At the end of chapter 23:27 to 24:2 Balak asks Balaam again to take him to another place where, he said, “…. perhaps it will please God to curse them from there.” As if a different location will change God’s mind! He took him to the top of Peor which overlooks the wasteland. Balak was persistent and probably desperate. Again, Balaam asks Balak to build seven altars and offer a bull and a ram on each. This time Balaam, obviously realised that he wasn’t going to get a curse on Israel from the Lord, didn’t bother to go and seek the Lord. He knew what the answer would be and his subterfuge to Balak was of no use. He had been using sorcery (v2) now he simply looked out on the wilderness and saw Israel encamped and the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.
Balaam gave God’s third message to Balak (v3-9)
“Then he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, The utterance of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the LORD, Like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.
“God brings him out of Egypt; He has strength like a wild ox; He shall consume the nations, his enemies; He shall break their bones And pierce them with his arrows. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him? “Blessed is he who blesses you, And cursed is he who curses you.””
In this third message Balaam curses Balak for trying to curse Israel having spoken of the greatness of God and His blessing on Israel. Not surprisingly, Balak was angry (v10-13). Can you just see him ‘striking his hands together’ not in applause but in fury. “I have offered you good money but all you have done is bless my enemies and even curse me. Go away to your place”. At least he seemed to recognise that the Lord had kept Balaam from doing what he offered to pay for. It was evident Balaam wasn’t going to get his money. Balaam is apologetic saying he made it clear from the start he didn’t want to do it and was really blaming God, but he really knew that he had only gone for the money and hypocritically was making out he was being spiritual.
Balaam leaves with a parting shot (v14-24) saying that he was going back to his own and he would leave with a fourth message for Balak. What did he have to lose now, no pay, so he might as well ‘put the knife in’. “Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
“So he took up his oracle and said: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city.” Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said: “Amalek was first among the nations, But shall be last until he perishes.” Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said: “Firm is your dwelling place, And your nest is set in the rock; Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned. How long until Asshur carries you away captive?” Then he took up his oracle and said: “Alas! Who shall live when God does this? But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus, And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.””
Part of this prophecy is quite obviously about Jesus, the coming Messiah – ‘a star, a sceptre’ and that He would rule over all nations, he refers to Moab, Edom, Amalek and the Kenites, neighbouring nations to Israel.
Balaam and Balak went their separate ways (v25), both probably disappointed and even angry as Balak didn’t get what he wanted and neither did Balaam.
How important it is that we have a close walk with Jesus Christ and never try to manipulate the Lord’s will. Balaam got himself into a very precarious position by his initial disobedience. We must be very careful and commit our way to the Lord. According to 2 Peter 2:15 ‘Following the way of Balaam’ means his lifestyle. He was out to make money, he wasn’t out to serve God except for his own ends. It is deliberate rebellion against the will of God which has been revealed to us. He was a false prophet and false teacher (Jude 3,4). There is a further warning in Revelation 2:14 to the church against those ‘who hold the doctrine of Balaam. He also caused others to sin as we shall see in the next chapter.
