He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Yahweh his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them.
Parallel Translations
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He has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. Yahweh his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them.
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He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.
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None hath beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath one seen perverseness in Israel; the LORD his God is with him, and the shouting for the King is among them.
Cross-references (35)
Passages linked to Numbers 23:21 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
- Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
- Jeremiah 50:20 In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the iniquity of Israel will be sought for, and there will be none; also the sins of Judah, and they won’t be found; for I will pardon them whom I leave as a remnant.
- Romans 4:7-8 “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin.”
- Exodus 29:45-46 I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. They shall know that I am Yahweh their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them: I am Yahweh their God.
- Psalms 46:11 Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
- Isaiah 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great anguish, but you have in love for my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption; for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
- Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
- Isaiah 8:10 Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.”
- Isaiah 33:22 For Yahweh is our judge. Yahweh is our lawgiver. Yahweh is our king. He will save us.
- Hosea 14:2-4 Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good: so we offer our lips like bulls. Assyria can’t save us. We won’t ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.” “I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from him.
- Micah 7:18-20 Who is a God like you, who pardons iniquity, and passes over the disobedience of the remnant of his heritage? He doesn’t retain his anger forever, because he delights in loving kindness. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities under foot; and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob, and mercy to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.
- Deuteronomy 33:5 He was king in Jeshurun, when the heads of the people were gathered, all the tribes of Israel together.
- Psalms 97:1 Yahweh reigns! Let the earth rejoice! Let the multitude of islands be glad!
- Psalms 118:15 The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous. “The right hand of Yahweh does valiantly.
- Isaiah 41:10 Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
- Romans 6:14 For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.
- Exodus 13:21 Yahweh went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them on their way, and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, that they might go by day and by night:
- Exodus 33:14-16 He said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” Moses said to him, “If your presence doesn’t go with me, don’t carry us up from here. For how would people know that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Isn’t it that you go with us, so that we are separated, I and your people, from all the people who are on the surface of the earth?”
- Exodus 34:9 He said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, Lord, please let the Lord go among us, even though this is a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”
- Judges 6:13 Gideon said to him, “Oh, my lord, if Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying, ‘Didn’t Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.”
- 2 Chronicles 13:12 Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don’t fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you will not prosper.”
- Psalms 32:2 Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn’t impute iniquity, in whose spirit there is no deceit.
- Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you. I didn’t hide my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
- Psalms 46:7 Yahweh of Armies is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge.
- Psalms 47:5-7 God has gone up with a shout, Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet. Sing praises to God! Sing praises! Sing praises to our King! Sing praises! For God is the King of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding.
- Psalms 89:15-18 Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh. In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted. For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted. For our shield belongs to Yahweh, our king to the Holy One of Israel.
- Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
- Ezekiel 48:35 “It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘Yahweh is there.’
- Luke 19:37-38 As he was now getting near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works which they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!”
- Isaiah 12:6 Cry aloud and shout, you inhabitant of Zion; for the Holy One of Israel is great among you!”
- Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
- 2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and reveals through us the sweet aroma of his knowledge in every place.
- 2 Corinthians 5:19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God and they will be my people.”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (16 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain They triumph as victorious kings over their enemies.
They triumph as victorious kings over their enemies.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Num 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,…
Num 23:21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God [is] with him, and the shout of a king [is] among them.
