By Joseph Shulam.
Writing this Jerusalem prayer list from Murfreesboro, TN, USA.
This week’s Torah reading is one of my favorites in the Torah!
The reading is from the portion called Balak, Numbers 22:2 – 25:9.
The Haftarah reading portion from the prophets is from the prophet
Micah, chapters 5:6 –6:8.
From the New Testament, the reading is from Matthew 21:1-11.
I’m not sure why believers tend to read so little from the New Testament. But, like The Fiddler on the Roof said, “We have our tradition for everything!”
The Name, בָּלָק (Balak), comes possibly from a root meaning “to devastate” or “to lay waste.”
Balak was the King of Moab, a nation southeast of Israel, and a descendant of Lot (Genesis 19:37). It is interesting to me that in the Bible, most of Israel’s major enemies are relatives, starting back with the two brothers Cain and Able right in the opening chapters of the book of Genesis.
Balak, the king of Moab, was the ruler of a small but very militant nation. Their territory was on the northwestern slopes of the Dead Sea. We have later stories of wars between Israel and Moab. Moab is also an ancient enemy of Israel, and the enmity between Moab and Israel dates back to Israel’s need to pass through the King’s Highway, one of the main highways of the ancient world that connected three continents by land. On the King’s Highway, a person or an army could travel from Africa to Asia or Europe on foot, horse, or donkey. So, when Moses and the Israelites were on their last leg, approaching the land that God had given them as an eternal inheritance, they asked Balak for permission to cut a shortcut through his land. Moses made it clear to the Moabite king that they were willing to pay for the water and any other thing that they might use along the way to cross the Jordan River, but Balak responded harshly.
One of the better stories involving Moabites is the story of Ruth, the saintly widow who accompanied Naomi to Bethlehem and became the grandmother of King David. Ruth was a Moabite beauty who, in the end, converted to Judaism to care for her elderly and ailing mother-in-law, Naomi.
I suggest that you don’t look for racial purity among the Scriptures like a Nazi German because there is no such thing in the Bible. And, if you walk through the streets of Israel, you will find all kinds of Jews: African Jews, South African Jews, Asian Jews, European Jews, and South American Jews; you could even see some orange juice and grape juice. In Israel, there is a mixture of Jews from all around the world returning home after millennia of being a blessing to all the nations of the world.
The Biblical References dealing with Balak are Numbers 22–24, also referenced in Joshua 24:9, Judges 11:25, Micah 6:5, and Revelation 2:14.
Joshua 24:9-10 Recounts Balak’s attempt to curse Israel and God’s protection.
Judges 11:25 Jephthah recalls Balak in a legal-historical argument.
Micah 6:5 Micah invokes Balak and Balaam as examples of God’s faithfulness.
Revelation 2:14 Balaam’s (and indirectly Balak’s) counsel to corrupt Israel is condemned by Yeshua.
As you can see, Balak is not one of those obscure figures from the Old Testament. He is known and evaluated through the last chapters of Numbers and on to Joshua and the book of Judges, Micah the prophet, and the book of Revelation of the apostle John. I am bringing this point up because very few Christians are acquainted enough with the foundation of our faith in Yeshua and in God the Father ( and even with the Holy Spirit that some Christians bandy as a personal guide and gift giver like Santa without reindeers.
The Israelites, after defeating the Amorites, camped in the plains of Moab near the Jordan River, across from Jericho. It caused fear among the small but militant nations around the Dead Sea. Balak sees Israel’s numbers and military success and is terrified. He made a formidable coalition with neighboring tribes and governments to stop the Israelites from coming through his country. To prevent the Israeli tribes from passing through his land. He understood that, alone, he and his armies could not physically stop Moses and the 12 tribes. He fears Israel will consume the land “as the ox licks up the grass of the field” (Numbers 22:4).
Although Moses promises to walk on the side road and not disturb the local population, Balak, King of Moab, does not intend to let Moses and the Israelites pass through his land, so he invites Balaam, the most famous witchcraft doctor from Mesopotamia, by sending messengers to convince Balaam to come from Pethor (in Mesopotamia), asking him to curse Israel so they can be defeated.
Balak, the King of Moab, feared the Israelite hordes that had just come up from the Sinai Desert. He made a formidable coalition with neighboring tribes and nations to stop the Israelites from coming through his country. To prevent the Israeli tribes from passing through his land. He understood that, alone, he and his armies could not physically stop Moses and the 12 tribes.
