Faith. How do you define faith? What does your faith look like? We’re in Numbers 27. We’ve seen what unbelief looks like. We’ve witnessed grumbling, complaining about God’s good gifts. We’ve seen the people come to the very border of the land God promised to give them, and they respond

Numbers 13:31 …“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

We’ve seen the people rebel against God’s authority, going their own way, refusing to be shepherded. We’ve seen a whole generation fall in the wilderness because of their unbelief. We’ve even seen this next generation stray from the Lord to worship other gods, and 24,000 of them died in the plague. The census of Numbers 26 ends this way:

Numbers 26:64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Bold Faith; The Daughters of Zelophehad

But here in Numbers 27 we see a bold example of faith.

Numbers 27:1 Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”

God had promised to give the people the land. The land is currently occupied by giants, in walled cities, greater and stronger than they (Nu.13:28; Dt.9:1-3). They have yet to set foot across the Jordan, into the land. They have battles yet to fight. Much is uncertain. But they are moving forward in faith. God said he would give them the land, that he would drive out its inhabitants before them, so they are taking God at his word and moving forward. These women have a question that is completely irrelevant outside the land. Their question is not based on an ‘if’ but on a ‘when’. When God gives us the land, what does this look like for us? We believe God will do what he promised to do, and when he does, what is our lot in that; what is our inheritance?

This is a great definition of faith; taking God at his word, believing he will do what he has promised. Faith is not quantitative, as if we need more of it; when asked to increase their faith, Jesus told his disciples that with even the smallest amount of faith, nothing is impossible (Lk.17:5-6). Faith does not have power in and of itself, so that if I believe something hard enough, it will come true. No, faith is only as good as the object in which it is placed. Faith in a lie is useless, no matter how firmly you hold it. But faith in God’s promise is as sure as the God who made those promises.

We find this same definition of faith in Romans 4, when Abraham, in spite of his circumstances believed that God would do what he had promised.

Romans 4:20 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Faith gives glory to God because faith is simply depending on God to do what he has said he would do.

We were introduced to these five women in Numbers 26:33, the fifth generation from Manasseh, daughters of Zelophehad who had no sons but only daughters. In a patriarchal society, property rights are passed down through the sons; not because men are better than women, but because there needed to be a way to keep the land inheritance within the tribe to whom it was given. This allowed for marriage outside of one’s tribe, and still maintain the God-given property rights of each tribe. These women make the case that their father had not forfeited his property rights because of joining in overt rebellion against YHWH. These women were making a legal petition for the property rights of their father to not be lost because he had no sons; and they found a hearing before Moses and Eleazar and the chiefs of the tribes at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Walk in Light of God’s Revealed Word

Moses heard their plea. This is a special circumstance, a circumstance for which there is no law, no word from the Lord, no precedent. God has given his people his word. He has revealed his will. He has given them his law, and he expects them to act in accordance to his word, not to walk contrary to what he has said, and not (like Balaam) to seek another word from the Lord (Nu.22:19), a different answer contrary to what he has already spoken, because ‘God is not a man, …that he should change his mind’ (Nu.23:19).

When we already have God’s will revealed in God’s word written, faith is never seeking a different answer according to our own desires. God expects us to take what we have been given, apply his principles to our circumstances, and walk in his wisdom.

But this is a circumstance to which God has not spoken. Like the case in Numbers 9:8, Moses does not go beyond the word of the Lord and speak on his own. He takes the question to the Lord and waits for his answer. And God gives him more than an answer to this specific question; he sets a precedent and gives instructions that will guide them in similar future decisions.

Numbers 27:5 Moses brought their case before the LORD. 6 And the LORD said to Moses, 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them. 8 And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter. 9 And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the LORD commanded Moses.’”

These daughters of Zelophehad bracket this last section of Numbers as chapter 36 gives further clarification on the implications of this decision on inheritance in the land as the people prepare to enter in. These daughters of Zelophehad set a bold example of faith in the promises of God, trusting him to do what he said he would do, and living in a way that displays their confidence in God. These women setting an example of confident dependence on God stand in stark contrast to the Midianite women who led the people to gratify their own desires and go after other gods.

Unbelief and Its Consequences; Death

The flesh must be put to death (Rom.8:13; Col.3:5).

Numbers 27:12 The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

Although Moses was a man of faith, even he stumbled. He acted in unbelief (Nu.20:12). He acted out of anger and frustration, out of pride and selfishness. He and his brother Aaron failed to uphold the Lord as holy in the eyes of the congregation. He acted in disobedience. Disobedience has consequences. He would not set foot in the promised land. Like Abraham before him, he would die in faith having seen it from afar, but not having received the things promised (Heb.11:13).

We see Moses continue to receive God’s word through the end of Numbers, now with Joshua by his side transitioning into leadership. Deuteronomy consists of Moses giving God’s instructions to the people on the plains of Moab before they enter the land, and Deuteronomy ends (32-34) with the account of Moses’ death on Mount Nebo. Moses records in Deuteronomy 3 his petition to the Lord on this occasion to be allowed to enter the land, and the Lord’s refusal. When we fail to walk by faith, there are consequences.

Our Need For a Shepherd

But here Moses’ heart is displayed:

Numbers 27:15 Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, 16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

Moses had experience shepherding the flock of another (Ex.3:1). And as frustrating as that often was, he cared for the sheep. His concern was that this people be cared for as they enter into the land without him. Moses did not appoint one of his own sons; he did not select his own successor; he took this need to the Lord. He appealed for one who would go out before the people and come in before them; that is shepherding language, leading to pasture and bringing back to the fold, but more specifically that is military language, (1Sam.8:20; 18:13) one who would lead them out to battle and bring them back safely.

Moses was concerned that God’s people not be hungry, lost and vulnerable, lacking direction and protection, like sheep without a shepherd.
Spirit Filled Joshua (and the Shepherds of Israel)

Numbers 27:18 So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.”

Hoshea, son of Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim (Nu.13:8,16); renamed Joshua, assistant to Moses from his youth (Nu.11:28); who led Israel’s army (Ex.17), who spent time with Moses on the mountain and at the tent of meeting (Ex.24:13; 33:11), who objected that Moses’ authority might be undermined by others prophesying (Nu.11:28), one of only two spies who brought back a good report of the land (Nu.14), who was full of the Spirit, was the Lord’s choice. He was to be given some of Moses’ authority, commissioned publicly. But there was a difference; the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend (Ex.33:11; Dt.34:10); Joshua was to receive direction through the priest who would mediate the Lord’s instructions.

Numbers 27:22 And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.

Joshua faithfully led the people to victory in the promised land,

Judges 2:7 And the people served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the LORD had done for Israel. … 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel. 11 And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. 12 And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. 13 They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth.

The time of the Judges was a time where ‘Everyone did what was right in his own eyes’ (Jdg.17:6; 21:25). The Lord took David from the sheepfolds to shepherd his people (Ps.78:70-72), but even David fell short. The time of the kings was described this way: ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd.’ (1Ki.22:17). The prophets had scathing rebukes for the shepherds of Israel who fed only themselves (Is.56; Jer.23;25;50; Ez.34; Zech.10)

The Good Shepherd

But already God was pointing beyond Joshua to someone greater; a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord would know face to face, who would speak all his words (Dt.18:15,18; 34:10).

Isaiah prophesied:

Isaiah 40:9 Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 ​Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. 11 ​He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.

And to Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 34:15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.

Jesus said in John 10:

John 10:7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 ​I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 ​I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 ​just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

The greater Yeshua, Jesus of Nazareth;

Psalm 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

A Tale of Two Generations

God led his people out of slavery, out of Egypt. He brought them to the mountain where he entered into a covenant relationship with them, he took them to be his people, and gave himself to them to be their God. They built him a tent to dwell with them, in the middle of the camp. He led them to his promised land, protecting and providing for them all the way. But they rejected him, his love, his land, his leaders. They broke their covenant with God, so they would die in the wilderness, but God promised that their children, the next generation would enter the land. The book of Numbers began this way:

Numbers 1:1 The LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. 3 From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company. 4 And there shall be with you a man from each tribe, each man being the head of the house of his fathers.

