Numbers 20-25
Key Scriptures
20:1-21 During the first month of the year, the Israelites reached the desert wilderness of Zin and camped in a place called Kadesh. … From there Moses sent out messengers to Edom and its king with this request: “Your brother Israel…asks official permission to pass through your land unimpeded. Will you please allow us to do so?” …The king’s answer was quick and decisive, “There is no way I will allow you to cross our territory, and if you try you will pay for it with your lives.” …The king then sent a large armed force to insure that Israel would not cross into Edomite lands, forcing Israel to find a long route around the area.
20:22-29 From Kadesh the people circumvented Edom and journeyed to Mount Hor. There the Lord told Moses, “Aaron’s appointed days are over and his time to join his departed ancestors is come. Like you, he will not enter the Promised Land I will give Israel because together you conspired against my commands at the springs of Meribah [where they did not follow God’s exact instructions when miraculously bringing forth water from a rock, thereby giving the appearance of being personally responsible for the miracle]. …Therefore you are to lead Aaron and his son Eleazar up the slopes of Mount Hor where Aaron’s priestly robes are to be transferred to his son Eleazar.” …Following God’s instructions, Moses led the procession up the mountain in full view of all the people of Israel. After transferring his robes, Aaron passed away…and the Israelites mourned for him for the next thirty days.
21:1-3 As Israel moved on toward Canaan, the King of Arad, whose people lived in the Negev region, was told of Israel’s advance. He ambushed the Israelites and took many hostages. Regrouping, the Israelites made a solemn vow to God: “If you will give us victory over these people, we will offer them up to you as a holy sacrifice when we level their towns and wipe out their people.” God heard their prayer and honored it, giving Israel the victory for which they had prayed. And Israel carried out their vow by destroying the towns and their citizens in holy destruction to God—afterward naming the place Hormah, which means “sacred destruction.”
21:4-35 From Mount Hor the Israelites continued their detour around Edom by way of a well-known route along the Red Sea. [After various travels, Israel approached the area west of the Dead Sea controlled by the Amorites, a Canaanite people]. …When Israel neared the land of the Amorites, they sent a messenger to their king, Sihon, asking “Can we travel straight through your territory without using any of your resources by staying on the through-road?” …Sihon, however, refused and gathered his soldiers to go meet Israel in the desert before they approached his land. There his troops attacked the Israelites at a place called Jahaz. But Israel was ready and put up a sturdy defense, driving the Amorites back to their territory in defeat. …Then the Israelites pursued their attackers and overran their land, temporarily occupying it. …Later Israel proceeded northward toward the kingdom of Bashan. But Og, Bashan’s king, also attacked with his whole army as Israel approached. God told Moses this: “You have no reason to fear this king, for I have determined to give his land and people into your hands.” …So the Israelites counterattacked and defeated Og…capturing the land and possessing it.
22:1-8 Eventually Israel moved on, camping along the Jordan River across from the town of Jericho. …The local residents, the Moabites, were terrified of Israel because of their sheer size. …The Moabite king, Balak son of Zippor, sent royal emissaries to procure help in the person of Balaam son of Beor, a diviner who lived in the town of Pethor along the Euphrates River. The message they brought to Balaam from the king was this: “Out of Egypt has come a horde of threatening people who have occupied my lands. I call upon you to come and curse them since I cannot defeat them myself; for you have the power to bless and curse whomever you wish, and your word will come to pass.” …Balaam responded to the contingent of men by saying, “You must remain here with me for the night as I consider the request. Come morning I will deliver an answer from the Lord.”
22:12-25 That night the Lord told Balaam, “You are not to go with them and not to curse the people occupying their lands, for I have blessed them.” And so Balaam delivered that very message to the emissaries the next morning. “You can return to your country now because the Lord has rejected my request to go with you,” he told them. …[They returned to Moab and reported Balaam’s response, but] Balak would not accept it and sent a second royal envoy composed of a larger number of even higher ranking officials. …Balaam welcomed them and bid them spend the night as he inquired of the Lord yet again. During prayer that night the Lord appeared to Balaam saying, “Since these men have journeyed here to request your services, go with them. But you are only to do and say exactly as I direct.” …The next day, as Balaam began his journey to Moab accompanied by the envoy…an angel of the Lord blocked the path. The donkey Balaam was riding upon saw the angel…and swerved to the side of the road painfully pinning Balaam’s foot against a stone wall. Balaam became angry and repeatedly hit the donkey with his goad, trying to get it back into the road.