Ver. 21. He hath not beheld iniquity.] Of this place of Scripture we may say as we did of another, This verse had been easy, had not commentators made it so knotty. The sense I like best is, that at this time, when Balak hired Balaam, there was no peccatum flagrans, no foul sin of that people, flaming in the eyes of God, or stinking in his nostrils; and therefore there could be no enchantment against them. {Num 23:23} Whence that devilish counsel of his to Balak, to set fair women afore them, to entice them to adultery and idolatry, and so to put them under God’s displeasure. But what strange inferences are those from this text, that God sees no sin in his elect, that the very being of their sins is abolished out of his sight; that God is never displeased with his people, though they fall into adultery or the like sin, no not with a fatherly displeasure! &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain He, i.e. God, understood Num 23:20, and expressed Num…
He, i.e. God, understood Num 23:20, and expressed Num 23:19,
hath not or doth not
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behold or see iniquity or perverseness, i.e. any sin, in Jacob or
Israel; which cannot be meant of a simple seeing or knowing of him, for so God did see and observe, yea, and chastise their sins, as is manifest, Exo 32:9; Deu 9:13; but of such a sight of their sins as should provoke God utterly to forsake and curse and destroy them, which was Balak’s desire, and Balaam’s hope and design. For as Balaam knew that none but Israel’s God could curse or destroy Israel, so he knew that nothing but their sin could move him so to do; and therefore he took a right, though wicked, course afterwards to tempt them to sin, and thereby to expose them to ruin, Num 25. And Balaam had now hoped that God was incensed against Israel for their sins, and therefore would be prevailed with to give them up to the curse and spoil. But, saith he, I was mistaken, I see God hath a singular favour to this people, and though he sees and punisheth sin in other persons and people with utter destruction, as he hath now done in Sihon and Og and the Amorites, yet he will not do so with Israel; he winks at their sins, forgets and forgives them, and will not punish them as their iniquities deserve. In this sense God is said not to see sins, as elsewhere he is said to forget them, Isa 43:25; Jer 31:34, and to cover them, Psa 32:1, which keeps them out of sight, and so out of mind; and to blot them out, Psa 51:1,9, and to cast them behind his back, Isa 38:17, or into the depth of the sea, Mic 7:19, in which cases they cannot be seen nor read. And men are oft said not to know or see those sins in their children or others, which they do not take notice of so as to punish them. And this sense best agrees with the context; God hath decreed and promised to bless this people, and he hath blessed them, and I cannot reverse it, Num 23:20, and he will not reverse it, though provoked to do so by their sins, which he will take no notice of. Others thus, He hath not beheld, as hitherto he hath not, so for the future he will not behold, i.e. so as to approve it, as that word is oft used, as Gen 7:1; Isa 66:2; Hab 1:13, or so as to suffer it, injury against Jacob, &c. For aven, here rendered iniquity, is oft used in that sense, as Job 5:6,7; Pr 12:21; 22:8. And the other word, amal, rendered perverseness, oft notes vexation and trouble, as Job 5:6,7; Psa 25:17; 36:4; and the particle beth, rendered in, is oft used for against, as Exo 14:25; 20:16; Num 12:1. So the sense is, God will not see them wronged or ruined by any of their adversaries, whereof the following words may be a good reason, for God is with him, &c. The Lord his God is with him, i.e. he hath a favour for this people, and will defend and save them. So the phrase of God’s being with a person or people signifies, as Jdg 6:13; Psa 46:7; Isa 8:10.
The shout of a king is among them, i.e. such joyful and triumphant shouts as those wherewith a people congratulate the approach and presence of their king when he appears among them upon some solemn occasion, or when he returns from battle with victory and spoils. The expression implies God’s being their King and Ruler, and their abundant security and just confidence in him as such. And here is an allusion to the silver trumpets which were made by God’s command, and used upon great solemnities, in which God their King was present in a special manner, Num 10:9; Jos 6:16,20; 1Sa 4:5; 2Ch 13:12.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath…
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel,.... Not that there was no sin in them, nor any observed by the Lord; yet not so as to mark it in strict justice, and punish for it; but he forgave it, hid his face from it, and did not impute it to them; all the three Targums restrain it to idolatry, that there were none among them that worshipped idols, which was the reason why the Lord could not be prevailed upon to curse them: and Aben Ezra observes, that from hence Balak learnt to send women to the Israelites, to entice them to lewdness, and so to idolatry, that he might be able to carry his point: this is true of the spiritual Israel of God; for though there is sin in them, and which is continually done by them, yet their sins are removed from them, and have been laid on Christ, and he has bore them, and made reconciliation for them, and made an end of them, and has redeemed and saved them from them; and God, by imputing his righteousness to them, has justified them from all their sins, has forgiven all their iniquities, and blotted out all their transgressions, and has cast them behind his back, and into the depths of the sea, and has removed them as far from them as the east is from the west: and when God is said not to see or behold iniquity in his people, it is to be understood, not of his eye of Omniscience, with which he sees not only the sins of all men, but those of his own people also, and takes notice of them in a providential way, and chastises them for them; but of his eye of avenging justice, and purity regards the article of justification, which is a full discharge from all sin, and a perfect covering of it from the justice of God, see Jer 50:20,
the Lord his God is with him and which is his protection and defence, and in vain it is for any to be against him, or seek to hurt him; nothing is a greater happiness, or can be a greater safety, than to have the presence of God; it is this makes ordinances pleasant and delightful; by this saints are assisted in duty, and supported under trials; it is an instance of distinguishing and amazing goodness, and is what will make heaven be the happy place and state it is: all the three Targums interpret it of the Word of the Lord that is with them, and for their help; who is the Angel of God's presence, Immanuel, God with us; and who has promised to be with his churches and ministers to the end of the world, and will be with them through life, at death, and to all eternity:
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and the shout of a king is among them; of God their King, the Shechinah of their King, as the Targum of Onkelos; his glorious Majesty, to whom they make their joyful acclamations, upon his appearing among them, and on the account of the victories he gives them over their enemies: or of the King Messiah, as the Targum of Jonathan, the King of kings, the Lord of lords; and so, in an ancient writing of the Jews (k), this passage is referred to the days of the Messiah: and this shout may respect the joyful sound of the Gospel, one part of which is, that Zion's King reigns, and which proclaims him to be King, and speaks of the things concerning his kingdom, both the kingdom of grace, and the kingdom of glory; some respect may be had to the sounding of the silver trumpets by the priests on various occasions in Israel; see Num 10:1.
