◄ Numbers 23:12 ►
But Balaam replied, "Should I not speak exactly what the LORD puts in my mouth?"
Study Bible
But Balaam replied
The phrase introduces Balaam's response, indicating a moment of decision and revelation. Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet, is a complex figure in the biblical narrative. His reply is significant because it shows his awareness of the divine authority he is under. Historically, Balaam is known from archaeological findings, such as the Deir Alla inscription, which provides extra-biblical evidence of his existence and role as a seer. This context underscores the weight of his words and the divine encounter he is experiencing.

Should I not speak
This rhetorical question emphasizes Balaam's internal conflict and the moral imperative he feels. The Hebrew root for "speak" (דָּבַר, dabar) often implies not just utterance but the conveyance of a message with authority. In the biblical context, speaking is an act of obedience to God, reflecting the prophet's duty to convey God's words faithfully, regardless of personal or external pressures.

exactly what the LORD
The word "exactly" highlights the precision and faithfulness required in delivering God's message. The Hebrew term for "LORD" (יהוה, Yahweh) is the covenant name of God, signifying His eternal and unchanging nature. This phrase underscores the importance of Balaam's role as a mouthpiece for Yahweh, the God of Israel, who is sovereign and whose words are to be delivered without alteration.

puts in my mouth?
This phrase illustrates the divine inspiration and control over the prophetic message. The imagery of God putting words in Balaam's mouth suggests a direct and personal communication from God to the prophet. In the Hebrew tradition, the mouth is often seen as the instrument of God's will, and this phrase reinforces the idea that true prophecy is not a product of human will but of divine command. This highlights the theme of divine sovereignty and the responsibility of the prophet to remain true to God's message.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Balaam
A non-Israelite prophet or diviner who is summoned by Balak, the king of Moab, to curse the Israelites. Despite his intentions, Balaam is compelled to speak only what God commands.

2. Balak
The king of Moab who fears the Israelites due to their numbers and seeks to weaken them by having Balaam curse them.

3. Moab
A region east of the Dead Sea, whose king, Balak, is threatened by the presence of the Israelites.

4. The LORD (Yahweh)
The God of Israel, who intervenes in Balaam's mission, ensuring that only His words are spoken.

5. Israelites
The people of God, journeying to the Promised Land, whom Balak seeks to curse through Balaam.
Teaching Points
Obedience to God's Word
Balaam's statement underscores the importance of speaking and acting according to God's will, even when it conflicts with personal desires or external pressures.

God's Sovereignty
The account illustrates God's control over events and His ability to use even those outside of His covenant people to accomplish His purposes.

Integrity in Speech
Balaam's experience challenges believers to ensure that their words align with God's truth, emphasizing the power and responsibility of speech.

Divine Intervention
God's intervention in Balaam's mission serves as a reminder that God actively works to protect His people and fulfill His promises.

The Danger of Compromise
Balaam's account warns against the temptation to compromise one's integrity for personal gain or favor with others.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Balaam's response to Balak's request reflect the importance of obedience to God's word in our own lives?

2. In what ways does the account of Balaam and Balak demonstrate God's sovereignty and protection over His people?

3. How can we ensure that our words and actions align with God's will, especially when faced with external pressures or temptations?

4. What lessons can we learn from Balaam's experience about the dangers of compromising our integrity for personal gain?

5. How does the account of Balaam connect with other biblical examples of God using unexpected individuals to fulfill His purposes?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Deuteronomy 18:18-19
This passage speaks of God raising a prophet who will speak His words, similar to how Balaam is compelled to speak only what God commands.

Jeremiah 1:7-9
Jeremiah is told by God that He will put His words in Jeremiah's mouth, paralleling Balaam's experience of speaking only God's words.

2 Peter 2:15-16
Peter references Balaam as an example of someone who loved the wages of wickedness but was rebuked for his wrongdoing, highlighting the tension between Balaam's desires and God's will.
Sermons
An Appeal in Behalf of the Society for Promoting Christianity Among the JewsJ. W. Cunningham, M. A.Numbers 23:5-12
Balaam's Eulogy on IsraelHenry, MatthewNumbers 23:5-12
Balaam's First ParableW. Jones.Numbers 23:5-12
Balaam's Vision and PrayerW. V. Young.Numbers 23:5-12
Israel Dwelling AloneH. Hutton, M. A.Numbers 23:5-12
The Distinctive Character of God's PeopleJ. J. Eastmead.Numbers 23:5-12
The True Israel Dwelling AloneW. Taylor.Numbers 23:5-12
The Vision from the RocksH. Bonar, D. D.Numbers 23:5-12
People
Aram, Balaam, Balak, Jacob, Moses, Zippor
Places
Aram, Bamoth-baal, Egypt, Moab, Peor, Pisgah
Topics
Answereth, Careful, Heed, Mouth, Ordered, Puts, Putteth, Replied, Speak
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Numbers 23:12

