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Numbers Chapter 23

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. On the false worship of those who are in adulterated good, from selfish love most external, in order that there may be, with the man of the true church, aversion from the Lord, vers. 1-6.
2. But the corrupted understanding which is internally in agreement with the depraved will, is compelled, nevertheless, externally, and yet truly, to show that the good man has conjunction with the Lord, vers. 7-12.
3. Secondly, the same false worship is continued with the same object; the will and understanding of the corrupted man are more closely conjoined in another state; and they receive revelation again contrary to their wish, vers. 13-26.
4. And, thirdly, they still desire to make a final effort to shake off the influence of the good and the true, in a state of the interior will, from which they discern that they are about to be quite desolated as to both, vers. 27-30.

1.  Balaam saying to Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks, and seven rams," denotes that now there is perception from falsified truths, with him who is in adulterated good, that the Lord must be worshiped, superstitiously, from natural and spiritual affections, apparently in all completeness and in all holiness, chap 22:5, 2, 1822, 153, 4541, 7346, 716, 10021, 10042

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2.  Balak doing as Balaam had spoken, denotes that this is actually effected, 4258; and offering on every altar a bullock and a ram, denotes that natural affection and spiritual affection seem to be in true worship as to will and understanding, 10021, 10042. It is said, "as to will and understanding," because Balak and Balaam signify the will and understanding respectively, chap 22:5, 2.

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3.  Balak being told by Balaam to stand by his burnt offering, denotes that it seems to corrupted good that such worship must be genuine and constant, 7436, 1822, 923; Balaam going, that the Lord perhaps might come to meet him, denotes aspiration, through falsified truths, after interior communication with the Lord, and the desire that selfish worship may be accepted, 3335, 2001, 4247; "Whatsoever he shows me I will tell you," denotes that thus the corrupted man is to be enlightened, 2001, 2807, 3209; and Balaam going to a bare height, denotes that in this worship there is no genuine good or truth, 3335, 2722.

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4.  By God meeting Balaam is denoted external communication, 2001, 4247; and by Balaam saying, "I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered a bullock and a ram on every altar," is denoted that the corrupted man is fully persuaded that he is in genuine worship, both as to the natural and spiritual minds, ver. 1.

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5.  The Lord putting a word in Balaam's mouth and saying, "Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak," denotes that there is influx from Divine Good by Divine Truth into the intellect of the corrupted man, giving the perception that although interiorly he is in adulterated good, yet exteriorly he must utter genuine truths, 2001, 1288, 8068, 4217, 2619.

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6.  Balaam returning to Balak, his standing by his burnt offering, and all the princes of Moab with him, denotes that, therefore, the corrupted man receives revelation according to his state, which is that of earnest external worship without internal, both as to the will and understanding, 4217, 7436, 923, 1482, 2468.

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7.  Balaam taking up his parable and saying, denotes perception from the Word through its genuine literal sense in which is the spiritual sense, 4637, 1822; "From Aram has Balak brought me," denotes that adulterated good surely desires the knowledges of good and truth, 1234; "the king of Moab from the mountains of the East," denotes that falsified truth thence is given externally for conjunction by love with the Lord, 1672, 2468, chap 22:5, 795, 1451; and "Come, curse me Jacob, come, defy Israel," denotes that yet it is inwardly in aversion therefrom both as to natural and spiritual realities, 5934, 245, 5973.

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8.  "How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom the Lord has not defied?" denotes compulsion to acknowledge, nevertheless, that what is manifestly true cannot be false; and that what is manifestly good cannot be evil, 245, 2001.

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9.  "From the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him," denotes that all natural truths are seen from natural good, and all spiritual truths from spiritual good, 8827, 10438, 2150, 5973; and "Lo, it is a people that dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations," denotes that the man of the Spiritual Church is in faith conjoined with charity, nor can he be in the prevailing love of evils, 1259, 10160, 471.

