Jesus in the Old Testament 22: Balaam's Oracles

Jesus in the Old Testament 022:

Balaam’s Oracles

Numbers 23-24

Thesis: Balam, paid by the king of Moab to curse the Israelites, instead prophecies blessings over them and discloses, in ever-increasing clarity, the dominance of David and of his descendant, the Messianic King, over the peoples of the region.  God’s plan to bless His people and save the world through them will never be thwarted.

1. Nutshell w/ Kids:
1. Have you ever been told that something was going to happen and then it didn’t end up happening?  Lots right now, huh?
2. Even though your parents or teachers might want the best for you, sometimes things come along that get in the way and make them unable to fulfill their promise to you.
3. God is NOT that way! His promises and plans for you will never change
1. Summarize story
2. God’s plan to save and protect you will never be taken away (Num 23:19).

2. Deeper w/ Adults:
1. Setting:
1. Israelites on the verge of the Promised Land.  Moab knows what they’ve done to other kingdoms and is afraid.
2. Balak, the king of Moab, summons a diviner, a soothsayer, to curse Israel, but God overrides the intentions of the king and the greediness of a pagan prophet to bless His people.
3. Balaam is not a member of God’s covenant people.  He is not a follower of the true God.

a)     Does not ever use the covenant name of the Lord (YHWH).  Instead uses more general Canaanite and Hebrew titles El, Elohim, and El-Elyon.

b)     Longs to be included in the blessing of Israel after he is used to pronounce it.

c)     He is after monetary gain, not the glory of God (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11; Rev 2:14).

d)     After clearly being used by the Lord to pronounce blessing, he still helps Balak concoct a way to lead the Hebrews into sin (31:16) and bring God’s judgment on them. 

e)     When met by God’s people, he is not embraced, but slain (Num 31:8).

4. All along the way, the Angel of the Lord uses Balaam’s donkey to discipline him into only speaking what God puts in his mouth. 
5. How can God use a pagan prophet to deliver His words?  Well, he also used a donkey…
6. Balak and Balaam sacrifice seven bulls and seven goats four different times on four different high places around the valley where the Israelites are camped.  Each time, God answers with a blessing, overriding the pagan expectations of Balak and Balaam.
1. First Oracle 23:7-10
1. Balaam essentially apologizes to Balak.  You brought me here to curse, but I can’t.  God hasn’t cursed them.
2. Vs 9.  Dwelling alone… not counting itself among the nations. Israel is called sanctified, holy, set apart.
3. Vs 10. Reiteration of Genesis 13:6 and 28:14, that God will make Israel like the dust of the earth.
4. Balaam wants to inherit their blessing, but he will not.
5. Remember Gen 3:15, the “he”?  We’ve been looking all through the Bible, all through history for the “he.”  Here “he” is again!

a)     Certainly, at one level, this is just referencing “Jacob,” by which Balaam refers to all of Israel by the name of their patriarch, but there is certainly more.

b)     The “He” will follow in all oracles, and we will get more information on him each time.

c)     Scripture does not refer to Israel as “he” outside of this passage.

d)     Balaam sees a glimpse of the coming Messiah as he looks at this portion of the people of Israel.

3. Second Oracle 23:18-24
1. Vs 19: Balaam again, apologetically, declares that God cannot change his mind.  This is quoted or alluded to numerous times in the rest of the Bible (1 Sam 15:29; Mal 3:6; Romans 11:29; Titus 1:2; Heb 6:18; Jas 1:17).
2. God has blessed, and Balaam can’t change God’s mind on the matter.
3. Vs 21: God “has not beheld misfortune in Jacob.”

a)      It not that he doesn’t know that Jacob has sinned.  They’ve been sinning this whole time! It’s not that he will not discipline them.  He’s disciplined them almost constantly! 

b)     It’s that there is a difference between the discipline God brings out of his faithful love for his people, to bring them into submission to His law and His will, and destruction or abandonment.

c)     This also looks prophetically toward the eventual redemption of Israel in salvation, an even yet still in the future. Jer 50:20

4. Vs 22-24 speak of His power and might to save, support, and defend them.  Don’t get into a military conflict with them!  You’ll get destroyed!
5. Vs 21, we learn more about the “he.”  “He” is a king, and Balaam prophetically hears the shouts of victory already coming from the camp.
3. Third Oracle 24:2-9
1. Prefaced that, this time, Balaam is filled directly by the Holy Spirit to empower Him to speak directly.

a)     Balaam sets this prophecy apart from the last two, declaring this his eyes have been opened, presumably, by the filling mentioned in vs 2.

b)     “Falling down with eyes uncovered.” He worships the God who has opened his eyes, although this affection leaves when the filling does.

2. Vs 5-6 use imagery of Eden to talk about the bountiful blessing of God over Israel.  The land will again be Edenic under Messiah’s reign (Isa 11:1-10).
3. Vs 7:

a)     The river of life, a prophetic picture that runs throughout scripture, shows up here.  See Zech 14:1-9

b)     The Messianic king is going to defeat Agag.  Perhaps a frequent title of the Amalekite kings, perhaps a prophetic naming of a future king.  Fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-9. 

c)     This points to David, but we will see in the next oracle, that the “greater David” is also in view.

4. Vs 8-9 reiterate the folly of engaging in military conflict with Israel.  Their God led them out of captivity in Egypt and will continue to fight on their behalf.
5. Gen 12:3 is restated at the end, again warning Balak not to continue to try to curse God’s people.
4. Fourth Oracle 24:15-24
1. Still under the filling of the HS, Balaam again qualifies what he is about to say as from the Lord.
2. Vs 17 launches into a clearly Messianic prophecy, going beyond but still including David.

a)     Balaam sees Messiah coming from a great distance.  Not today’s situation.

b)     A star shall rise from Jacob (Matt 2:2; Rev 22:16)

c)     A scepter shall rise out of Israel (Gen 49:10; Psa 60:7)

3. Vs 18- 24 document how God, through David and the “greater David,” will subdue the nations around them.  All of the specific victories mentioned happened in David’s lifetime. 
4. The summary statement in vs 19: One from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities, is echoed by many other prophecies about the world-dominating rule of Messiah during the Millennium (Isa 9:6-7; Psa 72:8-11; Rev 20:1-6).
5. Summary:
1. God’s plan of blessing and redemption through the Messiah cannot be derailed by the plans of men or demons.
2. God will bless and save because He has declared that He will (23:19).  It is in his nature and desire to do so (Isa 43:11).
3. Rest in the work of God, all of which was yet future in the days of Balaam, but in which we can now rejoice.
4. God is not done restoring all things.  The world is still broken, but He is not done.  Messiah will come again, and we will be a part of his administration by which He sets all things right!

Discussion Questions

1. When you think about God’s affections toward you, do you ever picture Him as angry or disappointed?  Do you ever picture Him as mad enough to leave you alone? 
2. How does the story of Balaam change that picture for you?
3. How does the unchanging love of God for us change how we live?  How we pray?