6 Please come now therefore curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.
He couched, he lay down as a lion, As a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Blessed be everyone who blesses you, Cursed be everyone who curses you.
He took up his parable, and said, From Aram has Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Jacob, Come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy, whom Yahweh has not defied?
It happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.
But there was a certain man, Simon by name, who used to practice sorcery in the city, and amazed the people of Samaria, making himself out to be some great one, to whom they all listened, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is that great power of God."
Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth; if so be you shall be able to profit, if so be you may prevail. You are wearied in the multitude of your counsels: let now the astrologers, the star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save you from the things that shall come on you.
Yes, he loved cursing, and it came to him. He didn't delight in blessing, and it was far from him. He clothed himself also with cursing as with his garment. It came into his inward parts like water, Like oil into his bones.
The messenger who went to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, See now, the words of the prophets [declare] good to the king with one mouth: please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak you good.
Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? They said, Go up; for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king.
Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel: and he sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you;
because they didn't meet you with bread and with water in the way, when you came forth out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you.
God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.
Let peoples serve you, Nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, Let your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, Blessed be everyone who blesses you."
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 22
Commentary on Numbers 22 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 22
At this chapter begins the famous story of Balak and Balaam, their attempt to curse Israel, and the baffling of that attempt; God's people are long afterwards told to remember what Balak the king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, that they might know the righteousness of the Lord, Mic. 6:5. In this chapter we have,
Num 22:1-14
The children of Israel have at length finished their wanderings in the wilderness, out of which they went up (ch. 21:18), and are now encamped in the plains of Moab near Jordan, where they continued till they passed through Jordan under Joshua, after the death of Moses. Now we have here,
Num 22:15-21
We have here a second embassy sent to Balaam, to fetch him over to curse Israel. It were well for us if we were as earnest and constant in prosecuting a good work, notwithstanding disappointments, as Balak was in pursuing this ill design. The enemies of the church are restless and unwearied in their attempts against it; but he that sits in heaven laughs at them. Observe,
Num 22:22-35
We have here an account of the opposition God gave to Balaam in his journey towards Moab; probably the princes had gone before, or gone some other way, and Balaam had pointed out where he would meet them, or where they should stay for him, for we read nothing of them in this part of our narrative, only that Balaam, like a person of some quality, was attended with his two men-honour enough, one would think, for such a man, he needed not be beholden to Balak for promotion.
Num 22:36-41
We have here the meeting between Balak and Balaam, confederate enemies to God's Israel; but here they seem to differ in their expectations of the success.