Key Verse: "I see him, but not
now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will
rise out of Israel.” (Numbers 24:17a).
This is the
second part of our study on Balaam’s oracles, where we will be focusing on oracles
3-7. Though the main theme, “God’s blessing to Israel shall stand”, flows
throughout the seven oracles, the third emphasizes the source of Israel’s
strength, and the fourth looks forward to the coming of a king, who will
eventually destroy Israel’s enemies and provide the ultimate proof that Israel
is blessed by God. Also, the third oracle is a turning point for how Balaam
received God’s message; the content of his message changed, from a message to a
prophecy, and his orientation shifted from Balak’s or his own personal vantage
point to coming from God’s perspective. This theme, of blessing through the
king, continues throughout the rest of the oracles, in which Balaam prophesied
the destruction of all of Israel’s enemies. In this way, God unveiled His plan for
what He would do in and through His chosen nation, His first son, Israel, as
well as for the world, in regards to His blessing. So, through this study, I
hope to be able to highlight three things: how Balaam received a deeper
revelation of God’s purpose, God’s plan for the world through Israel, and the role
of the coming King, who would achieve God’s ultimate purpose.
A.
Balaam
decided to please the Lord
As was the case
with the first two oracles, Balaam was led by Balak to the top of Peor,
overlooking the wasteland, in order to increase the chance of him bringing a curse
down on Israel. The first time, Balaam could see the entire Israelite camp. The
second time, he could barely see the outskirts of the camp. But this time, he
could not see Israel’s camp at all, but a wasteland instead. To Balak, this was
the best place to bring Balaam for him to curse Israel. Here again, Balaam
asked to set up seven altars. When everything was set up, he did something
different this time:
“Now when Balaam saw that it pleased
the LORD to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times,
but turned his face toward the wilderness. When Balaam looked out and saw
Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his
message” (Numbers 24:1-3a).
Balaam did
not resort to divination, as he had twice before. So, here, ‘divination’ was
something he did as he was seeking God’s answers. As we previously noted in
v23:3b, 15, he left the altars in order
to seek God’s answers. Most likely, during this time, he acted as he sought
God’s answers. It is possible that he did some pagan rituals in order to seek
God’s help, out of his desire to turn God’s attention to Balak’s need. However,
at this time, instead of doing such divinations, he did something totally
different, because he had changed his attitude toward God; he knew God’s heart was to bless Israel and made decision to please God
by blessing His people. Out of this changed attitude, Balaam turned his
face toward the wasteland before him. But instead of staring at the wasteland,
he looked up, and saw something remarkable; he saw Israel encamped tribe by
tribe. It is not clear if he literally saw the Israelite encampment or if it
was a vision of their camp, for the phrase “looked up and saw” was used often
to denote both actual events as well as spiritual experiences (Joshua 5:13). He
saw Israel’s entire camp (Numbers 22:41), while he was still in the wasteland, prostrated
before the Lord. Most likely, he was in a trance; in this state, he became
keenly aware of what he had failed to notice in the first scene. In this way,
when he decided to please the Lord, he could vividly see Israel’s camp. While experiencing
this image of Israel’s camp, God’s spirit came to him.
As we have studied
before, at the beginning of Balaam’s trip to Moab, his mind was set on doing
what Balak had asked for and he had little desire to seek God or His will. His
heart was set on twisting God’s arm in order that He might allow him to curse
Israel. Balaam was driven by his desire and was blind to see God’s will. For
this, he was rebuked by both his donkey and an angel of God. In both the first
and second oracles, God put His word in Balaam’s mouth. In other words, his
heart was not fully in agreement with God’s word, as seen in his looking for every
possible chance to curse Israel. However, now, for the first time, he decided
to please God, i.e. to conform his mind to God’s will. After this decision, he
could see things differently and God’s Spirit came on him, showing that God was
willing to impart His spirit and truth to Balaam. As the spirit came on him,
Balaam’s mind and eyes were opened to experience things that he had never
imagined:
“and he spoke his message: "The
prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the
prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the
Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened” (Numbers 24:3-4).
He could clearly
see everything that God had been doing and was doing in and through Israel. He
could also hear God’s words; this word was not just a prophecy put into his
mouth but was alive and full of meaning and significance. Balaam also saw a
vision from God Almighty as he prostrated himself before Him and looked up with
his eyes. All of these events point to one thing; what Balaam was saying now was
what he had received from God, without a trace of doubt. All must take heart to
listen and believe. What was the message?