Now here we are, 40 years after leaving Egypt, again on the borders of the land, having been protected by God from spiritual warfare waged against them from the mountains of Moab, having egregiously sinned against God by engaging in immorality with women who led them break the first command of their covenant and go after other gods, after 24,000 of them died in a plague, in Numbers 26 we read:

Numbers 26:1 After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” 3 And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, 4 “Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and upward,” as the LORD commanded Moses. The people of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt were:

Miriam is dead. Aaron the high priest is dead, his son Eleazar now taking his place. Moses is soon to die. This is a census of the next generation; those military age men who under Joshua’s leadership will conquer the land, enter in and posses it. God promised to give them the land, but not without a fight. Already they have defeated the Amorites, Sihon and Og, and possessed their land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as Mount Hermon (Dt.3:8).

The Census; Tribes, Clans and Warnings

In Numbers 1, the head of each tribe was listed, the would-be heroes of Israel, who fell in the wilderness. In that chapter each tribe was numbered with this repetitive formula: ‘…Of the people of [tribe], their generations, by their clans, by their fathers’ houses, those of them who were listed, according to the number of names, head by head, every male from twenty years old and upward, all who were able to go to war: those listed of the tribe of [tribe] were [number].’

Chapter 26 gives us more detail, listing the families by their clans; the formula here is ‘The sons of [tribe] according to their clans: of [son’s name], the clan of the [son’s name]ites; [each clan is listed] …These are the clans of the [tribe]ites, [total number].

Numbers 26 is a review of history; it is a reminder of the failures of the fathers, a warning not to follow in their footsteps. The chapter begins ‘after the plague’, a warning from chapter 25 to flee sexual immorality, to ‘have no other god before me’, a reminder of the 24,000 who died in the plague.

Eleazar the priest is mentioned as son of Aaron, a reminder of Aaron and Moses’ anger and pride in chapter 20, where they forfeited entering the land because of unbelief and a failure to uphold YHWH as holy (Nu.20:12).

The Census

5-11 this census begins with Reuben the firstborn and his sons; Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; with a focus on Pallu’s son Eliab, and his sons Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram (Nu.16) provide another warning as prominent men,

Numbers 26:9 …chosen from the congregation, who contended against Moses and Aaron in the company of Korah, when they contended against the LORD 10 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured 250 men, and they became a warning. 11 But the sons of Korah did not die.

They rebelled against the God-appointed leadership of Moses and Aaron. Having been entrusted with authority and responsibility, they were not satisfied, but jealous; they wanted more. Korah, a Levite, is listed here because of his association with this rebellion. But sons don’t have to fail the same way their fathers failed. The sons of Korah did not follow in their fathers footsteps, and instead went on to author some of the Psalms we now enjoy.

12-14 Simeon is listed next, with his sons Nemuel, Jamin, Jachin, Zerah, and Shaul.

15-18 Gad is listed with his sons Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli

19-22 Judah fathered Er and Onan, who became a warning against wickedness and selfishness toward inheritance rights (Ge.38). We aren’t told what Er did, but he was wicked in the sight of the Lord; what other opinion matters? Er, Onan and Shelah were born of the daughter of Shua a Canaanite. Perez and Zerah were born of his daughter-in-law whom he thought was a prostitute, but all this is overlooked. Perez’ line is traced through Hezron and Hamul. We find out in Ruth that Hezron became the ancestor of David; Matthew (1) and Luke (3) trace the genealogy of Jesus through Judah, Perez, and Hezron.

23-25 lists Issachar as the father of Tola, Puvah, Jashub, and Shimron.

26-27 records Zebulon as father of Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

28-37 follows the birth order of Joseph’s sons, listing Manasseh first, although Numbers 1 listed Ephraim first according to the Jacob’s blessing in Genesis 48. Manasseh’s lineage is traced through his son Machir, who fathered Gilead, who fathered Iezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher. Hepher fathered Zelophehad, who had no sons but only daughters; Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These five daughters of Zelophehad, unusual in a list of male descendants, also unique in that they constitute the fifth generation, take center stage in chapters 27 and 36 as they petition Moses for inheritance rights.

35-37 lists Ephraim as the father of Shuthelah, Becher, and Tahan; Shuthelah fathered Eran.

38-41 trace the descendants of Benjamin, Bela, Ashbel, Ahiram, Shephupham, and Hupham; Bela fathered Ard and Naaman.

42-43 tell us that Dan had only one son Shuham, through whom his large tribe descended.

44-47 Asher fathered Imnah, Ishvi, Beriah; Beriah fathered Heber and Malchiel, Asher’s daughter Serah is also mentioned.

48-50 Naphtali concludes the list with his clans Jahzeel, Guni. Jezer, and Shillem.

Here’s a comparison list (slide) to show the changes in the numbers of each tribes; some increased, some decreased (Simeon significantly, possibly because of his part in the Baal-Peor plague in chapter 25).

Numbers 26:51 This was the list of the people of Israel, 601,730.

What is amazing is that in spite of grumbling, disobedience, unfaithfulness, and God’s judgments, including the plague killing 24,000 at Baal-Peor, the overall number of Israelite males dropped by less than 2,000.

Military Men and Inheritance Allotment

The census includes only militarily eligible men age 20 and up, those who could go to war. Life is war, and God was giving Israel a promised land to conquer. The roster of the military would be essential as they began to occupy hostile land.

But this census had another purpose;

Numbers 26:52 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 53 “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. 54 To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56 Their inheritance shall be divided according to lot between the larger and the smaller.”

The census gave them the information they needed divide the land equitably to accommodate the different sized tribes. The division of the land was ultimately to be done by lot, a way to take it out of the manipulative hands of men and allow God to apportion the land as he willed. Numbers 34 specifies the boundaries of the land, which would be divided in Joshua 13-19.

Levites and the Lord their Inheritance

The tribe of Levi was not to be numbered among the military, as they were assigned a different battle; guarding the sanctity of God’s tent and God’s people. In Numbers 3-4 they were numbered as a substitute for every firstborn male of the other tribes and they were organized around God’s tent and assigned different responsibilities for transporting God’s tent according to their divisions. But the promised land would provide a more permanent home for God’s tent, and eventually the temple, so their duties would be different. They would not inherit land (the Lord was their inheritance); they were to be given cities scattered among the other tribes (48 cities assigned in Joshua 21) to continue to guard the sanctity of God and his people.

The three sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari; Gershon fathered the Libnites; Kohath the Hebronites and Korahites; Merari the Mahlites and Mushites.

Numbers 26:58 …And Kohath was the father of Amram. 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses and Miriam their sister. 60 And to Aaron were born Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61 But Nadab and Abihu died when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD.

There is a focus here on Amram, another son of Kohath, through whom came Aaron, Moses and Miriam, leaders of Israel. And here is another warning; Aaron had four sons. After the climax of Leviticus 9, when the tabernacle was complete and the priests were set apart for service, and the appropriate offerings were presented, God’s glory filled the tabernacle and fire came out from the Lord and consumed the burnt offering. Caught up in the moment, (Lev.10) Nadab and Abihu took each his censer and offered incense before the Lord. But they violated God’s clear instructions; they worshiped in a way that seemed right to them (Prov.14:12; 16:25), they presented their own fire, and fire came out from the Lord and consumed them. We are not free to approach God in any way we see fit. There are not many paths to God. Jesus said the way is wide to destruction; few find the narrow path to life (Mt.7:13-14).

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Access to God is exclusively through our Lord Jesus. We cannot clean ourselves up; we must be washed in his blood. We cannot come with our own righteousness; we must come clothed in his.

An Entire Generation Dead by Unbelief

The concluding statement also includes a warning.

Numbers 26:63 These were those listed by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who listed the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. 64 But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

A son born to parents some 20 years after they left Egypt would now be 20, eligible to be numbered in this census. A 19 year old who was not numbered in the first census would now, 38 years later, be 57. The only men over 57 that remained were Moses, Caleb, and Joshua, and Moses would die before they entered the land. God is faithful to his promises.

