Numbers 23
Deuteronomy 23 contains regulations concerning participation in the assembly, cleanliness in the military camp, protection of escaped slaves, prohibition of certain cultic practices, interest, vows, and limited use of a neighbor’s crops. The chapter is concerned with holiness, social order, and restraint within the covenant community.
1verseBalaam said to Balak, “Build here seven altars for me, and prepare here seven bulls and seven rams for me.”
2verseBalak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bull and a ram.
3verseBalaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me. Whatever he shows me I will tell you.” He went to a bare height.
4verseGod met Balaam, and he said to him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.”
5verseThe LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”
6verseHe returned to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, he, and all the princes of Moab.
7verseHe took up his parable, and said, “From Aram has Balak brought me, the king of Moab from the mountains of the East. Come, curse Jacob for me. Come, defy Israel.
8verseHow shall I curse whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy whom the LORD has not defied?
9verseFor from the top of the rocks I see him. From the hills I see him. Behold, it is a people that dwells alone, and shall not be listed among the nations.
10verseWho can count the dust of Jacob, or count the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous! Let my last end be like his!”
11verseBalak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them altogether.”
12verseHe answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth?”
13verseBalak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, where you may see them. You shall see just part of them, and shall not see them all. Curse them from there for me.”
14verseHe took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
15verseHe said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet God over there.”
16verseThe LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and say this.”
17verseHe came to him, and behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”
18verseHe took up his parable, and said, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, you son of Zippor.
19verseGod is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should repent. Has he said, and he won’t do it? Or has he spoken, and he won’t make it good?
20verseBehold, I have received a command to bless. He has blessed, and I can’t reverse it.
21verseHe has not seen iniquity in Jacob. Neither has he seen perverseness in Israel. The LORD his God is with him. The shout of a king is among them.
22verseGod brings them out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox.
23verseSurely 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!’
24verseBehold, a people rises up as a lioness. As a lion he lifts himself up. He shall not lie down until he eats of the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.”
25verseBalak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all.”
26verseBut Balaam answered Balak, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”
27verseBalak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”
28verseBalak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that looks down on the desert.
29verseBalaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”
30verseBalak did as Balaam had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
Rules for the Assembly and Cleanliness
Verses 1–8 discuss who may enter the assembly of the LORD, including restrictions connected to bodily condition, ancestry, and relations with surrounding peoples. Verses 9–14 address cleanliness in the war camp, including bodily emissions and sanitation, because the camp is described as a place where the LORD walks among the people.
Protection, Worship, and Justice
Verses 15–16 command that an escaped slave must not be returned to the master, but may live in the place chosen within Israel. Verses 17–18 prohibit cultic prostitution and the use of such earnings for offerings. Verses 19–20 regulate interest, especially in relation to fellow Israelites, and verses 21–23 stress that vows made to the LORD must be kept.
Vows, Neighborly Freedom, and Restraint
The final verses allow someone passing through a neighbor’s vineyard or grainfield to eat enough by hand, but not to carry away produce in a container or use a sickle. The law balances generosity with self-control and respect for another person’s property.
Meditation Points
- How does the chapter hold together holiness, bodily life, and social responsibility?
- What does the law about the escaped slave reveal about protection from exploitation?
- How can freedom be practiced with restraint rather than entitlement?
Apply It to Yourself
- Consider how your use of freedom affects the safety and property of others.
- Take vows, promises, and commitments seriously rather than speaking carelessly.
- Look for ways to protect vulnerable people instead of returning them to harmful situations.
As part of Coupang Partners activities, this post may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
