The Pulpit Commentary — Numbers — Section 354

we feel that there was not only a new teaching being diffused among men, but, above all things, a 'fU!UJ ~ • It was not only fresh thought the;r brought to men, hut a new nnd gladdemng life. IV. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF TIIE MANY NATIONS REFERRED T01 AS INDICATING THI EXTENT AND COMPLETENESS OF THE DOMINION. The details connected with each nation have of course their peculiar significance, hut tbe significance of the details is not quite so _clenr _as that of the gr~a.t common element which rune through them all. All the details pomt forward to a time when the Star out of Jacob shall outshine the star out of everY: other nation, when the Sceptre out of Isra.el shall break every other sceptre. The km_gd~ms o; the w<!rld are to fa.II-the kmgd~ms ?f mammon, of pleasure, of unbelief m Chnst, of science falsely so called, of rationalism, of atheism of individual self-assertion. These are kingdoms that now stretch their authorit.7 far and wide, in all continents, and in all ranks of men, and many a.re subjects of more than one of the kingdoms. In the kingdoms of this world it is largely true tltat there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor feruale. The Star out of Jacob then has a large work to do in subduing and transforming the mo.ny and mighty kingdoms of this world. And all the glorious burden of J?rophecy heaves and swells with the emphatic assurance that he \Vill do it,, The day 1s to come when we shall all learn that to be king over one's own nature is more thnn to sway the most populous and wealthy territory among men. Then indeed will the description," King of kings, and Lord of lords," fully apply, when God in Christ Jesus reigns over kings and lords such e.s these. The cry concerning man will no longer be, "Lord of himself, that heritage of woe l" but, lord of a herita,,,<re reclaimed, purified, and made docile by the work of Jesus as he inspires in the breast every loving, righteous, and truthful motive.-Y. Vers. l - 9 . - B ~ t h i r d parable. This passage marks the period at which Balaam becomes finally convinced that it is vain for him to attempt to satisfy Balak, or to carry out the baser promptings of his own heart. He confesses his defeat, gives up his enchantments, "sets his face towards the wilderness" where the camp of Israel lay, and utters the words that God puts into his mouth. But still his s~int is not gubdued, for, as we learn from ver. 14, instead of casting in his lot, ns he might have done, with the chosen nation, he resolves in spite of all to go back to his own people and his old ways. Combining these two features of his case, we see how a man may " approve the right and follow the wrong." It a.fiords a striking example of (1) true convictions followed by (2) a false and fatal determination. I. TnuE CONVICTIONS. Though it was by the constraint of a. higher Power that Bala.nm uttered these words of benediction, we must regard them also as being, to a great extent, the result of his own intuitions, symptoms of the stru,ggling of bet~r thought and feeling within him. He was not the mere senseless medium of the spmt of prophecy. Unwillingly, but not altogether unwittingly, was he made the organ of a Divine inspiration. A. bad man may utter words that are good and true, and rnay often be compelled by the force of outward testimony, or of the inward witness of his own conscience, to do honour to that in others which condemns himself. 'There are chiefly three characteristics here which find their higher counterpart in the spiritual Israel, and which her enemies like Balaam, have often been constrained to confess. 1. Beauty. "How goodly a.r: th,Y tents, 0 Jacob I " Ilich valleys, s~ili~g ~rders, lii:,rn-aloes and cedars planted bes1do the water-courses, are, to the poetic 1magmation of the seer, the fitting images of their goodly array. But what is the beauty that captivates the eye compared with that which appeals to the sensi~ility of the ~~ul? All outward forms of loveliness are but the shadow and reflection of the D1v1ner beauties of holiness, the spiritual glory of truth, purity, goodness-the "adorning of the hidden mo.n of the heart in that which is not corruptible." The richest Oriental imagery con but feebly represent the changing phases of this beauty, And many a me.n has felt the charm of it and ret been utterly destitute of that sympathy of llpirit that would move him to ~ake 1t his own. It compels his admiration, but does riot win his love. 2. Wor~ Jruitfulnu1. 11 He shall pour the water out of his buckets," &c.-the image of abundant, far-reaching beneficence. The promiae to cu. nu. 41-xuv.J TIIE BOOK OF NUMBERS.