Numbers 14:21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.

28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

God is faithful to his promises both in judgment on the faithless and in his gracious promises to those who trust him

Conclusion:

God is faithful to all his promises. But he is just and demands holiness of his followers. Flee sexual immorality and idolatry; love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. Beware anger and pride; always treat the Lord as holy. Be on guard against jealousy, wickedness, selfishness. Approach God in the one and only way he has authorized, through the blood of Jesus Christ his only Son. Enter through the narrow way, the way of utter dependence on the finished work of another.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

The new generation is camped on the plains of Moab, poised to enter God’s promised land. In chapters 22-24 Balak king of Moab recruited the renown sorcerer Balaam to travel around 400 miles to curse Israel, to weaken them, so that he could drive them from his land. But the Lord makes it clear that he cannot curse those whom the Lord has not cursed; three times at great expense he attempts to curse them, but instead the Lord puts a blessing in his mouth for Israel. Frustrated, Balak sends him off without pay, but not before the Spirit of God delivered a magnificent promise of the coming God-king who would descend from Jacob, who would crush the nations. At the end of his seven oracles blessing God’s people and cursing their enemies, we read;

Numbers 24:25 Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

This is the last we hear of Balaam… or is it? Numbers 25 shifts the scene back down to Israel, camped on the plains of Moab, oblivious to the spiritual warfare waged against them on the mountains above, or how God stood as their defense.

Covenant Relationship and Covenant Treason

Meanwhile down on the plains…

Numbers 25:1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.

This is shocking! This next generation, who witnessed their fathers falling in the wilderness because of unbelief, who were now experiencing victory over their enemies, experiencing the sovereign protection of the Lord from their spiritual enemies, and even when they sinned, they confessed their sin (21:7); this is the generation that began to replace grumbling with singing (21:17). These are the ones now on the verge of entering into God’s promised land, indulging themselves in the lusts of the flesh. Women and food. Sexual immorality, meat sacrificed to false gods, idol worship.

The sexual immorality was real, but it was a picture of a deeper issue; it was covenant unfaithfulness not only of each man to his spouse, but of the community to their God. In Numbers 5 we have the procedure for resolving the guilt or innocence of a wife suspected of unfaithfulness by a jealous husband; the penalty for marital unfaithfulness was death (Lev.20:10). God portrays himself as a husband jealous for the exclusive affections of his wife.

Isaiah 54:5 ​For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

Isaiah 62:5 …as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Jeremiah 3:20 ​Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.’”

Jeremiah 31:32 …the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

Ezekiel 16:32 Adulterous wife, who receives strangers instead of her husband!

There are so many parallels in the relation of husband and wife that Paul, teaching on the marriage relationship in Ephesians 5 says ‘This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.’

The First Commandment; Competing Loves

The terms of his covenant relationship with his people were laid out in Exodus 20, which begins this way:

Exodus 20:2 “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

The question is who do you love? Who is your first love? Who holds your affections? Who has your attention? Who captures your imagination? To whom are you devoted?

God warns of this very danger in Exodus 34:

Exodus 34:12 Take care, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land to which you go, lest it become a snare in your midst. 13 You shall tear down their altars and break their pillars and cut down their Asherim 14 (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), 15 lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and when they whore after their gods and sacrifice to their gods and you are invited, you eat of his sacrifice, 16 and you take of their daughters for your sons, and their daughters whore after their gods and make your sons whore after their gods.

This generation saw their fathers indulge in the same kind of unfaithfulness; while Moses was on mount Sinai, receiving the signed copy of their covenant relationship with God, the people made a gold bull idol, feasted before it, worshiped it, and indulged in sexual immorality (Ex.32:6-8). Here, the pagan prophet Balaam is compelled to speak God’s blessings over the people from the mountaintops, and the people on the plains commit covenant treason, bow to worship a different lord (Baal), feast before him, and indulge in sexual immorality. By their actions they transferred their allegiance from YHWH to Baal, entering into a covenant relationship with the false god Baal. No one can serve two masters. Where supernatural cursing failed, at the allure of carnal pleasures, they caved.

This is catastrophic. At the golden calf incident in Exodus 32

Exodus 32:9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. 10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”

God was ready to wipe out the whole nation and start over with Moses. Moses interceded for the people, and called for the Levites to purify the camp, and about 3,000 men died that day (Ex.32:28).

Leadership Inaction and its Consequences

Numbers 25:4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.

God instructs Moses to hold the leadership of the tribes accountable for their failure to lead, their failure to restrain the people under their charge. This is covenant treason. Execute the leaders publicly to turn God’s wrath away from the entire nation. This seems severe, but this is gracious; God will hold the leaders accountable for their failure to lead, possibly 12 men, the chief of each tribe (1:4), or if these were the chiefs of thousands (10:4), that would be just over 600 men; they were to die in place of the entire nation.

But it seems Moses doesn’t follow the Lord’s instructions. The fierce anger of YHWH was set against Israel, and Moses instructed the judges (were these the same men sentenced by the Lord to die (Dt.1:15-16)? Or were these the 70 appointed in Numbers 11 to share the burden of the people with Moses?); Moses instructs the judges to ‘kill those of his men who had yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.’ But even this we don’t see happening; instead we see weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Grieving over sin is good, but was this disobedient inaction on the part of the leaders of Israel? It’s hard to say for sure. The sin of the people was so flagrant, and the passivity of the leaders implying consent, so that a son of the chief of Simeon had the audacity to parade a Midianite woman into the tent for immoral purposes in full view of Moses and the whole congregation.

Immorality and its Consequences

Numbers 25:7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

Phinehas is the grandson of Aaron, his father Eleazar is now the high priest which would leave Phinehas in charge of Levites. The Levites were commissioned to protect the sanctity of the tabernacle.

One of the lies of the enemy is that my sexual sin only affects me. It is true that it does affect me; ‘…the sexually immoral person sins against his own body’ (1Cor.6:18); why would anyone willingly destroy his own soul? But the lie that it is no-one else’s business, is a lie. Sin affects not only the individual who sins, but those around him, and ultimately the entire community. Paul addresses this issue in the church in Corinth, rebuking their complacent leadership, and says ‘purge the evil person from among you’ (1Cor.5:11-13).

Jesus takes the sexual purity of his followers seriously:

Matthew 5:27 ​“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 ​If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 ​And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

We might be shocked at Phinehas’ action, but he took his God seriously. He took the sanctity of the people of God seriously. He took sin seriously. Because God accepted his action, the plague which had already broken out among the community was stopped. Still, 24,000 people died in the plague. To put this in perspective, that is about 4 percent of the original census of the people. In response to the golden calf, the Levites killed about 3,000 men (Ex.32:28). After God’s judgment on Korah (Nu.16:49), when Aaron took his censer and ran into the midst of the rebellious congregation to stand between the dead and the living to make atonement, 14,700 had died. That’s almost 10,000 less than died in this plague.

Zeal for The Lord’s House

Numbers 25:10 And the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, 13 and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’”

Whatever we might think of Phinehas’ actions, YHWH approved. He was jealous with YHWH’s jealousy. By his action he turned away God’s wrath against the people. Like the Levites who went through the camp and killed those who were worshiping the calf, who were then entrusted with the service of the tabernacle, so God rewarded Phinehas’ zeal with the a covenant of peace and a perpetual priesthood.

Jesus, on seeing his Father’s house made into a house of merchandise, made a whip of cords and drove the moneychangers and those who sold out of the temple courts;

John 2:17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

Sin is serious. Two people engaged in immorality died a violent death run through by a spear which turned away God’s wrath. Jesus, the only innocent one, was publicly humiliated, hung up before the Lord, and he turned the wrath of God away from all who would run to him for rescue. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities (Is.53:5). Every sinner who will turn to him will find forgiveness and freedom in his cleansing blood.

Public Shame and Dishonor

Numbers 25:14 The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian.

