072. Balaam--His Works Betray His Words
Balaam--His Works Betray His Words Num 22:21. And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. The eagerness which men discover in pursuing the objects of time and sense, is a melancholy contrast to their coldness and indifference respecting the things of God and eternity. The carnal mind needs but a hint to attach itself to the pursuit of riches, pleasure, or honor; and when engaged no argument is of weight sufficient to dissuade; no danger intimidates, no difficulty discourages. The understanding becomes the dupe of the passions, conscience is led hoodwinked by appetite, and the man is shamefully sunk in the brute. But the alarm must be louder than thunder, which awakens the thoughtless, the sensual, and the selfish to serious reflection; and it must be repeated every hour, else they will slumber and sleep again.
Water has in its natural coldness a tendency to congeal; and, once reduced to ice; has no principle in itself to recover from that torpid state. The cause of change must come from without. To dissolve and restore it to its liquid state, the sun must shine, the wind must blow; withdraw the action of air and fire, and it will gradually freeze again. In like manner, without any cause from without, the human body, by it principle of corruption within itself; must speedily dissolve and be destroyed; and the human mind, by a similar internal principle of moral corruption, degenerates from depravity to depravity, till, lost to shame, fear, remorse, and at length, to feeling, men come to commit iniquity with greediness, and to glory in their shame. To preserve the body in life, there must be constant supplies of nourishment administered; and to preserve the soul in health, there must be “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.”
It is truly affecting to see men enlightened and persuaded, yet wedded to their lusts; clearly informed of the right path, but wilfully and deliberately persisting in error; hardening themselves against God, and yet thinking to prosper; acknowledging God in words, but in works denying him.
These observations are all strikingly exemplified in the character and conduct of Balaam, of which we attempted to give you a general idea in the last Lecture, and to which were added some observations tending to elucidate his singular history. We are now to enter on the particular detail of it, as it is delivered in the sacred record. The Israelitish nation was now in the last year of their peregrination through the wilderness; their civil and religious government were fully settled, and the theocracy finally established. They were now approaching the banks of the Jordan: and by their number, order, and discipline, striking terror into all the neighboring nations. Two kings, their armies, and their people, have already fallen before their victorious arms; and nothing is left to oppose their progress to Canaan, but the river, the boundary itself of the promised land. They pitch their camp quietly in the plains of Moab, expecting the signal from their divine leader and commander to pass over, conquer, and take possession. Their warlike array and recent successes, have alarmed the apprehensions of Balak, king of Moab, as their prosperity and prospects had excited his envy and jealousy. Diffident of his strength, either to repel invasion, if attacked by so powerful an adversary, or to attack them first, and endeavor to obstruct their progress, he enters into an alliance with the people of Midian, for their mutual security and defence. And even then, still doubtful of the force of their united arms, they agree to employ the arts of divination in aid of the sword, and dream of conquering by the power of enchantment, those whom they were afraid to encounter in the field. To such base, such wretched shifts do princes and nations resort, to gratify pride, ambition, or revenge. For this purpose, they send a joint embassy to Balaam, the son of Beor, a noted soothsayer in the neighborhood.
Balak and Moab had degenerated from the faith of Lot, their forefather, and were sunk into idolatry; it is therefore no wonder to see thorn of a jealous and hostile spirit towards Israel, their brother. A principle of religion, consisting in the fear and love of God, is the great bond of union among men; it strengthens the ties of natural affection, and even conciliates friendship between enemies: but irreligion, or what is worse, an erroneous principle of religion, turns men loose against each other, dissolves society, and fattens the earth with human blood. We cannot help recollecting, alas! that Abraham and Lot, the uncle and nephew, the progenitors of the two nations, were under the necessity of separating from each other, on account of their increasing wealth; and we see, many years after they were laid in the dust, the self-same cause, whetting the spirits and the swords of their posterity, and arming them for their mutual destruction. The whole world is a possession too scanty for avarice and ambition; the success of one seems to be a diminution of the happiness of another; and even the immense ocean is crimsoned with gore, that one may enjoy sole and sullen empire; as if that vast space could not accommodate the operations of two tribes of ants on yonder molehill. Blessed world, where envy and strife shall rage no more; where there is bread enough and to spare, room enough and to spare; where the felicity of everyone is an accession of felicity to everyone!