     7774   prophets, false

Numbers 23:3-12

     1421   oracles

Library
An Unfulfilled Desire
'... Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!'--NUM. xxiii. 10. '... Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.'--NUM. xiii. 8. Ponder these two pictures. Take the first scene. A prophet, who knows God and His will, is standing on the mountain top, and as he looks down over the valley beneath him, with its acacia-trees and swift river, there spread the tents of Israel. He sees them, and knows that they are 'a people whom the Lord hath blessed.' Brought there …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Balaam's Wish Num 23:10
 …
John Newton—Olney Hymns

The Night of Miracles on the Lake of Gennesaret
THE last question of the Baptist, spoken in public, had been: Art Thou the Coming One, or look we for another?' It had, in part, been answered, as the murmur had passed through the ranks: This One is truly the Prophet, the Coming One!' So, then, they had no longer to wait, nor to look for another! And this Prophet' was Israel's long expected Messiah. What this would imply to the people, in the intensity and longing of the great hope which, for centuries, nay, far beyond the time of Ezra, had swayed …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Nature of Spiritual Hunger
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness Matthew 5:6 We are now come to the fourth step of blessedness: Blessed are they that hunger'. The words fall into two parts: a duty implied; a promise annexed. A duty implied: Blessed are they that hunger'. Spiritual hunger is a blessed hunger. What is meant by hunger? Hunger is put for desire (Isaiah 26:9). Spiritual hunger is the rational appetite whereby the soul pants after that which it apprehends most suitable and proportional …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Memoir of John Bunyan
THE FIRST PERIOD. THIS GREAT MAN DESCENDED FROM IGNOBLE PARENTS--BORN IN POVERTY--HIS EDUCATION AND EVIL HABITS--FOLLOWS HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS AS A BRAZIER--ENLISTS FOR A SOLDIER--RETURNS FROM THE WARS AND OBTAINS AN AMIABLE, RELIGIOUS WIFE--HER DOWER. 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'--2 Cor 4:7 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.'--Isaiah 55:8. 'Though ye have lien among the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

How those are to be Admonished who Abstain not from the Sins which they Bewail, and those Who, Abstaining from Them, Bewail them Not.
(Admonition 31.) Differently to be admonished are those who lament their transgressions, and yet forsake them not, and those who forsake them, and yet lament them not. For those who lament their transgressions and yet forsake them not are to be admonished to learn to consider anxiously that they cleanse themselves in vain by their weeping, if they wickedly defile themselves in their living, seeing that the end for which they wash themselves in tears is that, when clean, they may return to filth. …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Fragrant Spices from the Mountains of Myrrh. "Thou Art all Fair, My Love; There is no Spot in Thee. " --Song of Solomon iv. 7.
FRAGRANT SPICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF MYRRH. HOW marvellous are these words! "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." The glorious Bridegroom is charmed with His spouse, and sings soft canticles of admiration. When the bride extols her Lord there is no wonder, for He deserves it well, and in Him there is room for praise without possibility of flattery. But does He who is wiser than Solomon condescend to praise this sunburnt Shulamite? Tis even so, for these are His own words, and were …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan
In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do in a few words give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner of bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in …
John Bunyan—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

Christ a Complete Saviour:
OR, THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, AND WHO ARE PRIVILEGED IN IT. BY JOHN BUNYAN Advertisement by the Editor. However strange it may appear, it is a solemn fact, that the heart of man, unless prepared by a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, rejects Christ as a complete Saviour. The pride of human nature will not suffer it to fall, as helpless and utterly undone, into the arms of Divine mercy. Man prefers a partial Saviour; one who had done so much, that, with the sinner's aid, the work might be …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Of the Decrees of God.
Eph. i. 11.--"Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."--Job xxiii. 13. "He is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth." Having spoken something before of God, in his nature and being and properties, we come, in the next place, to consider his glorious majesty, as he stands in some nearer relation to his creatures, the work of his hands. For we must conceive the first rise of all things in the world to be in this self-being, the first conception …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Desire of the Righteous Granted;
OR, A DISCOURSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN'S DESIRES. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR As the tree is known by its fruit, so is the state of a man's heart known by his desires. The desires of the righteous are the touchstone or standard of Christian sincerity--the evidence of the new birth--the spiritual barometer of faith and grace--and the springs of obedience. Christ and him crucified is the ground of all our hopes--the foundation upon which all our desires after God and holiness are built--and the root …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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