Scripture Daily

Context No. 3433 of 4322 · Numbers

Context · Reflection

Numbers 23:6-10: in context

6He returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab. 7He took up his parable, and said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel. 8How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy whom the LORD has not defied? 9For from the top of the rocks I see him. From the hills I see him. Behold, it is a people that dwells alone, and shall not be listed among the nations. 10Who can count the dust of Jacob, or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!”

Hired by Balak to curse Israel, Balaam finds that he cannot: how can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? He is compelled to bless instead. No human curse can undo what God has blessed; the protection of God over his people cannot be broken by anyone's ill will.

And Balaam, gazing on the people God has set apart, is moved to a strange longing: let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his. He glimpses the blessedness of God's people and wishes for their end, their good death, without being willing to share their life and their devotion. It is a poignant, tragic wish, to want the destiny of the righteous while clinging to one's own way. Many, like Balaam, admire the peace and hope of the faithful and long for their end, without embracing the life of faith that alone leads there. The good death Balaam wanted comes only to those who live the good life.

Do I merely admire the blessed end of the righteous, wishing for it from a distance, or am I willing to live the life of faith that leads to it?

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