Kings we read of two prophets, the one a lier and afterwards infpired, the other infpired and afterwards difobedient to the word of the Lord. Yea our Saviour himself hath affured us, (Matt. VII. 22, 23.) that in the last day many will fay unto him, Lord, Lord, have we not prophefied in thy name? and in thy name have caft out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? and yet will he profefs unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Balaam was a remarkable inftance of both kinds, both of a prophet who was a heathen, and of a prophet who was an immoral man. He came from Aram or Mefopotamia, out of the mountains of the caft: (Numb. XXIII. 7. Deut. XXIII. 4.) and the eaft was infamous for foothfayers and diviners. (If. II. 6.) However he was a worthipper of the true God, (as were alfo Melchizedek, and Job, and others of the heathen nations) and this appears by his applying to God, (Numb. XXII. 8.) I will bring you word again, as the Lord fhall Speak unto me; and by his calling the Lord his God, (ver. 18.) I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more. But his worship was mixed and debased with fuperftition, as appears by his building feven altars, and facrificing on each altar, (Numb. XXIII. 1, 2.) and by his going to feek for inchantments, whatever they were. (Numb. XXIV. 1.) He appears too to have had fome pious thoughts and refolutions, by declaring I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do lefs or more; and by fo earneftly withing Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. (XXIII. 10.) But his heart was unfound, was mercenary, was corrupt; he loved the wages of unrighteoufnefs, (2 Pet. II. 15.) and ran greedily after rewards: (Jude 11.) his inclinations were contrary to his duty; he was ordered to ftay, but yet he wished to go; he was commanded to blefs, but yet he longed to curfe; and when he found that he was overruled, and could do the people no hurt as a prophet, he ftill contrived to do it as a politician, and taught Balak to caft a ftumbling block before the children of Ifrael, to eat things facrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. (Rev. II. 14.) So that he was indeed a ftrange mixture of a man; but fo is every man more or lefs. There are inconfiftencies and contradictions in every character, tho' not fo great perhaps and notorious as in Balaam. If he is called a footh-fayer in one part of the fcripture, (Joth. XIII. 22.) in another part he is called a prophet: (2 Pet. II. 16.) and his name must have been in high credit and eftimation, that the king of Moab and the elders of Midian fhould think it worth their while to fend two honourable embaffies to him at a confiderable diftance, to engage him to come and curfe the people of Ifrael. It was a fuperftitious ceremony in ufe among the Heathens to devote their enemies to deftruction at the beginning of their wars, as if the gods would enter into their paffions, and were as unjuft and partial as themfelves. The Romans had public officers to perform the ceremony, and (1) Macrobius hath preferved the form of thefe execrations. Now Balaam being a prophet of great note and eminence, it was believed that he was more intimate than others with the heavenly powers, and confequently that his imprecations would be more effectual; for as Balak faid unto him (Numb. XXII. 6.) I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou curfeft is curfed. But the ftrangeft incident of all is the part of Balaam's afs. This ufually is made the grand objection to the truth of the story. The fpeaking afs from that time to this hath been the ftanding jeft of every infidel brother. Philo the Jew feemeth to have been afhamed of this part of the ftory: for in the first book of his life of Mofes, wherein he hath given an account of Balaam, he hath purpofely omitted this particular of the afs's fpeaking, I fuppofe not to give offenfe to the Gentiles; but he needed not to have been fo cautious of offending them, for fimilar ftories were current among them. The learned (2) Bochart hath collected feveral inftances, the afs of Bacchus, the ram of Phrixus, the horse of Achilles, and the like, not only from the poets and mythologists, but alfo from the graveft hiftorians, fuch (1) Saturnal. Lib. 3. Cap. 9. (2) Hierozoic. Pars prior. Lib. 2. Cap. 14. as as Livy and Plutarch, who frequently affirm that oxen have spoken. The proper ufe of citing fuch authorities is not to prove, that thofe inftances and this of Balaam are upon an equal footing, and equally true; but only: to prove, that the Gentiles believed fuch things to be true, and to lie within the power of their gods, and confequently could not object to the truth of feripturehiftory on this account. Maimonides and others have conceived, that the matter was tranfacted in a vifion: and it must be confeffed that many things in the writings of the prophets are spoken of as real tranfactions, which were only vifionary; and thefe vifions made as ftrong impreffions upon the minds of the prophets as realities. But it appears rather more probable from the whole tenor of the narration, that this was no vifionary, but a real tranfaction. The words of St. Peter fhow, that it is to be understood, as he himself understood it, litterally: (2 Pet. II. 14, 15, 16.) Curfed children: Which have forfaken the right