Balaam initially refuses, saying he can only speak what God tells him. Balaam portrays himself as a deeply religious and devout man who doesn’t act without God’s permission. After repeated requests and divine permission, Balaam goes, but God sends an angel to warn him (including the famous story of Balaam’s donkey, who sees the angel before he does). The tale of Balaam’s donkey is one of my very favorite Bible stories. It is very different from the North American version of Balaam’s story: Mr. Ed, the talking horse! (Today, in Israel, scientists have discovered that plants communicate with each other through sounds. So, a talking donkey is not so far-fetched.
Here is the text of what happened.
“So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. Now the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall, so he struck her again. And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely, I would also have killed you by now and let her live.” but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.”
(Numbers 22:21-23, 25, 27-30, 32-33; Deuteronomy 5:14 NKJV)
After the donkey spoke his words, the curses of Balaam did not work; they failed, and God turned Balam’s curses into blessings. Balak didn’t like these results; often, this is the paradigm when people curse a righteous person, and whenever the unrighteous curses, God makes it a blessing for the righteous. Balak, the kind of Moab, builds seven altars three times, hoping for a curse. But each time, Balaam blesses Israel instead of cursing them under divine compulsion.
Balak becomes a symbol of those who oppose God’s plan and the people.
Despite all his political power and resources, he cannot overcome God’s blessing upon Israel. His actions prove that no human curse can undo divine blessing.
The story of the relationship between Balak and Balaam is not over; the next Shabbat reading reveals that Balaam wanted the rewards and payment that Barak was offering him at all costs, and he devised a plan to make Israel fall at all costs.
So that Balaam did not go home to Babylon empty-handed, he divided a program that was sure to be effective with the men of the children of Israel. Balaam advised Balak to gather all the beautiful young women of Moab and send them to prostitute with the men of Israel. (See: Numbers 31:16)The beautiful women are sent to bring with them the sin of Baal Peor. Baal was the Canaanite god of fertility, plenty, rain, and winter. (The worship of Baal Peor was exemplified in Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom. ) This action of Balak leads to the sin at Baal Peor, where Israel worships Baal and engages in immorality with Moabite women (Numbers 25), resulting in a plague and the death of 24,000 Israelites.
The text of this week’s Torah portion is one of the best pictures of God’s Sovereignty: Balak’s political powers and his witchcraft are useless against God’s will. In the word of God, there is more than one story that demonstrates that those who curse God’s people end up being cursed with the same curses that they used against God’s people. Balak’s story is one of these stories, and in the book of Esther, the feast of Purim, Haman and his family (10 children) are hung on the very tree that he prepares for Mordecai the Jew. The narrative teaches that blessings and curses are subject to divine authority.
Balak’s external attack fails, but the internal temptation (idolatry and sexual immorality) succeeds. This theme is repeated throughout Scripture.
We have in this Shabbat’s reading a foreshadowing of Messiah: In Balaam’s fourth oracle (Numbers 24:17), he prophesies:
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob…”
Here is what Eben Ezra, one of my favorite medieval Jewish commentators of the Bible, writes in this verse:
AND A SCEPTER SHALL ARISE. The reference is to a royal scepter. I believe that shall step means that the star shall be seen making its way, as in the stars in their courses (Jud. 5:20). Many explained that the reference is to the messiah. The ancients said that Sanherib mixed up the nations. However, note that Scripture speaks of Moab, Amalek, and Asshur. Furthermore, why does Balaam conclude with and shall afflict Eber (v. 24)? On the contrary, Balaam should have ended his parable with There shall step forth a star out of Jacob. Those who lack intelligence think that anyone who explains that There shall step forth a star refers to King David denies the coming of the messiah. Far be it, far be it, for the messiah is clearly stated in the prophecy of Daniel. I have already explained that Daniel first mentions the coming into existence of the Greek kings and the arising of the Hasmoneans. He mentions the existence of the second temple, the years of the siege, the exile, and the salvation. He notes these things in order. There is no conceivable need for another prophet, since we have the words of Moses, who is the most important prophet: If any of thine that are dispersed be in the uttermost parts of heaven… the Lord thy God will bring thee (Deut. 30:4,5).”
Balak is a minor but theologically charged figure in the Bible. He stands as a powerful adversary of Israel who, despite wealth and political maneuvering, cannot overcome the divine plan. His failure highlights God’s faithfulness and the danger of seduction into idolatry and sets the stage for profound theological reflections in both Jewish and Christian traditions.
For our enemies, the enemies of Israel, who are doing everything to destroy Israel’s hold on the land given by God to Abraham and His seed:
The promises of God and the teaching of the Torah are our constitutional guarantee for the world to know and realize that the hold of Israel in the land between the river and the Mediterranean Sea is a divine promise, just like the promise of the land that was given by God to Moses and the children of Israel, the same enemies that were in the day of Moses are still the enemies of Israel and also of every Bible true believer.