These were prominent leaders of the community, both of Israel and the Midianites. Cozbi means ‘false’ or ‘deceiver’; probably a derogatory name given to describe her character. Where Phinehas is honored for his zeal for the Lord, these two bring public shame and dishonor on their families for their treasonous actions.

Proverbs 7 describes the fool who is led astray by a prostitute as an ox being led to the slaughter.

Consequences for Causing to Stumble

Numbers 25:16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, 18 for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

Where the men of Israel who committed covenant treason were punished for their actions, those who tempted them also had consequences. Jesus said:

Matthew 18:6 “But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea. 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!

The Instigation of Balaam

Balaam, the pagan sorcerer who was prevented from cursing Israel and thus forfeited his pay does not appear at all in chapter 25, because the chapter puts the responsibility for sin right where it belongs, squarely on the shoulders of those who succumbed to temptation. But there’s a backstory to this story. We are told in Numbers 31 that

Numbers 31:7 They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

I thought we had heard the last of Balaam?

Numbers 31:15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

Balaam forfeits the opportunity to die the death of the righteous for personal greed; although he was restrained from cursing Israel, he knew enough of YHWH’s character to get the people by their own sin to turn God’s anger against them. Such are the wiles of our enemy, who prowls about, seeking whom he may devour.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Israel is spread out on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the promised land. Unbeknownst to them, Balak king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel for him. God made it explicitly clear to Balaam that he was not to go beyond God’s word, because God had blessed Israel. Balak took Balaam to three high places where he could look out over the camps of Israel; at each high place he built seven altars and sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.

On the high place of Baal, YHWH put a word of blessing in his mouth for Israel; God alone is the true source of blessing and cursing; Israel is unique, set apart from all the nations, chosen by God, and the Lord has made them numerous as the dust. They are viewed as upright, and Balaam wishes to share in the blessings they will enjoy in the afterlife.

From the top of Pisgah, YHWH put another word of blessing in his mouth; ‘God is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should change his mind.’ He infallibly keeps all his promises. God is with his people as their King, and he views them as righteous. He is for them, and no forms of divination or sorcery can overthrow his blessings on them. They will conquer all their enemies.

Then from the top of Peor, the Spirit of God came upon Balaam, and his eye is opened. He describes them as the restored garden of Eden, and he points to their fruitfulness, a source of blessing to many. He points to a coming King who will defeat their ancient enemy, whose kingdom will be exalted, who will crush the nations, all who are opposed to them. He recites God’s blessing upon Abram from Genesis 12; ‘Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you’ (Nu.24:9; Ge.12:2).

Balak is frustrated; “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them” (23:11); “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all” (23:25); ‘And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. …“I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor”’ (24:10-11).

Numbers 24:12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’?

Balaam reveals his heart; his attention is still fixed on silver and gold as both Peter and Jude warn (2Pt.2:15: Jd.1:11),

Balak had commanded him to cease from speaking and return home without pay, but the Spirit of the living God was upon Balaam, and compelled him to speak. No sacrifices were required, no compensation expected, no seeking omens; God would have the final word, and his blessings could not be stopped, not by any attempt at cursing, not by the king of Moab, not by a pagan diviner for hire. Balaam is bound to not go beyond the word of YHWH; to speak only what YHWH speaks.

Balaam Oracles 4-7

Numbers 24:14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

15 And he took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,

and knows the knowledge of the Most High,

who sees the vision of the Almighty,

falling down with his eyes uncovered:

17 ​I see him, but not now;

I behold him, but not near:

a star shall come out of Jacob,

and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;

it shall crush the forehead of Moab

and break down all the sons of Sheth.

18 ​Edom shall be dispossessed;

Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.

Israel is doing valiantly.

19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion

and destroy the survivors of cities!”

20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said,

“Amalek was the first among the nations,

but its end is utter destruction.”

21 And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,

“Enduring is your dwelling place,

and your nest is set in the rock.

22 Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned

when Asshur takes you away captive.”

23 And he took up his discourse and said,

“Alas, who shall live when God does this?

24 But ships shall come from Kittim

and shall afflict Asshur and Eber;

and he too shall come to utter destruction.”

25 Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.

Here we have four uninvited oracles again under the control of the Spirit of God, which rounds out the total to seven. These final four shift the focus from who God is and his blessing on his people, to the consequences on those who oppose God’s people. The last three are very concise, directed toward specific people groups. The first is the longest, with a preface about Balaam, and points to a coming king who will conquer his enemies.

Balaam’s eye has been opened by the Spirit of God come upon him. He hears the words of El, he has been given knowledge of Elyon, he sees a vision from Shaddai. He is face down on the ground with his eyes finally opened.

A Scepter Shall Rise out of Israel

And what he sees is something that will come in the distant future, in the latter days. The one he sees is not now and not near, a distant coming future one. He describes this one as a star and a scepter. A scepter is a rod carried by royalty which symbolizes authority and judgment. A rod can also be used as a lethal weapon. Jacob’s blessing on his son Judah as a lion has been echoed in the second and third oracles of Balaam.

Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

There will be a coming King, a ruler bearing a royal scepter with which he will crush the skulls of his enemies.

A Star Shall Come Out of Jacob

The star imagery is more surprising. ‘A star shall come out of Jacob’. The descendants of Abraham were promised to be numerous as the stars. But stars in the Bible often point to superhuman beings. The Lord challenges Job in Job 38 ‘where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth’

Job 38:6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

The morning stars are pictured as sons of God or celestial beings who sing together and shout for joy. Psalm 148 makes a similar connection:

Psalm 148:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!

God’s people were clearly warned against worshiping these celestial beings:

Deuteronomy 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.

God’s holy angels are quick to reject worship (Rev.19:10; 22:8-9). We are never to worship created beings. Deuteronomy 32 describes idolatry:

Deuteronomy 32:17 ​They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.

Isaiah 14 reveals the power behind the king of Babylon:

Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 ​But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

Lucifer in pride aspired to be like the Most High, he sought to rule over the stars or celestial beings. He sought the worship God alone deserves. But he and his angels will be cast down (Rev.12:4,9).

Jesus in the gospels connects the stars falling from heaven in the last days with the powers of the heavens being shaken (Mk.13:25); ‘the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Eph.6:12). Amos 5:26 and Acts 7:41-43 mention worship of a star-god.

The Coming Human / Divine King

Satan is an impostor, but this prophecy points to a coming one who is both king and divine. And as one who comes out of Israel, descended from Jacob, he must also be human.

We see all these pieces, the anticipation of a divine/human God king come together in several prophecies.

Scepter of a God-King

Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, … 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

In Psalm 2 we see the coming King who will rule with an iron scepter, but this one, called YHWH’s Anointed or Messiah is also the begotten Son of YHWH. Psalm 45 is even more clear:

Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 ​you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

The scepter and throne belong to God eternally. But this God-king has been anointed by God, your God. Who is the God-King, and who is anointing him? Hebrews 1 quotes Psalm 45 in contrast to angels who are never to be worshiped, and says it is ‘of the Son he says ‘your throne O God, is forever and ever…’

Hebrews 1 also says that the Son ‘is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature’. Isaiah 60 says:

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 ​And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

YHWH will rise like the sun; the glory of YHWH will break the darkness and shine with his glorious light.

Peter comments on his experience on the mountain when Jesus’ glory was revealed and ‘his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light’ (Mt.17:2); Peter says:

2 Peter 1:19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

Jesus himself claims in Revelation 22

Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Jesus, the coming star and scepter, the God-King, is both the source of David, and the descendant of David in his humanity.

