Conquest of the East Side of Jordan

Conquest of the East Side of Jordan Continues!

Numbers 22-23

Reviewing the conclusion of Our Last Lesson:

(Num 21:25) So Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. {26} For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. {27} Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: "Come to Heshbon, let it be built;

Let the city of Sihon be repaired.

{28} "For fire went out from Heshbon,

A flame from the city of Sihon;

It consumed Ar of Moab, [Sihon defeated Moab]

The lords of the heights of the Arnon.

{29} Woe to you, Moab!

You have perished, [They were defeated!]

O people of Chemosh! [Chemosh was their god]

He has given his sons as fugitives,

And his daughters into captivity,

To Sihon king of the Amorites."

So Sihon had a great victory to his credit,

but is now utterly defeated by Israel.

Let’s continue our study with the next verse:

(Num 21:30) "But we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as Nophah, Which reaches to Medeba."

31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

32 Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. 33 And they turned and went up by

The way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. {34} Then the LORD said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land;

Bashan

Edrei

Jazer

Moab

(Num 21:34 (cont.)) and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon." {35} So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.

Now the Children of Israel move south.

(Num 22 NKJV) Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. {2} Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

Edrei

Jericho

Plains of Moab

(22:3) And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. (Num 22:4) So Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. {5} Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River [which river] in the land of the sons of his people[which people], to call him, saying: "Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me!

Which River—Which People, where is Pethor?

(Deu 23:3-4 NKJV) "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, {4} "because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.

Balak has a different plan of attack,

or maybe we should say defense against Israel

(Num 22:6) "Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." {7} So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner's fee in their hand, [“preaching” for profit isn’t new to our day] and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. {8} And he said to them, "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. {9} Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?" {10} So Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, {11} 'Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.'" (Num 22:12) And God said to Balaam, "You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed." {13} So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, "Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you."

At this point, we must appreciate Balaam even though we do not know too much about him. He started off well enough.

(Num 22:14) And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us."

But Balak does not give up easily. In fact, he just redoubles his efforts:

(Num 22:15) Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. {16} And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: 'Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me;

(Num 22:17) 'for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.'"

At this point, Balaam gives a great response!

(Num 22:18) Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. {19} "Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me."

Somewhere in this story, something goes wrong. I think it may be right here – verse 19.

I believe that God is thinking:

I told you once, and I haven’t changed my mind! Balaam seems to be hoping that God might change His mind.

God gives Balaam the answer he wants,

but had Balaam already cross the line with God?

(Num 22:20) And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you; that you shall do." {21} So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. {22} Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

We know now that God is not pleased with Balaam. Something has gone terribly wrong.

(Num 22:23) Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. {24} Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. {25} And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again.

(Num 22:26) Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. {27} And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. {28} Then 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?" {29} And Balaam said to the donkey,

"Because you have abused me.

I wish there were a sword in my hand,

for now I would kill you!"

I find this an amazing story!

What would you do if an animal started talking to you? Balaam just begins a conversation as if there is nothing unusual about what is happenng.

{30} So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?" And he said, "No." (Num 22:31) Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. {32} And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. {33} "The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live."

So, quite clearly, God was very angry with Balaam or He would not have considered killing him.

(Num 22:34) And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back." {35} Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

There is much more to the story, but that will have to wait for our next lesson.

There are more pieces to put together,

and there are New Testament references to Balaam that we plan to consider next time.

Balaam started out well—What went wrong?

Maybe it was greed!

He seems to have used his understanding of what God wants as a way to undermine Israel as we plan to study in a future lesson.

God knows our hearts.

He knows what we want to do.

(Prov 21:2 NKJV)

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,

But the LORD weighs the hearts.

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