B.
The Third
Oracle: God will bless Israel with abundant wealth, a great king, and strength.
"How beautiful are your tents,
Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel! "Like valleys they spread out, like
gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the
waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant
water.” Numbers 24:5-7).
Balaam saw the
richness of Israel’s dwelling places, where there would be plenty of water,
aloe, and cedar. Here, one thing I would like to point out is that the
blessings did not refer to a particular land, but rather to Israel’s ‘dwelling
places’. This term might also look forward to the land of God’s promise, which
they had yet to conquer. However, it is more likely referring to the camp, which
was purposefully arranged around the tabernacle. Out of the tabernacle, abundant
spiritual ‘water’ flowed that would cause their tents, i.e. dwelling places, to
be surrounded by tall trees like cedars and be fragranced by aloe. This mimicked the Garden of Eden.
"Their king will be greater than
Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.” (Numbers 24:7b).
This
garden-like kingdom would be exalted by the presence of Israel’s king, because
their king was greater than Agag, the king of Amalekites. Amalek was the most
powerful nation of that time, as well as the first nation who attacked Israel
as she was journeying to Mount Horeb (Exodus 17). The battle against the
Amalekites was fierce and Israel barely won the war; however, their king was
much greater than Agag of Amalek. Determining this greatness probably had
little to do with having mighty power, but rather how the king governed the
nation for her wellbeing. No king of that time could match the king of Israel
for he was the greatest. Then, why or how could Israel become so beautifully
and richly blessed?
"God brought them out of Egypt;
they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break
their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them.” (Numbers 24:8).
The secret
of Israel’s power and strength lay in what God did for her as He brought her
out of the shackles of Egypt, the most powerful nation of that time. Her
strength was like that of a wild ox; she could devour nations and break them into
pieces. Her overall strength would be unmatchable.
““Like a lion they crouch and lie
down, like a lioness-- who dares to rouse them? May those who bless you be
blessed and those who curse you be cursed!"” (Numbers 24:9).
After all, Israel
was like a lion resting, but, when aroused, she would be like a lioness.
Lionesses are well known for their ability to capture prey. Once they have
begun to run after a prey, they would not fail and would certainly capture their
prey. These two descriptions of Israel’s character as a nation speaks of the
reserved power within the nation, i.e. strength to exert sustained power
against her enemies like wild ox, and the tenacity of a lioness, pursuing and
overtaking her prey. Though this is not immediately
obvious, this description envisions a
long term outlook of how Israel would
deal with the nations of the world.
What do Balaam’s
oracles reveal?
Israel was
blessed and that blessing was evident in what Balaam saw in their camp, arranged
tribe by tribe. So, the camp’s orderly arrangement, with the tabernacle at the
center, the Levites in the inner circle,
and the other twelve tribes forming the outer circle, represented a
God-centered camp, a covenant-bound walk, and forty years of training in the
wilderness; all of these together tell us not just about certain forms and
rules, but also about how the body embodies the power to defeat all its
enemies. This was begun by God when He took Israel out of Egypt and she received
a great reserve of power like a wild ox and could act like a lioness when she
is aroused.
All these
point out that what God did for and with Israel through the Exodus, Sinai Covenant,
and their time roaming in the desert, created in her such a picture of blessing
impregnated with an immense power that enabled the Israelite people to defeat
and destroy their enemies.
What does
this teach us? Israel grew to have these particular characteristics through
what God did in their lives; it was God’s work in taking them out of their Egyptian
slavery, establishing a relationship with them through a covenant at Mount
Sinai, and disciplining them to abide by that covenant in the desert; all of these
created in them a durable character that could not be seen in any other nation.
All of these tell us that Israel became what they did by enduring such a
rigorous covenantal relationship with God. If He put them through such difficult
training in order to create a nation which He would use as His chosen
instrument, then will He not do similar things for us whom He has chosen to use
for the same purpose? There shall be discipline and then there shall come
character, strong like the wild ox and courageous like the lioness. Also, Israel’s
discipline centers around three major events: their redemption from slavery in
Egypt, the initiation of the Sinai Covenant, and the rigorous implementation of
that covenant while they spent forty years in the desert. In other words, these
three are the process of salvation, in its fullest aspect; this salvation’s
ending point is to enter the land of God’s blessing. Paul had a similar view of
his or the believers’ life:
“Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium
and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to
the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,"
they said.” (Acts 14:21b-22NIV).