Jesus The Conquering King

And he will crush the skull of his enemies and dispossess them; in him Israel is doing valiantly. This “one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” Moab, who waged spiritual warfare against Israel, Moab’s head will be crushed. Edom, who refused Israel passage, will be dispossessed. Amalek, ancient enemy of Israel who attacked when they left Israel shall be utterly destroyed. The Kenites, one of the inhabitants of the land (Gen.15:18-22) will be taken captive and their city burned. ‘Alas, who shall live when God does this?’ Who shall live? No enemy of the Lord will live. Only the one who runs to Jesus to take refuge in him from his coming wrath. Have you taken refuge in Jesus? Today he is a star shining in the darkness, a light to fix your eyes on as you navigate through this present darkness. But one day he will rise in all his glory and dispel all darkness, and if you are part of that darkness you will suffer his wrath. Run to Jesus, hide in him, and you shall live. Truly live.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Balak king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel for him. God made it explicitly clear to Balaam that he was not to go beyond God’s word, because God had blessed Israel. Balak took Balaam to the high place of Baal, and YHWH put a word of blessing in his mouth for Israel. Balak to him to the heights of Pisgah, and YHWH put another word of blessing in his mouth.

Numbers 23:27 And Balak 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.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. 29 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balak just doesn’t get it; in the last blessing, God revealed his character and nature; he is not a man or a son of man. He does not lie, he does not change his mind. God has blessed them, and there is no sorcery that can overturn God’s blessing. God is with his people, he is for them, and he will fight against those who fight against them. He took him to the top of Peor, another high place for worship of Baal, a place which will gain an ill reputation in chapter 25. Different location, same procedure; again seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams.

The Spirit of God Came Upon Him

Numbers 24:1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,

This is different. God said ‘there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel’ (23:23), so Balaam does not look for omens; the word is the same as ‘enchantment’. He finally recognized that ‘it pleased YHWH to bless Israel’ so instead of his usual occult practices, he ‘set his face toward the wilderness’, and ‘lifted up his eyes’ and saw the camp of Israel.

And the Spirit of God came upon him. God had spoken to him, and put words in his mouth, but this time was different, God’s Holy Spirit came upon him, and rather than a word put in his mouth, the Spirit of God upon him inspired him to speak. We don’t see Moses or Aaron in this whole section of Numbers, and this language is not used throughout the five books of Moses about either one of them. In Numbers 11, YHWH took some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on 70 of the elders of Israel, who prophesied. In response to Joshua,

Numbers 11:29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!”

We see God’s Spirit come upon some of the prophets and judges and kings of Israel, even on some common Israelites who prophesied, but here we see the Spirit of God come upon an unbelieving pagan sorcerer. In the New Testament he spoke through Israel’s unbelieving high priest Caiaphas (Jn.11:49-52). As we’ve learned from the donkey incident, the Lord can speak through whomever he chooses.

Israel Camping Tribe by Tribe

Verse 2 tells us that Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. Back in chapter 2, God organized Israel around the tabernacle, three tribes on each side, east, south, west and north. We are given the census of each tribe in chapter 1, and if we lay that out, looking out from the mountains west northwest over the plains, the organization of the camp would have taken the shape of a cross.

Blind Eyes Opened

Numbers 24:3 and he took up his discourse and said,

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,

the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,

4 the oracle of him who hears the words of God,

who sees the vision of the Almighty,

falling down with his eyes uncovered:

5 How lovely are your tents, O Jacob,

your encampments, O Israel!

6 Like palm groves that stretch afar,

like gardens beside a river,

like aloes that the LORD has planted,

like cedar trees beside the waters.

7 Water shall flow from his buckets,

and his seed shall be in many waters;

his king shall be higher than Agag,

and his kingdom shall be exalted.

8 God brings him out of Egypt

and is for him like the horns of the wild ox;

he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries,

and shall break their bones in pieces

and pierce them through with his arrows.

9 He crouched, he lay down like a lion

and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?

Blessed are those who bless you,

and cursed are those who curse you.”

Balaam the seer had been blind. Blind to what his own donkey saw so clearly, the angel of YHWH with drawn sword standing in the way to oppose him, because his way was perverse before the Lord. His own greed had blinded the seer from seeing the spiritual realities around him. But now, the Spirit of God having come upon him, his eye has been opened. He hears the words of El. He sees the vision of Shaddai. Falling face down on the ground at the presence of God almighty, he can finally see.

A Fruitful Garden (Like Eden)

And he begins to see Israel as God sees her; “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the LORD has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters.”

One of the primary complaints of the people as they crossed the wilderness was a lack of water. Now this vision is of abundant water; wadis or river ravines spreading out, gardens beside a river, carefully planted like Eden by YHWH himself (Gn.2:8-9; the holy place in the tabernacle was full of garden of Eden symbolism). The tents, the encampments of Israel the Lord considers lovely. As we saw last time, Israel was considered upright; the Lord ‘has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel’ (23:1,21), not because they were without fault, we’ve read the story, we know better. But because God is with them, and because they belong to him, he views them with a righteousness not their own, a righteousness credited to their account.

God views Israel as YHWH’s garden of Eden restored, like cedars beside the waters. In Psalm 1 the righteous are compared with

Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

In spite of all their failures and flaws, as long as his people abide in him, he will prune them and they will bear fruit (Jn.15:1-5)

Living Water From Finite Vessels

The water metaphor now changes; not only are they well watered like a carefully planned garden, they become a water source that spreads out to bless others. A bucket or jar is usually used for drawing water, for containing, carrying, or storing water; it is not a source of water. But the picture here is flowing or living water flowing out of a finite clay jar. ‘We have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us’ (2Cor.4:7). Jesus said to the sinful woman at the well:

John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” … 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Jesus said in John 7

John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

The Exalted Kingdom of the Coming King

This word for water can also be used for seed, and the focus of the prophecy moves to descendants, to children spreading out like water, like streams in the desert bringing with them abundant blessing. The concepts flow from blessings to offspring, to a coming King and his coming kingdom.

Numbers 24:7 Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

A king named Agag shows up in 1 Samuel 15, about 350 years later; this could be a prediction of his future defeat by the first king of Israel, or Agag could be a contemporary king of the Amalekites, after whom the king in 1 Samuel is named, or instead of a personal name it could be a royal title of the kings of the Amalekites. The Amalekites attacked Israel in Exodus 17 after they came out of Egypt; they defeated the people when they presumptuously attempted to enter the land after their rebellion and disobedience in Numbers 14.

There is a coming king who would be far superior to the ancient enemy of Israel. This coming King’s kingdom would be exalted. Although this may find a partial fulfillment in Saul, ultimately it points to the king who was God, who became human,

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Conquering King, Lion of Judah

In the last oracle, it was plural; God brings them out of Egypt; he is for them like the horns of a wild ox; now God brings him out of Egypt; and is for him like the horns of a wild ox. If we trace the nearest antecedent, the ‘him’ must be referring to the coming King whose kingdom shall be exalted. Matthew 2:15 sees the prophecy of Hosea 11:1 fulfilled in Jesus; “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Balak feared the tongue of the domestic ox; he should have feared the horns of the wild ox. There is one coming, one to be feared.

Revelation 19:13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. …15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Revelation 6:15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, 16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

This coming king is the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev.5:5). It would be wise not to poke the Lion. Balak attempted to wage spiritual warfare against God’s people, assuming that this pagan sorcerer had the power to bless and to curse. He summoned Balaam with the words: “for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed” (Nu.22:6). But back in Genesis 12, God told Abraham;

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God will not contradict himself. By attempting to curse Israel, Balak brought no harm to Israel, but instead put himself under God’s curse. The coming King will crush the head of the serpent, and all who align themselves with him.

The Price of Misguided Spirituality

Numbers 24:10 And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’?

Balak was frustrated. Not only did he not gain any traction against God’s people, but all his efforts to the contrary only brought further confirmation of God’s blessing on his people. So far, Balak had on each of these three occasions sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams on seven altars. That’s 21 bulls and 21 rams. Just to help wrap my head around what that might have meant, quick search gave me today’s prices; an average bull goes for around $6,000 and a ram around $500 (and those estimates are on the low end); that would total somewhere around $136,500. For nothing. And that doesn’t include the animals sacrificed for the welcome feast. The price of misguided spirituality is high. Not only does it promise and not deliver, it will ultimately cost you everything. The Lord invites us:

Isaiah 55:1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. 2 ​Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.

Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28 ​Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Balak king of Moab, out of fear and ignorance of God’s word, hired the renown sorcerer Balaam to curse God’s people; he said:

Numbers 22:5 …“Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

The Lord told Balaam

Numbers 22:12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

For Balaam, this was merely a step in the negotiation process. Balak sent a more prestigious delegation with a more irresistible offer, and Balaam sought a different answer from the Lord. He got his wish;

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”

Balaam eagerly went on his way,

Numbers 22:22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. …

Three times his donkey turned away, three times she received a beating from her master.

Numbers 22:32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

Balak received Balaam with a feast, and the next morning brought him to Bamoth-baal, and made seven altars and offered seven bulls and seven rams, and Balaam went to a bare height to hear from YHWH. God sent him back with a message of blessing.

I cannot curse those that YHWH has not cursed. They are a people set apart, they are numerous as the dust, and Balaam expresses his desire to die the death of the upright and be identified with them in the afterlife.

Numbers 23:11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

But he’s not giving up. He thinks maybe a change of scenery, a change of perspective, a different angle might change the outcome.

Blessings From Pisgah (Nebo)

Numbers 23:13 And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” 14 And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.” 16 And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

Same procedure, different location. From the high place of Baal, now to the field of Watchers, to the top of a cleft. Pisgah is identified with Mount Nebo, where Moses went up to see the land from a distance before he died (Dt.3:27; 34:1). The goal is still the same; ‘curse them for me from there.’ Again YHWH graciously puts a word in Balaam’s mouth. ‘What has YHWH spoken?’

Numbers 23:18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“Rise, Balak, and hear;

give ear to me, O son of Zippor:

19 ​God is not man, that he should lie,

or a son of man, that he should change his mind.

Has he said, and will he not do it?

Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

20 Behold, I received a command to bless:

he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.

21 ​He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,

nor has he seen trouble in Israel.

The LORD their God is with them,

and the shout of a king is among them.

22 ​God brings them out of Egypt

and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

‘What has God wrought!’

24 Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up

and as a lion it lifts itself;

it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey

and drunk the blood of the slain.”

Ontologically Different

God tells us something about himself that we need to know. God is not a man, or a son of man. God is ontologically different than man. He is a different sort of being altogether. God is not a man, and he is not descended from man. Man is the pinnacle of God’s creation, but mankind was created by the uncreated Creator. Moses prayed in Psalm 90

Psalm 90:2 ​Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

God has no beginning or end; he is the uncreated Creator of all that is. God said to Moses ‘I AM that I AM’ (Ex.3:14); Jesus said ‘before Abraham was I AM’ (Jn.8:58).

Balak is fixated on the threat of Israel, and assumes the gods can be manipulated to do what he desires. He needs to know who God is. God is essentially different than his creation. Humanity is dependent; God is independent. God does not change ‘I the LORD do not change’ (Mal.3:6); humanity is constantly changing; we are born, we grow, we die. We lie. We change our minds. We may have the very best of intentions, but circumstances which are out of our control prevent us from doing the thing we intended to do. There are no circumstances outside of God’s control; what he says he will do, what he speaks he will fulfill. God always fulfills his promises, and that is good news for us who have very great and precious promises in the gospel. He who promised is faithful; all God’s promises are ‘yes’ to us in Jesus (2Cor.1:20).

The Command To Bless

This is the first time that Balaam has admitted that he received a command to bless and not to curse. He admits that he is powerless to overcome God’s blessing; if God has blessed, and he has, that is the final word; it cannot be revoked, it cannot be overcome, overturned. God’s blessing is rooted in his own unchanging character. We have God’s word on it.

Imputed Righteousness

Verse 21 is surprising; He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. In the last blessing, Balaam called them ‘upright’. If you’ve read Numbers so far, this should come as a shock. Numbers is a chronicle of the misfortunes and troubles of rebellious Israel. Grumbling, complaining, rebelling, rejecting God’s promises, rejecting God’s leaders, rejecting God’s promised land. A whole generation sentenced to die in the wilderness for unbelief. Defeat by enemies, lethal serpents, graves of craving, no food, no water, loathing God’s good gifts. How can God say he has not beheld misfortune, nor seen trouble seen in Israel? That’s pretty much all we’ve seen!

The Psalmist cries out in Psalm 130

Psalm 130:3 If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

If God keeps record of wrongs, we are all in trouble. But God is a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, forgiving. Not only does he forgive us when we trust in Jesus, but he removes our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Ps.103:12). He forgives, and he will remember our sins no more (Jer.31:34). Not only does he remove our sins from us, but he clothes us in the perfect righteousness of his only Son (Rom.4:6). By faith we ‘receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness’ (Rom.5:17). In Jesus we ‘become the righteousness of God’ (2Cor.5:21). I am ‘found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith’ (Phil.3:9), so that when the Father looks at me, he sees nothing but the perfect righteous record of Jesus Christ.

We’ve seen that God disciplines the one he loves. His purpose is holiness. But here we see that God doesn’t talk about the flaws of his beloved with outsiders.

Ephesians 5:25 …Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

We’ve read the story, we see glaring issues that need to be addressed. But what God says to this pagan sorcerer, this outsider is ‘He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel’.

YHWH God is With Them

‘The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them’ (v.21). This is a powerful encouragement. God is not far off, blessing from a distance; he is with them, in their midst. ‘There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Pr.18:24); “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb.13:5)

The tabernacle was the tent of God, in the middle of the camp. The pillar of cloud and fire was a visible manifestation of the presence of God among them. Remember, at this time there was no king in Israel; God was their king in his royal tent, leading and directing them. God’s presence was with them. What an amazing and powerful comfort to have God visibly present among them. God encamped in the middle of the camp of Israel, ministered to by priests, protected by Levites, approached only through blood sacrifices.

Brothers and sisters, we have something better! We do not have the visible presence of God in fire and cloud, we have constant access through faith to the throne of grace! (Rom.5:2; Heb.4:16). We, believers in Jesus, are the temple of the living God (1Cor.3:16; 6:19). The triune God has taken up residence in us (Jn.14:23; Rom.8:9-11). Jesus has truly come to be Immanuel, God With Us! The victory shout of the King of kings is among us!

Wild Ox and Ravenous Lion

In Numbers 22,

Numbers 22:4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. …

Balak feared the tongue of a domestic ox, but Israel’s God is much more dangerous than he anticipated! God is untameable; ‘He is for them like the horns of the wild ox’ (v.22). The picture is lethal, uncontainable, powerful. If we jump ahead to verse 24 The people are compared to a lioness and a lion on the hunt; ‘it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.’ This is much worse for Moab than an ox licking up the grass. Moab, by its spiritual act of aggression, has drawn the attention of the wild ox, the hungry lion.

No Sorcery Against God’s People

Balak had hoped to weaken Israel by cursing them; in verse 23 Balaam admits: ‘For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel’. What he has been hired to do is not possible. God has blessed them, and there is no way by the powers of the occult to overthrow God’s decree of blessing. Numbers 24:1 tells us that enchantment was what Balaam had been attempting in his curses turned to blessings. Divination is what he was hired to perform for Moab. In Deuteronomy 18, participation in these occult activities is comprehensively condemned as abominable to the Lord. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed (Is.54:17).

What Has God Wrought!

Numbers 23:23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob,

no divination against Israel;

now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel,

‘What has God wrought!’

What has God wrought? Stand in awe, in amazement, in worship. Bow the knee; look at what God has done! God took a Jacob, a manipulating thieving deceiving heel-grabber and made promises to him. He had it out with God, and God gave him a limp, and a new name; one who prevails with God, prince of God. God took a Jacob and made him into Israel; God takes sinners and turns them into saints; God made a way for sinners to be forgiven, for their sins to be remembered no more, look what God has done! God took slaves and set them free, he came to dwell among them, to be with them. Look what God has done! He led them through the wilderness, provided for their needs, promised to defeat their enemies before them, to give them a good land. Look what God has done! God viewed them as righteous, a righteousness not their own, righteousness credited to their account; look what God has done! Behold what God has wrought!

