God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.
The line belongs to an unwilling prophecy of blessing over Israel, cast in poetry of great beauty. The king of Moab hired Balaam for reward to curse Israel and moved him from place to place in the vain hope of turning the blessing into a curse. Balaam was corrupt and hypocritical, seeking gain and longing in his heart to curse, but he was constrained and controlled by divine power, with words of blessing and prophecy put in his mouth. He could not curse those whom God had not cursed and instead proclaimed Israel as chosen by God.
The verse declares that God himself brought Israel out of Egypt and made them strong, giving them strength like that of a wild ox, an irresistible strength. That strength came with God's deliverance, presence, and protection, because the Lord was with them as King. It rested on His unchangeable purpose to bless, which He will not lie about, repent of, break, alter, or reverse. The verse exposes the vain hope that God could be moved like a man to curse Israel. It teaches that no enchantment, divination, or curse spoken against them can have any influence upon a nation under the protection of Omnipotence, and that while Israel was under divine care no enemy, even one aided by Satan, could prevail against them.
God's favor toward Israel in the oracle assures His protecting care for obedient and faithful people in every age, and remembering it strengthens courage and faith when evil people harass them or seek to destroy them. The declaration displayed divine goodness and mercy and gave Moab and Midian repeated evidence that the mighty Jehovah is the God they should serve. It shone as the last ray of light upon a stiff-necked people set in defiance of the divine will before their measure of iniquity was filled and their probation ended. The repeated efforts to move Balaam illustrate repeated attempts to shake Luther's resolve by human pressure and appeals for compromise. Just as blessing could not be turned into a curse, what God had blessed could not be overturned, and Luther was sustained by divine power.
The line belongs to an unwilling prophecy of blessing over Israel, cast in poetry of great beauty. The king of Moab hired Balaam for reward to curse Israel and moved him from place to place in the vain hope of turning the blessing into a curse. Balaam was corrupt and hypocritical, seeking gain and longing in his heart to curse, but he was constrained and controlled by divine power, with words of blessing and prophecy put in his mouth. He could not curse those whom God had not cursed and instead proclaimed Israel as chosen by God.
The verse declares that God himself brought Israel out of Egypt and made them strong, giving them strength like that of a wild ox, an irresistible strength. That strength came with God's deliverance, presence, and protection, because the Lord was with them as King. It rested on His unchangeable purpose to bless, which He will not lie about, repent of, break, alter, or reverse. The verse exposes the vain hope that God could be moved like a man to curse Israel. It teaches that no enchantment, divination, or curse spoken against them can have any influence upon a nation under the protection of Omnipotence, and that while Israel was under divine care no enemy, even one aided by Satan, could prevail against them.
God's favor toward Israel in the oracle assures His protecting care for obedient and faithful people in every age, and remembering it strengthens courage and faith when evil people harass them or seek to destroy them. The declaration displayed divine goodness and mercy and gave Moab and Midian repeated evidence that the mighty Jehovah is the God they should serve. It shone as the last ray of light upon a stiff-necked people set in defiance of the divine will before their measure of iniquity was filled and their probation ended. The repeated efforts to move Balaam illustrate repeated attempts to shake Luther's resolve by human pressure and appeals for compromise. Just as blessing could not be turned into a curse, what God had blessed could not be overturned, and Luther was sustained by divine power.