Numbers 23:23 Study Bible: Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God done.

◄ Numbers 23:23 ►

For there is no spell against Jacob and no divination against Israel. It will now be said of Jacob and Israel, 'What great things God has done!'

Study Bible

For there is no spell against Jacob
This phrase emphasizes the divine protection over the nation of Israel, represented by Jacob. In the ancient Near East, sorcery and spells were common practices used to curse or harm enemies. However, God’s covenant with Jacob (Israel) ensures that no magical or spiritual force can prevail against them. This reflects God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, where He declares that He will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse them. The protection is not due to Israel's own strength but because of God's sovereign will and His faithfulness to His promises.

and no divination against Israel.
Divination was a practice used to seek knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means. In the context of Numbers 23, Balaam, a prophet hired by Balak, king of Moab, attempts to curse Israel through divination. However, God intervenes, demonstrating His control over all spiritual realms and His commitment to Israel's welfare. This phrase underscores the futility of any attempt to use divination against God's chosen people. It also highlights the theme of God's omnipotence and His ability to thwart human plans, as seen in Isaiah 54:17, where it is stated that no weapon formed against God's people will prosper.

It will now be said of Jacob and Israel,
This anticipates a future recognition of God's mighty works on behalf of Israel. The repetition of "Jacob" and "Israel" emphasizes the continuity of God's promises from the patriarch Jacob to the nation of Israel. It suggests a testimony that will be acknowledged by others, reflecting the idea that God's actions on behalf of His people will be so evident that they will be spoken of widely. This is reminiscent of the Exodus narrative, where God's deliverance of Israel from Egypt became known among the nations (Joshua 2:10).

‘What great things God has done!’
This exclamation points to the miraculous and mighty acts of God in the history of Israel. It is a declaration of praise and recognition of God's intervention and blessings. The phrase echoes the sentiment found in Psalm 126:3, where the psalmist declares, "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." It also foreshadows the ultimate deliverance and redemption found in Jesus Christ, who fulfills the promises made to Israel and extends God's blessings to all nations. This acknowledgment of God's deeds serves as a reminder of His faithfulness and the assurance that His purposes will be accomplished.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Balaam
A non-Israelite prophet hired by Balak to curse Israel. Despite his intentions, God uses him to bless Israel instead.

2. Balak
The king of Moab who fears the Israelites and seeks to curse them through Balaam.

3. Jacob
Represents the nation of Israel, the descendants of Jacob, whom God has chosen and blessed.

4. Israel
The chosen people of God, whom He protects and blesses, demonstrating His power and sovereignty.

5. Moab
The land ruled by Balak, representing opposition to God's people.

Teaching Points

Divine Protection
God's protection over His people is absolute. Just as no curse could prevail against Israel, believers today can trust in God's sovereign protection over their lives.

God's Sovereignty
The events in Numbers 23 demonstrate God's control over all circumstances. Even when others intend harm, God can turn it into a blessing.

Faith Over Fear
Believers are called to live by faith, not fear. Knowing that God is for us should embolden us to face challenges with confidence.

The Power of God's Word
Balaam's inability to curse Israel highlights the power and authority of God's word. What God has blessed, no one can curse.

Witness to God's Work
The phrase "See what God has done!" encourages believers to be witnesses to God's work in their lives, sharing testimonies of His faithfulness and power.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does the account of Balaam and Balak illustrate God's protection over His people?

2. In what ways can we apply the assurance of divine protection in Numbers 23:23 to our daily lives?

3. How does the concept of God's sovereignty in Numbers 23:23 relate to other scriptures that speak of His control over circumstances?

4. What are some modern-day "curses" or challenges that believers face, and how can we rely on God's promises to overcome them?

5. How can we actively witness to others about "what God has done" in our lives, as encouraged by the outcome of Balaam's prophecy?

Connections to Other Scriptures

Genesis 12:3
God's promise to Abraham that He will bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him, showing the divine protection over Israel.

Isaiah 54:17
The assurance that no weapon formed against God's people will prosper, echoing the protection seen in Numbers 23:23.

