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say, with wonder and gratitude, What hath God wrought! Our enemies themselves own that he hath done great things for us. Israel is called upon to remember what Balak designed to do; and we shall be peculiarly inexcusable, if we, for whom God hath so frequently and so remarkably appeared, do not know the righteousness of the Lord. Let God have the praise of all our mercies; and we may always adore him who sitteth upon the circle of heaven, guarding his church with a watchful eye, and causing, as in the instance before us, the wrath of man to praise him.

CHAP. XXIV.

We have here the conclusion of the business between Balaam and

Balak.

ND when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness, where Israel was encamped, waiting for what God would sug2 gest to him on this occasion. And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding [in his tents] according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him in an extraor 3 dinary manner, and differently from what it did before.

And

he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, even he, who was bent upon cursing Israel, must and will affirm it, that they shall be blessed, and the man whose eyes are open hath said, whose understanding God hath in a supernatural manner enlightened to discern what will happen to A the Israelites in future lages: He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling [into a trance,] but having his eyes open, that is, having a clear apprehension of things, though the vision of the Lord (see chap. xxii. 35, chap. xxiii. 16.) was so glorious, that he could not but fall under it. Then viewing Israel encamped in their proper di5 visions, he said, How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, [and] thy 6 tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth,

or stretched out, as gardens by the river's side, which are peculiarly beautiful, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD 7 hath planted, [and] as cedar trees beside the waters.* He shall pour the water out of his buckets, or clouds, and his seed [shall be] in many waters; that is, God shall water this beautiful garden and make it exceeding fruitful; and his king shall

Sweet smelling trees in Arabia and India, which grew naturally, without culture, and were stately, fragrant, and useful.

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be higher than Agag, have a greater name than any of the kings of the Amalekites, and his kingdom shall be exalted.* 8 God brought him forth out of Egypt, he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows, as easily as a rhinoceros destroys his prey. 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion; who shall stir him up?t Blessed [is] he that blesseth thee, and cursed [is] he that curseth thee.

10

And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together, with a mixture of grief and indignation ; and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed [them] 11 these three times. Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee upto great honour; but, lo, the LORD, whom thou pretendest to obey, hath kept thee back from 12 honour. And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to 13 thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do [either] good or bad of mine own mind; [but] what the LORD saith, that will I speak; thus endeavouring to moderate Balak's anger, and to obtain a patient hearing of what he was farther going to 14 say. And now, behold, I go unto my people: come [therefore, and] I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.

15

16

And, after a solemn pause, he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: He hath said which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, [which] saw the vision of the Almighty, falling [into a trance,] but having 17 his eyes open: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh, that is, the Messiah, whom he probably saw in a vision, and therefore broke out in this abrupt manner, I shall behold him, but at a great distance off, many ages to come: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, or smite through the princes of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.||

This was fulfilled in the days of David, when the Amalekites were destroyed.

These were Jacob's words concerning Judah; he may lie any where, without shelter or fear, for none dare awake or provoke him. Having conquered the Canaanites, and taken possession of their land, he shall securely and quietly rest and settle himself there. He then adds the blessing which Isaac pronounced upon Jacob their ancestor.

A king of the seed and posterity of Jacob, who shall shine as a star in the resplendent glory of his person and kingdom, meaning David or Solomon, as types of Christ, but chiefly Christ himself, Rev. xxii. 16. John i. 9.

These last words lead me to apprehend, that the whole of this is a prophecy of Christ, The children of Sheth, mean all mankind; and instead of destroy, it should be rendered, rule over. He shall establish an universal kingdom, in which there shall be no distinction of Jews and Gentiles; he shall rule over all the nations of the earth.

18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be à possession for his enemies, and Israel shall do valiantly, the church or kingdom of Christ shall prevail over all his enemies. 19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, who shall be a very exalted prince, and have the government upon his shoulders, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city, those who are fled to the best fortified places, and make the strongest resistance.

20

21

And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek [was] the first of the nations, the most powerful, or, the first that made war against Israel, but his latter end [shall be] that he perish for ever, he shall be rooted out from the face of the earth; which was fulfilled in the days of Saul and David.

And he looked on the Kenites, the posterity or kindred of Jethro, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwelling place, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock; their dwelling was in a mountainous country with many natural fortresses, 22 Nevertheless the Kenites shall be wasted, until Ashur shall 23 carry thee away captive.* And, after another solemn pause,

he took up his parable, and said, Alas! who shall live when God doeth this! What miserable times will these be! who shall keep his heart from fainting under such miserable calamities! and how few shall escape the savord and the captivity! 24 And ships [shall come] from the coast of Chittim, whose posterity were settled in Greece and Italy, and shall afflict Ashur, the Assyrians, and shall afflict Eber, the Hebrews, and he also; that is, Chittim, shall perish for ever.†

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And Balaam, after giving the king this wicked advice, rose up, and went and returned to his place, and was soon after slain among the Midianites: and Balak also went his way.