(k) Pesikta in Ketoreth Hassamim in Numb. fol. 25. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Iniquity - Not such as in the Canaanites: Such…
Iniquity - Not such as in the Canaanites: Such as he will punish with a curse, with utter destruction. The Lord is with him - He hath a favour for this people, and will defend and save them. The shout of a king - That is, such joyful and triumphant shouts as those wherewith a people congratulate the approach and presence of their King: when he appears among them upon some solemn occasion, or when he returns from battle with victory. This expression implies God's being their King and ruler, and their abundant security and confidence in him.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob,…
Verse 21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel] This is a difficult passage; for if we take the words as spoken of the people Israel, as their iniquity and their perverseness were almost unparalleled, such words cannot be spoken of them with strict truth. If we consider them as spoken of the patriarch Jacob and Israel, or of Jacob after he became Israel, they are most strictly true, as after that time a more unblemished and noble character (Abraham excepted) is not to be found in the page of history, whether sacred or profane; and for his sake, and for the sake of his father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham, God is ever represented as favouring, blessing, and sparing a rebellious and undeserving people; See Clarke on Ge 49:33. In this way, I think, this difficult text may be safely understood.
There is another way in which the words may be interpreted, which will give a good sense. און aven not only signifies iniquity, but most frequently trouble, labour, distress, and affliction; and these indeed are its ideal meanings, and iniquity is only an accommodated or metaphorical one, because of the pain, distress, &c., produced by sin. עמל amal, translated here perverseness, occurs often in Scripture, but is never translated perverseness except in this place. It signifies simply labour, especially that which is of an afflictive or oppressive kind. The words may therefore be considered as implying that God will not suffer the people either to be exterminated by the sword, or to be brought under a yoke of slavery. Either of these methods of interpretation gives a good sense, but our common version gives none.
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Dr. Kennicott contends for the reading of the Samaritan, which, instead of לא הביט lo hibbit, he hath not seen, has לא אבט lo abbit, I do not see, I do not discover any thing among them on which I could ground my curse. But the sense above given is to be preferred.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Num 23:21. Iniquity in Jacob — Not such as…
Num 23:21. Iniquity in Jacob — Not such as in the Canaanites: such as he will punish with a curse, with utter destruction. The Lord is with him — He hath a favour for this people, and will defend and save them. The shout of a king — That is, such joyful and triumphant shouts as those wherewith a people congratulate the approach and presence of their king, when he appears among them upon some solemn occasion, or when he returns from battle with victory. This expression implies God’s being their King and Ruler, and their abundant security and confidence in him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain “Iniquity” and “perverseness” are found together again in the…
“Iniquity” and “perverseness” are found together again in the Hebrew of Psa 10:7; Psa 90:10, and elsewhere; and import wickedness together with that tribulation which is its proper result.
The shout - The word is used (Lev 23:24 note) to describe the sound of the silver trumpets. The “shout of a king” will therefore refer to the jubilant sounds by which the presence of the Lord as their King among them was celebrated by Israel.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Image-god, (simulachrum) "a statue." Chaldean, "falsehood." Hebrew may also…
Image-god, (simulachrum) "a statue." Chaldean, "falsehood." Hebrew may also signify "perversity, or punishment." As long as Israel refrains from idol-worship, and from other transgressions, as they do at present, God will be so far from punishing them, that he will fight their battles, as their king; (Haydock) and at the sound of the silver trumpets will grant them victory, chap. x. 9. (Menochius) --- The sound. Hebrew, "the shout of a king among them," encouraging his people by his presence and by his words. (Haydock) --- "I behold those who do not serve idols in the house of Jacob....the word of the Lord their God is helping them, and the majesty of their king is among them," Chaldean. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob--Many sins were…
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob--Many sins were observed and punished in this people. But no such universal and hopeless apostasy had as yet appeared, to induce God to abandon or destroy them.
the Lord his God is with him--has a favor for them.
