphasizing the huge numbers that they were opposing.
This note is put in so as to explain why it was he who acted and responded to the people’s fears. It was because at that time he was the king of Moab.
5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me!
Balak was aware that Moab could not defeat Israel unless somehow they were weakened and the power of their God neutralized. So he formulated a plan. He sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, the great prophet of Pethor by the Euphrates, which was ‘the land of the children of his people’. This may mean simply his native land, or may indicate that it was a place where many such diviners and sorcerers had taken up residence. In Joshua 13.22 Balaam is called a ‘diviner’. This clearly also involved him being in contact with the spirit world.
For Balak to send to a stranger in so far off a place for assistance must have meant that the reputation of Balaam was awesome. Balaam had obviously built up an extensive reputation as being effective in cursing people, for the Midianites later called on him again in spite of his failure in this case, and it was then that Balaam was slain along with the Midianite leaders in chapter 31.8. This was because he who had advised the method of destroying the Israelites by causing them to offend Yahweh (31.16). This last incident warns us against seeing him as deserving of Yahweh’s approval.
6 Therefore please come at once; curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
Balak’s intention was that Balaam might weaken Israel by putting a curse on them so that Moab could then smite them. And he called for him to come and curse Israel, so weakening them that he and his armies could deal with them for he knew that when Balaam cursed men, they were cursed, and conversely that when he blessed men they were blessed. If he could be blessed and Israel could be cursed, in his view this would give him a real advantage. This confirms the kind of reputation that Balaam had in this direction. Many an army would be unwilling to fight and would fight less well if they heard that they had been cursed by a man like Balaam. It would be enough to put them off fighting altogether. And many would fight better because he had blessed them.
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak.
Certain Midianite princes, along with their tribes, who were now probably refugees in Moabite territory as a result of the defeat of Sihon in whose kingdom they had been settled (Joshua 13.21), were united with Moab in their evil intention against Israel. Their elders, chief men of the tribes, thus combined with the elders of Moab to seek out Balaam. And they took in their hands ‘the rewards of divination’. It may be that there was a recognized fee for such an action as Balaam was to be called on to performs. Or it may simply have been a large bribe. Then, when they arrived where Balaam was, they told him the words of Balak, which presumably included the fact that he wanted him to neutralize Yahweh’s power.
8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.
Balaam clearly had a fairly large establishment as he was able to put up all the elders who had arrived with their servants. And he invited them to lodge with him that night while he received a word from Yahweh and found out what he would say. It seems from what follows that the purpose in bringing in Balaam lay in the belief that he could persuade a nation’s own god/gods to turn against their people and remove their protection from them. Thus in this case, having been informed that Yahweh was Israel’s God, he recognized that he would have to deal with Yahweh on the matter. Meanwhile the ‘chieftains of Moab’, representatives from Moab and their allies, remained with Balaam.
Balaam wasted no time. That night he sought to make contact with Yahweh. We are not informed of what methods he used, but they were seemingly successful, for ‘God came to Balaam’. (Not just another god, but the only God).
9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”
Starting by using his own methods of divination in order to ‘contact’ Yahweh, Balaam became aware that Someone was there and ready to speak to him. Then God came up with a question. ‘Who are these men who are with you and what is their status and purpose?’ (Balaam was used to ‘hearing voices’).
Note that Yahweh was now described in terms of ‘God’. It was important that it was recognized that He alone Was God, not just one among a number of ‘gods’ contacted by Balaam. And that to Him, Yahweh, those who came to Balaam were but ‘men’. It was a conflict between ‘God’ and ‘man’. So the writer makes clear that Balaam was not here just contacting his usual spiritual ‘contacts’. It was God Himself Who came to him.
10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’ ”
Balaam explained the situation. Balak, an important king, had sent to him telling him of a people who had come out of Egypt in great numbers and he wanted them to be cursed so that he would be able to drive them away from his country.
12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
Please take note again that the One Who spoke to him was called ‘God’ and not ‘Yahweh’. He was not to be seen as one of many gods whom Balaam contacted (which was how Balaam would have seen Yahweh). He was the living God, the only God. He sternly informed Balaam that he must not go, and that he was not to seek to curse this people, for they were blessed. In other words they had special protection over them and were strengthened and watched over by Him. So no one must touch them (Psalm 105.15).
