Numbers 22:21-41

Numbers 22:21-41

[21] And Balaam  rose up  in the morning,  and saddled  his ass,  with the princes  of Moab.  [22] And God's  anger  was kindled  because he went:  and the angel  of the LORD  stood  in the way  for an adversary  against him. Now he was riding  upon his ass,  and his two  servants  were with him. [23] And the ass  saw  the angel  of the LORD  standing  in the way,  and his sword  drawn  in his hand:  and the ass  turned aside  out of the way,  into the field:  and Balaam  smote  the ass,  to turn  her into the way.  [24] But the angel  of the LORD  stood  in a path  of the vineyards,  a wall  [25] And when the ass  saw  the angel  of the LORD,  she thrust  herself unto the wall,  and crushed  Balaam's  foot  against the wall:  and he smote  her again.  [26] And the angel  of the LORD  went  further,  and stood  in a narrow  place,  where was no way  to turn  either to the right hand  or to the left.  [27] And when the ass  saw  the angel  of the LORD,  she fell down  under Balaam:  anger  was kindled,  and he smote  the ass  with a staff.  [28] And the LORD  opened  the mouth  of the ass,  and she said  unto Balaam,  What have I done  unto thee, that thou hast smitten  me these three  times?  [29] And Balaam  said  unto the ass,  Because thou hast mocked  me: I would  there were  a sword  in mine hand,  for now would I kill  thee. [30] And the ass  said  unto Balaam,  Am not I thine ass,  upon which thou hast ridden  ever since I was thine unto this day?  was I ever  to do so  unto thee? And he said,  Nay. [31] Then the LORD  opened  the eyes  of Balaam,  and he saw  the angel  of the LORD  standing  in the way,  and his sword  drawn  in his hand:  and he bowed down  his head, and fell flat  on his face.  [32] And the angel  of the LORD  said  unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten  thine ass  these three  times?  behold, I went out  to withstand  thee, because thy way  is perverse  [33] And the ass  saw  me, and turned  from me  these three  times:  unless  she had turned  from me,  surely now also I had slain  thee, and saved her alive.  [34] And Balaam  said  unto the angel  of the LORD,  I have sinned;  for I knew  not that thou stoodest  in the way  against  I will get me back again.  [35] And the angel  of the LORD  said  unto Balaam,  but only  the word  that I shall speak  So Balaam  with the princes  of Balak.  [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  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  to say  any thing?  the word  that God  putteth  in my mouth,  that shall I speak.  [39] And Balaam  with Balak,  and they came  [40] And Balak  offered  oxen  and sheep,  and sent  to Balaam,  and to the princes  [41] And it came to pass on the morrow,  that Balak  took  Balaam,  and brought him up  of Baal,  that thence he might see  the utmost  part of the people. 

What does Numbers 22:21-41 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Balaam was sensitive to the spirit world. Either he did not sense the presence of the Angel of the Lord or his greed had blinded him to the Angel"s presence. The Angel had drawn his sword ( Numbers 22:23), symbolic of God"s wrath against Balaam, for acting as he was doing (cf. Genesis 3:24; Exodus 12:12). God finally caught Balaam"s attention by speaking through the donkey ( Numbers 22:28; cf. 1 Corinthians 1:27). Then he saw the Angel and bowed in submission before Him ( Numbers 22:31).
". . . even a beast is more capable of discerning things from the higher world, than a man blinded by sinful desires." [1]
Hopefully Balaam appreciated the contrast between his own lack of insight and his donkey"s ability to discern God"s will and learned some humility from the event.
"We see the prophet Balaam as a blind seer, seeing less than the dumb animal.... The long shadow of Moses falls across the pages of the Balaam story even though Moses is never named once. Moses spoke face to face with God (see ch12); Balaam does not even know that God is near-but his donkey does!" [2]
Why did Balaam answer his donkey as though he normally conversed with it ( Numbers 22:29)? Perhaps spirits had spoken to him through animals previously (cf. Genesis 3:1; Genesis 3:4). Maybe the donkey exasperated him to the point that he answered before he realized what he was doing.
"The donkey"s acts and words anticipate the problems Balaam is about to face. The ass was caught three times between the angel"s sword and Balaam"s stick. Soon Balaam will find himself trapped between Balak"s demands and God"s prohibitions. Through his third encounter with God, Balaam was reminded that God wields a sword and that disobedience means death. So he goes on his way fully committed to declaring God"s words rather than submitting to Balak"s wishes (35)." [3]
"The Lord tells Balaam to continue on his journey but to "speak only what I tell you" ( Numbers 22:35). This is the point of the whole chapter: Balaam the pagan mantic will not be able to speak cursing as he had planned. Instead, he would be the most surprised of all; he would be the most remarkable instrument of God in the blessing of his people, Israel." [4]
Some ancient and modern interpreters have pointed out the similarities and differences between the stories of Balaam"s donkey in this pericope and Abraham"s binding of Isaac ( Genesis 22:1-19). [5] The stories appear in inverse form, as a reflection in a mirror. God through Moses may have subtly contrasted Balaam with Abraham to put Balaam in a bad light and to glorify Abraham.
Balak was a bit put out with Balaam for delaying his arrival. He assumed Balaam"s hesitancy was due to doubt concerning Balak"s ability to pay him ( Numbers 22:37). The sacrifices ( Numbers 22:40) were probably to secure the favor of Balak"s gods.
"The pieces given to Balaam presumably would have included the livers; for as a baru diviner, Balaam was a specialist in liver divination." [2]
Balak assumed that Balaam would be more susceptible to receiving supernatural power, and it would be more effective, if he had Israel in view. This is why he took Balaam to places where he could see Israel.
"In order to lay a spell on a people, it was considered necessary to be able to see them, if only in part." [1]
None of the sites mentioned are identifiable with certainty, but all were around the area where Israel lay camped.
Numbers 22:41 contains one of the first references to Baal worship in the Old Testament.
"Israel struggled with Baal and his worshippers from the beginning to the end of her national history. Baal worship was the most serious challenge and threat to the worship of Yahweh of all the pagan religions in the ancient Near East. This was true because some similarities and some vast differences existed between Baal and Yahweh." [8]