Balaam is described in Scripture by his parentage, his country, and profession. He was the son of Beor, or Bosor, the difference of which pronunciation is accounted for, from the difference of dialect in the oriental languages. The father exists to us only in his name, and in the history of his son: and happy had it been for that son, to have left behind him nothing too but a mere name, instead of one loaded with infamy and detestation. Pethor, the place of his residence, was a city of Aram, or Mesopotamia, the very country where Abraham himself was born, and where he resided till his seventy-fifth year; the native country of Rebekah, the wife of Isaac; the country where Jacob passed a great part of his youthful years; where he married; where all his children, except Benjamin, were born, and whence he obtained the name of a Syrian. Pethor was situated on the river Euphrates, called the river, by way of eminence or distinction, it being the largest in the country; and thence, in many passages of Scripture, styled the great river. The country adjacent, to a vast distance, being plain, it was favorable to the observation of the heavenly bodies; and accordingly we find the science of astronomy was early cultivated there; and the pretended science of astrology, that is, the power of foretelling future events, from the appearances and supposed influence of the stars, was speedily grafted upon it. Pride, presumption, and a little knowledge, soon arrogated to themselves a power of controlling those great luminaries, which seem in perpetual motion to encompass our earth, and of suspending or altering their influences; and ignorance, superstition, and credulity easily admitted the insolent claim, and resorted to it. This was apparently the profession of Balaam, for in the book of Joshua he is expressly termed “the soothsayer.” It was probably to his skill and power as an astrologer, that Balak had recourse for assistance against Israel, and when we come to his prophecy itself, we shall meet with some, and these not obscure allusions to that art. The message put into the mouths of these ambassadors, is strongly expressive of terror and consternation. “There is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earthy and they abide over against me.”[*]Num 22:5 The dreadful plagues inflicted on Egypt, in effecting Israel’s deliverance, had been heard at the distance of Moab; and though forty years have elapsed, they are neither forgotten, nor have lost their impression. Fear ever magnifies its object; “they cover the face of the earth:” the word is, the eye or sight of the earth; their tents extend so far, that the earth and they seem to have one limit, and they are marshaled so close, that no ground can be seen. Another image, strongly expressive of the same passion, is that in the fourth verse. “Now will this company lick up all that are round about as, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field.” “Lick up,” it is the same word which is used 1Ki 18:38, to express the action of devouring fire. “Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.”[*]1Ki 18:38 The ox, as he feeds calmly and stately along, employs his tongue only, and the grass perisheth without pushing with the horn, or stamping with the foot, actions that denote strength and exertion, but by the easy motion of a soft and pliant film of flesh, he sweeps away all before him; thus easily and certainly, Balak apprehends, was Israel advancing to his and his people’s destruction. And how was this approaching plague to be resisted or averted? “Come now, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me; peradventure I shall prevail that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I wet that he whom then blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”[*]Num 22:6 We have here an assemblage of all the baser and more contemptible passions of the human mind, called forth, and led on by the predominant one of fear: a low groveling superstition, expecting from magical spells, what ought to have been sought for from wisdom and valor: unprovoked violence and cruelty, in seeking the destruction of a people, who were dwelling peaceably by him, and who had given such strong and recent proof of their moderation, in submitting to a tedious and difficult march round the whole land of Edom, rather than offend an unkind brother, who had refused a passage through his land, which they could easily have cut with the sword; and unmanly, abject adulation of a vile wizard, whom he supposed capable of serving his turn. On the other hand, the two great leading passions of Balaam’s soul, vanity and covetousness, were likely to be gratified to the full. How would his heart exult, to see a train of princes standing at his gate, and presents, worthy of kings to bestow, poured down at his feet! A prophet indeed, would have known from the beginning, that the application was nugatory, and that it must come to nothing; and an honest man would have rejected it with firmness, and persevered in that rejection. But we see his heart is won from the first moment, and all that follows is a wretched struggle between inclination and conscience, in which the former, at length, carries off the victory.
He receives the messengers with great courtesy, and accommodates them in his house; for even a miser can be hospitable, if he be sure of gaining by it. Abraham’s servant, followed by a camel loaded with the good things of Canaan, can easily force open the doors of such a man as Laban, or Balaam. He affects an air of great mystery; he cannot give his response immediately. Night, the season of incantation and dreams, must intervene; and, horrible to think, the great and dreadful name of Jehovah is interposed, to sanction and conceal the wicked purposes of a heart hunting after its covetousness; and he promises to report in the morning the result of his consultation. How faithfully the report was made the sequel will show.