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and the shout of a king is among them--such joyful acclamations as of a people rejoicing in the presence of a victorious prince.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 21. Iniquity in Jacob — The Hebrew aven includes…
21. Iniquity in Jacob — The Hebrew aven includes all kinds of sin, especially idolatry. 1Sa_15:23. Hence the Chaldee Paraphrase and Targum of Jonathan here read, “No servers of idols in the house of Jacob;” and the Vulgate, Non est idolum in Jacob, nec videtur simulacrum: “There is no idol in Jacob, nor does an image appear in Israel.” The Seventy render it thus: “No misery in Jacob, no molestation or pain in Israel.” But even in the sense of guilt-entailing sin, new Israel, after old rebellious Israel had perished in the wilderness, may have been so diligent in the observance of the altar ritual, especially the day of atonement, (which may have been only the day before,) that the nation was kept in a state of pardon through the blood of sprinkling, God hiding his face from their sins and blotting out their iniquities (Psa_51:9) instead of setting them in the light of his countenance. Psa_90:8; Psa_109:14-15. Says Bishop Butler: “They were a people of virtue, so far as not to have drawn down, by their iniquity, that curse which Balaam was soliciting leave to pronounce upon them.” A shocking perversion of this text is made by those antinomians who quote it as a proof that God does not regard the iniquities of those who are “in Christ,” and that only imputed, and not inwrought, holiness is required. Shocking, indeed, is the antinomianism of McIntosh’s comment: “Beholders many faults may find; but as regards our standing, our God sees us (the elect) only in the comeliness of Christ; we are perfect in him.”
The shout of a king — The acclamations which attend the presence of a great and victorious King (Jehovah) are among them, hence they could not be effectually cursed, since his presence was a proof of his favour and protection. This passage is quoted against the Mosaic authorship of the episode of Balaam as implying that the Israelites were governed by a king at the time of its composition. But was not Jehovah, their King, abiding in the very centre of the camp? Israel was surrounded by kingdoms, which might suggest this language respecting the theocracy.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 21. He hath not beheld … Neither hath he…
21. He hath not beheld … Neither hath he seen &c.] The verbs are impersonal: ‘one hath not [i.e. no one hath] beheld …’ But in accordance with Num_23:9, it is better to read (with Pesh.) ‘I behold not … neither do I see.’
calamity in Jacob … trouble in Israel] This rendering is much more in harmony with the spirit of Balaam’s utterances than R.V. [Note: .V. Redactor.] ‘iniquity’ and ‘perverseness.’ See further in note on Num_23:23.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (21) He hath not beheld iniquity . . .…
(21) He hath not beheld iniquity . . . —The same combination of the words aven (iniquity, or injustice) and amal (perverseness, or, rather, suffering or grievance) occurs in Hab_1:3.
The shout of a king.—The word which is rendered shout (teruah) is the same which occurs in Lev_23:24, and which is there rendered blowing of trumpets. (Comp. Jos_6:5; Jos_6:20, where the same word is rendered shout as here.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. The subject…
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob. The subject of this and the parallel clause is left indefinite. If it is God, according to the A.V, then it means that God in his mercy shut his eyes to the evil which did exist in individuals, and for his own sake would not impute it to the chosen nation. If it be impersonal, according to the Septuagint and the Targums, "one does not behold iniquity," &c., then it means that the iniquity was not flagrant, was not left to gather head and volume until it brought down destruction. ;Perverseness. Rather, "suffering" (lm Septuagint, ponov ), the natural consequence of sin. Compare the use of the two words in Psa_10:7 Psa_90:10. The shout of a king is among them. The "shout" (hWrTi) is the jubilation of the nation with which it acclaims its victor king. (cf. 1Sa_4:5, 1Sa_4:6) In Lev_23:24 Psa_47:5 it is used of the sounding of the sacred trumpets.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath…
Num_23:21-24
He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel.
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The prophecies of Balaam
Prophecy is not Fatalism, but in many cases, at least, a forecasting of the certain consequences of such and such moral antecedents. And this view of prophecy leads me to that which is, after all, the most important aspect of the prophecies of Balaam. Here, in the blessings he pronounced on Israel, we have an authoritative declaration of the natural and inevitable outcome of the then condition of the chosen people; blessings which, indeed, they sometimes reaped, and sometimes failed to reap--varying in their relations to the God who spake to them by the lips of Balaam--but blessings which it is open for us to reap, if we will only follow the Lord perfectly and with all our hearts.