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Miriam is dead. Aaron is dead. Moses will not enter the land. He is absent from the narrative of Numbers 22-24. Aaron was commissioned to put YHWH’s name on the people in blessing:

Numbers 6:24 The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; 26 the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Aaron is gone, but God is still able to bless his people, and he can use whomever he wishes.

Israel is camped on the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho. God’s people had taken the long detour around Edom when they refused them passage, because God refused to give Israel the land of their relatives. They passed by Moab and crossed the Arnon into Amorite land and conquered Sihon and Og and possessed the land from the Arnon river to Mt. Hermon in the north, to the borders of Ammon (the Ammonites were also relatives through Abraham). Moab, ignorant of God’s word of protection over them (Dt.2:9), and in fear because of their circumstances, attempted to wage spiritual warfare against this great horde who had already defeated the ones who defeated them. They were no match militarily, so they attempted to weaken them spiritually by hiring the pagan diviner Balaam from Aram. God had forbidden Balaam to go (22:12), but on his persistence, allowed him to go with the clear restriction ‘but only do what I tell you’ (22:20). Because he went, God’s anger was kindled, and he sent his Angel to oppose him ‘because your way is perverse before me’ (22:32). His dumb donkey was more perceptive than the spiritually blind seer, turning away from destruction three times, receiving blows from her master, whose anger was ignited because of the disobedient beast.

Numbers 22:28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

Balaam’s anger flared against his animal who embarrassed him by disobeying him in order to save his life. God’s anger flared against Balaam, who disobeyed his first command “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed” (22:12).

The Lord has to open the eyes of this spiritual man who claims to have his eyes open, to enable him to see what his donkey had already seen, the Angel of YHWH standing with drawn sword to oppose him. Balaam acknowledges his ignorance of this spiritual being’s presence, confesses his sin, and offers to turn around ‘if it is evil in your sight’ (22:34). If!

Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

Balak comes out to meet him, expresses his frustration at the delay, but Balaam has learned just a little from his humbling journey, and answers

Numbers 22:38 …’Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.”

Balak sacrifices oxen and sheep, likely as a feast for his esteemed guest, and in the morning he ‘brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.’

Chapters 23 and 24 consist mainly of Balaam’s four oracles, framed by the preparations to receive a word, and the response to that word.

Preparations for the First Oracle

Numbers 23:1 And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 2 Balak did as Balaam had said. And Balak and Balaam offered on each altar a bull and a ram. 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height, 4 and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.

Seven altars, seven bulls, seven rams; numbers like seven were full of symbolism and significance; seven the number of perfection or completion, like the seventh day of rest from creation, or the seven lamps for light in the tabernacle, blood sprinkled seven times to purify or set apart. Here in this occultic context, the number was likely more superstitious.

Balaam said ‘perhaps’. Perhaps YHWH will come to meet with me. He acknowledges that he could not guarantee the effectiveness of his practices, that YHWH God of Israel is free to reveal himself to whom he wishes whenever he wishes; and he is just as free to withhold revelation when he chooses not to reveal himself. Balaam is not in control of this situation; he is subject to YHWH’s will and YHWH’s purposes.

Ezekiel 21 gives us some insight into the occult practices of ancient diviners:

Ezekiel 21:21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim; he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand comes the divination …

Although we are not told in this passage, it is possible that the liver and other parts of these sacrificial animals were examined in an attempt to discern secret messages. But that is not where the message was received. God met Balaam. Balaam pointed to his procedure of offering seven bulls and seven lambs on seven altars, but YHWH put a word in Balaam’s mouth. God had already demonstrated that he can open a donkey’s mouth, and he can just as well control a pagan diviner’s mouth to speak his truth. Quite apart from any merits of the sacrifices, God chose to reveal himself. He chose to communicate.

Oracle 1: Blessing from Bamoth-baal

And this is the word YHWH gave him to speak:

Numbers 23:7 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,

“From Aram Balak has brought me,

the king of Moab from the eastern mountains:

‘Come, curse Jacob for me,

and come, denounce Israel!’

8 How can I curse whom God has not cursed?

How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

9 For from the top of the crags I see him,

from the hills I behold him;

behold, a people dwelling alone,

and not counting itself among the nations!

10 ​Who can count the dust of Jacob

or number the fourth part of Israel?

Let me die the death of the upright,

and let my end be like his!”

The LORD is the Source of True Blessing

Balak summoned Balaam to curse Israel; Balak had requested:

Numbers 22:6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

But in Genesis 12, YHWH promised Abram:

Genesis 12:2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

YHWH God claims to be the true source of blessing and cursing, and no pagan diviner, no matter how learned or skilled or powerful in dark arts, can overturn what God has decreed.

After rehearsing the glorious gospel, Paul exults:

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If God is for us, if God has blessed us, and he has abundantly blessed us in the gospel: he did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all; if God is for us, who can be against us? No physical or supernatural power will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Jesus said:

John 10:27 ​My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 ​I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 ​I and the Father are one.”

We are kept according to 1 Peter 1:5, not by our own strength but by God’s omnipotent power.

A People Set Apart

In verse 9 Balaam describes the character of God’s people as ‘a people dwelling alone, not counting itself (or not counted) among the nations’. God said

Deuteronomy 14:2 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

God’s choice of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob set them apart from every other nation; he gave them laws and customs that distinguished them from all the other nations, ultimately to be a blessing to the nations. They are a holy people, a separate people, a unique people; a people set apart to be God’s own treasured possession. They are not one nation among many, just another people group. They have been set apart, holy to the Lord.

Innumerable as the Dust

And in verse 10 Balaam’s words affirm that the promise of God to Abraham from Genesis 13 has been fulfilled;

Genesis 13:16 I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted.

The Lord re-affirmed this promise to Jacob as he fled from his brother Esau:

Genesis 28:14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

The Glorious End of the Upright

Balaam calls Israel upright, and desires that his own end, his own death and what happens after would be like theirs. He understands that God’s blessings will follow them even beyond death, and he wants to be a part of that. He acknowledges that God’s blessing is on them, and he would rather be identified with righteous Israel than with unrighteous Balaak seeking to bring a curse on them.

Response: What Have You Done To Me?

Numbers 23:11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

Balak’s question is interesting; what have you done to me? He still assumes that the power to bless and to curse resides in Balaam, that God could be manipulated to do what he wishes, that God could be bought with sacrifices of costly animals that ultimately already belong to him. He feels that Balaam has of his own will done the opposite of what he is hiring him to do. He takes it as a personal offense against himself. The question Balak ought to be asking is ‘what have I done to myself?’ Balak and his people, the Moabites, had nothing to fear; as descendants of Abraham’s relative Lot they were under God’s protection. But out of fear and ignorance of God’s word, they sought through the dark arts of a sorcerer to bring a curse on God’s people, and thus put themselves under God’s curse.

Balaam is beginning to learn something; much like his own donkey he is serving as a mouthpiece for the words that YHWH puts in his mouth. The messenger of YHWH stands ready with sword drawn to prevent this greedy sorcerer from going beyond God’s omnipotent word. “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”

An Invitation to Experience God’s Blessing

There is an invitation here; an invitation to experience God’s blessing by blessing Israel. Balaam longed to ‘die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!’ This was not out of his reach. God promised Abram ‘I will bless those who bless you.’ God’s promise is available even to a pagan sorcerer to experience God’s blessing by aligning himself with God and with his people.

Balaam has a choice; continue to pursue temporary gain in a futile attempt to curse those God has blessed, a way that is perverse before him (22:23), or turn and reject the promised riches of Balak and truly seek the blessing of Israel. How will you respond?

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Israel is spread out on the plains of Moab, camped opposite Jericho, the rebellious generation buried in the wilderness, their children now poised to enter the land. Moab, under God’s protection because they were descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot, acting out of fear and ignorance of God’s word, send for a pagan seer with a reputation for blessing and cursing to curse Israel.