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10.  "Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number the fourth part of Israel?" denotes that neither is the quality of the regenerated natural man, as to the abundance of truth, or of the will of the regenerated spiritual man as to conjunction with the Lord, known to any but the Lord Himself, 10217, 1610, 10136, 5973; and "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!" denotes that even the corrupted man appears to be desirous of regeneration, and this, too, both as to the will and understanding, chap 22:5, 6221, 712, 683.

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11.  Balak saying to Balaam, "What have you done to me?" denotes that it is perceived by the corrupted man in spite of his evil state, chap 22:2, 1822; and "I took you to curse mine enemies, and, behold, you have blessed them altogether," denotes not only that he is essentially in evil, and desires the destruction of good and truth, but also that these are utterly opposed to him, because they are from the Lord, and give conjunction with Him, 245, 2851, 3514.

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12.  Balaam answering and saying, "Must I not take heed to speak that which the Lord puts in my mouth?" denotes that still, in externals, he acknowledges the Lord and His Word, and is compelled to put on the appearance of reverence for it, and even to utter its precepts as if they proceeded from genuine faith and charity on his part, 6943, 4292⁴, 2001, 2951, 3313.

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13.  Balak saying to Balaam, "Come, I pray you, with me to another place from whence you may sec them," denotes that now a change of state takes place, in which the corrupted will and perverted understanding are more closely conjoined, 1853, 2625, 2150; "you shall see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all," denotes that then there is another perception of the man of the church or of opposing goods and truths somewhat more internal, 2150, 3695, 5973; and "curse me them from here," denotes that the desire to cause aversion still continues, 245.

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14.  Balak taking Balaam into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and building seven altars and offering a bullock and a ram on every altar, denotes that under the influence of selfish love the understanding contemplates the truths of the church, and investigates their quality, preparing again to simulate genuine worship both as to the natural and spiritual affections, because the field of Zophim, being in Moab, denotes a religious corruption, 4440, 2468; the top or head of the mountain here signifies, in the opposite sense, selfish love, Pisgah meaning a hill, 8827; Zophim means watchmen, or observers, and thus those who investigate, 10134; and building altars and offering the animals, denotes the simulation of genuine worship both as to natural and spiritual affections, ver. 1.

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15.  Balaam saying to Balak, "Stand here by the burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder," denotes that again such worship is continued, and communication with the Lord is sought for, ver. 3.

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16.  The Lord meeting Balaam; putting a word in his mouth; and saying, "Return to Balak, and thus shall them speak," denotes that such communication is granted according to the state, while still the corrupted understanding is interiorly conjoined with adulterated good, ver. 5.

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17.  Balaam coming to Balak, who stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him; and the latter saying, "What has the Lord spoken?" denotes that this conjunction actually takes place, while there is yet more earnest devotion as to both affection and thought, revelation from the Lord being eagerly desired, ver. 6.

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18.  Balaam taking up his parable and saying, denotes that revelation from the Lord is given by means of the genuine truth of the Word in which is the spiritual sense, 4637, 1822; and "Rise up, Balak, and hear, hearken to me, you son of Zippor," denotes that adulterated good must be elevated as to the understanding that it may perceive the good and truth of the Word, 2401, 8361, chap 22:2, 683.

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19.  "God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent," denotes that Divine Truth is not like human thought, changeable and liable to err; and that Divine Good is not like human affection, variable and needing repentance, 2001, 429, 7120, 8908, 587; and "Has he said and shall he not do it? Or has he spoken and shall he not make it good? " denotes that the Divine Being always does what is essentially true; and that He always promotes what is essentially good, 629, 2951, 683.

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20.  "Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it," denotes that it is not possible for even the perverted understanding, when brought into the light of truth to avoid seeing that the good have conjunction with the Lord, nor can evil prevent this conjunction with those who are in good, chap 22:5, 3514, 5973, 2001, 4816.

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21.  "He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has he seen perverseness in Israel," denotes that with them the natural man is obedient to natural truths; and the spiritual man is obedient to spiritual truths, 2150, 9937, 9252, 5973; and "The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them," denotes that with them good is conjoined with truth internally and externally, 2001, 8815, 1672, 5973.