I. We have here a declaration of the principles that lie at the foundation of all true national and church life.
1. And the first of these principles that I shall refer to, is that mentioned in the language of the text: He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath He seen perversity in Israel. But if we are to accept these words as in any sense descriptive of the actual condition of the Jewish people at this moment, we must understand them in relation to the words that follow: The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. That is, there was none of that iniquity and perverseness in Israel which is the root and substance of all iniquity and perverseness, viz., the denial of Gods presence in the midst of them, and a refusal to submit to Him as their King. Whatever else they were (and they had their faults), the Israelites were not a godless people; and being at heart a godly and God-fearing people, Jehovah saw fit to interpret all the other features of their character according to this ruling disposition of their lives, and to look over and excuse many other imperfections for the sake of this predominating excellence.
2. Another element that characterised the moral condition of the Jewish people, was that of the separation from the other nations of the earth. Their separation was their security.
3. But there is, even still farther, a third element belonging to the moral condition of the Jewish people that must not be overlooked; and that is the principle of order that obtained amongst them. Behold, said the Psalmist, how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psa_130:1). And unity and order are intimately related to each other. For order both expresses and promotes unity. And unity makes order possible.
II. There is here also declared to us the blessedness of those in whom these principles are realised and embodied. And the prophet lavisheth his praises on the Israelitish people, as the representatives of those who realise and embody these principles. Thus, e.g., he compares the tents of Israel to outspread valleys full of verdure and fertility; and again, to gardens by the riverside, always fruitful and beautiful; and again he speaks of them as trees of lign aloes, which the Lord had planted, laden with the most delicious fragrance; and as cedar trees beside the waters, full of stately, sober beauty (Num_24:6). And the blessedness of such he describes as not only personal, but diffusive. The godly are as water-bearers, pouring water out of their buckets on the dry and thirsty land where no water is, and causing peace and plenty to abound (Num_24:7). They themselves increase on every hand; and as they increase, the welfare of the world advances. Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? (Num_23:10). It was not that Israel was at that moment an innumerable people, for this book is a record of the numbering of the people of Israel; but Israel had, in the moral principles that governed its action and life, the germs of indefinite extension and enlargement. And wherever it went it carried blessings for the nations in its hand.
III. The dignity and majesty of those who are thus blessed. Every symbol of strength and vigour, of safety and security, does the prophet press into the service of his eulogy of Israels greatness.
IV. The advantages that may be enjoyed by those who are only somewhat remotely related to the people of God. Come with us, said Moses to Hobab, and we will do you good; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel (Num_10:29). There is such a thing as blessedness, by being related to the blessed. And so Balaam says of Israel: Blessed is he that blesseth thee; and cursed is he that curseth thee (Num_24:9; see Mat_10:40; Mat_10:42). (W. Roberts.)
The justification of Gods people
What? Was Israel perfect? Was not their entire history one of rebellion and ingratitude and sin? How then could God say He saw no iniquity or perverseness in them? Mark, it is not said that Israel had no iniquity or perverseness. It is said God beheld none. Is God, then, the minister of sin? God forbid! He only magnifies the riches of His grace by putting it out of His sight. But is not this a license to the soul to continue in sin, or be indifferent to it? Nay. The love that has pardoned is the love that constrains ever after to newness of life. But notice again--God was never indifferent to sin in Israel. He is of too pure eyes to behold iniquity. Yes, the least sin in them was marked and judged with an unsparing hand. But when it came to this, should Satan make use of their sin to cast them out for ever from God--to curse them--then God would see no sin in them. Then His language is, I have not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor seen perverseness in Israel. Thus we have seen Israels complete justification before God. Now let us examine the foundation on which it rests. 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 tie spoken and shall He not make it good? Thus their justification, and everything that follows, rest upon Gods unchangeable character. What a rock is that on which the weakest believer rests! What untold blessings are his l and all secured by the faithfulness of that unchanging God. But let us proceed and mark the streams of blessing which flow down to the believer from this Rock. The Lord his God is with him. What can he lack, having Him? He is with him to supply every need, to lead into every holy path, to unfold to his soul from hour to hour all the riches of His grace, to quicken, to warn, to comfort, to build up, and to carry on that work in the soul which His grace has begun, till it be perfected in glory. Mark the next blessing--the shout of a king is among them. It is the shout of joy. It is the joy of Christ in His people, and His people in Him: these things have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy may be full. It is the shout of a king, even of King Jesus, for He has gotten the victory! Jehovah has triumphed, and His people are free. Mark the next blessing--God brought them out of Egypt. The song of redemption is now their song, and will be for ever. He hath, as it were, the strength of an unicorn (or buffalo); strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. As the sapling grows into the mighty tree, so that no storms can uproot it, so the Christian grows by living upon Christ, and abiding in Him. All the trials of the way arc converted into elements of strength. What can harm the child of God, then? What foe can curse him whom God has so blessed? None. What hath God wrought! It is all God here; man is nothing. Surely every crown must be laid for ever on the riches of His grace! Behold the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down till he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. In the symbol of the lion, under which the Lords people are here brought before us, we have the victorious onward course of the Church of Christ. The Lords people are represented as rising up in the majesty of Divine strength and power and victory over their spiritual foes. And what is the last feature in the character of the Lords people presented in this parable? It is victory over every foe at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: he shall not lie down till he eat of the prey and drink the blood of the slain. To lie down is the expression for rest. In the morning of resurrection they will Pest, for then every enemy will be given into their hands. (F. Whitfield, M. A.)
