BALAAM INVOKED
Num 22:1-19
WHILE a part of the army of Israel was engaged in the campaign
against Bashan, the tribes remained "in the plains of Moab beyond
the Jordan at Jericho." The topography is given here, as elsewhere,
from the point of view of one dwelling in Canaan; and the locality
indicated is a level stretch of land, some five or six miles broad,
between the river and the hills. In this plain there was ample room
for the encampment, while along the Jordan and on the slopes to the
east all the produce of field and garden, the spoil of conquest, was
at the disposal of the Israelites. They rested therefore, after
their long journey, in sight of Canaan, waiting first for the return
of the troops, then for the command to advance; and the delay may
very likely have extended to several months.
Now the march of Israel had kept to the desert side of Moab, so that
the king and people of that land had no reason to complain. But the
campaign against the Amorites, ending so quickly and decisively for
the invaders, showed what might have taken place if they had
attacked Moab, what might yet come to pass if they turned southward
instead of crossing the Jordan. And there was great dismay. "Moab
was sore afraid of the people, because they were many; and Moab was
distressed because of the children of Israel." Manifestly it would
have been unwise for Balak the king of the Moabites to attack Israel
single-handed. But others might be enlisted against this new and
vigorous enemy, among them the Midianites. And to these Balak turned
to consult in the emergency.
By the "Midianites" we must understand the Bedawin of the time, the
desert tribes which possibly had their origin in Midian, east of the
Elanitic Gulf, but were now spread far and wide. On the borders of
Moab a large and important clan of this people fed their flocks; and
to their elders Balak appealed. "Now," he said, "shall this
multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licketh up
the grass of the field." The result of the consultation was not an
expedition of war but one of a quite different kind. Even the wild
Bedawin had been dismayed by the firm resolute tread of the
Israelites, a people marching on, as no people had ever been seen to
march, from far-away Egypt to find a new home. The elders of Moab
and of Midian cannot decide on war; but superstition points to
another means of attack. May they not obtain a curse against Israel,
under the influence of which its strength shall decay? Is there not
in Pethor one who knows the God of this people and has the power of
dreadful malediction? They will send for him; Balaam shall invoke
disaster on the invaders, then peradventure Balak will prevail, and
smite them, and drive them out of the land.
There can be no doubt in what direction we are to look for Pethor,
the dwelling-place of the great diviner. It is "by the River," that
is to say, by the River Euphrates. It is in Aram, for thence Balaam
says Balak has brought him. It is in "the land of the children of
Amino," {Num 22:5} for such is the preferable translation of the
words rendered "children of his people." The situation of Pethor has
been made out. "At an early period in Assyrian research," says Mr.
A.H. Sayce, "Pethor was identified by Dr. Hincks with the Pitru of
the cuneiform inscriptions. Pitru stood on the western bank of the
Euphrates, close to its junction with the Sajur, and a little to the
north of the latter. It was consequently only a few miles to the
south of the Hittite capital Carchemish. Indeed, Shalmaneser II
tells us explicitly that the city was called Pethor by ‘the
Hittites.’ It lay on the main road from east to west, and so
occupied a position of military and commercial importance."
Originally an Aramaean town, Pethor had received, on its conquest by
the Hittites, a new element of population from that race, and the
two peoples lived in it side by side. The Aramaeans of Pethor called
themselves "the sons of (the god) Ammo"; and, according to Mr. Sayce,
Dr. Neubauer is right in explaining the name of Balaam as a compound
of Baal with Ammi, which occurs as a prefix in the Hebrew names
Ammiel, Amminadab, and others. It is also worthy of mention that the
name of Balak’s father-Zippor, or "Bird"-occurs in the notice, still
extant, of a despatch sent by the Egyptian government to Palestine
in the third year of Menephtah II.
It may be further said with regard to Mr. Sayce’s valuable work,
that he does not attempt to deal particularly with the prophecies of
Balaam. "They must," he says, "be explained by Hebrew philology
before the records of the monuments can be called upon to illustrate
them. It may be that the text is corrupt; it may be that passages
have been added at various times to the original prophecy of the
Aramaean seer; these are questions which must be settled before the
Assyriologist can determine when it was that the Kenite was carried
away captive, or when Asshur himself was ‘afflicted."’