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22.  "God brings them forth out of Egypt; he has as it were the strength of the wild-ox," denotes that the good are delivered from all the evils of the natural man corrupted; and are endowed with the full power of natural good from the Lord, 2001, 8866, 6343, 2180, 5973.

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23.  "Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; neither is there any divination with Israel," denotes that the good cannot be overcome by those who pervert and prostitute Divine Truth, when they are made to appear as falsities in the natural or spiritual degree of their minds, 3698, 7297, 5973; and "Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God worked! " denotes that both the natural and spiritual man regenerated are under the protection of the Lord, and to Him all their salvation is due, 5973, 2001, 8329.

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24.  "Behold the people rises up as a lioness, and as a lion does he lift himself up," denotes that the regenerated Natural acting from regenerated spiritual affection is all powerful; and so also is natural truth conjoined with that affection, 1259, 6367, 725, 1543; and "He shall not lie down until he eat the prey, and drink the blood of the slain," denotes that the good man does not at all rest, until good and truth are fully appropriated by him, and until the evil and falsity of adulterated good are entirely removed, 5973, 3606, 2187, 3168, 576³, 1851, 4735, 4503.

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25.  Balak saying to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all," denotes that the corrupted man who is confirmed in his wickedness, desires entire separation from both natural good and spiritual good, chap 22:2, 5, 1822, 245, 3514, 5973. It is the affection involved in these words that involves the desire for entire separation; and they describe the actual internal state of those represented by Balak and Balaam.

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26.  Balaam answering and saying to Balak, "Told not I you saying, All that the Lord speaks that I must do?" denotes that, at the same time, in that state, he clearly perceives from the light of truth in his understanding, that he is compelled, externally, to be obedient to the laws of Divine Order, 6943, 3209, 1822, 2001, 2951, 4258.

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27.  Balak saying to Balaam, "Come now, 1 will take you to another place; peradventure it will please God that you may curse me them from there," denotes that yet he is so infatuated from selfish love that he still desires to make a final effort to shake off the influence of the good and the true by further delusions, 1822, 1853, 2625, 2001, 8361, 245.

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28.  Balak taking Balaam to the top of Peor that looks down upon the desert, or upon Jeshimon, denotes that therefore he is now led into the state of the interior will from which he discerns that he is about to be quite desolated as to all good and truth, because by Peor is meant a hole or opening, and Baal-peor was an idol of Moab; and hence by the top or head of mount Peor is denoted the interior will of those who are in adulterated good, 8827, 2468, 5145; by looking down is denoted discernment, in this case, as to evil and falsity, 248, 5895⁵; and by the desert or Jeshimon is denoted a slate of desolation, 2708.

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29.  Balaam saying to Balak, "Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bullocks, and seven rams," denotes that still from the corrupted understanding, he is disposed again to simulate true worship, and this both as to the natural and spiritual affections as before, ver. 1.

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30.  Balak doing as Balaam had said to him, and offering a bullock and a ram on every altar, denotes that he proceeds to do so, in reality devoting to selfish worship every natural affection and every spiritual affection, ver. 2.

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Discussion

It is necessary, in commencing our review of this chapter, to explain what is meant generally by the statement of the first section that the false worship of those who are in adulterated good, arises from a desire to produce aversion from the Lord in the man of the true church. It is clear that Balak and Balaam together denote those who are in adulterated good as to the will and understanding; it is also evident that the Israelites represent those who are of the true Spiritual Church; and therefore it follows that the desire of Balak that Balaam should curse the Israelites, denotes that a state of confirmed adulterated good ends in aversion from the Lord, because cursing denotes aversion, 245, and the evil desired for another returns upon him who cherishes it, besides which while the Israelites were in the plains of Moab, they represent the man of the church under the influence of adulterated good, and to be in such a state tends to produce aversion from the Lord. It may seem, however, to some, to be a very strange thing that the man of the true church should be in such a state, just before his admission into the promised land, or into the true heavenly state; but it must be remembered that there are several degrees of adulterated good, and that, indeed, the good of every one is more or less contaminated by selfish motives until he is fully regenerated; also that, in the case of a corrupted church with man, the new state of the church cannot be fully established until the falsities and evils of the old state are removed.

