The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 321

who had been brought in eome respects eo near to God, if he had told the whole truth. It would perhaps have eaved a eecond embaeey to him. Men are looking to the main chance even when among the eolemn thinge of God, and freeh from hearing hie voice. Balaam first of all, in speaking to God, omits from the message of Balak, saying nothing of his own reputation in the eyes of the Moabitish king, suspecting very shrewdly that this would be offensive to God. Then he omits again in hie answer to the messengers, and, to make all complete, they omit still more in their report to Balak. There is nothing in their word to ehow that God had said anything in the matter. This is what is called diplomacy; not telling a lie, but only leaving out something of the truth, as being of no practical importance. It is a great blessing that there are Scriptures for us all to read. Philosophers and preachers may lee.v11 out part of the truth, or colour and distort it to suit their own prejudices, but they cannot get over the written word. Out of their own mouths they may be contradicted when they read one thing out of the Scriptures and say another as the fruit of their own lips.-Y. Vere. 15-21.-The second 'Visu. I. THE RESULT OB' MUTILATED ANSWERS. 1. As concerns Balak. Balaam does not tell the first messengers all that God had spoken to him; they do not tell Balak all that Balaam had spoken to them. The consequence is that he _comes to a wrong conclusion, and really he had no information by which to come to a right one. Hie thoughts on the subject may be supposed to have nm thus:-" All the difficulty lies with Balaam. He took the night to think the matter over, and concluded it was not worth hie while on such poor considerations to under- take so serious a journey. My messengers and rewards have not sufficiently impressed him with the rank of Moab." In Balak'e mind it is all a question of degree, and so he sends wore princes, and more honourable than before. And possibly, if these had been unsuccessful, as a last-resort he would have gone himself. Thus poor Dalak, in the quagmire of misunderstanding already, was led still deeper into it. The great end was to get Balaam's curse into operation, and there was nothing to shake his faith in the possibility of this end being gained. Between God and Dalak there were Interposed a self-seeking Balaam, and, to say the least, messengers who were careless, if nothing more. Ours is a more secure position. We come to God through a Christ, not through a Balaam; enlightened by a Spirit who teaches us the proper needs of sinful men, and shows us our real danger. 2. As concerns Balaam. Whether he thought that by his first answer he had finally disposed of the request, or wanted time to consider if it should be preferred again, we cannot make sure. His first answer had to be given very much on the spur of the moment. If it had been a truthful answer, one not only with the lips, but with the whole countennnce, and the whole man speaking all God had said, he would not have been troubled again. But now he has to deal with more princes, and more honourable than before. He sees precisely why they have been sent, and as he lislens to their urgent and obsequious w?rds and comprehensive promises, he understands exactly what is expected of him. His proper answer even now was to say that he could not go on any consideration. But there was no spirit and courage of repentance in him. His reply, with all its seeming emphasis, is very evasive and ambiguous. It looks strong to say, "If Balak would g·ive me his house full of silver and gold," and to speak of God as "the Lord my God," but after all he leaves the messengers in the dark as to what the word of the Lord was, though he knew it well. He pretends that it is needful to wait another night for what the Lord might say. This time it is a mere pretence, beyond any doubt. Perhaps he reckons that he will have nothing to do but wait till the morning, and then repeat to the second messengers what he had said to the first. How startled then he must have been, not only to get another revelation of God, but a totally different direction I And yet, when we consider, we see that he could not get the samo answer as before. Balaam does not stand where he did at the time of the previous answer. He is a worse man ; he has yielded to temptation from which God would have preserved him, and now, with open and greedy heart, he is in the midst of greater temptation still. He had darin~ly neglected Goi's previous word, and VJould assuredly neglect it again if. he got tll.lJ opportunity. Why than should God _repeat the word? Balaam will atill suppreee the fa<;t that lo cannot curse l,s~ ~!)IJDQS. X  806 THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. [ OB. XXII. 2-40.