The divination of which so great things were expected by Balak is
amply illustrated in the Babylonian remains. Among the Chaldeans the
art of divination rested "on the old belief in every object of
inanimate nature being possessed or inhabited by a spirit, and the
later belief in a higher power, ruling the world and human affairs
to the smallest detail, and constantly manifesting itself through
all things in nature as through secondary agents, so that nothing
whatever could occur without some deeper significance which might be
discovered and expounded by specially trained and favoured
individuals." The Chaldeo-Babylonians "not only carefully noted and
explained dreams, drew lots in doubtful cases by means of inscribed
arrows, interpreted the rustle of trees, the plashing of fountains
and murmur of streams, the direction and form of lightnings, not
only fancied that they could see things in bowls of water, and in
the shifting forms assumed by the flame which consumed sacrifices
and the smoke which rose therefrom, and that they could raise and
question the spirits of the dead, but drew presages and omens, for
good or evil, from the flight of birds, the appearance of the liver,
lungs, heart, and bowels of the animals offered in sacrifice and
opened for inspection, from the natural defects or monstrosities of
babies or the young of animals-in short, from any and everything
that they could possibly subject to observation." There were three
classes of wise men, astrologers, sorcerers, and soothsayers; all
were in constant demand, and all used rules and principles settled
for them by the so-called science which was their study.
We cannot of course affirm that Balaam was one of these Chaldeans,
or that his art was precisely of the kind described. He is declared
by the narrative to have received communications from God. There
can, however, be no doubt that his wide reputation rested on the
mystical rites by which he sought his oracles, for these, and not
his natural sagacity, would impress the common mind. When the elders
of Moab and Midian went to seek him they carried the "rewards of
divination" in their hands. It was believed that he might obtain
from Jehovah the God of the Israelites some knowledge concerning
them on which a powerful curse might be based. If then, in right of
his office, he pronounced the malediction, the power of Israel would
be taken away. The journey to Pethor was by the oasis of Tadmor and
the fords at Carchemish. A considerable time, perhaps a month, would
be occupied in going and returning. But there was no other man on
whose insight and power dependence could be placed. Those who
carried the message were men of rank, who might have gone as
ambassadors to a king. It was confidently expected that the
soothsayer would at once undertake the important commission.
Arriving at Pethor they find Balaam and convey the message, which
ends with the flattering words, "I know that he whom thou blessest
is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed." But they have to
treat with no vulgar thaumaturgist, no mere weaver of spells and
incantations. This is a man of intellectual power, a diplomatist,
whose words and proceedings have a tone of high purpose and
authority. He hears attentively, but gives no immediate answer. From
the first he takes a position fitted to make the ambassadors feel
that if he intervenes it will be from higher motives than desire to
earn the rewards with which they presume to tempt him. He is indeed
a prince of his tribe, and will be moved by nothing less than the
oracle of that unseen Being whom the chiefs of Moab and Midian
cannot approach. Let the messengers wait, that in the shadow and
silence of night Balaam may inquire of Jehovah. His answer shall be
in accordance with the solemn, secret word that comes to him from
above.
Three of the New Testament writers, the Apostles Peter, John, and
Jude, refer to Balaam in terms of reprobation. He is "Balaam the son
of Beor who loved the hire of wrongdoing"; he "taught Balak to cast
a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things
sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication"; he is the type of
those who run riotously in the way of error for hire. Gathering up
the impressions of his whole life, these passages declare him
avaricious and cunningly malignant, a prophet who, perverting his
gifts, brought on himself a special judgment. At the outset,
however, Balaam does not appear in this light. The pictorial
narrative shows a man of imposing personality, who claims the
"vision and the faculty Divine." He seems resolute to keep by the
truth rather than gratify any dreams of ambition or win great
pecuniary rewards. It is worth while to study a character so
mingled, in circumstances that may be called typical of the old
world.
Did Balaam enjoy communications with God? Had he real prophetic
insight? Or must we hold with some that he only professed to consult
Jehovah, and found the answer to his inquiries in the conclusions of
his own mind?
It would appear at first sight that Balaam, as a heathen, was
separated by a great gulf from the Hebrews. But at the time to which
the narrative of Numbers refers, if not at the period of its
composition, the boundary line implied by the word "gentile" did not
exist. Moses had clearly taught to the Hebrews ethical and religious
truths which neighbouring nations saw very indistinctly; and the
Israelites were beginning to know themselves a chosen race. Yet
Abraham was their father, and other peoples could claim descent from
him. Edom, for example, is in Numbers 20 acknowledged as Israel’s
brother.