And, secondly, in regard to this section, we are to notice that the external worship of those in corrupted good, resembles, in outward appearance the worship of the true spiritual man, and that this is represented by the altars built by Balak, and by a bullock and a ram being offered on every altar. For bullocks signify the devotion of the natural affections to the Lord, and rams denote the devotion of the spiritual affections to Him, so that the corrupted worship here represented seems altogether as if it were true worship from natural and spiritual affection, or from external and internal good at the same time. But since it was not so, therefore it next follows that Balaam went to seek for revelation to a bare height, to denote that, in this worship, there is really no genuine good or truth. And yet we shall see as we proceed all through the account, that the corrupted man, or the corrupted church is obliged to teach Divine Truths from the Word, and thus that there is a remnant with whom there is true religion in every state of mankind. For Balak standing by his burnt offering with all the princes of Moab, evidently denotes the confirmed state of corrupted good, and thus the most degraded state of a corrupted church. But we now have to consider the contents of the second section.

And what is remarkable here is, that the understanding of the corrupted man is capable of perceiving not only the truths of the literal sense of the Word, but also its interior truths; for by taking up a parable is plainly meant that the literal sense of the Word is symbolic, and hence that every part of it contains a spiritual or internal sense. But as we have but recently commented on this capacity of the wicked to understand truths under certain circumstances, we proceed to notice what the interior truths are which are revealed in this place. And, first, there is the general truth that the Word is so composed as to abound in continual double expressions respectively, referring to the understanding and the will of man; and that this is particularly the case in these prophecies of Balaam.

Then comes the desire of the bad man to cause aversion from the Lord in the good man, and to do this both externally and internally, because Jacob denotes the man of the church as to the natural, and Israel the same as to the spiritual degree, as the references show; and when we think of this, we become sensible of the absolute necessity that, in regeneration, the good and the evil must be entirely separated; for were this not the case both generally and as to every particular in individuals, heaven could not be an eternal abode for the good, nor could the hells be kept in subjection, and brought into that exact arrangement according to the laws of order there, which renders the eternal condition of the wicked tolerable upon their own plane of life through the continued operation of the Divine Mercy. And then we see in what immediately follows, that the wicked in their final state have yet no power whatever to do injury to the good, because those who love truth in sincerity cannot be averted from Divine Truth, nor can those who love good sincerely be averted from Divine Good, on account of the entire opposition between truth and falsity and between good and evil. Hence, therefore, let the man of the church, as he proceeds on his way heavenward, be more than ever determined to be separated from everything false and evil, and hence, too, we see why, just as man is nearing his eternal home, every form of adulterated good, and of falsified truth, is to be rejected. For in the words of this prophecy is described the complete self-condemnation of the evil, and consequently also the complete justification of the good.

But now follows a description of the positive state of the good; and it is worth a careful study. For by Israel being seen from the top of the rocks and from the hills is denoted that the capacity of the man of the true church to perceive truths, is from his state as to good; by the people dwelling alone, is signified that, in the perfect state of man truth is fully conjoined with good; and by their not being reckoned among the nations, is represented the entire deliverance of those who are in the love of truths, from all the evils of the selfish life. These surely are three things greatly to be desired, and earnestly to be striven after; but the fourth, as described in ver. 10, shows that, in consequence of these, the man of the true church now enjoys an unlimited supply of truths and good affections, so unlimited indeed, that only the Lord Himself knows the quality of his ever increasing angelic perfection. And further, all this is just because he has been willing, from the Lord, to endure the death of the righteous, by giving up the life of sin and selfishness, and thus establishing himself in a permanent final state of heavenly good and felicity.

