Numbers 23:14-24

14 So he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar
15 And he said to Balak, "Stand here beside your burnt offering while I myself meet the LORD over there."
16 Then the LORD met Balaam and 1put a word in his mouth and said, "Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak."
17 He came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the leaders of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, "What has the LORD spoken?"
18 Then he took up his discourse and said, "Arise, O Balak, and hear; Give ear to me, O son of Zippor!
19 "2God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; 3Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good
20 "Behold, I have received a command to bless; 4When He has blessed, then 5I cannot revoke it.
21 "6He has not observed misfortune in Jacob; 7Nor has He seen trouble in Israel; 8The LORD his God is with him, 9And the shout of a king is among them
22 "10God brings them out of Egypt, He is for them like the 11horns of the wild ox.
23 "12For there is no omen against Jacob, Nor is there any divination against Israel; At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob And to Israel, what God has done!
24 "13Behold, a people rises like a lioness, And as a lion it lifts itself; It will not lie down until it devours the prey, And drinks the blood of the slain."

Numbers 23:14-24 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 23

This chapter gives an account of the sacrifices offered by Balak and Balaam, and how God met Balsam, and put a word into his mouth, which he delivered in the presence of the king of Moab and his princes, Nu 23:1-7, the substance of which are, the separate state and condition of Israel from other nations, their number, and the happiness of the righteous at death, Nu 23:8-10, which made Balak uneasy, since instead of cursing he blessed Israel, and therefore he had him to another place to take a view of the people, Nu 23:11-13 where having offered sacrifices, another word was put into the mouth of Balaam, and which he also delivered before the king and his nobles, Nu 23:14-18, in which were expressed the unchangeableness of God, the irreversibleness of the blessing of Israel, the strength, safety, happiness, and glory of that people, Nu 23:19-24 which made Balak more uneasy still; but willing to try him a third time, he carried him to another place, and there built altars, and offered sacrifices, the consequence of which is related in the next chapter, Nu 23:25-30.

Cross References 13

  • 1. Numbers 22:20
  • 2. 1 Samuel 15:29
  • 3. Isaiah 40:8; Isaiah 55:11
  • 4. Genesis 12:2; Genesis 22:17; Numbers 22:12
  • 5. Isaiah 43:13
  • 6. Num 14:18, 19, 34; Psalms 32:2, 5
  • 7. Deuteronomy 9:24; Deuteronomy 32:5; Jeremiah 50:20
  • 8. Exodus 3:12; Deuteronomy 31:23
  • 9. Deuteronomy 33:5; Psalms 89:15-18
  • 10. Numbers 24:8
  • 11. Deuteronomy 33:17
  • 12. Numbers 22:7; Numbers 24:1; Joshua 13:22
  • 13. Genesis 49:9; Nahum 2:11, 12

Footnotes 2

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