22:26-35 [Twice more] …the angel of the Lord s prevented Balaam’s donkey from proceeding until the donkey finally lay down under Balaam and refused to move further, despite the beatings it was getting. Finally, the donkey miraculously spoke up: “Why are you beating me!” …Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes so he too could see the angel of God, sword in hand, standing in the middle of the road. In fear and shame Balaam fell to his knees and put his face to the ground…praying, “Forgive my blatant sin; for I was unaware you were there blocking the roadway. If I am doing wrong by going on, tell me and I will return home immediately.” The angel of the Lord responded, “You can continue the journey to Moab, but be forewarned that you are only authorized to say exactly what I tell you and nothing else.” And with that encounter fresh in his mind, Balaam continued on his way accompanied by the envoy from Moab.
22:38-23:12 When Balaam arrived, he said to Balak, “Here I am, but don’t expect me to say just anything at all. I will only speak the word of the Lord, whatever it may be.” The following morning Balak led Balaam…to a rocky overlook where a portion of the Israelite encampment was visible. [After building seven altars and making bull and ram sacrifices on each] …the word of the Lord came to Balaam: “Go to Balak and deliver this message, ‘…How can I utter a curse upon those whom the Lord has not cursed, and how am I to denounce those whom God has not denounced? Balak was furious and replied, “You have betrayed me! I hired you to curse my enemies but you have only blessed them.” Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I have vowed to only speak the words that come from the Lord?”
23:1-26 Gathering himself, Balak devised another plan for Balaam. “Come with me now to yet another location from which we can see the people even closer…and from that spot you can issue the curse I need.” So Balak led Balaam to…the summit of Mount Pisgah…where he built seven altars…and offered seven bulls and rams. …But afterward the result was the same as Balaam delivered this prophetic word: “…The Lord is by their side, and they utter his praises among themselves. …All who gaze upon Jacob will exclaim ‘Look at the marvels the Lord has wrought among them!’” …Frustrated, Balak then said to Balaam, “Well at least stop blessing them if you cannot curse them! Better to say nothing at all.” But Balaam responded, “As I told you before, I am but the Lord’s spokesman and can only tell you what he gives me to say.”
23:7-24:9 Not willing to give up, Balak then said to Balaam, “There is one more place I must take you. From there perhaps God will allow you to utter the curse I so desperately need.” So they went to the summit of nearby Mount Peor [where again altars were built and sacrifices made]. …Gazing out upon the tribes of Israel on the plains below, Balaam was inspired by the Spirit of God to pronounce yet another blessing: “…How beautiful the sight of your sojourning tents, O Jacob; how lovely your dwelling places, O Israel. ...You are like gardens planted beside the river…gardens with abundant water for their seeds…which will flourish and form a mighty kingdom. …May all who bless Israel also find blessing, while those who dare to curse you find themselves cursed.”
24:10-25 That was the final straw and Balak shouted at Balaam while slamming his fist into his palm, “…Get lost you traitor! I was prepared to make you rich but now you get nothing but my contempt! ... Balaam replied, “I’ve been telling you and your nobles all along that I can only speak the words God gives me, whether or not they are what you want to hear. But before I go you should know that what I have to say now will certainly come to pass in the near future for you and your people.” And Balaam proceeded to utter this final prophetic word: “…Out of Jacob a star shall arise; a ruler’s scepter will emerge from Israel to crush Moab’s haughty head. …And all who opposed Israel’s success will be destroyed.” …When Balaam had finished his oracle, he set out for home while Balak returned to Moab dejected.
Basic Message
The Israelites marched into the Wilderness of Zin and requested permission from the king of Edom to pass through his kingdom. But permission was denied and the Israelites had to divert their path and go around Edom, eventually camping at Mt. Hor. There God told Aaron his death was imminent and instructed Moses to lead both Aaron and his son Eleazer up Mt. Hor where Aaron died and his priestly robes and authority were transferred to Eleazer in the sight of all Israel. The people grieved his death for a full month.
Leaving Mt. Hor, the Israelites traveled into the Negev region where they were attacked by a group of Canaanites. Israel responded by defeating the Canaanites and overwhelming their towns. They then requested permission from a more northerly group of Canaanites to pass through their territory. Permission was denied and that group of Canaanites also attacked Israel, which defeated their attackers and briefly took over their towns before moving still further north. A third time Israel was attacked and their aggressors were defeated—this time Og, king of Bashan.
