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NOTES for Num 24:1-25

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1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.
12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
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In the end Balaam still does what he cannot help doing as a true prophet: he blesses the people of God. He blesses them despite all the promises and threats of Balak, who invited him. This is understandable: Balaam knows perfectly well what happens to a prophet who betrays his calling. He had hardly heard anything about Yahweh before: he was from Mesopotamia, and rumors about the Hebrews could scarcely have reached there, especially since even closer neighbors then knew nothing definite about them.

Balaam knew only one thing for certain: the very voice he had heard, most likely in childhood, and after hearing which he had become a prophet, now commanded him to bless this people that had appeared from who knew where, not to curse it. There may have been cases when everything was not so unambiguous. It was not by chance that Balak invited Balaam in order to curse the people, in effect giving him a kind of commission for a curse, and Balaam did go, although the first signs that he should not go had been given to him even before he set out. There must have been such cases when a prophet could call for help on the one whose voice he heard.

He could make use of the power that stood behind him. In those days every prophet was also partly a magician; he possessed a power that he could control to a certain degree. If the desire to control the power, to master it, won out, the prophet disappeared and a magician, a tribal sorcerer, took his place. If the prophet consistently renounced everything magical that the prophetic experience of his age implied, renounced mastering the power and every attempt to manipulate it, he could become a true prophet, who could sometimes hear the voice of God and see angels.

Everything here depended on the choice of the person himself, as it always does on every spiritual path. For His part, God does not want anyone's destruction; He wants to save everyone and give everyone the possibility of hearing Him and communicating with Him. Such a moment of truth came for Balaam too, when the choice arose: whether to bless the people as had been revealed to him, or to try to use the power he had received in order to curse them. Balaam chooses the first, remaining a prophet and becoming God's witness, contrary to what Balak expects from him.

Other notes

 
For Num 24:1-25
1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.
3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.
7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.
8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.
12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.
Hide
God's will becomes finally clear to the sorcerer Balaam: he leaves his divinations and goes into the wilderness to bless Israel. In his prophecy...  Read more

God's will becomes finally clear to the sorcerer Balaam: he leaves his divinations and goes into the wilderness to bless Israel. In his prophecy there is both the unearthly beauty of Israel, its many victories over its enemies, and the star rising over Jacob.

Two thousand years later other magi will see this star no longer by divination but openly, and they will cross the desert and rejoice when they see the true Beauty of Israel, and on behalf of all nations they will bring Him gifts. And after another two millennia, you and I will read this prophecy and worship this Beauty. History repeats itself, but its Center is always the same.

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For Num 24:15-17
15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Hide
A wonderful vision is given to Balaam by God. "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh". Balaam sees not only God being far - he sees Him being on the way. He is not yet near, He hasn’t come yet. Balaam hears him...  Read more

A wonderful vision is given to Balaam by God. "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh". Balaam sees not only God being far - he sees Him being on the way. He is not yet near, He hasn’t come yet. Balaam hears him, sees Him far, but understands that His coming is still foresight, prediction, and not a fait accompli. In these days of the Advent, the preparations of Christmas, the Church reminds us that God has not always been so nigh of His people. Only the Birth of Jesus changed the situation. And today, we like together with Israel of the Old Testament and the prophets wait for Him, looking from far, as He approaches us.

Hide
 
For Num 24:15-17
15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Hide
The Lord gives Balaam an amazing vision. "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near." Balaam sees not simply God at a distance...  Read more

The Lord gives Balaam an amazing vision. "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near." Balaam sees not simply God at a distance - he sees Him on the way. He is not yet nearby, He has not yet come. Balaam hears Him, sees Him far off, but understands that His coming is still foreknowledge, prophecy, and not an accomplished fact.

In these days of Advent, of preparation for Christmas, the Church reminds us that God was not always so close to His people. Only the Birth of Jesus changed the situation. And now, as it were, together with Old Testament Israel and the prophets, we await Him, looking from afar as He draws near to us.

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