Romans 8:31
The New Testament affirmation that if God is for us, who can be against us, reflecting the same divine protection and favor.

Psalm 105:15
God's command not to harm His anointed ones, which aligns with the protection over Israel in Numbers 23:23.

1 John 4:4
The assurance that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world, paralleling the theme of divine protection.

Sermons

Balaam - the Second Parable	J. Waite	Numbers 23:23
The Second Prophecy. Balak's State of Mind	D. Young	Numbers 23:13-26
A Little Trust is Better than Much Foresight	S. Cox, D. D.	Numbers 23:21-24
Impregnable Security of Israel	J. Burns, D. D.	Numbers 23:21-24
The Best War-Cry		Numbers 23:21-24
The Blessings of God and the Acknowledgment Which it Demands	Samuel Thodey.	Numbers 23:21-24
The Divine Presence Needed in the Church	E. T. Leeke, M. A.	Numbers 23:21-24
The Justification of God's People	F. Whitfield, M. A.	Numbers 23:21-24
The Prophecies of Balaam	W. Roberts.	Numbers 23:21-24
You Cannot Neutralise God	J. Parker, D. D.	Numbers 23:21-24

People

Aram, Balaam, Balak, Jacob, Moses, Zippor

Places

Aram, Bamoth-baal, Egypt, Moab, Peor, Pisgah

Topics

Arts, Divination, Effect, Enchantment, Evil, Jacob, Omen, Power, Proper, Secret, Surely, Wrought

Dictionary of Bible Themes

Numbers 23:23

4185 sorcery and magic

Numbers 23:18-26

1421 oracles

Library

An Unfulfilled Desire
'... Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!'--NUM. xxiii. 10. '... Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.'--NUM. xiii. 8. Ponder these two pictures. Take the first scene. A prophet, who knows God and His will, is standing on the mountain top, and as he looks down over the valley beneath him, with its acacia-trees and swift river, there spread the tents of Israel. He sees them, and knows that they are 'a people whom the Lord hath blessed.' Brought there …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists, …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Balaam's Wish Num 23:10
…
John Newton—Olney Hymns

The Night of Miracles on the Lake of Gennesaret
THE last question of the Baptist, spoken in public, had been: Art Thou the Coming One, or look we for another?' It had, in part, been answered, as the murmur had passed through the ranks: This One is truly the Prophet, the Coming One!' So, then, they had no longer to wait, nor to look for another! And this Prophet' was Israel's long expected Messiah. What this would imply to the people, in the intensity and longing of the great hope which, for centuries, nay, far beyond the time of Ezra, had swayed …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Nature of Spiritual Hunger
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness Matthew 5:6 We are now come to the fourth step of blessedness: Blessed are they that hunger'. The words fall into two parts: a duty implied; a promise annexed. A duty implied: Blessed are they that hunger'. Spiritual hunger is a blessed hunger. What is meant by hunger? Hunger is put for desire (Isaiah 26:9). Spiritual hunger is the rational appetite whereby the soul pants after that which it apprehends most suitable and proportional …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12

Memoir of John Bunyan
THE FIRST PERIOD. THIS GREAT MAN DESCENDED FROM IGNOBLE PARENTS--BORN IN POVERTY--HIS EDUCATION AND EVIL HABITS--FOLLOWS HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS AS A BRAZIER--ENLISTS FOR A SOLDIER--RETURNS FROM THE WARS AND OBTAINS AN AMIABLE, RELIGIOUS WIFE--HER DOWER. 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.'--2 Cor 4:7 'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.'--Isaiah 55:8. 'Though ye have lien among the …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

