Numbers 23:19
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
God is not changeable and wavering like a human being, but He never lies, deceives, or breaks His word, and whatever He has spoken He will do and make good, so He is wholly trustworthy and calls for complete trust. The corrupt and avaricious Balaam was hired for reward by the king of Moab to curse Israel, but God controlled him and constrained him to pronounce rich blessings and prophecies instead of curses. The blessing God has spoken over Israel stands and cannot be turned into a curse by human effort or reward, and no enchantment, human scheme, or hostile power can have any influence against His people while they remain under the protection of Omnipotence. That protection assures His care for His obedient and faithful people in every age, strengthening their courage and faith when they are misrepresented, harassed, or threatened with destruction. His declarations about the law are therefore sure, that complete obedience brings blessing and life now and to come while disobedience brings guilt, curse, and exclusion from life, and His delay in judging those who mishandle His work does not mean He will leave His authority unvindicated.
Setting and Plain Meaning
The utterance belongs to Balaam's unwilling prophecy of blessing over Israel, prized for beauty of expression as an example of poetry and song.
The king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel for reward, yet God controlled that corrupt and avaricious prophet, prevented the curse, and put blessings and prophecies in his mouth. Constrained at Pisgah and conducted by Balak from point to point in vain hope of a curse, he was made to pronounce rich, sublime blessings instead of curses. What God had commanded him to bless he could not reverse or turn to destruction for gain.
In plain sense the declaration means God is God and not a changeable, variation-prone human being. He does not lie or deceive like man, will not break His word, and will never be induced to alter His way and purpose. What He has said He will do, what He has promised He will fulfill, and what He has spoken He will make good. He is therefore wholly trustworthy and calls for complete trust.
Irreversible Blessing and Protection
The blessing God has spoken over Israel stands and cannot be reversed or changed into a curse by human effort, by reward, or by Balaam's attempts. God does not change like a human being, will not lie, deceive, break His word, or alter His purpose and way, but what He has said He will do and make good and what He has promised He will fulfill. No enchantment or curse uttered by a diviner can have the least influence upon that nation, and no human scheme or hostile spiritual power can defeat His protection while His people remain under the protection of Omnipotence. At Pisgah this meant Balaam, commanded to bless, could not curse the people, and it is vain to hope to obtain a curse upon them whom God has determined to bless. When the king of Moab hired Balaam for reward, God controlled him and constrained him to pronounce rich and sublime blessings instead of curses, so that His spoken word to bless and protect must stand and be made good and could not be turned to destruction for gain.
That protection was an assurance of God's care for His obedient, faithful people in every age. It strengthens their courage and faith when they are misrepresented, harassed, or threatened with destruction. The constrained blessing proclaimed Israel as God's chosen and His almighty power as her protection. This display of goodness and mercy gave Moab and Midian evidence upon evidence that Jehovah was God to be served, shining as the last ray of light from God's throne upon a stiff-necked people defying His will before their probation ended.
Balak conducting Balaam from one point to another in the vain hope that he would curse Israel failed. Just so, repeated efforts to move one sustained by divine power fail. Human applause and the fear of man are alike powerless against one who holds fast what God has spoken, as was seen when efforts to move Luther from obedience to God's word failed.
Dependable Word for Life
Because He does not lie or fail to carry out what He has said, His declarations about the law are sure and will certainly be done. Complete obedience is the only condition that meets the requirement of the law, which claims the whole person at all times. By lips that never lie He blesses the obedient with reward in the present life and the life to come for keeping His commands and living by them, while He pronounces the disobedient guilty and cursed for not continuing in all things written in the law, dying in sin, not seeing life, with wrath abiding on them. His words of both promise and judgment are therefore dependable, with obedience bringing blessing and disobedience bringing guilt and exclusion from life.
His failure so far to bring judgment on leaders who have mishandled His work does not mean He will leave His authority unvindicated, for He will act in righteousness. His righteous acts and righteous judgments make His reliability evident and demonstrate that His words are sure and fulfilled, even as He reveals human character and responds to wrongdoing. Because He is God and not a changeable human being who alters His way, His way is the sure foundation and His authority remains firm. People must therefore reject their own plans and judgments when they conflict with the path He has shown, for human authority does not make a person's character or judgment trustworthy.
He is not as man and will not be trifled with. He leaves work for each person to do individually and will not do that work for them while they call on Him to do it. While they leave undone the very things He left for them to do and neglect the counsels, warnings, and reproofs already given, they cannot expect Him to give more light and blessings only to neglect and despise. When they do the work for themselves which they know they ought to do and follow the light He has given, He helps them when they need help and causes more light to shine upon them. Since His truthful character means He will not deceive His people, claims that He gives frivolous messages must not be accepted as genuine revelation from Him.