And the shout of a king is among them.--
The best war-cry
I. Gods presence among his people.
1. It is an extraordinary presence, for Gods ordinary and usual presence is everywhere. Whither shall we flee from His presence? He is in the highest heaven and in the lowest hell; the hand of the Lord is upon the high hills, and His power is in all deep places. Still there is a peculiar presence; for God was among His people in the wilderness as He was not among the Moabites and the Edomites their foes, and God is in His Church as He is not in the world. He saith of His Church, Here will I dwell, for I have desired it. This is much more than Gods being about us; it includes the favour of God towards us. His consideration of us, His working with us.
2. God is with His people in the entireness of His nature. This is the glory of the Church of God--to have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost to be her never-failing benediction. What a glory to have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit manifesting the Godhead in the midst of our assemblies, and blessing each one of us!
3. For God to dwell with us: what a condescending presence this is! And will God in very truth dwell among men? If the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him, will He abide among His people? He will! Know ye not that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost?
4. What an awe this imparts to every true Church of God! You may go in and out of certain assemblies, and you may say, Here we have beauty I here we have adornment, musical, ecclesiastical, architectural, oratorical, and the like! but to my mind there is no worship like that which proceeds from a man when he feels--the Lord is here. What a hush comes over the soul! Here is the place for the unsandalled foot and the prostrate spirit. Now are we on holy ground.
5. This is the one necessary of the Church: the Lord God must be in the midst of her, or she is nothing. If God be there, peace will be within her walls, and prosperity within her palaces.
6. This presence of God is clearly discerned by the gracious, though others may not know it.
II. The results of this Divine presence.
1. Leading (Num_23:22). We must have the Lord with us to guide us into our promised rest.
2. The next blessing is strength. He hath as it were the strength of an unicorn (Num_23:22). It is generally agreed that the creature here meant is an extinct species of urns or ox, most nearly represented by the buffalo of the present period. This gives us the sentence--He hath as it were the strength of a buffalo. When God is in a Church, what rugged strength, what massive force, what irresistible energy is sure to be there! And how untamable is the living force!
3. The next result is safety. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel. The presence of God quietly baffles all the attempts of the evil one. Divination cannot touch a child of God: the evil one is chained. Wherefore be of good courage; if God be for us, who can be against us?
4. Further than that, God gives to His people the next blessing, that is, of His so working among them as to make them a wonder, and cause outsiders to raise inquiries about them. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought?
5. When God is with His people He will give them power of a destructive kind. Do not be frightened. Here is the text for it: Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion--that is, as a lion in the fulness of his vigour--he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain. God has put into His Church, when He is in it, a most wonderful, destructive power as against spiritual wickedness. A healthy Church kills error, and tears in pieces evil.
III. What can be done for the securing and preserving of the presence of God with the church?
1. There is something even in the conformation of a Church to secure this. God is very tolerant, and He bears with many mistakes in His servants, and yet blesses them; but depend upon it, unless a Church is formed at the very outset upon scriptural principles and in Gods own way, sooner or later all the mistakes of her constitution will turn out to be sources of weakness. Christ loves to dwell in a house which is built according to His own plans, and not according to the whims and fancies of men.
2. But next, God will only dwell with a Church which is full of life. The living God will not inhabit a dead Church. Hence the necessity of having really regenerated people as members of the Church. Remember that text: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, and it bears this sense among others, that He is not the God of a Church made up of unconverted people. Oh that we may all live unto God, and may that life be past all question.
3. That being supposed, we next notice that to have God among us we must be full of faith. Do you believe your God? Alas, too many only believe a little! But do you believe His every word? Do you believe His grandest promises? Is He a real God to you, making His words into facts every day of your lives? If so, then the Lord is among us as in the holy place. Faith builds a pavilion in which her King delights to sit enthroned.