How those are to be Admonished who Abstain not from the Sins which they Bewail, and those Who, Abstaining from Them, Bewail them Not.
(Admonition 31.) Differently to be admonished are those who lament their transgressions, and yet forsake them not, and those who forsake them, and yet lament them not. For those who lament their transgressions and yet forsake them not are to be admonished to learn to consider anxiously that they cleanse themselves in vain by their weeping, if they wickedly defile themselves in their living, seeing that the end for which they wash themselves in tears is that, when clean, they may return to filth. …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Fragrant Spices from the Mountains of Myrrh. "Thou Art all Fair, My Love; There is no Spot in Thee. " --Song of Solomon iv. 7.
FRAGRANT SPICES FROM THE MOUNTAINS OF MYRRH. HOW marvellous are these words! "Thou art all fair, My love; there is no spot in thee." The glorious Bridegroom is charmed with His spouse, and sings soft canticles of admiration. When the bride extols her Lord there is no wonder, for He deserves it well, and in Him there is room for praise without possibility of flattery. But does He who is wiser than Solomon condescend to praise this sunburnt Shulamite? Tis even so, for these are His own words, and were …
Charles Hadden Spurgeon—Till He Come

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners Or, a Brief Relation of the Exceeding Mercy of God in Christ, to his Poor Servant, John Bunyan
In this my relation of the merciful working of God upon my soul, it will not be amiss, if in the first place, I do in a few words give you a hint of my pedigree, and manner of bringing up; that thereby the goodness and bounty of God towards me, may be the more advanced and magnified before the sons of men. 2. For my descent then, it was, as is well known by many, of a low and inconsiderable generation; my father's house being of that rank that is meanest, and most despised of all the families in …
John Bunyan—Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners

Christ a Complete Saviour:
OR, THE INTERCESSION OF CHRIST, AND WHO ARE PRIVILEGED IN IT. BY JOHN BUNYAN Advertisement by the Editor. However strange it may appear, it is a solemn fact, that the heart of man, unless prepared by a sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, rejects Christ as a complete Saviour. The pride of human nature will not suffer it to fall, as helpless and utterly undone, into the arms of Divine mercy. Man prefers a partial Saviour; one who had done so much, that, with the sinner's aid, the work might be …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Of the Decrees of God.
Eph. i. 11.--"Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."--Job xxiii. 13. "He is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth." Having spoken something before of God, in his nature and being and properties, we come, in the next place, to consider his glorious majesty, as he stands in some nearer relation to his creatures, the work of his hands. For we must conceive the first rise of all things in the world to be in this self-being, the first conception …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

The Heavenly Footman; Or, a Description of the Man that Gets to Heaven:
TOGETHER WITH THE WAY HE RUNS IN, THE MARKS HE GOES BY; ALSO, SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO RUN SO AS TO OBTAIN. 'And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.'--Genesis 19:17. London: Printed for John Marshall, at the Bible in Gracechurch Street, 1698. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. About forty years ago a gentleman, in whose company I had commenced my …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

The Desire of the Righteous Granted;
OR, A DISCOURSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN'S DESIRES. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR As the tree is known by its fruit, so is the state of a man's heart known by his desires. The desires of the righteous are the touchstone or standard of Christian sincerity--the evidence of the new birth--the spiritual barometer of faith and grace--and the springs of obedience. Christ and him crucified is the ground of all our hopes--the foundation upon which all our desires after God and holiness are built--and the root …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Thirdly, for Thy Actions.
1. Do no evil, though thou mightest; for God will not suffer the least sin, without bitter repentance, to escape unpunished. Leave not undone any good that thou canst. But do nothing without a calling, nor anything in thy calling, till thou hast first taken counsel at God's word (1 Sam. xxx. 8) of its lawfulness, and pray for his blessings upon thy endeavour; and then do it in the name of God, with cheerfulness of heart, committing the success to him, in whose power it is to bless with his grace …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Unchangeableness of God
The next attribute is God's unchangeableness. I am Jehovah, I change not.' Mal 3:3. I. God is unchangeable in his nature. II. In his decree. I. Unchangeable in his nature. 1. There is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period put to his being. [1] No eclipse of his brightness. His essence shines with a fixed lustre. With whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' James 1:17. Thou art the same.' Psa 102:27. All created things are full of vicissitudes. Princes and emperors are subject to …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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