How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the LORD hath not defied?
Balak king of Moab brought Balaam from Aram to curse Jacob and defy Israel in hope of destroying them. Balaam came longing to curse God's people for rich reward, with his heart still full of curses and seeking by enchantments and sacrifices to invoke destruction upon them. But God controlled the corrupt prophet and compelled him to bless contrary to his own will, stopping him by His Spirit and putting words of blessing in his mouth so he could speak only what God gave him. What God has blessed no man can curse, and no curse from man can retard or reverse the prosperity God has appointed for those He has not cursed. So long as His people remain loyal and obedient with contrite hearts confessing and forsaking sin, no power in earth or hell can prevail against them, yet when they transgress His commandments they separate themselves from Him and are left to feel the power of the destroyer, which was the curse Balaam at last brought upon them by seducing them into sin.
Balaam Forced to Bless
Balak king of Moab brought Balaam from Aram and the mountains of the East to curse Jacob and defy Israel, hoping Israel could be destroyed. The declaration of inability to curse or defy was spoken in that setting as part of an unwilling prophecy of blessing over Israel.
Balaam came intending and longing to curse God's people for rich reward, with a heart still full of curses. Allured by promise of rich rewards, he sought by enchantments and by sacrifices to invoke and pronounce a curse for reward, seeking to practice enchantments against Israel. Balak moved him from place to place and urged him to curse Israel or even part of Israel. God controlled the corrupt and avaricious prophet and constrained him to pronounce instead the richest and most sublime blessings.
God sent His angel to meet Balaam and give him words of utterance, so he had no power to say anything beyond what God gave him to speak. God's Spirit stopped him and forbade him from pronouncing the evil he longed to speak, God's angels prevented him, and God put prophecies blessing His people into his mouth. His words were limited to what God gave him to speak, and he was compelled to speak blessings contrary to his own wishes. Israel in this was under God's protection and blessing.
The meaning is that he cannot curse whom God has not cursed nor defy whom the Lord has not defied. He cannot devote to destruction those God has promised to prosper, so no curse from man could retard or reverse the blessing and prosperity God had appointed for Israel. What God has blessed no man can curse.
Spoken in solemn prophetic style, the declaration is part of Balaam's unwilling prophecy of richest blessing over Israel. It stands as poetry and song not inferior in beauty, among the earliest and most sublime poetic utterances in Scripture, uttered in exalted strains of inspiration. Balaam had once been acknowledged as a prophet of the Lord but proved unfaithful, and if allowed he would have presented God's people in a false light. The declaration carries the promise that Israel would remain a distinct people not absorbed into another nation, and would grow greatly in number, prosperity, and strength.
Blessing None Can Reverse
So long as God's people are loyal and obedient to His law, no power in earth or hell can prevail against them. With subdued and contrite hearts confessing and putting away sin and claiming His promises in faith, they cannot be shut out from God's presence nor harmed through temptation or through opposing influence, whether open or secret. The curse that Balaam was forbidden to pronounce directly he finally brought upon Israel by seducing them into sin. For when they transgressed God's commandments they separated themselves from Him and were left to feel the power of the destroyer.
The constrained blessing displayed God's goodness and mercy and His almighty power as Israel's protection. It gave idolatrous Moab and Midian evidence upon evidence that Jehovah was the God they should serve. Since their cup of iniquity was not yet full and war against them was forbidden, this shining of clear and distinct light, which the Moabites themselves could see controlling Balaam, was the last ray given to a stiff-necked people set in defiance before their probation ended and mercy closed.
Balak's conducting Balaam from one point to another in the vain hope of changing God's blessing into a curse was impossible, for what God has blessed no man can curse. The same truth is seen when Luther remained firm as a rock against repeated efforts to move him to compromise and retract. Human applause and the fear of man alike were powerless to shake his decision because he was sustained by divine power.
Balak king of Moab brought Balaam from Aram to curse Jacob and defy Israel in hope of destroying them. Balaam came longing to curse God's people for rich reward, with his heart still full of curses and seeking by enchantments and sacrifices to invoke destruction upon them. But God controlled the corrupt prophet and compelled him to bless contrary to his own will, stopping him by His Spirit and putting words of blessing in his mouth so he could speak only what God gave him. What God has blessed no man can curse, and no curse from man can retard or reverse the prosperity God has appointed for those He has not cursed. So long as His people remain loyal and obedient with contrite hearts confessing and forsaking sin, no power in earth or hell can prevail against them, yet when they transgress His commandments they separate themselves from Him and are left to feel the power of the destroyer, which was the curse Balaam at last brought upon them by seducing them into sin.
Balaam Forced to Bless
Balak king of Moab brought Balaam from Aram and the mountains of the East to curse Jacob and defy Israel, hoping Israel could be destroyed. The declaration of inability to curse or defy was spoken in that setting as part of an unwilling prophecy of blessing over Israel.
Balaam came intending and longing to curse God's people for rich reward, with a heart still full of curses. Allured by promise of rich rewards, he sought by enchantments and by sacrifices to invoke and pronounce a curse for reward, seeking to practice enchantments against Israel. Balak moved him from place to place and urged him to curse Israel or even part of Israel. God controlled the corrupt and avaricious prophet and constrained him to pronounce instead the richest and most sublime blessings.
God sent His angel to meet Balaam and give him words of utterance, so he had no power to say anything beyond what God gave him to speak. God's Spirit stopped him and forbade him from pronouncing the evil he longed to speak, God's angels prevented him, and God put prophecies blessing His people into his mouth. His words were limited to what God gave him to speak, and he was compelled to speak blessings contrary to his own wishes. Israel in this was under God's protection and blessing.
The meaning is that he cannot curse whom God has not cursed nor defy whom the Lord has not defied. He cannot devote to destruction those God has promised to prosper, so no curse from man could retard or reverse the blessing and prosperity God had appointed for Israel. What God has blessed no man can curse.
Spoken in solemn prophetic style, the declaration is part of Balaam's unwilling prophecy of richest blessing over Israel. It stands as poetry and song not inferior in beauty, among the earliest and most sublime poetic utterances in Scripture, uttered in exalted strains of inspiration. Balaam had once been acknowledged as a prophet of the Lord but proved unfaithful, and if allowed he would have presented God's people in a false light. The declaration carries the promise that Israel would remain a distinct people not absorbed into another nation, and would grow greatly in number, prosperity, and strength.
Blessing None Can Reverse
So long as God's people are loyal and obedient to His law, no power in earth or hell can prevail against them. With subdued and contrite hearts confessing and putting away sin and claiming His promises in faith, they cannot be shut out from God's presence nor harmed through temptation or through opposing influence, whether open or secret. The curse that Balaam was forbidden to pronounce directly he finally brought upon Israel by seducing them into sin. For when they transgressed God's commandments they separated themselves from Him and were left to feel the power of the destroyer.
The constrained blessing displayed God's goodness and mercy and His almighty power as Israel's protection. It gave idolatrous Moab and Midian evidence upon evidence that Jehovah was the God they should serve. Since their cup of iniquity was not yet full and war against them was forbidden, this shining of clear and distinct light, which the Moabites themselves could see controlling Balaam, was the last ray given to a stiff-necked people set in defiance before their probation ended and mercy closed.
Balak's conducting Balaam from one point to another in the vain hope of changing God's blessing into a curse was impossible, for what God has blessed no man can curse. The same truth is seen when Luther remained firm as a rock against repeated efforts to move him to compromise and retract. Human applause and the fear of man alike were powerless to shake his decision because he was sustained by divine power.