ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 Tu’apulelulu Siulai 1, 2021 

Te u tutuku‘i fēfē ha taha kuo ‘ikai tutuku‘i ‘e ‘Ela?

How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?

Nomipa 23 (Numbers 23)

 

G. Campbell Morgan's Exposition on the Whole Bible

The first of Balaam's prophecies was uttered in the midst of strange surroundings.

Sacrifices were offered to heathen gods, while Balaam turned aside to inquire of Jehovah. The result was that we have in his prophesying the first of a series of utterances concerning Israel which are among the most sublime in the whole of Scripture. In this first we have a central declaration, Lo, it is a people that dwell alone.

It constitutes a vision of the nation as separated from others because of the divine attitude toward them. The prophecy ended with a sigh which shows how profound was his conviction of the high privilege of the nation . . . . Let me die the death of the righteous, And let my last end be like his!

Balak now took Balaam to another point of vision. The result was a prophecy which gave yet another view of the people. Of this the central statement is . . . Jehovah his God is with him,

And the shout of a King is among them.

Thus the people were seen as governed and guided by God and therefore victorious. The burden of this second utterance was the certainty that all the purposes of God must be accomplished when God Himself was King in the midst. The reading of this chapter should conclude at verse twenty-six, as the next section leads to that which follows.

 

David Guzik :: Study Guide for Numbers 23

(v. 7-8) Pea ofa‘aki ‘e ia ‘ene ta‘anga, ‘o ne pehē, Ko Pēlaki kuo ne ‘omi au mei ‘Ālame, Ko e Tu‘i Moape mei he ngaahi mo‘unga ‘o Hahake: “Ha‘u, ‘o tukitala‘i ‘a Sēkope ma‘aku, ‘Io, ha‘u ā, ‘o tuku ‘a ‘Isileli ki he houhau.” Te u tutuku‘i fēfē ha taha kuo ‘ikai tutuku‘i ‘e ‘Ela? Mo fakahouhau‘i fēfē, ka kuo ‘ikai fakahouhau‘i ‘e Sihova?

(v. 7-8)  And he took up his oracle and said: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, From the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, And come, denounce Israel!’ “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?

a. Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel: God knew exactly what Balak wanted. He wanted a spiritual curse on Israel so that they could be defeated in battle.

b. How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Yet, Balaam or any other prophet could not curse Israel if God had not cursed them. Therefore, Balak's money was wasted.

c. Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Instead, through Balaam God promised to bless Israel by making them a singular nation and blessing them with great size.

d. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his! Balaam concluded his oracle (another word for a prophecy) with this longing. Balaam was one of the many who long to die the death of the righteous, yet have no desire to live the life of the righteous. The two go together.