It appears, on the face of the history, that God waited not for an application from Balaam, concerning this business, but whether in a dream, a vision, or by a voice, prevented him, with an inquiry concerning the deputation from Moab. In many instances, Jehovah is represented as drawing information from men’s own mouths, of what evidently lay revealed to his all-seeing eye, and thus making their folly and wickedness to expose, reprove, and condemn themselves. “And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?”[*]Num 22:9 This question must have put the prophet into great agitation. Awful is the voice of the Eternal, at whatever season, in whatever form, and on whatever occasion it is heard! How awful then to a bad man, harboring an ill design, shutting wilfully his own eyes, and yet flattering himself; and saying, Doth God see, and is there knowledge with the Most High? That he considered the very question as ominous, and fatal to the cause of his avarice and vainglory, is evident from the circumstantiality of his answer. It discovers a soul tremblingly alive to the voice of interest: it is minute and particular, as if, by a parade of words, he could deceive his Maker into an approbation of his purpose and desire. What then must have been his chagrin and disappointment, when a prohibition, so peremptory and positive, in a moment blasted all his prospects of gain and preferment!
“And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them, thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed.”[*]Num 22:12 The application had two objects in view, permission to go into the land of Moab, and liberty to curse the children of Israel, and both meet with a flat denial. He must not accompany the ambassadors to him who sent them; neither must he, either at home, or abroad, in this place or in that, presume to curse, or in any shape whatever to molest that people. And, as if the sternness of interdiction had not been sufficient, a reason is assigned, “for they are blessed.” The, commandments of God, in general, are so clear, that it is impossible to misunderstand them; it is not ignorance, but presumption, that ruins mankind.
Balaam, however reluctant, must next morning deliver an account of the night’s success; and we find he does it in a very partial and imperfect manner. When he reported the message of Balak to God, having to do with the great Searcher of hearts, with whom disguise avails nothing, he is accurate and distinct; but in carrying back the answer of God, having to do with men, who knew no more than he had a mind to communicate to them, he delivers it in terms calculated only to stimulate the eagerness of the king of Moab, by encouraging a hope that something might be extorted, by dint of importunity and perseverance; or that, perhaps, he might be allowed to do that at a distance, which he might not do by a nearer approach. The command was clear and full, “Thou shalt not go with them;” but in the mouth of Balaam it is mutilated and perverted: “The Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you.”[*]Num 22:13 This satisfies Balak at once, that the prophet’s good will was with him; that it was not from want of inclination that the messengers returned without him; and, he justly concludes, that with such a proportion of the man on his side, it would not be difficult to make the rest to follow. The father of lies himself will speak truth, when it makes for his purpose; and Satan will quote Scripture, if he can but deceive by it; as in his temptation of our Savior in the wilderness. But then there is always some material circumstance disguised, perverted, or suppressed: and thereby a different meaning is conveyed from what was intended. The word of God, then, is handled deceitfully, not only when it is wrested, and made to speak a language not its own, but when any part of the truth is purposely, artfully, and wilfully concealed: and he “who shuns to declare the whole counsel of God,” is equally criminal with him who presumes to deliver, as the word of God, what wants the stamp of his authority. Balaam simply relates, that he is not permitted to go; not a syllable of the prohibition to curse Israel, nor of the reason assigned for that prohibition. As the message lost much by the way between God and the princes of Moab, from Balaam’s manner of rehearsing it; so it loses still more between Balaam and their master, from their mutilated and partial report: so that by the time it reaches Balak, an entirely different turn and meaning is given to it. The words of the oracle are, “Then shalt not go with them: thou shalt not curse the people, for they are blessed:”[*]Num 22:12 rehearsed by Balaam, “the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you:”[*]Num 22:13 reported by the ambassadors, “Balaam refuseth to come with us.”[*]Num 22:14 Thus, by the alteration of a few circumstances, even without a direct violation of truth, by passing through a very few hands, a plain proposition is made to contradict itself; and if we add to the easiness of varying facts, by varying phrases, and modes of expression; the difference, still more easily made, by the infinite diversity of tones, looks, and gesture, we shall not be surprised to find, what frequently happens, a man made to say diametrically the reverse of what he did say, and what he intended.
Balak having received this answer as the prophet’s, with great color of reason, considers it as a mere artifice, employed with a view to raise his price and importance; and he hopes to conquer Balaam’s reluctance, by assiduity, perseverance, presents, and flattery; for both good and bad men judge of others by themselves: and apprized, it would appear, of Balaam’s weak side, ambition, and avarice, he dispatches a second embassy, consisting of a greater number of persons, and of still higher rank, with this weighty and importunate address: “Thus saith Balak, the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: for I will promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come, therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.”[*]Num 22:16-17 How flattering all this to a worldly, selfish mind! Balak puts a carte blanche into his hands; leaves him to name his own terms. All the honor which a king could bestow, all the wealth of Moab is before him; the very things which his soul lusted after. Blessed Jesus, thou chief of the prophets, even the prince of this world, the chief of tempters, when he came, found nothing in thee! found no weak side, no vulnerable part. The kingdoms of this world, and the glory of them, dazzled not thine eyes: to the loudest calls of nature thou turned a deaf ear. The applause of men thou didst despise; thou soughtest not thine own glory, but the glory of Him that sent thee: thy “meat and drink was to do the will of Him that sent thee.”
