Numbers 23:20

20 I have indeed received [a command] to bless; since He has blessed,[a] I cannot change it.

Numbers 23:20 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 23:20

Behold, I have received [commandment] to bless
The people of Israel, to pronounce a blessing upon them, to declare them a happy people:

and he hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it;
God has blessed them, has determined to bless them, has promised to bless them, has blessed them in the victories he has given them, and will complete the blessing of them, by bringing them into the land he has given them: so the blessings which God has designed for his spiritual Israel, and bestows upon them, are irreversible; they are blessings indeed, spiritual ones, and are for ever; he blesses them with himself, as their covenant; God, their portion here and hereafter, with Christ his Son, and all things with him, with righteousness, peace, and pardon, with his Spirit and the grace thereof, with sonship, heirship, and eternal life.

Numbers 23:20 In-Context

18 Balaam proclaimed his poem: Balak, get up and listen; son of Zippor, pay attention to what I say!
19 God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?
20 I have indeed received [a command] to bless; since He has blessed, I cannot change it.
21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and there is rejoicing over the King among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt; He is like the horns of a wild ox for them.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Sam, LXX read since I will bless
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