At the stage of history, then, to which our passage belongs, the
strongly marked differences between nation and nation afterwards
insisted upon were not realised. And this is so far true in respect
of religion, that though the Kenites, a Midianite tribe, did not
follow the way of Jehovah, Moses, as we have seen, had no difficulty
in joining with them in a sacrificial feast in honour of the Lord of
Heaven. If beyond the circle of the tribes any one, impressed by
their history, attributing their rescue from Egypt and their
successful march towards Canaan to Jehovah, acknowledged His
greatness and began to approach Him with sacred rites, no doubt
would have existed among the Hebrews generally that by such a man
their God could be found and His favour won. The narrative before
us, stating that Jehovah called Balaam and communicated with him,
simply declares what the more patriotic and religious Israelites
would have had no difficulty whatever in receiving. This diviner of
Pethor had heard of Israel’s deliverance at the Red Sea, had
followed with keen interest the progress of the tribes, had made
himself acquainted with the law of Jehovah given at Sinai. Why,
then, should he not worship Jehovah? And why should not Jehovah
speak to him, make revelations to him of things still in the future?
So far, however, we touch only the beliefs, or possible beliefs, of
the Israelites. The facts may be quite different. We are in the way
of considering revelations of the Divine will to have been so
uncommon and sacred that a man of very high character alone could
have enjoyed them. If indeed God spoke to Balaam, it must have been
in another way than to Abraham, Moses, Elijah. Especially since his
history shows him to have been a man bad at heart, we are inclined
to pronounce his consultation of God mere pretence; and as for his
prophecies, did he not simply hear of Israel’s greatness and
forecast the future with the prescience of a clear calculator, who
used his eyes and reason to good purpose? But with this the gist of
the Bible narrative cannot be said to agree. It seems to be
certainly implied that God did speak to Balaam, open his eyes,
unfold to him things far off in the future. Although many cases
might be adduced which go to prove that an acute man of the world,
weighing causes and tracing the drift of things, may show wonderful
foresight, yet the language here used points to more than that. It
seems to mean that Divine illumination was given to one beyond the
circle of the chosen people, to one who from the first was no friend
of God and at the last showed himself a malicious enemy of Israel.
And the doctrine must be that any one who, looking beneath the
surface of things, studying the character of men and peoples,
connects the past and the present and anticipates events which are
still far off, has his illumination from God. Further it is taught
that in a real sense the man who has some conception of Providence,
though he is false at heart, may yet, in the sincerity of an hour,
in the serious thought roused at some crisis, have a word of
counsel, a clear indication of duty, a revelation of things to come
which others do not receive. Still we must interpret the words, "God
said to Balaam," in a way which will not lift him into the ranks of
the heaven-directed who are in any sense mediators, prophets of the
age and the world. This man has his knowledge so far from above, has
his insight as a true gift, receives the word of prohibition, of
warning, veritably from a Divine source. Yet he does not stand in a
high position, lifted above other men. The whole history is of value
for our instruction, because as surely as Balaam received directions
from God, we also receive them through conscience; because as he
opposed God so we also may oppose Him in self-will or the evil mind.
When we are urged to do what is right the urgency is Divine, as
certainly as if a voice from heaven fell on our ears. Only when we
realise this do we feel aright the solemnity of obligation. If. we
fail to ascribe our knowledge and our sense of duty to God, it will
seem a light thing to neglect the eternal laws by which we should be
ruled.
Reaching Pethor the messengers of Balak state their request. Instead
of going with them at once, as a false man might be expected to do,
Balaam declares that he must consult Jehovah; and the result of his
consultation is that he declines. In the morning he says to the
princes of Moab, "Get you into your land, for Jehovah refuseth to
give me leave to go with you." The question whether Israel was a fit
subject for blessing or for cursing has been practically settled in
his mind. When he lays the matter before Jehovah, as he knows Him
through His law and the history of Israel, it is made unmistakable
that no malediction is to be pronounced. But what, then, was the
secret of Balaam’s delay, of his consultation of the oracle? If it
had been an absolute determination to serve the interests of
righteousness, he could now frame his reply to the princes in such a
way that they would understand it to be final. He would not say
demurely, "Jehovah refuseth to give me leave," for these words allow
the belief that somehow the power to curse may yet be obtained.