Balaam had now been at the summit of his wishes, but for a stern, pointed command of God; which, like a drawn sword, hung by a single hair over his head. Shocking dilemma! he is goaded on by desires as impetuous as ever took possession of a proud and covetous mind; he is bridled in by a prohibition, as decisive as words could make it. For a moment we are in hope that the good principle has got the ascendant, that the fear, if not the love of God is shed abroad in his heart. Who could speak better! “If Balak would give me his house fall of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.”[*]Num 22:18 It is the very sentiment of chaste and virtuous Joseph, when solicited by temptation of a different sort. But here is the difference:--Joseph fled from temptation and overcame: Balaam tampered with it, and fell. Even the worst of men feel themselves under a necessity, for their interest’s sake, to save appearances; and something must be said, at least, to still the clamors of conscience. Unhappy man! steady, himself, to his own base and wicked purpose, he is weak enough to entertain the hope, that the great, the unchangeable Jehovah may depart from his. Thus deceiving himself, it is no wonder to see him attempting to deceive the king of Moab’s messengers into the expectation of a response more favorable to their united wishes. Accordingly, he courteously invites them to lodge with him that night also; if, peradventure, there might be obtained a reversal of the decree. And now the sable curtain is drawn, and Balaam is left alone, and no eye sees him but the all-seeing eye of God. Without waiting to be consulted, and the prophet, without doubt, was both afraid and ashamed to venture on this second reencounter, God again prevents him, and tacitly, though not directly, charges him with having invited this second application, in the face of a positive and decided answer. Balaam and Balak are both men of this world, and having one and the same spirit to govern them, they readily understand each other. Balaam evidently courts a second address; and Balak is not slow to pay it. Now, this is the very thing which gives so great and such just offence to a holy God--that two presumptuous, selfish wretches should presume to imagine, that the counsels of heaven could be shaken, in compliance with their humor or interest. “And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.”* The word might have been rendered, “Seeing the men have come to call thee, Balaam, you have carried, thus far, your point. A more honorable embassy attends you. Your desire is to go: you are unable to withstand the allurements of riches and honor: you know the better course, but will pursue the worse. Well then, fulfill thy desire. I have declared my will; but thou preferrest thine own. I have said, Go not; curse not; but the demon of gain, Mammon, says, go and curse. Obey him. Go, and take the consequence.” This is clearly the language of the permission given him to accompany the messengers. And can there be a clearer proof of the divine displeasure, than when God yields to men, and gives them their own way? “My people,” says God, “would not hearken to my voice, and Israel would none of me; so I gave them up into their own heart’s lust, and they walked in their own counsels. O that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.”[*]Psa 81:11-14 The wickedness of the old world at length overcame the patience of God; and he said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man:” and so they were left to eat and drink, to dance and to play; but then the waters of a deluge were at no great distance: and when God says, concerning a people, or an individual, “Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone;” short of hell, it is the worst that can befall them.
Balaam flattered himself and the Moabites, with hearing more from God; but, as the punishment of abusing the light he had, he hears less than before; and the vision is obscured to the man who had wilfully shut his own eyes. He was formerly forbidden either to go, or to curse. He is now, at his peril, allowed to go: but should he be so rash as to proceed on so slender a warrant, he is, at his peril, warned to walk by the instructions which should be given him. How easily men believe, how promptly they obey, when the doctrine tallies with their prejudices; when the precept coincides with their inclinations or their interest. Balaam is weak, I ought to have said, wicked enough, to imagine his way perfectly clear. Having carried, as he thought, one essential point, all the rest, he presumes, will follow of course. Who so quick-sighted as a covetous man pursuing his gain? And yet, who so stupid and dull, as the man whose eyes the god of this world hath blinded? Balaam is up betimes in the morning, equipped for his journey, on his way for the land of Moab. “For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.”[*]Luk 16:8 And there, for the present, we shall leave him, with this melancholy, mortifying reflection--that a corrupted heart has infinitely greater power to pervert a sound understanding and a well informed conscience, than an intelligent conscience and a clear head have to reform and purify a corrupted heart. If God permit, we shall continue the history next Lord’s day. May grace and wisdom be granted us to make a proper use of it; and to God’s holy name be praise. Amen.