Matthew Henry Commentary Numbers 24
Matthew Henry Commentary
Numbers 24
Matthew Henry Commentary
Numbers 24
"And when Balaam saw that it pleased Jehovah to bless Israel, he went not, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him. And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith; He saith, who heareth the words of God, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel! As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the river-side, As lign-aloes which Jehovah hath planted, As cedar-trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, And his seed shall be in many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. God bringeth him forth out of Egypt; He hath as it were the strength of the wild-ox: He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, And shall break their bones in pieces, And smite [them] through with his arrows. He couched, he lay down as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be every one that blesseth thee, And cursed be every one that curseth thee." — Numbers 24:1-9 (ASV)
Now Balaam spoke not his own thoughts, but the language of the Spirit that came upon him. Many have their eyes open who do not have their hearts open; they are enlightened, but not sanctified. That knowledge which puffs people up with pride will only serve to light them to hell, where many go with their eyes open.
The blessing is nearly the same as those given before. He admires in Israel, their beauty. The righteous, doubtless, is more excellent than his neighbor. He admires their fruitfulness and increase. He admires their honor and advancement.
He admires their power and victory. He looks back upon what had been done for them. He admires their power and victory. He looks back upon what had been done for them. He admires their courage and security.
The righteous are bold as a lion, not when assaulting others, but when at rest, because God makes them dwell in safety. He admires their influence upon their neighbors. God takes what is done to them, whether good or evil, as done to Himself. (Numbers 24:10–14)
"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. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honor; but, lo, Jehovah hath kept thee back from honor. And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers that thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; what Jehovah speaketh, that will I speak? And now, behold, I go unto my people: come, [and] I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days." — Numbers 24:10-14 (ASV)
This vain attempt to curse Israel is ended. Balak broke out into a rage against Balaam and expressed great vexation. Balaam has a very full excuse: God restrained him from saying what he would have said, and constrained him to say what he would not have uttered.
"And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor saith, And the man whose eye was closed saith; He saith, who heareth the words of God, And knoweth the knowledge of the Most High, Who seeth the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not nigh: There shall come forth a star out of Jacob, And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, And shall smite through the corners of Moab, And break down all the sons of tumult. And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession, [who were] his enemies; While Israel doeth valiantly. And out of Jacob shall one have dominion, And shall destroy the remnant from the city. And he looked on Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; But his latter end shall come to destruction. And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling-place, And thy nest is set in the rock. Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, Until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this? But ships [shall come] from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; And he also shall come to destruction. And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way." — Numbers 24:15-25 (ASV)
Under the powerful influence of the Spirit of prophecy, Balaam foretold the future prosperity and extensive dominion of Israel. Balaam boasts that his eyes are open. The prophets were in former times called seers. He had heard the words of God, which many do who neither heed them, nor hear God in them.
He knew the knowledge of the Most High. A man may be full of the knowledge of God, yet utterly destitute of the grace of God. He calls God the Most High and the Almighty. No man could seem to express a greater respect to God; yet he had no true fear of him, love to him, nor faith in him. Thus, a man may go far toward heaven and yet fall short of it at last.
Here is Balaam's prophecy concerning Him who should be the crown and glory of his people Israel; who is David in the type, but our Lord Jesus, the promised Messiah, is chiefly indicated, and it is an illustrious prophecy about him.
Balaam, a wicked man, shall see Christ, but shall not see him near; not see him as Job, who saw him as his Redeemer, and saw him for himself. When he comes in the clouds, every eye shall see him; but many will see him, as the rich man in hell saw Abraham, afar off. He shall come out of Jacob, and Israel, as a Star and a Sceptre; the former denoting his glory and lustre, the latter his power and authority.
Christ shall be King, not only of Jacob and Israel, but of all the world; so that all shall be either governed by his golden sceptre or dashed to pieces by his iron rod. Balaam prophesied concerning the Amalekites and Kenites, part of whose country he now had in view. Even a nest in a rock will not be a lasting security.
Here is a prophecy that looks as far forward as the Greeks and Romans. He acknowledges all the revolutions of states and kingdoms to be the Lord's doing. These events will make such desolations that scarcely any will escape. Those who live then will be as brands plucked out of the fire.
May God prepare us for the worst of times! Thus Balaam, instead of cursing the church, curses Amalek the first, and Rome the last enemy of the church. Not Rome pagan only, but Rome papal also; antichrist and all the antichristian powers. Let us ask ourselves, Do we in knowledge, experience, or profession, excel Balaam?
No readiness of speech, even in preaching or prayer, no gifts of knowledge or prophecy, are in themselves different from, or superior to, the boasted gifts of him who loved the wages of unrighteousness and died the enemy of God.
Simple dependence on the Redeemer's atoning blood and sanctifying grace, cheerful submission to the Divine will, constant endeavours to glorify God and benefit his people, these are less splendid but far more excellent gifts, and always accompany salvation. No boasting hypocrite ever possessed these; yet the weakest believer has something of them and is daily praying for more of them.
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