13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.”
Next morning therefore Balaam told ‘the nobles/chieftains of Balak’ to return to their land because he had been consulting Yahweh, (he recognized the One Who had come as Yahweh) and Yahweh had refused to permit him to go. The chieftains would be suitably impressed. Once they had told Balak this he would know that he was dealing with the right man for the job. Here was someone in touch with Yahweh, Israel’s God. They may well have thought inwardly that Balaam was simply delaying in order to seek a better price.
14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
So the chieftains rose and returned to Balak, and informed him that Balaam refused to come with them. No doubt feeling that the reason why Balaam had not come was because he was not satisfied with the price offered, ‘the rewards of divination’ (verse 7) that he had previously sent, Balak sent even more important messengers to Balaam, offering him even greater rewards. He could not see why Balaam, the manipulator of gods, could not manipulate this one for him.
While what follows might seem strange to most of us, it would not seem so strange to those who are involved in spirits and the occult. Evil spirits are still open to being contacted by humans. They are used to hearing what they consider to be voices from ‘the other side’.
We will see that the description of Balaam’s dealings with his donkey is not as trivial as they might appear. They are intended to bring out the extremely important point that while Balaam was mighty in dreams and visions of the night, in the broad light of day he was blinder than his animal for in what next occurred it was not Balaam who took the central stage, but his donkey. This put Balaam right into perspective. His powers were limited. At times even his donkey saw more than he did.
15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they.
Balak now set out to impress. In his next deputation he sent a more numerous delegation made up of even more powerful chieftains. The large party would have been an impressive sight, and that was Balak’s intention.
16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’ ”
Balak courteously, but firmly, strongly expressed his desire for Balaam to come, with promises that he would promote him to very great honor. He assured him that he would fall in line with all his requirements. Nothing more could have been offered. He was at his wit’s end. He made it clear that all he wanted was that Balaam would come and curses ‘this people’, and that he was willing to pay any price to achieve it.
18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
We also need to note the change of description, ‘the servants of Balak’. To Balaam this impressive deputation were but lackeys to a petty king. He had dealt with higher than these, and he was Balaam. He assured them loftily that wealth mattered nothing if the gods were not responsive. Balak could offer him all his treasure house, but it could not alter the situation. In this particular case where Yahweh was involved he could only act if Yahweh was responsive. He was not at the behest of kings; he was a servant of the gods.
A lot of attention has been drawn to the words ‘Yahweh my God.’ This cannot mean that he was a worshipper of Yahweh for he was later found meddling again along with the Midianites (31.8) seeking to subvert the children of Israel. What he was doing was pointing out to Balak that while he was on reasonable terms with Yahweh he was not Yahweh’s master, but that Yahweh was his master. (To Babylonians he would have said, ‘Marduk my god’.) By ‘my elohim’ he also possibly had in mind one of the particular ‘contacts’ he would use through whom he expected Yahweh would speak to him. But either way he was stressing by it that he responded to gods, not simply made them do what he wanted. Like men gods had to be persuaded, and until they were persuaded he was powerless.
19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”
So he informed the delegation that they must once again stay overnight in order that he might consult Yahweh and learn more from Him.
20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.”
Once the visitors were settled down Balaam began his rites for contacting Yahweh through his spirit contacts. But the One Who came to Balaam that night was no spirit contact, it was ‘God’ Himself. And this time He informed him that he could go with the men, but that he must only speak whatever word God gave to him.
21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.
As God had bidden him Balaam rose, saddled his ass, and went with the chieftains of Moab. He was now supposed to be under God’s orders but it is clear that his thoughts were seemingly otherwise. He was all mixed up. For God knew that while he was obeying Him, he was still thinking in terms of helping the Moabites. He was measuring up how he could ‘persuade’ God to conform to what he wanted. Thus he needed to be taught a lesson.
