L. Balak and Balaam Versus Israel (22:1-24:25)
Earlier when Israel was anticipating a move into alien territory, it was she who lived in terror of non-Israelites (chs. 13-14). Now the tables are reversed, and the Moabites are filled with dread (22:2) because of the approaching Israelites. To remove that threat, King Balak, in his naïveté, hired a distant magician (Balaam) to pronounce a curse on these invaders, which is similar to an American president employing a preacher to put a hex on the Soviet Union.
In some ways Balaam is both appealing and stupid. He initially turned down the offer, not because the price was too low, but because God, Yahweh of Israel, told him not to accept (22:12, 13, 18). Only when the Lord gave him a green light (v.20), did he proceed.
It is ironic that although a seer, Balaam was not so perceptive as the donkey on which he rode. The donkey could see the angel of the Lord but Balaam could not. Here God performed two miracles. He opened the donkey’s mouth (22:28) (thus showing that the donkey owed her powers of speech and sight not to any convention of talking animals), and, second, he opened Balaam’s eyes (v.31). Two parts of Balaam’s body were touched supernaturally. Here it was his eyes. Later it would be his mouth (23:5, 16). It is intriguing to note that when the donkey did speak, Balaam registered no surprise but engaged her in dialogue (22:28-30)!
When Balak and Balaam finally met, Balak was, understandably, anxious to get on with the proceedings. Accordingly, he prefaced Balaam’s anticipated curse with proper ritual (22:40; 23:14, 30). As a matter of fact, Balak built no less than twenty-one altars throughout this fiasco (23:1, 14, 29) at Balaam’s request.
Then came the shock! Each time Balaam opened his mouth to curse Israel, he blessed her. Actually, in this narrative Balaam has assumed the role of the donkey. Donkeys are supposed to bray, not talk. Balaam was hired to curse, not bless. Both creatures stepped out of their normal role—by God’s good grace.
Balaam’s words about Israel are found in four oracles: (1) 23:7-10; (2) 23:18-24; (3) 24:3-9; (4) 24:15-19. A few isolated and brief oracles follow in 24:20-24. Each oracle speaks in grandiose fashion of Israel and her future, using vivid metaphors and similes. In the first, Israel is spread out like dust (23:10). In the second and third, she is like a crouching lion (23:24; 24:9). The fourth focuses on an individual who will rise like a star out of Israel (24:17). This was more than Balak could tolerate, so he and Balaam parted ways silently (v.25).
There should be no problem in relating this unit to Numbers. For one thing, the prophecies of Balaam affirmed that God’s unequivocal commitment to his people will continue well into the future, even beyond this first generation whose death in the wilderness has already been announced. Nothing or no one is able to hinder God from doing that. An omnipotent God and not a human manipulator is the determiner of history.
On the other hand, the narrative functions as a condemnation of God’s people, at least indirectly. The donkey does God’s will. Balaam, albeit unintentionally, does God’s will. But what of Israel? Balaam and his donkey are more appealing than the nation. Placing the Balaam story beside the various stories recorded in chs. 11-21 leads to the conclusion that Israel’s real enemy is Israel. God can change a hireling’s words of curse into blessing, but he cannot change a community’s words of backbiting, criticism, and faultfinding into doxology. God’s people need not fear the hex of a religious magician or the threats and taunts of a Moabite king. But whenever they degenerate into a community ruled by a quarrelsome, self-serving, and envious spirit, there is cause for grave concern. Unholiness, not magic, is Israel’s undoing.