3. To Balaam's mind, however, as the context shows, the term " the righteous " had a special application. He meant " the righteous people," as they called themselves, the chosen nation. " 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!" They were, indeed, a chosen people — highly favoured of God to receive the revelations of His Spirit, and called to be " Jehovah's servant," for ministering the knowledge of His love and truth to all the world. But even in the mind of the writer of this story they must have been dis- tinguished rather by the possession of a purer faith, a greater knowledge — at least in some higher minds — of what was pleasing
' Life and Letters of Fenton J. A. Hort, i. 86.
NUMBERS XXIII. lo 417
to Grod both in worship and practice, than by their diligence in acting accordingly. This, at least, was the righteousness on which they prided themselves in later days, as in the days of St. Paul — on theu" supposed nearness to God, from His clearer revelation of Himself to them. We may well doubt the justness of this their own valuation of themselves, when we remember our Lord's declaration in the Gospel, that the servant, who knew not his lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with few stripes ; but he, that knew it, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. For, onto whom much is given, of him shall much be required. f
IL
Balaam.
1. The judgment which we form of the character of Balaam is one of unmitigated condemnation. We know and say that he was a false prophet and a bad man. This is however, doubtless, because we come to the consideration of his history having already prejudged his case. St. Peter, St. Jude, and St. John have passed sentence upon him. And so we read the history of Balaam, familiar with these passages, and colouring all with them. But assuredly this is not the sentence we should have proSounced if we had been left to ourselves, but one much less severe. Eepulsive as Balaam's character is when it is seen at a distance, when it is seen near it has much in it. that is human, like our own, inviting compassion — even admiration ; there are traits of firmness, con- scientiousness, nobleness. He offers to retrace his steps as soon as he perceives that he is doing wrong. He asks guidance of God before he will undertake a journey : " And he said unto them. Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me." He professes — and in earnest — " If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." He prays to die the death of the righteous, and that his last end may be like his. Yet the inspired judgment of his character, as a whole, stands recorded as one of unmeasured severity.
2. "The object we now have before us," says Butler, in
CEN.-NUM. — 37
4i8 THE DEATH TO DIE
a famous passage, " is the most astonishing in the world : a very wicked man, under a deep sense of God and religion, persisting still in his wickedness, and preferring the wages of unrighteous- ness, even when he had before him a lively view of death, and that approaching period of his days which should deprive him of all those advantages for which he was prostituting himself ; and likewise a prospect, whether certain or uncertain, of a future state of retribution : all this joined with an explicit ardent wish, that, when he was to leave this world he might be in the condi- tion of a righteous man. Good God, what inconsistency, what perplexity is here ! With what different views of things, with what contradictory principles of action, must such a mind be torn and distracted ! It was not unthinking carelessness, by which he ran on headlong in vice and folly, without ever making a stand to ask himself what he was doing ; no ; he acted upon the cool motives of interest and advantage. Neither was he totally hard and callous to impressions of religion, what we call abandoned ; for he absolutely refused to curse Israel. When reason assumes her place, when convinced of his duty, when he owns and feels, and is actually under the influence of, the Divine authority ; whilst he is carrying on his views to the grave, the end of all temporal greatness ; under this sense of things, with the better character and more desirable state present — full before him — in his thoughts, in his wishes, voluntarily to choose the worst — what fatality is here ! Or how otherwise can such a character be explained ? And yet, strange as it may appear, it is not altogether an un- common one : nay, with some small alterations, and put a little lower, it is applicable to a very considerable part of the world. For if the reasonable choice be seen and acknowledged, and yet men make the unreasonable one, is not this the same contra- diction, that very inconsistency, which appeared so unaccount- able ?"i