Matthew Henry Commentary Numbers 23:1-10

"And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram. And Balaam said unto Balak, Stand by thy burnt-offering, and I will go: peradventure Jehovah will come to meet me; and whatsoever he showeth me I will tell thee. And he went to a bare height. And God met Balaam: and he said unto him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bullock and a ram on every altar. And Jehovah put a word in Balaam`s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak. And he returned unto him, and, lo, he was standing by his burnt-offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. And he took up his parable, and said, From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom Jehovah hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him: lo, it is a people that dwelleth alone, And shall 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 righteous, And let my last end be like his!" — Numbers 23:1-10 (ASV)

With the camps of Israel in full view, Balaam ordered seven altars to be built, and a bullock and a ram to be offered on each. Oh, the foolishness of superstition, to imagine that God will be at man's command! The curse was turned into a blessing by the overruling power of God, in love to Israel. God intended to advance His own glory through Balaam, and therefore He met him.

If God put a word into the mouth of Balaam, who would have defied God and Israel, surely He will not fail to provide for those who desire to glorify God and to edify His people. They will be given what they should speak. He who opened the mouth of the ass caused the mouth of this wicked man to speak words as contrary to the desire of his heart as those of the ass were to the natural capacities of the animal. The miracle was as great in the one case as in the other.

Balaam pronounces Israel safe. He acknowledges he could do no more than God allowed him to do. He pronounces them happy in their distinction from the rest of the nations. Happy in their numbers, which made them both honorable and formidable. Happy in their ultimate end.

Death is the end of all people. Even the righteous must die, and it is good for us to think of this with regard to ourselves, as Balaam does here, speaking of his own death. He pronounces the righteous truly blessed, not only while they live but also when they die, which makes their death even more desirable than life itself. But there are many who desire to die the death of the righteous but do not endeavor to live the life of the righteous; they would gladly have an end like theirs, but not a way like theirs.

They would be saints in heaven but not saints on earth. This saying of Balaam's is only a wish, not a prayer; it is a vain wish, being only a wish for the end, without any concern for the means. Many seek to quiet their consciences with the promise of future amendment, or resort to some false hope, while they neglect the only way of salvation by which a sinner can be righteous before God.