Then Balaam said, "Build for me seven altars here, and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams." “Then Balaam said to Balak”This phrase introduces the speaker, Balaam, a non-Israelite prophet, and Balak, the king of Moab. Balaam's role is complex; he is a prophet who hears from God, yet his heart is not fully aligned with God's purposes. Historically, Balaam's interactions with Balak highlight the tension between divine sovereignty and human ambition. Balak, fearing the Israelites, seeks Balaam's curse upon them, illustrating the ancient belief in the power of spoken blessings and curses. “Build me seven altars here”
The number seven in the Bible often symbolizes completeness or perfection, rooted in the Hebrew word "sheva." The request for seven altars signifies an attempt to achieve a perfect or complete offering to influence divine favor. Archaeologically, altars were central to ancient Near Eastern worship, serving as places of sacrifice and communication with deities. Balaam's request reflects a ritualistic approach to seeking divine intervention, common in his time. “and prepare for me seven bulls and seven rams.”
Bulls and rams were significant sacrificial animals in ancient cultures, representing strength and leadership. The Hebrew word for bull, "par," and ram, "ayil," denote valuable offerings, indicating the seriousness of Balak's request. The repetition of the number seven underscores the desire for a complete and potent sacrifice. Scripturally, sacrifices were a means to atone, seek favor, or express devotion, yet Balaam's actions reveal a misunderstanding of God's nature, who desires obedience over sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). Persons / Places / Events 1. BalaamA non-Israelite prophet known for his ability to bless and curse. He is a complex figure who is both a true prophet and a man swayed by personal gain. 2. BalakThe king of Moab who fears the Israelites and seeks Balaam's help to curse them, hoping to weaken them before a potential conflict. 3. MoabA region east of the Dead Sea, whose king, Balak, is concerned about the advancing Israelites. 4. Seven AltarsThe number seven often symbolizes completeness or perfection in the Bible. Balaam instructs Balak to build seven altars, indicating a full or complete offering. 5. Seven Bulls and Seven RamsThese animals were commonly used in sacrifices, and the repetition of the number seven emphasizes the seriousness and completeness of the offering. Teaching Points The Sovereignty of GodDespite human intentions, God's will prevails. Balaam's attempts to curse Israel are thwarted by God's sovereign plan to bless His people. The Danger of CompromiseBalaam's account warns against the temptation to compromise one's faith and integrity for personal gain or pressure from others. The Power of Blessing and CurseWords have power, but God's promises and blessings are more powerful than any human curse. Trust in God's protection and promises. The Significance of ObedienceObedience to God is crucial. Balaam's partial obedience and divided heart serve as a cautionary tale for believers to fully commit to God's commands. The Role of SacrificeThe altars and sacrifices highlight the importance of worship and offering to God, but they must be done with the right heart and intention. Bible Study Questions 1. How does Balaam's request for seven altars and sacrifices reflect his understanding of God, and what does this teach us about the nature of true worship? 2. In what ways does the account of Balaam and Balak illustrate the principle found in Genesis 12 regarding blessings and curses? 3. How can we guard against the temptation to compromise our faith for personal gain, as seen in Balaam's actions? 4. What does Balaam's account teach us about the power of God's promises compared to human intentions? 5. How can we apply the lesson of God's sovereignty in our lives when facing situations where others may wish us harm? Connections to Other Scriptures Genesis 12God's promise to Abraham that those who bless him will be blessed, and those who curse him will be cursed. This is relevant as Balaam is asked to curse Israel, Abraham's descendants. Deuteronomy 23This passage reflects on Balaam's actions and God's protection over Israel, emphasizing that God turned Balaam's intended curse into a blessing. Revelation 2Balaam is mentioned in the context of false teachings and leading others astray, highlighting the dangers of compromising faith for personal gain. People Aram, Balaam, Balak, Jacob, Moses, ZipporPlaces Aram, Bamoth-baal, Egypt, Moab, Peor, PisgahTopics Altars, Balaam, Balak, Build, Bullocks, Bulls, Male, Oxen, Prepare, Provide, Rams, Ready, Seven, SheepDictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 23:26 7774 prophets, false Numbers 23:18-26 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 ScripturePhilo 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
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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 Links Numbers 23:29 NIVNumbers 23:29 NLTNumbers 23:29 ESVNumbers 23:29 NASBNumbers 23:29 KJV
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