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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Numbers 22:15 - 22:21
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The Second Invitation Accepted
v. 15. And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. So he had taken the hint which was conveyed to him by his messengers; he felt that it was merely a matter of coaxing the reluctant wizard by means of greater presents.
v. 16. And they came to Balaam and said to him, Thus saith Balak, the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me;
v. 17. for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me, thus practically giving Balaam leave to mention his own reward. Come, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people. As a true heathen Balak apparently believed himself able to influence not only Balaam, but also that mysterious god that was directing Balaam's affairs.
v. 18. And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot g-o beyond the word of the Lord, my God, to do less or more. These words sound very pious, but they merely reveal Balaam's real character. Much as he desired distinction before men, he coveted wealth still more, and his answer was merely intended as a feeler, in order to find out just how far the messengers were permitted to go.
v. 19. Now, therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more.
v. 20. And God came unto Balaam at night and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do. This was not a concession due to a change of mind, for God expressly stipulates that only that saying dared to be pronounced over Israel which He would give to Balaam. It was God's way of dealing with Balaam's defiant mood. Jehovah's purpose may have been, as one commentator has it, to reveal Himself in such a mighty manner before the eyes of Balaam as to cause him to turn to the true God in real change of heart. But one fact is clear, namely, that through the disobedience of Balaam the Lord brought a blessing upon His people and caused one of the most beautiful Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament to be spoken.
v. 21. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with. the princes of Moab. Balaam is an example of warning, both in his attitude toward God, from whom he obtained permission to go with the Moabitish princes only by his defiant persistence, and in his love of filthy lucre. Truly, the love of money is a root of all evil and has caused many men to err from the faith and to be drowned in destruction and perdition, 1Ti_6:9-10.