4. With that must come prayer. Prayer is the breath of faith. Where prayer is fervent God is present.
5. Supposing there is this faith and prayer, we shall also need holiness of life. You know what Balaam did when he found he could not curse the people. Satanic was his advice. He bade the king of Moab seduce the men of Israel by the women of Moab that were fair to look upon; and he sadly succeeded. So in a Church. The devil will work hard to lead one into licentiousness, another into drunkenness, a third into dishonesty, and others into worldliness. If he can only get the goodly Babylonish garment and the wedge of gold buried in an Achans tent, then Israel will be chased before her adversaries. God cannot dwell in an unclean Church.
6. Lastly, when we have reached to that, let us have practical consecration. God will not dwell in a house which does not belong to Him. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The Divine presence needed in the Church
There are three special thoughts which come to us in connection with this text.
I. The first is, the absolute need, if the army of the Lord is to conquer, of the presence of the Lord and of the realisation of His presence by those who are called by His name, and wear His armour, and wield His weapons. It pleases the Lord to let us fight His battles, to give us His armour and His weapons, and to inspire us with His courage, and to fill our enemies with His terror. We have no power except it be given us by Him; we can drive out no darkness of heathenism except the Lord be with us. We want more of our own battle-cry, the shout of our King, telling of His actual presence with His host.
II. It is also necessary to realise the essential unity of the Church of Christ, of the army of the living God. We should pray and work, and earnestly desire that all the people of the Lord may be one. If we want a reason for the little progress made in the conquest of the world of heathenism for the Lord of life and glory, if we want to account for the dark and darkening fringe of sin and misery and unbelief within the borders of our own land, we can find cause enough for these things in our failure to realise and to work and pray for the ideal of the essential unity of the Church of Christ.
III. Our text inspires us with hope. There is no greater need for us, as individuals or as a united body, than hope. And how can we be otherwise than full of hope when we call to mind that the promise is for us, The shout of a king is among them? There is hope for ourselves, and hope for others. Life passes on: friends pass away; strength for effort grows less; unavailing efforts stretch out behind us in a long, increasing line, like wounded men falling down to die in the terrible retreat: but still there is hope--hope that will grow and increase, and come daily nearer to its accomplishment. The shout of a King is among us, and we cannot be moving on to ultimate defeat. There is a battle, terrible enough, to fight; but victory is the end, not defeat. (E. T. Leeke, M. A.)
Surely there Is no enchantment against Jacob.--
Impregnable security of Israel; Gods wondrous doings on their behalf
I. The truth affirmed: Surely there is no enchantment, &c. The certainty of this may be inferred--
1. Because the counsels of God are more than sufficient to baffle the designs and plots of hell.
2. Because the power of Jehovah is ever effectual in thwarting the attacks of the enemies of his people.
3. Because Divine goodness is more than enough to counteract the malevolence of our foes.
4. The resources of God are more than adequate to render all the means of the Churchs enemies abortive.
II. The exclamation uttered: According to this time, &c.
1. What is to be said? What hath God wrought! Agents are to be observed, but only God praised. This is to keep up our dependence on God. This is to inspire with adoration and praise. This is to keep human nature in its right place.
2. Who are to say it?
(1) Ministers of the gospel
(2) The pious.
3. When should it be said?
(1) In times of depression, as the means of consolation.
(2) In times of great exertion, as an incitement to perseverance.
(3) In times of great success, to give tone to our exultations.
(4) It will be reiterated in the world of the beatified for ever. There they will see, in one beautiful series, the doings of God--behold the golden chain entire.
Application:
1. Our text may apply to many as to their Christian experience before God. Remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee, &c. (Deu_8:2).
2. The text is appropriate to Christian missions. What enemies, difficulties, and discouragements have been overcome and surmounted! Well may we exclaim, What hath God wrought!