Passing over now the next two verses, which are sufficiently explained in giving the references, we have to consider the third section. And first of all the change of state here described under the figure of going to another place, requires to be reflected upon. We know very well that as far as the natural world is concerned, we may travel from one place to another, and thus that our outward circumstances may change, and yet that internally we may remain in the same state. But it is not so in the spiritual world, because the appearances of space which are there, vary according to the state of the mind. And this is the reason why, in the spiritual sense of the Word, all the changes of place named in the literal sense, denote changes of state; and it is very remarkable also, that the meaning of the very names of the places mentioned, in every case corresponds to the spiritual state described. It is so, therefore, in the narrative before us, and consequently the correspondences show the quality of the new state here represented. And thus, as we have seen, the field of Zophim, and the top of Pisgah, denotes a state of watchfulness derived from a state of confirmed selfish love; and as, on the former occasion, the false prophet was only brought to the high places of Baal, which denote the falsities from selfish love, we see that the second state is a more internal state of confirmed evil than the first, and that the top of Pisgah signifies such a state. But, nevertheless, it is to be here also observed, that the second state of the perception concerning the good, granted to the prophet, was also an interior perception, as plainly appears from the particulars that follow, which we have now to consider. But before doing so, it ought to be explained that so far as the real state of the corrupted man himself is concerned, there was less perception of the truth than in the former case, which indeed is also signified by Balaam not seeing all the people but only the utmost part of them, as described in ver. 13. For it is a fact that the wicked, in proportion as they become more determined in their wickedness, are separated from the truth and reject it (Matt 25:29).

And now, therefore, the prophet again takes up his parable, as it is said, that is, utters Divine Truths in the correspondential language of the Word, causing the corrupted man, in spite of himself, to recognize, first, the unchangeableness of the Lord, and then the real character of the regenerated man on account of his conjunction with the Lord. And hence it is declared concerning him that he is free from all falsity and evil, and on the contrary, is made perfect both internally and externally in all that is good and true; that the natural man no longer has any power over him, and yet that it is all powerful by virtue of good; that, to him, no longer can falsity appear as truth, nor evil as good, because he is protected by the Lord; and, finally, that such is the power of natural good and truth with him, from the Lord, that he will not rest satisfied until all the evil and falsity of adulterated good are entirely overcome in the state of transition in which he is. And thus we see, from the remaining part of the section, namely, from the internal sense of vers. 25-26, that the corrupted man has accomplished the second stage in his separation, as to the will and understanding, from spiritual truth and good, while yet he is compelled by the necessities of his case to outwardly acknowledge the truth and obey it. Let us now, therefore, observe in the next section the preparation that is made for his final separation in order that the spiritual man may be completely delivered from his influence. For it is impossible that the latter, when fully regenerated, can remain in the intermediate state.

And, of course, there is another change of state which is denoted by Balak saying to Balaam, "Come, and I will take you to another place." And here it is to be observed that all through the description internally, it is the will of the wicked man that decides as to his eternal condition; for Balak represents the will, and it is this that draws the understanding with it, just exactly as Balak in every case conducted Balaam to different localities, the truth being that every man, good and bad alike, finally becomes such as he is as to the will, and not such as he is as to the understanding without the will (HH 474, 508 end). We have now to see, therefore, the quality of the will which is here represented by Balak, and which is described in ver. 28 as a place called "the top of Peor that looks down upon the desert, or upon Jeshimon." And turning to the explanation, we find that this is the interior state of the corrupted will, which discerns that it is about to be quite desolated as to all good and truth, because by Peor is meant a hole or opening, and Baal-peor was an

idol of Moab; and hence that by the top or head of mount Peor is denoted the interior will of those who are in adulterated good; that by looking down is denoted discernment; in this case as to evil and falsity; and that by the desert, or Jeshimon, is denoted a state of desolation, because that is the meaning of the word Jeshimon. May we not, therefore, at this point, desire most earnestly and pray to the Lord that we may never be brought into such a state as this, in which we shall be determined to reject all good and truth, while yet as the remainder of the section shows we are intent upon pretending, hypocritically, to worship the Lord in order that, like Balaam, we may perhaps gain a merely selfish advantage? But we shall see, however, in the next chapter, the result of this hypocritical worship.