The Immutable God, the Star, and the Scepter

In the last post, we saw the king of Moab call for Balaam to come and curse the nation of Israel, and how the Lord told him not to go or curse the people, for they were blessed. After Balaam refused to go the first time, Balak sent more messengers promising more reward than the previous ones, and this time the Lord told him to go. However, as we saw, the Lord told him to go because He knew Balaam’s wicked heart, and that he was probably going to go anyway. We come to this conclusion because the Lord was upset with him for going. Furthermore, the angel of the Lord withstood him in the way, and the Lord used a talking donkey to rebuke him.

As we pick up in the next chapter, Balaam is in the high places of Baal in order to view the Israelites, and he tells the king of Moab to build for him seven altars, and to offer on them seven bulls and seven rams each. After they had offered their offerings, Balaam went to a separate high place to wait for a word from the Lord.

So, the Lord appeared to Balaam, and gave him a word to return and tell Balak: “Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram, from the mountains of the east. ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? and how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him; there! A people dwelling alone, not reckoning itself among the nations. “Who can count the dust of Jacob, or number one-fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my end be like his!” He asked how could he curse whom the Lord had not cursed? If God does not want someone to be cursed, they cannot be cursed. It’s as simple as that. Israel could not be cursed because they were God’s children; they had been redeemed out of Egypt by the blood of the Passover lamb in place of the death of the firstborn. Believers today cannot be cursed because they have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus that has washed away their sins. Israel was not reckoned among the nations, for they were uniquely called and chosen by God. After almost 2,000 years of being dispersed, they still maintained their national identity. They were blessed in that they were too numerous to be counted.

Needless to say, this did not please the king of Moab. He asked Balaam to come to a different place where he could only see the outer part of them, and he could curse them from there. This demonstrates Balak’s lack of understanding of who the Lord is, and for that matter, Balaam’s understanding as well. They were operating under the pagan superstitions of the day that if they use the right formula of the right number of altars and sacrifices, and if they look at Israel from the right angle, then the Lord would be obligated to curse them. However, the Lord would speak to that next.

So, they went to the top of Pisgah in the field of Zophim, and made seven more altars with seven more bulls and rams offered on them. Then the Lord appeared to Balaam, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” Balaam said to the king of Moab and his princes, “Rise up, Balak, and hear! Listen to me, son of Zippor! “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.” This is so important, folks! God says what He means and means what He says. He does not change His mind on what is right and wrong due to time or circumstance. Both Balak and Balaam did not understand this. Again, they were hoping for a different answer. “Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” God always fulfils His word. “Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.” God’s word is final; there is no reversing or annulling it. “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.” This is interesting: as I previously mentioned, the book of numbers has been full of Israel’s failures, so how is it that God sees no iniquity or wickedness in Jacob? It was because they were trusting in God by faith that their sin was taken care of by the sacrificial system, and they were submitted to the word of the Lord. So too for believers, a believer submitted to the word of God has no sin for which the devil can accuse him. “The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a King is among them. God brings them out of Egypt; he has strength like a wild ox.” Israel did not have a king at this time, for God was their king, and it was He that made them strong, giving them a distinct advantage over the other nations. “For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel.” Unless the devil gets permission from the Lord, such as in the case of Job, he cannot touch believers who are submitted to the word of God. “It now must be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’” Israel was not there by their own strength or might, but because of what God had done for them.  So too, every believer has been saved from the depravity of sin and the punishment of hell, and it is all by the Lord’s doing.  “Look, a people rises like a lioness, and lifts itself up like a lion; it shall not lie down until it devours the prey, and drinks the blood of the slain.” After this, Balak told him to neither curse nor bless them (if you cannot say something bad, don’t say anything at all). Balaam replied, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?” Balaam at least seemed to have enough reverence for God that he wanted to faithfully declare His words.