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
This verse puzzles many people. Why, they ask, was God angry if Balaam was only doing what he had been told? The reply is that while God had sent Him, He was angry at the very fact that he was going, or even needed to go. He was angry at the whole situation. The whole affair had aroused His wrath. And now that Balaam was actually going His anger at the overall situation was even more aroused, especially as He recognized that Balaam’s submission was not complete.
For this affair was not something of which He approved. He had recognized that if Balaam did not go, someone else would be called and that Balaam’s refusal to go would not have ended the matter. That indeed was the only reason that He had allowed him to go. But He did not believe that Balaam was approaching the matter with the right attitude. So in order to demonstrate His anger in the situation, and so that Balaam might be fully aware of it, He now sent His Angel to act as an adversary and oppose him. It was important that Balaam did not get carried away. He must learn of the precariousness of his situation.
He recognized that Balaam was not just going as a meek and willing instrument of Yahweh. He was going as his own man. He had his own agenda, and he still probably thought that in the end he could bring Yahweh round to his way of thinking. While God did not mind him going, as long as he was going for the right reason, He knew that that had to be ensured, and that Balaam must be tamed. Thus God was determined to press home on Balaam that he was not as great and influential a man as he thought he was. He was to be made to recognize that, in the end, when it came to spirit contact, his donkey was to be seen as more discerning than he was!
Therefore in order to demonstrate Who was in control He sent His angel, the Angel of Yahweh, Who stood in the way before Balaam, (who was riding astride his donkey), in order to oppose him. But He did not make Himself visible to Balaam. Incidentally we learn here also that Balaam had two faithful servants with him, who rode in close formation with him. These would probably be the witnesses from whom the whole story was subsequently learned when they were captured among the Midianites later and questioned.
23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.
It is an undeniable fact that in all kinds of ways animals are very often able to discern strange phenomena, disturbances in their surroundings, when men are oblivious of them. It is not so surprising therefore that an donkey should discern an invisible supernatural presence when men were unable to do so (although it would be surprising to people of that day that Balaam could not discern it).
The donkey discerned what Balaam, the supposed ‘spirit’ discerner, did not. It discerned the presence of the Angel and sought to avoid Him. Balaam the ignorant therefore beat his animal for his waywardness, trying to force him back into the blocked pathway. He was thus depicted as less discerning in the spirit world than his donkey, and not quite as great as he liked to appear.
24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.
The donkey, having left the road to avoid the presence that it had discerned, took the only way open to it and went along a narrow path between two vineyards, which had walls on either side. So the Angel then moved and stood in that path.
25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.
The donkey, discerning the Angel again, pressed against one of the walls in order to avoid Him. It was clearly terrified at this strange presence. The result was that Balaam’s foot was trapped against the wall. So he beat his donkey again. This repeated emphasis is in order to stress Balaam’s spiritual blindness. He himself was still totally unaware of the ‘presence’.
26 Then the Angel of the LORD 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 angel then allowed the ass through by moving away, and the donkey continued along the pathway to a place where it was so narrow that there was no way of turning any way at all. And there the donkey discerned the mysterious presence standing in his way again.
27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
This was just too much and with no alternative direction to take the donkey now collapsed to the ground in fear. Meanwhile Balaam could not understand his ass’s strange behavior and beat it again. Here was the great prophet and diviner, but he had no clue about what was happening, even though to his donkey the spirit presence was obvious.
So Balaam is here depicted as very much limited. The ancients recognized that strange animal behavior might well indicate activity of the gods, and therefore this behavior of his donkey should have warned Balaam that something unusual was happening. But he was shown to be so undiscerning that he not only failed to be aware of the presence of the Angel, but also failed to pick up the messages from his animal.
28 Then 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?”
The question we may ask is, ‘Was there a genuine voice from the donkey, or was it just within Balaam’s cognition?’ A man like Balaam would certainly have experiences of which ordinary men knew nothing. He would be used to ‘hearing voices’. So it is a question that we cannot answer. But what mattered was that Balaam got the message.
