An Outline of Balaam’s Messages to Balak
(This outline was the basis for a message preached Sunday evening, March 9, 2025 at New Hope Baptist Church near Fulton, MO.)
Introduction: Balaam had arrived in Moab and had spoken with King Balak, Their first conversation seemed a bit testy, but Balaam eventually agreed to go along with the king and the king’s requests. Neither one of them, though, seemed to remember that God would have the final say in anything Balaam finally said!
The narrative practically tells itself, how Balaam requested altars and offerings and how Balak complied with these requests. Some of what Balaam said in these “parables” or messages could still be true, even today, but we do not know the mind of Balaam at this point. All we know for certain is that Balaam relayed God’s messages to a pagan king who wanted Israel cursed.
Background: Balaam meets Balak, king of Moab
Text: Numbers 22:36-41, KJV: 36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast. 37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour? 38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak. 39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjathhuzoth. 40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him. 41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.
--Balaam had left his hometown, Pethor, at some time before. The journey may have taken days or even weeks before he reached the frontiers of Moab.
--The Arnon river was one of Moab’s borders. Starting from its source, the Arnon flows north until it reached Aroer and then flows west into the Jordan (https://bibleatlas.org/full/arnon.htm)
--Balak seemed upset that Balaam had taken so long to arrive. Balaam replied, “I’m here now, so what’s the problem?”
--The oxen and sheep which Balak offered were probably offered to Chemosh or one of the other “gods” of Moab. At any rate, Balaam had no business eating anything which had been sacrificed to an idol.
--Balak took Balaam to the “high places”. These, generally, were condemned in the Old Testament, especially for Israel, because, first, this is where many pagans built altars to the “god” they were worshiping. Second, there was a strong possibility that the women would try to seduce males, not necessarily their own husbands, into the “sex for worship” doctrine. See Numbers 25 for a graphic example of how that system cost the lives of 23,000 Hebrews.
2 Balaam’s first message
Text, Numbers 23:1-12, KJV: 1 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. 2 And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. 3 And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt offering, and I will go: peradventure the LORD will come to meet me: and whatsoever he sheweth me I will tell thee. And he went to an high place. 4 And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared seven altars, and I have offered upon every altar a bullock and a ram. 5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam's mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.
6 And he returned unto him, and, lo, he stood by his burnt sacrifice, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7 And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. 8 How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!
11And Balak said unto Balaam, What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether. 12 And he answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth?
--Why Balaam asked for seven altars cannot be answered for certain. The LORD only permitted Israel to use two altars, the brazen (bronze) altar for washing and the much smaller altar of incense for the holy place. Commentators give various reasons for the seven altars.
--The offerings were a bullock and ram on each altar. Leviticus 1-7 lists the various offerings which Israel was required to bring upon the different occasions. By implication Balak had a good supply of these bullocks and rams.
--It’s also not clear why Balaam sought the Word of the LORD among the high places of Moab. This seems to me to be a large disconnect by trying to obtain the Word of God among heathen places of worship!
--Balaam reported to God that he had prepared seven altars and fourteen offerings, God gave him a message for Balak to hear.
--Balak was still standing by the altars and burnt sacrifices, waiting with the princes of Moab (were these the same ones he had sent to Balaam?) to hear the message.
--Balaam’s message from God is in verses 7-10. Some think the mention of the “fourth part of Israel refers to one of the four groups of three tribes each camped around the Tabernacle according to Numbers 2
--The prayer of Balaam in verse 10 is worthy, on the face of it, but Balaam never did see that request fulfilled. He clearly did not die the death of the righteous (Num. 31:8. Joshua 13:22).
--Balak was not happy: he wanted Balaam to curse Israel, but Balaam blessed them instead. Balaam’s reminder? I can only speak the words God gives to me.
3 Balaam’s second message
Text, Numbers 23:13-30, KJV: 13 And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. 14 And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar. 15 And he said unto Balak, Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the LORD yonder. 16 And the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Go again unto Balak, and say thus. 17 And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said unto him, What hath the LORD spoken?
18 And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor: 19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? 20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. 21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. 22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn. 23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! 24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.
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.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour. 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak? 14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
--“Enchantments” in verse 1 doesn’t mean Balaam was using magic or any other kind of trick to get the LORD’s message (https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5173.htm). The word is related to the Hebrew word for “snake” or “serpent” but also has a definition of “an incantation or augury (defined as an omen, token, or indication per https://www.dictionary.com/browse/augury)”. The exact meaning is not clear to me but could refer to the fact that this time, Balaam didn’t go to another location to get God’s message.
--This time, Balaam’s message centers on the bounty and prosperity awaiting Israel. Note the descriptions gardens, trees, and so forth.
--Note also a repetition of some of Balak’s words: he had only mentioned to Balaam that “there was a people who came from Egypt”, never naming Israel until Balaam arrived, and Balaam uses some of those same words to describe Israel as those whom God had “brought forth out of Egypt”. Verse 9 also has a reference, or at least allusion, to Jacob’s prophecy of Judah being a “lion” in Genesis 49:9-13,
--Balaam closed this message by repeating God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3. Needless to say, Balak was not happy. He complained to Balaam, “I brought you here to curse my enemies but you have blessed them three times!” Balak also cast Balaam away, telling him to basically go back to your home.
--Balaam closed the chapter, and this episode, with a number of prophecies. We’re only told Balaam “went his way” but he may have eventually settled somewhere in Moab. He is listed among those who were put to death, and mentioned by name, in Numbers 31:8 and also in Joshua 13:22.
Epilogue/conclusion: Balaam didn’t curse Israel but he did give Balak a “Plan B” to affect Israel. Numbers 25 has the story, but Balaam isn’t mentioned as the one who suggested the plan until Numbers 31:16.
The Scofield reference Bible has notes on the doctrine, error, and way of Balaam. Worth study.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
