Balak (Destroyer)

Numbers 22:2-25:9
Micah 5:6–6:8

“Animals that Speak”

POSTED 11 JULY, 2008

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

“How fair are your tents, O Jacob, Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens beside the river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be by many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted” (Numbers 24:5-7).

Many in Judeo-Christian circles remember the Bible story in Balak because one incident that is described is hard to forget. This Torah portion includes the only written Scriptural example of God using an animal to verbally communicate:

“And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?’ Then Balaam said to the donkey, ‘Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now.’ The donkey said to Balaam, ‘Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?’ And he said, ‘No’” (Numbers 22:28-30).

Many times you have probably heard someone humbly concede that God used him or her in some situation when they say, “Well, if God can speak through a donkey, He can certainly speak through me!” Well, this expression is certainly true, because most seekers of the Lord can readily recall times when the Holy Spirit used them in circumstances that in many cases was beyond their will. The focus for most people when they remember this section of Scripture is upon the miraculous incident of the donkey speaking to Balaam.

As you will recall, the Lord was not pleased with Balaam, because it appears that Balaam has exercised his own will in order to “profit” from the opportunity to speak against Israel:

“God said to Balaam, ‘Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed’” (Numbers 22:12).

Even with this terse statement, Balaam continues to negotiate with the angel of God, and eventually he is allowed to make the journey to Moab to meet the demands of Balak. But one final restriction is placed upon him, as he is ready to proceed:

“But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, ‘Go with the men, but you shall speak only the word which I tell you.’ So Balaam went along with the leaders of Balak” (Numbers 22:35).

Balaam is only permitted to speak the words that are given to him by God Himself. This is a very interesting restriction, because what ushers forth in the three prophecies he gives are blessings, rather than the curses that Balak had commissioned Balaam to utter. As you read each of these three utterances, you discover that Balaam is a mouthpiece for the God of Israel. Each of the three attempts to curse Israel turn out to be pronouncements of blessings upon them. The first attempt to curse comes from atop a hill overlooking the camp, after seven bulls and rams were offered up on seven altars prepared by Balak and Balaam:

“He took up his discourse and said, ‘From Aram Balak has brought me, Moab's king from the mountains of the East, “Come curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!” How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? As I see him from the top of the rocks, and I look at him from the hills; behold, a people who dwells apart, and will not be reckoned among the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”’” (Numbers 23:7-10).

The first utterance can essentially be summarized by the statement, “How can I damn whom God has not damned, how doom when the Lord has not doomed?” (NJPS). Balaam has spoken only what the Holy One has instructed him to state, and Balak is mortified. A second attempt is offered from a higher vantage point. Again, seven altars and seven bulls and rams are again offered up as sacrifices:

“Then he took up his discourse and said, ‘Arise, O Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor! God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent; has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; when He has blessed, then I cannot revoke it. He has not observed misfortune in Jacob; nor has He seen trouble in Israel; the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt, He is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For 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! Behold, 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 23:18-24).

Once again Balaam blesses rather than curses the people of Israel. Here in this declaration, the overriding thought is directed to the attributes of the Creator God. Balaam makes the categorical statement, “God is not a human being, that he should lie, or a mortal, that he should change his mind” (NRSV). Again, Balaam is obviously respecting the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and this is reflected in his statements. But as he continues to prophecy, he mentions two animals that just seem to help describe what he is seeing, as he looks down upon the masses of Israelites encamped around the Tabernacle. Is it possible that he has gotten a glimpse of some of the tribal banners that are stationed around the camp to make distinctions between the different tribes? What is interesting to note is that Balaam mentions the wild ox and the lion, as he speaks over the sons of Israel.

Now we need to remember that these two animals were used in the tribal banners of Judah and Ephraim. For identification purposes, the different tribes created banners that were a distillation of many of the things that had been prophesied over them by their predecessors. At the end of Jacob’s life, he had certainly associated Judah with the lion:

“Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him up?” (Genesis 49:9).