29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”
We must not read too much into a story expressed in simple terms, but Balaam’s lack of surprise may indicate that in fact Balaam was used to hearing spirit voices from his donkey, and indeed sometimes used it as a kind of spirit medium. (Donkeys were not figures of fun in those days. Kings rode on them to their coronations). Either way Balaam spoke back boldly to his donkey. This was what this great man had come to! And he declared that quite frankly he felt like killing him. Indeed had he had a sword he would have done so. The comment would bring a wry smile to all of us, for the donkey would be aware that there was a drawn sword around, but it was not in the hand of Balaam but in the hand of the Angel of Yahweh.
30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever [f]disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.”
The voice from the donkey then pointed out that she had been his faithful companion for a long time. Could Balaam ever remember her behaving in this way before? The inference was that Balaam should therefore have known that something unusual was happening and should have discerned the apparition. He was supposed to be a discerner of spirits. Again the emphasis was on how lacking in discernment he was.
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.
And then Yahweh opened the eyes of Balaam. Note the stress. It required the power of Yahweh to give this prophet true discernment, and it was His power that enabled Balaam to see that which cannot be seen. And the result was that Balaam saw the angel of Yahweh, with His sword drawn in His hand, standing in the way to prevent them from moving forward. And then all he could do was bow his head and fall on his face just as his donkey had done. Balaam could now do nothing before Yahweh except submit. It is being made apparent that his position did not give him a sense of superiority to the gods, especially to Yahweh.
32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”
Then the Angel spoke to him directly. All pretence was thrown aside. He made the position absolutely clear. He should recognize that the faithful donkey had saved his life. Why then had he beaten it when all it had done was seek to save its master’s life? For He, ‘the Angel of Yahweh’, had come as his adversary to prevent his going forward, if necessary by slaying him, so as to emphasize even more that what he was aiming to do was displeasing to Yahweh. It was only the behavior of his animal which had saved him.
34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”
This brought home to Balaam the recognition that he was dealing with something such as he had never faced before. This situation was unusual and he recognized that Yahweh was angry at his behavior. He admitted that his whole attitude was wrong. He should never have considered going with the men even though Yahweh had told him to. It was putting him into conflict with the spirit world, and that was not what he wanted. But he pointed out in mitigation that he had not realized what the true position was. It was not that he was trying to oppose God. He had not realized that the Angel was standing in the way against him. So if the Angel was displeased he would return home.
35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
The Angel of Yahweh was now satisfied that he had learned his lesson and informed him that he could again go forward, but that when he did so he must ensure that he only spoke what Yahweh told him to speak. Balaam had had his warning.
36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory.
Meanwhile Balak learned that he was coming, and Balaam’s importance was such that Balak went with an official welcoming party to the very borders of Moab.
37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”
When the two parties met up Balak, while remembering whom he was speaking to, expressed his displeasure. He could not understand why Balaam had prevaricated and had delayed coming. Had he not been made aware of the urgency of his request? Why then had he not come immediately the first time? Did he not recognize the honor that Balak could bestow on him? The stress that Balak felt himself under with the Israelite threat just across the border comes out in his aggravation at the slight delay. (Kings are used to saying what they want, but some of Balak’s followers may have been apprehensive about him speaking to the mighty Balaam in this way. They did not know about the incident of the donkey).
38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.”
Balaam haughtily pointed out that he should be satisfied with the fact that he was here. But with his recent experience in mind he emphasized that he was not in a position to speak anything he wanted. He could only speak what God put in his mouth. And that is all that he would speak. Balak was satisfied with that. After all, that was Balaam’s specialty, making gods do what he wanted.
39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.
Balak then took Balaam and the chieftains to a city named Kiriath-huzoth, and there Balak offered sacrifices and from the sacrifices provided food for them. ‘Sacrificed (slaughtered).’ This may simply have indicated the slaughtering of animals for a feast, or may have included a ritual ceremony of sacrifices to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and possibly to the god of the Midianites. Note how the whole account began with the chieftains and ends with them.
Balaam having arrived Balak’s first action was to take him to see the people he was being called on to target.
41 So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people.
The next day Balak took Balaam to see the people whom he was called on to curse. They went up to ‘the high places of Baal’ (Bamoth Baal). This was probably the name of a nearby convenient height, but may also signify that it was a place where Baal was worshipped, and therefore seen as a sacred mount. And from there they were able to see the nearest section of the base camp of Israel.