In addition
to this, the need for Israel to build such characteristics came within the context
of their focus on the power of God’s salvation in Egypt, His enduring covenant that
He gave to them on Mountain Horeb, and the importance of perseverance through hardships,
moving onward in the hope of the Promised land.
The same
power is within us, because God has also led us out of Egypt and continues to
lead us, just as Jesus is the head of the church, the capstone, moving toward God’s
promised kingdom; many enemies lie before us, but in us, we have the power like
a lion and can act like a lioness to devour our enemies.
As Balak
heard Balaam blessing Israel in his third oracle, he became angry and said:
“"I summoned you to curse my
enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. Now leave at once and go
home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the LORD has kept you from
being rewarded."” (Numbers 24:10b-11).
Balak made
God responsible for taking away Balaam’s reward. He said this in order to mock
Balaam’s unwillingness to go against God and his acceptance of God’s word and authority
as the Lord. Balak still believed that he could find a way to curse Israel or at
least escape from their attack. Because of his stubborn rejection of God’s
word, Balaam offered Balak this warning.
C.
The Fourth
Oracle: a star will come out of Jacob and a scepter will rise out of Israel.
“Then he spoke his message: "The
prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the
prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most
High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes
are opened” (Numbers 24:15-16).
Here, Balaam
once again attests to what he clearly heard from God’s word. In addition, he
added that he had knowledge from the Most
High; he did not use this name of God in the third oracle. But, here, by using
the name “the Most High” for the
first time, he emphasized that he had knowledge from the supreme God who is above all other gods. In this way, he affirmed
the fact that his oracle was certain, correct, and would be fulfilled. No one
should make a mistake about this.
"I see him, but not now; I behold
him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of
Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of
Sheth. Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel
will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of
the city." (Numbers 24:17-19).
This oracle’s
focus was a star coming out of Jacob, whose scepter
would rise out of Israel. This king/leader might be different from the
king mentioned in v7b, for he would come out of Jacob in the distant future. Balaam
saw the king’s presence or existence, even though he would be coming in the
future. He would have the authority over all, and would crush Moab, Balak’s
nation, and destroy Edom. These were the two nations that Israel avoided as they
entered the Promised Land; they were outside of the immediate boundary of the
Land that Israel was about to conquer, yet they would also be destroyed in the
future. The coming king’s attack would be thorough and there would be no one left in the city.
In this way,
Balaam saw the king, his coming, and his power. Even the nations that escaped Israel’s
attack now would face thorough destruction under this future king.
Balaam
continued his prophecy; he saw Amalek, the Kenites, and Ashur, each of whom
boasted of their strength, fortified cities, and ability to destroy other
nations. However, all of these nations would be destroyed, according to God’s
will. Balaam then raised a serious question:
“Then he spoke his message:
"Alas! Who can live when God does this?” (Numbers 24:23b).
This is the
question that might have also gone through Balak’s mind and needed to be answered.
The answer is no one. This raised another question: how could Balak and his
people survive or how any nations other than Israel could survive?
D.
Let
me live and die like them
In order to
find the answer to this question, we must examine Balaam’s previous remarks, made at the end of each oracle. He appended
his personal feelings in each of these four oracles:
1.
Let me die the death of the righteous, and may
my final end be like theirs!"(Numbers 23:10b).
After the first
oracle that Balaam spoke according to the word God had given to him, his mind
went after the blessing that was promised to Israel and he expressed his desire
to be a part of Israel, if possible. In other words, instead of cursing Israel or
remaining their enemies, he wished to be like them, for whom God’s blessing was
obvious.
2.
'See what God has done!' (Numbers 23:23b).
Balaam saw
what God had done for Israel and came to realize that, through Israel, God had
done so much that, not only were they blessed, but also, in them, were the character
and power of a lioness. So, by saying this, he was urging Balak, as well as everyone
else, to look up to the Lord, who had done such a wonderful job of blessing, growing,
and empowering His people.