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REFLECTIONS.

E may hence learn what little stress is to be laid on the natural abilities of a bad man. Balaam perhaps was a wise, artful man, had been favoured with extraordinary revelations, and saw visions; yet he was a very wicked wretch. It signifies nothing to profess to know God if in works we deny him. An enlightened understanding, without a sanctified heart,

*They were wasted by frequent attacks, till the Assyrians carried them away, when they carried captive the ten tribes.

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The first of these seems to refer to the expedition of Alexander the Great, who, in Mac. i. I. is said to come from Kittim. He destroyed the Medes and Persians, who had subdued the Assyrians and Babylonians. The Romans also after Christ's time, in the reign of Trajan, overcame the remains of the Assyrians, and made that country a province. The last passage, and shall afflict Eber, refers to the Romans, who came from Kittim, that is, Italy, in ships, and destroyed the Jews under Vespasian. And he also, that is, the Roman empire, shall perish for ever, shall be entirely destroyed. This event is yet to come.

will only serve to make us more miserable. Could we understand all mysteries, have all knowledge, and all revelations, yet without charity, without love to God and man, we are nothing: like Balaam, entirely deficient, unless the heart be upright, and free from malice and covetousness.

2. Observe God's love to his church, and the gracious manner in which he overrules the devices of men: He again obliges Balaam to bless those whom he intended to curse. How precious were Israel's tents in the sight of God! Moses calls upon Israel to remember this, how Balak hired Balaam to curse them; but the Lord their God turned the curse into a blessing. God watches over his church; frustrates the designs of its enemies; and turns their councils into foolishness. The church is his garden, his vineyard, a fragrant, fruitful plantation of his own planting. He will pour out water upon it; his ordinances and Spirit shall make it fruitful. He will wall it about, to keep it from enemies, and water it every moment: from him our fruit is found. Let the church rejoice in its friend and protector, and wait on God for her salvation.

3. Let us rejoice that this remarkable prophecy of Balaam is so far fulfilled, and hope for the accomplishment of the rest. Christ arose as a Star out of Jacob, bright and illustrious; brought many nations under his government; diffused his light through many parts of the world; ordered his gospel to be preached to every creature, that is, to all the nations of the earth. Let us be thankful for his reviving beams, walk in their light, and expect a further spread of them, even from sea to sea, and from shore to shore; a time, when all nations shall fly to his church, as doves to the windows, and the whole world shall be obedient to the faith. Let us also reflect with pleasure, that antichrist shall be destroyed to make way for this event; that the power of the Romish church shall be broken, and papal authority be quite destroyed. Should the pope, like Balaam, labour to curse God's Israel, for the sake of unrighteous gain; the curse causeless shall not come; though they curse, God will bless. His church shall continue, nor shall the gates of Rome or hell prevail against it. That tyrannical and wicked power shall be destroyed, and so a way shall be made for the conversion of the Jews, and the calling in of the Gentiles. A glorious day shall then dawn, when all the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord and his anointed. But who shall live when God doeth all this?

CHAP. XXV.

The Israelites wickedness and idolatry; Zimri and Cozbi slain.

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before they entered Canaan, just on the borders of Jordan; and the people began to commit whoredom with the 2 daughters of Moab and Midian. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods; the daughters of Moab and Midian invited them to their idolatrous feasts, whereby they were at length drawn to open idolatry; and this was done by the advice 3 of Balaam, (ch. xxxi. 16. Rev. ii. 14.) And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor; to Baal, who was worshipped on the hill Peor; they joined in his worship and service, eat of the sacrifices which were offered to him, and fell in with all the unclean rites which were practised by his worshippers; and the 4 anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. And the LORD said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, such as were ringleaders in these sins; or rather, call the princes and elders together, let them examine into the matter, and hang them up before the LORD against the sun; that is, hang the guilty in the face of the sun, which they have worshipped under the name of Baal, that the fierce anger of the LORD may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, to the rulers of thousands, and hundreds, and tens, who assisted him in the government, Slay ye every one his men that were joined unto Baalpeor, spare none in your particular district, whom you have found guilty.

6

And, behold, one of the children of Israel, who was not contented with going himself to these levd women, came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who [were] weeping [before] the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, bewailing the abominable wickedness of the people, and the dreadful judgments of God, and imploring his mer7cy. And when Phinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw [it,] he rose up from among the con8 gregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went af ter the man of Israel into the tent, and, in the greatness of his zeal, thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from ⚫ the children of Israel. And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand.*

The apostle says, Cor. x. 8. twenty three thonsand; so many died of the plague, and one thousand by the hand of the magistrates. It is probable that the judges did not execute their commission with sufficient zeal, therefore God took the work into his own hands.

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