Balaam permits himself to hope that he will find some flaw in
Israel’s relation to Jehovah which will leave room for a
malediction. He delays, and professes to consult God,
diplomatically, that even by the refusal his fame as a diviner
acquainted with the Unseen Power may be established. And the answer
he returns means that his own reputation is not to be hazarded by
any divination which Jehovah will discredit.
Had not the future proceedings of Balaam cast their shadow back on
his career and words, he might have been pronounced at the outset a
man of integrity. The rewards offered him were probably large. We
may believe that whatever reputation Balaam had previously enjoyed
this embassy was the most important ever sent to him, the greatest
tribute to his fame. And we would have been inclined to say, Here is
an example of conscientiousness. Balaam might go with the princes at
least, though he can pronounce no curse on Israel; but he does not;
he is too honourable even to profess the desire to gratify his
patrons. This favourable judgment, however, is forbidden. It was of
himself, of his fame and position, he was thinking. He would not
have gone in any case unless it had precisely suited his purpose.
Understanding that Israel is not to be cursed, he manages so that
his refusal shall enhance his own reputation.
Still, the small amount of sincerity there is in Balaam,
superimposed on his self-love and diplomacy, is in contrast to the
utter want of it which men often show. They are of a party, and at
the first call they will make shift to denounce whatever their
leaders bid them denounce. There is no pretence even of waiting for
a night to have time for quiet reflection; much less any anxious
thought regarding Divine providence, righteousness, mercy, by means
of which duty may be discovered. It is possible for men to appear
earnest defenders of religion who never go even as far as Balaam
went in seeking the guidance of truth and principle. They pass
judgments with a haste that shows the shallow heart. Tempted by some
envious Balak within, even when no appeal is made, they set up as
soothsayers and take on them to prophesy evil.
The messengers of Balak returned with the report of their
disappointment; but what they had to say caused, as Balaam no doubt
intended, greater anxiety than ever to secure his services. One who
was so lofty, and at the same time so much in the secrets of the God
Israel worshipped, was indeed a most valuable ally, and his help
must be obtained at any price. Did he say that Jehovah refused to
give him leave? Balak will assure him of rewards which no God of
Israel can give, very great recompense, tangible, immediate. Other
messengers are sent, more, and more honourable than the former, and
they carry very flattering offers. If he will curse Israel, Balak
the son of Zippor will do for him whatever he desires. Nothing is to
hinder him from coming; neither the prohibition of Jehovah nor
anything else.
The conduct of Balaam when he is appealed to the second time
confirms the judgment it has been found necessary to pronounce on
his character. He behaves like a man who has been expecting, and
yet, with what conscience he has, dreading, the renewed invitation.
He appears indeed to be emphatic in declaring his superiority to the
offer of reward: "If Balak would give me his house full of silver
and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less
or more." The air of incorruptible virtue is kept. The Moabites and
Midianites are to understand that they have to do with a man whose
whole soul is set on truth. And the protestation would deceive
us-only Balaam does not dismiss the men. Giving him all credit for
an intention still to keep right with the Almighty, or, shall we
say? allowing that he was too clever a man to imperil his reputation
by intending a curse which would not be followed by any ill effects,
we find immediately that he is unwilling to let the opportunity
pass. He asks the messengers to tarry for the night, that he may
again consult Jehovah in the matter. He has already seen the truth
as to Israel, the promise of its splendid career. Yet he will repeat
the inquiry, ask once more regarding the prospect he has distinctly
seen. It is ambition that moves him, and perhaps, along with that,
avarice. May he not be able to say something that will sound like a
curse, something on which Balak shall fasten in the belief that it
gives him power against Israel? It would, at all events, be a
gratification to travel in state across the desert, to appear
amongst the princes of Midian and Moab as the man after whom kings
had to run.. And there was the possibility that without absolutely
forfeiting his reputation as a seer of things to come he might
obtain at least a portion of the reward. He will at all events do
the messengers the honour of seeking another oracle for their sakes,
though he dishonours the name of God from whom he seeks it.
It was possible for Balaam during the interval of the two embassies
to recover himself. He was one who could understand integrity, who
knew enough of the conditions of success to see that absolute
consistency is the only strength. There was a straight way which he
might have followed. But temptation pressed on him. Tired of the
narrow field within which he had as yet exercised his powers, he saw
one wider and more splendid open to him. The wealth was no small
inducement. He was in the way of divining for reward; this was the
greatest ever in his reach. And Balaam, knowing well how base and
vain his pretext was, resigned his integrity, even the pretence of
it, when he bade the messengers wait.
