The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 341

he was taking Balaam to the most favourable view-point. It was thought to be thi, best place for cursing, and from what Balaam now sees and says it would seem to be a very fit place for blessing. 4. And now, as Balaam looks from the top of. the rocks and from the bills, wluu does he aee1 He may have been struck even already, and at that distance, and before he began the prophecy, with the outward peculiarities of Israel. Some peculiarities of Israel could only be known by a close and detailed inspection; others, e. g. the arrangement of the camp around the tabernacle, were best known by a sort of bird's-eye view, An intimate knowledge of London is only to be gained by going from street to street and building to building, bµt one thus • gaining a very intimate knowledge of London would yet be without such an im- pression of it as is to be got from the top of. St. Paul's. As Balaam looks down from the tops of the rocks he sees enough for the present purposes of God. He sees enough to indicate the sq,arationand the vast nuimericalforceof Israel. It was not needful here to speak of more. The immediate purpose of the prophecy was served if it deterred Balak from further folly. A great deal more might have been said of Israel, and was said afterwards. In one sense this was an introductory prophecy, followed up by fuller revelations in later ones; in another sense it stands by itself. The others would not have been spoken if the first had proved sufficient. Passing over the concluding wish of Balaam, " Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like bis I " which demands to be considered by itself, we note-6. The state of &U8JH!"Ule i,11, 1JJhid,, the pophecy leaves Balak as to his own position. It would have Leen so easy to introduce a reassuring word-one which, if it did not actually take away Balak's alarm, would at all events have been fitted to do eo. But the king's request had something so peremptory and dictatorial about it that God's answer is confined to a refusal. He might have explained that Israel was now busy with its own internal a1fairs, and would soon, according to his purpose, cross Jordan, and that in the mean time, if Balak would show himself friendly, there was nothing in Israel to make it his foe. But Balak bad eo acted that the great thing to be done wlls to impress him with a deep sense of the strength and security of Israel. If we prefer unreasonable and arrogant requests, we must expect to receive answers which, if we were uneasy before, will leave us more uneasy still. God must go on speaking end acting so as to shake the ground under all selfishness.-Y. Ver. 10.-" Let me die tlu death of the righJ.eO'lls, and let. my last end be lilce his!" The secret of lsraefs pros,perit11, Thie certainly appears an extraordinary wish when we bear in mind the p-osition and character of the man who uttered it. Any one taking these words on his lips, and thereby milking them bis own, would inevit- ably direct our attention to hie life, and compel us to con.aider what he might be doing to make the wish a reality. From the time of his first entrance on the scene Balaam unconsciously reveals his character. He could not by any stretch of the word be described as a good man ; the whole narrative is little but an illustration of his duplicity, selfishness, vanity, greed of gain and glory, and utter disregard of the plain commandments of God. The pontiM of Balaam at this particular time is also to be remembered. He has been called to curse, twice preseed to make a long jour- ney for this special purpose ; he has o1Iered eacrifice11 and sought enchantments to secure it ; end yet he not only fails to curse, but, more than that, is compelled to bless ; and, last of n.11, to crown the reversal of what bad been so cnrefully prepared for, he is heard expreseing an emphatic wish that he himself might be found among this blessed people. , L CoNSIDEB Jl'OB A MOMENT TBESE WORDS OJI' BALA.AM DISCONNECTED FBOH ALL TREIB ORIGINAL CIBOUMSTANCES. Consider them as plo.ced before some one who knew neither the character nor position of Bala.am as the speaker, nor the position of Israel as the nation referred to. Let him know simply that these words were spoken once upon a time, and ask him to imagine for himself the scene in which they might bejitly ~ Whither then would his thought be turned? Would it not be to some aged believer, gradually sinking to rest, with the experience that as the out- ward man decayed, the inward man was renewed from day to day, and with the con- viction that to be absent from the body was to be present with the Lord; looking forward from time into eternity, according to the familiar illustration, as being "but 328 THE BOOK OF NUMBERS. [en. xxu. 41-xxn•.