On the Plains of Moab, across from Jericho, the Israelites stopped and set up camp. Balak, king of the Moabites, saw the advancing Israelites as a threat and sent for the holy man, Balaam of Iran, to pronounce a curse upon them. After initially refusing to do so, Balaam was told by God to go with Balak’s emissaries but to listen carefully to God’s instructions. Along the route, Balaam’s donkey saw an angel blocking the road and repeatedly refused to go on, only to be beaten by Balaam. Eventually the donkey simply sat in the road and, after receiving another beating from Balaam, spoke to him. Balaam then noticed that it was God’s angel blocking the way and Balaam fell to his knees in repentance, asking God if he should turn back. God told Balaam to proceed, but again warned him only to say the words God would give him.
Balak then took Balaam to a location where they could see the People of Israel. After building altars and offering sacrifices, Balaam told king Balak that he could not curse those whom God had not cursed. Frustrated, Balak took Balaam to two more locations where altars were built and sacrifices offered, but with the same results. Balak asked Balaam not to bless Israel, but the Spirit of God delivered a blessing through Balaam anyway. Finally, Balak lost his temper and ordered Balaam to leave. Balaam did so, but not before pronouncing that Israel would defeat Moab and several other kingdoms.
Comments
* Fear drove the nations Israel encountered to either refuse them passage or stage outright attacks. Word of God’s miraculous liberation of the Israelites from Egypt’s powerful grip had spread throughout the region, and no one felt confident even being near the travelers. Ironically, the fear that motivated the peoples of the region caused them to act with belligerence led to their own destruction. Had they complied with Israel’s requests, the groups they encountered would have avoided the conflicts that led to their destruction. How many times do we all act out of fear, bringing about the very circumstances we wish to avoid in the first place? Fear has no legitimate place in the lives of a person of faith, a point Jesus made again and again.
* The fact that Aaron was not allowed to enter the Promised Land, despite all his faithful service to God, may seem a harsh judgment at first glance. But God was making an example of him and revealing a very important principle to the people of Israel—God did not play favorites. Scripture clearly states that there is no favoritism with God (Romans 2:11, 1 Peter 1:17); all are equal in his sight. Aaron’s life and death were a prime example, and one that did not escape the watchful eye of a people who were still in the process of trying to understand the character of this intimate and engaging God who had brought them out of Egypt to live among them.
* After defeating the Amorites and taking over their territory, the Israelites could have simply stayed there instead of traveling on. It must have been tempting to settle down in a land they possessed after four hundred years of bondage and decades of travel in the wilderness. They knew more battles lay ahead as they approached and entered the Promised Land. But the land ahead had been promised to their forefathers and settling for anything less would have seemed like defeat. It is a good lesson. Settling for less than God intends for our lives means losing out on the blessings he has promised those who follow him unswervingly.
* The concept of holy destruction is a difficult one. In essence, it is a judgment by God on sins committed, and no person or group had the authority to carry it out alone (Deut. 32:35). By offering their victims to God and not personally benefiting from captured booty, the Israelites were exhibiting a respect for life that wanton killing and looting did not. In light of the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus, the kind of holy destruction that Israel meted out on other nations was a one-time endeavor, not a principle to be applied today to individuals or even nations. Jesus ushered in a new era and a new covenant which now takes precedence. He taught his disciples to love their enemies and do good to those who abused them. The Prince of Peace has deemed that war and holy destruction be replaced by peace, love, and goodwill towards all.
* Balaam’s encounter with a speaking donkey may be written off as fanciful by some. But could not a God who parts the Red Sea, provides manna in the desert, and, in time, raises Jesus from the dead, perform such a simple feat? It is also possible that the sound coming from the donkey was heard as speech by Balaam alone. There is no indication in the passages that anyone but he heard the donkey speak or saw the angel’s presence. Here, as elsewhere in scripture—including Paul’s transformative
* What is more important than a speaking donkey, however, is the message that no one can thwart God’s purposes for his people. All the money, power, and influence that King Balak could bring to bear only resulted in publicizing the fact that God intended to bless his people and nothing could change that. It is simply not possible to stand in the way of God’s designs and purposes for either his people or the world-at-large. We know that, yet how often do we consider that our attitudes and actions may in fact be contrary to God’s intentions for ourselves and others? It is far too easy to assume the role of Balak, enlisting all the help money can buy, to get our way in life. How much better to discern the will of God and then happily conform to it.
Biblical Themes
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13