3.
"May those who bless you be blessed and
those who curse you be cursed!" (Numbers 24:9b).
At the end
of the third oracle, while in a trance brought on by God’s Spirit, Balaam claimed
that those who blessed Israel would be blessed and those who cursed them would
be cursed; in this way, Balaam gave Balak a clear answer as to how he and his
nation could escape from destruction. It would not be through cursing Israel,
but rather by blessing them.
4.
"Alas! Who can live when God does this?”
(Numbers 24:23b).
This is the
last expression of Balaam’s feeling after the last oracle. This did not come
just after the fourth oracle, but the fifth – seventh as well. There were two
things that he came to realize, which compounded his feelings of hopelessness,
both for himself as well as for Balak. The first was the coming of the
King/Star, who held the scepter to rule over all nations. The second was the total destruction of all the nations of
which he was familiar. Because these revelations came with such certainty, he
was at a loss as to how any nations could survive.
In these
revelations, Balaam clearly saw that all nations who boasted of themselves would
be destroyed. In seeing the certainty of the Lord’s destruction of all earthly kingdoms,
he raised a very probing and rhetorical question, “Who can live, when God does
this?” In other words, as long as pagan nations oppose Israel, the kingdom of
God’s choice, there won’t be hope for any of them.
This led to
the first expression of Balaam’s assessment of the situation; he wished to be
like Israel and to share their fate, rather than opposing them. So, in this
rhetorical question, Balaam is pointing
peoples’ mind, or specifically Balak’s mind, to what he said at the end of the
first oracle.
God’s
message to Balak was clear; see what He had done in Israel - the blessing,
strength, and power He had given them - and realize that you can be a part of
that blessing, if you accept God’s purpose as communicated in and through
Israel. Otherwise, no nation or people would survive; all would be thoroughly
destroyed. The ultimate closure of these oracles came as Balaam prophesied of
the Star King’s coming, One who would rule
over the entire world. Through his rule, all of those wicked kingdoms would be
destroyed; God would accomplish this. No nation or kingdom shall stand against
God’s will or against the King He has established.
Second, God directed
Balak’s attention to the Star/king who would come with great power and
authority as God’s ultimate agent in order to fulfill His purpose of ruling
over all of the world’s kingdoms. Though He would come out of Jacob, he would not
be part of Jacob. He would also receive a scepter to rule the world. Though
this scepter would come out of Jacob, it would also pave the way for Israel’s
divine blessings to become available to all nations.
Third, the God
of Israel is also the God of the world. For the first time, as Israel was about
to engage in war against all of the pagan inhabitants of the promised land, God
revealed His great plan to establish His kingdom, which would be far different
from any earthly kingdom. Who is this God? At the outset of his talk with
Balak, Balaam addressed this God as the Lord (YWHW), i.e. the God of Israel. He
then identified the Lord further as his God (Elohim). Then, having received
great knowledge from God, he also called Him ‘the Most High’ (Elyon in Numbers 24:16).
Balaam ended his last comment on God’s work with God’s name (‘El’; Numbers 24:23).
In this way, Balaam identified the God of Israel (the Lord) and the God of the
world. This God of the world would accomplish these prophecies, particularly in
regards to the Star King’s coming and the
destruction of all pagan nations surrounding the land of His blessing. The
richness of blessing found in this kingdom would be far greater than in any
other earthly kingdom. The key figure in that kingdom would be the Star coming
out of Jacob, holding the scepter of Israel. It is amazing that this revelation
came through a pagan diviner, who was under the same predicament as Balak. This
was to give hope to all of the nations of the world through belief in the
coming King.
Having said
this, what should we do?
As the
Pharisees fiercely opposed Jesus’ lordship, he gave them a parable about a war
between two kings, ending his teaching by saying this (Luke 14):
“If he is not able,…will ask for terms of
peace.” (Luke 14:32 NIV).
Any man or
nation that upholds Jesus’ lordship will survive and be a part of God’s blessed
kingdom. The Almighty will accomplish this; no one should be mistaken about
this! For us, we are happy that, by His grace, we have become His kingdom
people and He has become our Lord.
Nevertheless,
we more often than not fail to recognize such blessing, power, and victory in
the Lord Jesus. Balaam saw what was coming with certainty, because he received a
vision from the Lord.