Moses, as he comes to the end of his Earthly sojourn, also refers to the connection between Joseph’s sons and particularly, Ephraim’s connection to the wild-ox:

“And with the choice things of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of Him who dwelt in the bush. Let it come to the head of Joseph, and to the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers. As the firstborn of his ox, majesty is his, and his horns are the horns of the wild ox; with them he will push the peoples, all at once, to the ends of the earth. And those are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and those are the thousands of Manasseh” (Deuteronomy 33:16-17).

If you study the various banners you will note that the lion is very prominent on the banner of Judah, and the ox is very prominent on the banner of Ephraim. We know that these two tribes were the leading tribes in the martialed array movement of Israelites through the desert. When they were encamped, those of Judah and their lion banners were displayed on the east of the Tabernacle. They were the leading tribe of the eastern vanguard with Issachar and Zebulun. On the western side of the encampment were Ephraim and his ox banners, coupled with the tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin.

As we read about the third prophecy, some of our assumptions begin to take on more meaning:

“And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him” (Numbers 24:2).

Balaam was at another vantage point, overseeing the camp of Israel. He recognized their degree of order and unity, and how they were positioned around the Tabernacle. As Balaam begins his final oracle to Balak, he is overwhelmed with the Spirit of God that he utters a statement that ironically is included in Jewish liturgy to this day—proclaimed in synagogues every Sabbath. It appears in the final blessing: “How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel!”

“He took up his discourse and said, ‘The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, and the oracle of the man whose eye is opened; the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered, how fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens beside the river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from his buckets, and his seed will be by many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, and will crush their bones in pieces, and shatter them with his arrows. He couches, he lies down as a lion, and as a lion, who dares rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, and cursed is everyone who curses you’” (Numbers 24:3-9).

Once again, Balaam resorts to describing what he sees, using the wild ox and the lion as the two animals that reflect what he is seeing from the heart of the Lord. Is it possible that God is using a “prophet for hire” to speak to His people—even today as many are still wandering in the Diaspora? Certainly, many people from all over the globe are for the first time discovering the message about the restoration of all Israel. We are seeing these images of lions and oxen on banners among those who understand their prophetic significance. Of course, after Balaam makes this third blessing upon the Israelites as he was constrained to do, Balak is furious. Balak sends Balaam away, but not without receiving a final prophecy that is directed to the end times and how Israel will relate to its neighbors:

“Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, ‘I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! Therefore, flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.’ Balaam said to Balak, ‘Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak”? And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the days to come’” (Numbers 24:10-14).

This prophecy was one that Balak did not bargain for, and yet by the end of the series of oracles, Balaam was compelled to utter forth words from the very heart of God:

“He took up his discourse and said, ‘The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, and the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered. I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession, while Israel performs valiantly. One from Jacob shall have dominion, and will destroy the remnant from the city.’ And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, ‘Amalek was the first of the nations, but his end shall be destruction.’ And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, ‘Your dwelling place is enduring, and your nest is set in the cliff. Nevertheless Kain will be consumed; how long will Asshur keep you captive?’ Then he took up his discourse and said, ‘Alas, who can live except God has ordained it? But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, and they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber; so they also will come to destruction’” (Numbers 24:15-24).

In these the final words attributed to Balaam, the Israelites can take great comfort in the fact that these were forecast for the end-times when Israel would once again be among its neighbors. As you can read, the enemies of Israel are destroyed. Of course, this passage also refers to the Star of Jacob, who comes forth to crush the forehead of the Moabites:

“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons of Sheth” (Numbers 24:17).

We know that this reference is to the Messiah Yeshua. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He has the strength of a wild-ox—and He will return to rule the world with a rod of iron.

Perhaps we can all recognize that the Holy One continues to speak to His people through various animals and their images. Whether you hear the utterances from a donkey, or learn to understand the imagery of the animal kingdom and how it applies to human understanding, the bottom line is that through each of these examples the Lord continues to speak to us. May we each have the ears to hear and the eyes to see!

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.