Yet was his fault a singular one? We cannot say that he showed
extraordinary covetousness in desiring Balak’s silver and gold. For
the time, in the circumstances, scarcely anything else could be
expected of a man like him. To judge Balaam by modern Christian
rules is an anachronism. The remarkable thing is to find one of his
class at all scrupulous about the means he employs to promote
himself. We say that he was guilty of perverting conscience; and so
he was. But his conscience did not see or speak so clearly as ours.
And are not Christian men liable to have their heads turned by the
countenance of those in a higher rank than their own, and to succumb
to the enticement of great wealth? When they are asked to reconsider
a decision they know to be right, do they never tamper with
conscience? It is one of the commonest things to find persons
nominally religious indulging in the same desires and acting in the
same way as Balaam. But the earthly craving that makes any one go
back to God a second time about a matter which ought to have been
settled once for all, involves the greatest moral hazard. No human
being, in any situation, has spiritual strength to spare. There is a
point where he who hesitates casts the whole of his life into the
balance. For young persons, especially, a great warning, often
needed, lies here.
The fault of Balaam, a fault of which he could not fail to be
conscious, was that of tampering with his inspiration. The insight
he possessed-and which he valued-had come through his sincere
estimate of things and men apart from any pressure brought to bear
on him to take a side either for money or for fame. His mind using
perfect freedom, travelling in a way of sincere judgment, had
reached a height from which he enjoyed wide prospects. As a man and
a prophet he had his standing through this superiority to the
motives that swayed vulgar minds. The admission of sordid
influences, whether it began with the visit of Balak’s messengers or
had been previously allowed, was perhaps the first great error of
his life. And it is so in the case of every man who has found the
strength of integrity and reached the vision of the true. The
Christian who has held himself free from the entanglements of the
world, refusing to touch its questionable rewards, or to be
influenced by its jealousy and envy, has what may be called his
inspiration, though it lifts him to no prophetic height. He has a
clear mind, a clear eye. His own way is plain, and he can also see
the crookedness of paths which others follow and reckon straight
enough. He can go with a firm step and say fearlessly, "Be ye
followers of me." But if the base considerations of gain and loss,
of ease or discomfort, of the applause or enmity of other men,
intrude, if even in a small way he becomes a man of the world, at
once there is declension. He may not be ambitious nor covetous. Yet
the withdrawal of his mind from its sole allegiance to God and the
righteousness of God tells at once on his moral vision. It is
clouded. The oracle becomes ambiguous. He hears two voices, many
voices; and the counsels of his mind are confused. Like others, he
now takes a crooked course, he feels that he has lost the old
firmness of speech and action.
It is a sad thing when one who has felt himself "born to the good,
to the perfect," who has gained the power that comes through
reverence, and sees greater power before him, yields to that which
is not venerable, not pure. The beginnings of the fatal surrender
may be small. Only a throb of self-consciousness and satisfaction
when some one speaks a word of flattery or with show of much
deference prefers an astute request. Only a disposition to listen
when in seeming friendship counsel of a plausible kind is offered,
and milder ways of judging are recommended to lessen friction and
put an end to discord. Even the strong are so weak, and those who
see are so easily blinded, that no one can count himself safe. And
indeed it is not the great temptations, like that which came to
Balaam, we have chiefly to dread. The very greatness of a bribe and
magnificence of an opportunity put conscience on its guard. Peril
comes rather when the appeal for charity, or the casuistry of
protesting virtue, sends one to reconsider judgment that has been
solemnly pronounced by a voice we cannot mistake; when we forget
that the matter is only rightly determined for men when it is
clearly and irrevocably decided by the law of God, whatever men may
think, however they may deplore or rebel.
"Thou and God exist-So think!-for certain; think the mass-mankind-Disparts,
disperses, leaves thyself alone! Ask thy lone soul what laws are
plain to thee-Thee and no other, -stand or fall by them! That is the
part for thee: regard all else For what it may be-Time’s illusion."
Men in their need, in their sorrow, their self-esteem, would have
the true man revoke his judgment, yield a point at least to their
entreaties. He will do them kindness, he will show himself human,
reasonable, judicious. But on the other side are those to whom, in
showing this consideration, he will be unjust, declaring their
honour worthless, their sore struggle a useless waste of strength;
and he himself stands before the Judge. The one sure way is that
which keeps the life in the line of the statutes of God, and every
judgment in full accord with His righteousness.
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