3. Let God ever be exalted for the blessings we enjoy, and for all the good done in us and by us. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The blessings of God and the acknowledgment which it demands
I. The source of effectual blessing. It directs us to the Deity, in His essential character, in His active character, and in His relative character. And what is the interference we wish? Various. Sometimes--
1. Deliverance--from danger internal and external--enchantment.
2. Blessing. I have received commandment to bless, &c
3. Forbearance. He hath not beheld iniquity, &c.
4. Stability. The Lord his God is with him.
5. Complete success.
II. The time from which his interposition is remarked. According to this time it shall be said. The time of--
1. Conversion.
2. Renewed devotion.
3. Peculiar providential arrangement.
4. Earnest and decisive spirit of prayer.
III. The acknowledgement it demands. It shall be said, What hath God wrought!
1. Acknowledgment is implied and expected. God wrought.
2. It is spontaneously offered. It shall be said.
3. It is a personal and explicit token. Jacob and Israel.
4. It is to be recorded and gratefully renewed. According to this time it shall be said, &c. (Samuel Thodey.)
A little trust is better than much foresight
That must have been a wonderful glimpse into the ways of God with men which led a diviner to deny his own art, and to confess that to wait with childlike confidence on God till in due time He reveals His will is a far greater and more precious gift than to force or surprise the secrets of the future and to pass in spirit through the times to be. God met Balaam to purpose when He taught him a truth which men, and even Christian men, have not yet learned--that a little trust is better than much foresight, and that to walk with God in patient and loving dependence is better than to know the things to come. And this insight into the real value of his special gift was part of that training, that discipline, by which, as we have seen, God was seeking to save His servant from his besetting sin; for Balaam was proud of the gift which set him apart from and above his fellows, of the eagle eye and unyielding spirit which made the supernatural as easy and familiar to him as the natural, while they were trembling before every breath of change and finding omens of disaster in the simplest occurrences of daily experience. He was apt to boast that he was the man of an open eye, hearing the voice of God and seeing visions from the Almighty, falling into trances in which the shadows of coming events were cast upon his mind, and that he could read all secrets and understand all mysteries. Unlike the great Hebrew prophets, who humbly confessed that the secret of the Lord is with all who fear Him, and so made themselves one with their fellows, he was perverting his high gifts to purposes of self-exaltation and self-aggrandisement. Was it not, then, most salutary that he should be checked and rebuked in this selfish and perilous course? And how could he be more effectually rebuked than by being shown a whole race possessed of even higher gifts than his own, possessed above all of the gift of waiting for God to reveal His will to them in due time, and so raised out of all dependence on divinations or enchantments? At this spectacle even his own high and sacred endowment seemed but a vulgar toy, and the aspiration was kindled in his breast for that greater good, that greatest of all gifts, the power to walk in ways of righteousness, and to leave the future, with simple trust, in the hands of God. It is a lesson which we still need to learn; for which of us would not rejoice had he prophetic raptures and trances of which to boast, if men looked up to him as possessed of a solitary and mysterious power, and resorted to him that he might forecast their fate and interpret to them the mysteries by which they were perplexed? Which of us does not at times long to pierce the veil and learn how it fares with those whom we have loved and lost awhile, or even what will be the conditions of our own life in years to come or when death shall wear us away, instead of waiting until in due time God shall reveal even this unto us? Let us, then, learn from Balaam, if we have not yet learned it from David or St. Paul, that to rest in the Lord and to wait patiently for Him is a higher achievement than to apprehend all mysteries; and that to do His will in humble trust is a nobler function and power than to foresee what that Will will do. (S. Cox, D. D.)
Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all--
You cannot neutralise God
Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. But Balaam said, No; you cannot treat Gods messengers in that way. As a matter of fact they are here; you have to account for them being here, and to reckon with them while they are here. We cannot quiet things by ignoring them. By simply writing Unknowable across the heavens we really do not exclude supernatural or immeasurable forces. The ribbon is too narrow to shut out the whole heaven; it is but a little strip; it looks contemptible against the infinite arch. We do not exclude God by denying Him, nor by saying that we do not know Him or that He cannot be known. We cannot neutralise God, so as to make Him neither the one thing nor the other. So Balaam was the greatest mystery Balak had to deal with. It is the same with the Bible-Gods supernatural Book. It will not lie where we want it to lie: it has a way of getting up through the dust that gathers upon it and shaking itself, and making its pages felt. It will open at the wrong place; would it open at some catalogue of names, it might be tolerated, bat it opens at hot places, where white thrones are and severe judgments, and where scales are tried and measuring wands are tested. It will speak to the soul about the wrong-doing that never came to anything, and the wicked thought that would have burned the heavens and scattered dishonour upon the throne of God. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 hardship in Jacob ... trouble in Israel
hardship in Jacob ... trouble in Israel
These two phrases mean the same thing. Possible meanings are 1) God has given Israel only good things or 2) there is no sin in Israel that would cause him to judge them. (See: Parallelism)
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shouts for their king are among them
"they shout with joy because Yahweh is their king"
with strength like that of a wild ox
This simile says that Yahweh's great strength is equal to an ox. (See: Simile)
translationWords
Jacob
trouble
king
Egypt
strength
cow
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.