So, Balak asked him yet again to go to a different place to curse Israel. He took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooked the wasteland. Balaam instructed the king to make seven altars and to offer seven bulls and seven rams as in the previous times. Since Balaam had seen that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not use enchantments this time, but set his face toward the wilderness. As he lifted up his eyes, he saw Israel encamped by their tribes, and the Spirit of God came upon him. Before, he had used enchantments, but this time was different. He spoke as one whose spiritual eyes had been opened, he had heard the words of God, and seen the vision of the Almighty. So great was this revelation that he fell down under the weight of it. Balaam continued his parable: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened, the utterance of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open: “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob! Your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens by the riverside, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. He shall pour water from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. “His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. “God brings him out of Egypt; he has strength like a wild ox; he shall consume the nations, his enemies; he shall break their bones and pierce them with his arrows. ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him?’ “Blessed is he who blesses you, and cursed is he who curses you.” This is a proclamation of Israel’s deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt and a prediction of their dwelling in their land. It speaks to their peace, prosperity, and their military might. Lastly, it speaks to the outcome of nations based on their treatment of the nation of Israel: those who bless Israel will be blessed, and those who curse them will be cursed. This is a repeat of the blessing that God gave to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:1-3. Throughout history it has been well documented what happens to nations based off their treatment of the Jewish people. For a look at how this has affected our own nation, I would encourage you to read “Eye to Eye - Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel,” by William Koenig. You can also subscribe to his Koenig's Eye View weekly report here. It is worth paying attention to how our nation treats Israel currently in their battle with Hamas and their surrounding enemies. We are a nation ripe for judgment, and any mistreatment of the Jewish people may be the final straw for our country. We need to intercede through prayer for Israel and our own nation, that our leaders will continue to support Israel. In many ways, the Muslim world is much like Balaam in their desire to curse the Jews.

After this, Balak became angry with Balaam, and told him to flee to his place (get out of here). He said that he had thought to promote Balaam to great honor, but the Lord had kept him back from that honor. Indeed, the Lord was withholding Balaam from the honor that Balak was promising, but when the Lord holds believers back from earthly blessing, there is always a reason. I have never looked back on something the Lord has withheld from me and regretted it. The wages of unrighteousness never pay off in the long-run. Balaam reminded the king of what he had told his messengers, that, even if he were to give him his house full of silver and gold, he could not go beyond the word of the Lord, good or bad. Balaam stated he was leaving, but before he did, he would show Balak what Israel would do to his people in the latter days. This fourth prophecy will be probably the most intriguing yet.

Balaam continued his prophecy: “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, and the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened; the utterance of him who hears the words of God, and has the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who falls down, with eyes wide open: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult. “And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly. Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, and destroy the remains of the city.” Like as before, Balaam did not receive this word as a result of some pagan enchantment, but as a direct revelation from God. There weren’t even any sacrifices offered for this one. I believe we see a dual prophecy in this passage. The star and scepter refer to a king and a kingdom who would conquer the Moabites, as well as Edom and Seir, the descendants of Esau. It was King David who conquered these nations (see 2 Samuel 8 and 1 chronicles 18). However, the passage appears to be primarily Messianic in nature. In fact, early Jewish writers, as well as early Christian writers see this as a reference to the Messiah. If we recall, a star in the East led the wise men to Bethlehem where Jesus was living with His parents Matthew 2:1-10) Jesus also said of Himself, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Rev 22:16) The scepter is also used to describe the rule of the Messiah (see Psalm 2:9, Hebrews 1:8, and Revelation 19:15). It is Jesus Christ, who came in the line of David, and will one day return again to smite these nations that surround Israel (see Isaiah 15, 63:1-6, and Obadiah). Previously Balaam spoke of Israel’s peace, prosperity, and strength, and it is through Jesus Christ that Israel will ultimately have these promises and many others.

Lastly, Balaam predicts the fall of two other people groups, the Amalekites and the Kenites. We know the Amalekites were hostile toward Israel, and afflicted them while they were in the wilderness wanderings. After this, Balaam returned home, and Balak did the same. We may think this is the end of the story, but the Bible tells us more about Balaam. I hope to cover this in the last post.