The importance of this case is the fact that it was directed against a nation whose future already had been determined by covenant promise of a providentially controlled welfare. Space does not permit discussion of the ancient practice of attempting to control another’s fate by use of magic, but it was given a wide place among Israel’s neighbors. It appears most likely that Balaam belonged to a family in which magical arts were hereditary. Balak sent to Mesopotamia for Balaam who was not a navi’ (prophet) but a hakkisim (soothsayer) whose activity was condemned ( Deut 18). The ill-fated attempt to derail the train of historic events and to grind its progress to a halt provide another grand demonstration that divine purposes cannot be thwarted. Jehovah’s rigid control of the activities of the pagan Balaam is basically a conflict of powers-a conflict between providence and magic. It continues as Balak’s attempt to destroy Israel with a curse turns into a contest of who can and will control the fate of the Hebrews. The pattern first emerges in boldness in Egypt just prior to the Exodus. This activity is a part of the redemptive pattern in which Jehovah delivers His people by entering into conflict with hostile forces. This it does through a series of conflicts in which Jehovah is pitted against foreign gods or against the practices carried on under them. faith over that of her neighbors and the totally invincible security it provides. A second part of the picture which the OT attempts to paint is the undeniable superiority of Heb. This is the Bible’s way of saying that mankind, particularly when it chooses to oppose the divine will, acts out of fear and desperation.Ģ. First Jericho, then Moab and Midian trembled before Jehovah. It had been true since the day in which God had said to Joshua, “no man shall be able to stand before thee.” Terror had gripped the nations wherever the story of the advancing Hebrews had spread. The countries through which the incoming nation passed faced not just the challenge of a new neighbor but also the progress of the divine purpose in the world and history. Hebrew accomplishments under Jehovah’s control had struck fear into the heart of everyone in the path of the national advance. The account of Balaam and his nefarious activity is a part of the Biblical record because Balak feared the advancing Israelites. The primary concern of the OT is the reader’s view of God and His activities. Meanwhile, the real nature of the divine activity in Israel’s history has suffered. Far too often the questions of whether there is more than one Balaam, whether there is one account or two, the strange behavior of Balaam’s animal, and Balaam’s relationship to Jehovah have dominated the scholar’s interest in Balaam. The concern with problems arising in the Balaam account tends to obscure the picture the OT attempts to paint. Soothsayer from Mesopotamia secured by Balak to curse Israel.ġ.
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