E.
Stay
on until you receive knowledge from the Most High
Here, we
have one more question; as a pagan diviner, how could Balaam come to understand
or receive God’s truth? Could his way of receiving the revelation give us some
insight for our lives today? As we studied previously, Balaam initially acted
under his own mindset - to seek and pursue his personal goals. However, after experiencing
these two oracles, he changed his mind, and decided to please the Lord. Having
received Balak’s initial request, Balaam’s mind was constrained by God’s
command not to go with Balak’s men. After Balak’s second invitation, Balaam
received God’s approval to go, on one condition: that he speak only what God told
him. Yet, in his desire to gain rich rewards through his divination, Balaam was
eager to go and be able to deliver what Balak wanted, with the hope of earning
riches and honor. However, even though God gave him a clear warning through his
donkey, Balaam nevertheless maintained his own desire at the corner of his mind
through the first and second oracles; therefore, God put His words in Balaam’s
mouth, so that, despite the fact that what he had in his heart was different
from what God wanted him to do, Balaam might still speak only what God put in
his mouth. Likewise, though Balaam was willing to abide by what God said, his
heart was not in agreement with His word.
On his third
trip, even though he was taken to a barren land, his heart was set on pleasing God;
with such will and determination, he decided to bless Israel and was willing to
uphold God’s blessing for them from the depths of his heart. Then
he came to see Israel, camped tribe by tribe, discovered their amazing
blessedness, and received rich revelation from the Lord. He described how he saw
clearly, heard God’s word, and saw a vision from the Almighty.
In this way,
Balaam went into the depths of God’s world and could thus better understand and
capture His plan and message. As he continued to please God and seek after His
will, the fourth oracle enabled him to see far beyond his time; this was foreknowledge
from the Most High. He called God, ‘the Most High’, meaning the one and
only Supreme Being. He used this name only once. Saying this denotes Balaam’s
understanding that knowledge from God is unique and different from what he had ever
received before, because he was receiving it from the Most High; there is no
god greater than Him. This knowledge was regarding the Star King, the Messiah’s,
coming. Through this oracle, Balaam was allowed to witness the establishment of
an ultimate kingdom out of Israel, which would defeat all other nations. This
knowledge created the final turning point of his mind or attitude toward
Israel, more exactly toward the God who was with Israel. There would be no hope
for any other nations. In his vision, Balaam did not just see the demise of
Moab, but also all of those nations which surrounded Israel, would eventually
be destroyed by this King. Out of this came Balaam’s final word, in which he
expressed his dejection, disappointment, and the meaninglessness of such futile
efforts as Balak’s or any one’s to destroy or escape from God’s chosen nation,
Israel ("Alas! Who can live when
God does this?”).
We must
begin with a decision to please the Lord and then remain in His word and pursue
His vision, until we receive knowledge from the Most High, specifically His
utmost plan through the King Jesus. If we stop in the middle, we will surely
fail to see the coming King, the ultimate revelation from the Most High, for
all humanity. Instead, we will remain in the realm of the blessings and relativistic
ideas of the things of this world. Thus, we are forced to find out which one is
better. We are blessed, not because the blessing and truth we receive is relatively
better than what the world offers, but because Jesus is the King of the
ultimate kingdom and his blessings are final and absolute, enduring to eternity.
On the other hand, the world’s blessings are fleeting; they cannot stand the test
of time and will eventually be destroyed.
Until one remains
in God’s word and receives the Most High’s knowledge concerning the Star King,
Jesus, his mind and spirit cannot escape such a lament, "Alas! Who can
live when God does this?”.
A pagan diviner
received the wonderful blessing of knowing and understanding God’s will and
plan for the world. This is a great encouragement for us as God’s children.
More often than not, we follow Balaam’s way in many occasions of our lives,
hoping to twist God’s arms in order to change His decisions and plans. A
decision to please God opens the way for us to know Him in the depths of His
knowledge and will. This decision is needed every day. Jesus said this to his
disciples:
“Jesus replied, "Anyone who loves
me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them
and make our home with them.”” (John 14:23 NIV).
Deciding to
please God is to love Him and obey His teachings. Then, His wonderful blessings
will come to us. May God be upon us and help us to see His vision with clarity
and certainty, as we daily decide to please Him!
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