way, and are gone aftray, following the way of Balaam the fon of Bofor, who loved the wages of unrighteoufnefs; but was rebuked for his iniquity; the dumb afs Speaking with man's voice, forbad the madness of the prophet. The afs was enabled to utter fuch and fuch founds, probably, as parrots do, without understanding them and fay what you will of the conftruction of the afs's mouth, of the formation of the tongue and jaws being unfit for fpeaking, yet an adequate caufe is affigned for this wonderful effect, for it is faid exprefly, that the Lord opened the mouth of the afs; and no one who believes a God, can doubt of his having power to do this, and much more. If the whole tranfaction was visionary, no reafon can be given why it was faid particularly that the Lord opened the mouth of the afs. But it is thought ftrange that Balaam fhould exprefs no furprise upon this extraordinary occafion: but perhaps he had been accustomed to prodigies with his inchantments: or perhaps believing the eastern doctrin of the tranfmigration of human fouls into the bodies of brutes, he might think fuch a humanized brute not incapable of fpeaking: or perhaps he might not regard, or attend to the wonder, through excefs of rage and madness, as the word is in F 3 St. St. Peter: or perhaps (which is the most probable of all) he might be greatly disturbed and astonished, as (3) Jofephus affirms he was, and yet Mofes in his fhort hiftory might omit this circumftance. The miracle was by no. means needlefs or fuperfluous; it was very proper to convince Balaam, that the mouth and tongue were under God's direction, and that the fame divine power which caufed the dumb afs to fpeak contrary to its nature, could make him in like manner utter bleffings contrary to his inclination. And accordingly he was overruled to blefs the people, tho' he came prepared and difpofed to curfe them, which according to (4) Bochart was the greater miracle of the two, for the afs was merely paffive, but Balaam refifted the good motions. of God. We may be the more certain that he was influenced to fpeak contrary to his inclination, becaufe after he had done prophefying, though he had been ordered in anger to depart and flee to his place; (Numb. XXIV. 10, 11.) yet he had the meannefs to ftay, and gave that wicked counfel, whereby the people were inticed to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab, and twenty and four thoufand died in the plague. (Numb. XXV.) This miracle then was a proper fign to Balaam, and had a proper effect; and we may the more eafily believe it, when we find Balaam afterwards infpired with fuch knowlege of futurity. It was not more above the natural capacity of the afs to fpeak, than it was above the natural capacity of Balaam to foretel fo many diftant events. The prophecies render the miracle more credible; and we fhall have lefs reafon to doubt of the one, when we fee the accomplishment of the others. His predictions (3) Antiq. Jud. Lib. 4. Cap. 6. Sed. 2. ταραττομενε δ' αυτε δια την της ον φωνην ανθρωπινήν εσαν, κ. τ. a. Dum vero ille voce humana afinæ attonitus turbatusque &c. p. 150. Edit. Hudfon. (4) Rabba in Numeros Sect. 20. Deum afferit os afiræ ideo aperuiffe, ut Balaamum doceret, os, et linguam penes fe effe, adecque os ipfius Balaami, fi quæreret Ifraeli maledicere. Et vero id docuit eventus, cum Balaam iis ipfis invitus benedixit, quibus maledicturus tanto apparatu venerat, non minore oraculo, aut etiam majore, quam cum afina locuta eft. Afina enim erat merè patiens, fed Balaam moventi Deo pro virili obfiftebat, ut Saul, cum prophetam egit. Hierozoic. Pars prior. Lib. z. Cap. 14. are are indeed wonderful, whether we confider the matter or the ftile; as if the fame divine spirit that inspired his thoughts, had also raised his language. They are called parables in the facred text: he took up his parable, and faid. The fame word is ufed after the fame manner in the book of Job, (XXVII. 1. XXIX. 1.) Moreover Job continued his parable, and faid. It is commonly tranflated parable or proverb. Le Clerc tranflates it figuratam orationem: and thereby is meant a weighty and folemn fpeech delivered in figurative and majestic language. Such, remarkably fuch (5) are the prophecies or parables of Balaam. You cannot perufe them without being ftruck with the beauty of them. You will perceive uncommon force and energy, if you read them only in our English translation. We fhall felect only fuch parts as are more immediately relative to the defign of thefe difcourfes. After he had offered his firft facrifice, (Numb. XXIII.) he went to feek the Lord, and at his return he declared among other things, Lo, the people fhall dwell alone, and Shall not be reckoned among the nations. (ver. 9.) And how could Balaam upon a diftant view only of a people, Balaam's prophecies into Latin verfe, Prælect. 20. p. 206. The learned. reader will not be displeased to see is (5) See to this purpofe Mr. Lowth's Tuis, Jacobe, quantus eft caftris decor! Ut rigua vallis fertilem pandens finum ; Sacris Edenæ cotti ut in fylvis virent, Illi uda multo rore ftillant germina, Qualis remotis liber in jugis oryx Vorabit hoftes; offa franget; irritas Lacerabit haftas dentibus. Ut Leo, recumbit; ut leæna, decubat ; Quis audeat laceffere? Que quifque tibi precabitur, ferat bona ! Mala quæ precabitur, luat! |