They were ignorant of the fact that God forbade Israel to attack Moab or take any of their land (Dt.2:9). They were also ignorant of the fact that God had blessed Israel in his blessing on Abraham. They were ignorant of the promise that YHWH would bless those who bless God’s people, and curse those who dishonor God’s people (Gen.12:3). They foolishly put their faith in a pagan diviner to seek to overturn the promises and blessings of God. But even though Israel was oblivious to the spiritual warfare being waged against them, God stood in their defense.

When the first delegation of princes from Moab came to summon Balaam,

Numbers 22:12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

God’s answer was clear. But what Balaam didn’t say was telling. Balaam didn’t tell the delegation that he couldn’t curse the people. He didn’t say that God had blessed the people. He didn’t say that he didn’t want to go with them; only that YHWH refused to let him go with them.

The Second Offer; More and More Honorable

Numbers 22:14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’”

Balak did not understand Balaam’s declining of his first offer as a final no, but as a step in negotiating a better price. So he sent more and higher ranking delegates with an open-ended offer. Whatever you want, I will give you.

Seeking Another Answer From God

Numbers 22:18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”

Balaam claims not to be able to go beyond the command of YHWH his God. Is Balaam a believer? He claims YHWH to be his God. Is everyone who claims the name of the Lord a true believer? Are all who claim the name of Christ true Christians, genuine followers of Jesus? Jesus says ‘no’.

Matthew 7:21 ​“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 ​On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 ​And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Balaam’s answer sounds like he is determined to obey the Lord, but his words betray his heart; he is still negotiating; he wants more than Balak’s house full of silver and gold. If he was truly determined to not go beyond the command of YHWH, he already has that; “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” (22:12). Period. That seems pretty clear. Who are these men with you? Why invite them to stay the night? Why seek another word from YHWH, when he has made his will abundantly clear? Is the Lord a man that he should change his mind (Nu.23:19)?

Does God Change His Mind? Whose Voice Will You Heed?

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”

Does God change his mind? First he says ‘you shall not go with them.’ Now he says ‘rise, go with them’. What is going on here?

God says ‘if’; if the men have come to call you. God knows they were there, he knows why they came. Who are these men with you?The question is not if they are more in number and more honorable men; they are mere men. Will you listen to the voice of man, or the call of God? Whose voice will you heed?

Does God change his mind? Sometimes when we are not satisfied with God’s word to us, and we determined to get a different answer, God ‘gives us our request, but sends leanness into our souls’ (Ps.106:15KJV; Nu.11:18-20). We demonstrate that we want what we want, we do not want him, we are not content to take God at his word and trust that his ways are perfect. When we refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer and demand our own way, sometimes God gives us what we crave, to our own harm.

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”

If you are determined to listen to the voice of man and go, then go, but my word will be the final word; you must do exclusively what I say. You are free to reject, to choose to disobey my word to your own harm, but my word of blessing, my word of promise cannot be thwarted even by your willful disobedience.

God’s Righteous Anger and The Angel of YHWH as his Satan

The next verse is shocking in sheer brazen defiance. Balaam is mute in his disobedience; he got what he wanted, the Lord’s permission, so without a word,

Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road.

We might wonder why God was angry when Balaam did the thing God gave him permission to do, but when we keep in mind the bigger picture, that Balaam only reluctantly obeyed God’s first word and then sought another word until he got permission to do what he wanted to do, it makes sense. When the angel of YHWH becomes your adversary (the Hebrew word is ‘satan’), and he stands in your way with a drawn sword, you should know that you have chosen the wrong side. But this spiritually gifted see-r is blind to what his donkey sees. The donkey saves his master from God’s wrath by turning aside, and is rewarded with a beating from his blind master.

The Blind Seer and his Seeing Ass

Numbers 22:24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he struck her again.

Again his donkey sees what the man who claims to have his eyes opened is blind to. Again she protects her owner and gets beat for her efforts.

Balaam’s Unrighteous Anger Erupts

Numbers 22:26 Then the angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

This third time, with nowhere to turn, this perceptive donkey simply lays down under her master. She refuses to take him to his destruction, despite how much he might deserve it. In verse 22 it was God’s righteous anger that was kindled against Balaam’s determination to go; here Balaam’s unrighteous anger flares against his faithful animal who refuses to go against the Lord’s will, and results in him beating his faithful animal.

A Conversation with His Ass; God Will Use the Humble

If you’ve never heard this account before, this is where the story takes a most surprising turn:

Numbers 22:28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

God will put words in the mouth of this skilled spiritual seer to speak, but here he shows that he can use anything and anyone to communicate his truth. The reformer Martin Luther took great courage from this text; he wrote:

“And Balaam’s ass was wiser than the prophet himself [Num. 22:21–35]. If God spoke then through an ass against a prophet, why should he not be able even now to speak through a righteous man against the pope?” (LW 44:135-36).

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

That a donkey’s mouth was opened to speak to its owner is surprising, but what happens next might be even more shocking; Balaam actually engages in an argument with his animal!

Numbers 22:29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

Balaam is so concerned about his own reputation, he is blind to the danger he is in. Balaam says that his donkey made a fool of him, but he is the fool who went against the clear command of YHWH. This is the famous seer with a reputation for spiritual insight and power, but he is blind to the spiritual realities that his donkey so clearly sees. This is the one with a reputation that his words have power to curse and to bless, but he is impotent to control his own donkey with his words, and wishes for a sword to kill his donkey. His donkey is more reasonable than this spiritual man in a fit of blind rage.

The Seer’s Blind Eyes Opened

Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.”

The pagan seer was spiritually blind until YHWH opened his eyes to see the real reality of his situation. Balaam now understands why his donkey laid down under him, and in fear he does the same. If we were in any doubt about the integrity or motives of Balaam, the angel of YHWH clears away the fog; ‘I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me.’ His way was perverse in the sight of the Lord who sees the heart, and for this Balaam deserved to die. But his wise animal was innocent.

Proverbs 12:10 ​Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.

Balaam’s ‘Confession’

Numbers 22:34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”

Balaam starts out in the right direction. He owns his sin, and confesses his own blindness to the spiritual realities around him. But even if he failed to see the invisible angel, he should have known that his heart was opposed to God. Was he really that blind to the condition of his own heart? And he says ‘if’. If? is there any question if it is evil in the sight of the Lord? His angel stood in the way three times to oppose him, and would have killed him if his beast had not turned aside. He declared ‘Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me’. At he very beginning, God had said clearly “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” How does this blind seer twist this into an ‘if”? Such is the thinking of those blinded by their own desires.

Numbers 22:35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

God is teaching this pagan diviner a lesson; that he may go willfully on his own way, but God will have the final word. What he says will prevail. Even after all this, Balaam continues down his reckless path.

Numbers 22:36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. 37 And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”

Balak expresses his anger toward Balaam’s delay. He took it as an offense against his honor. Who are these men? The question that should still be ringing in Balaam’s ear is ‘who will you listen to?’ But by his actions he has made his choice clear.

Numbers 22:38 Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” 39 Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him. 41 And in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.

Balaam has at least learned something. He confesses his own inability, his own dependence on God. Even the pagan diviner, however reluctantly, has to bow the knee and acknowledge the sovereignty of YHWH God of Israel.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

God has brought his people out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, to Mount Sinai, where he entered into a covenant relationship with them, extended forgiveness to them even when they broke his covenant, led them through the wilderness to his promised land. They rebelled and preferred the familiarity of slavery to the adventures of obedience, and God granted their request; that generation would die in the wilderness, but their children would enter in. Miriam died. Aaron died. Moses would die. Brother Edom (Esau) refused them passage so they took the long detour by way of the Red Sea around Edom. They kept east of Moab, crossed the Arnon into Amorite territory, a people who had taken the land from Moab. Israel defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites and possessed his land to the border of Ammon. Israel defeated Og, the giant-king of Bashan, and possessed all the land from the border of Moab to Mount Hermon in the North.

An Unknown Threat; Balak King of Moab

Meanwhile, and unbeknownst to them, another story was unfolding with Balak king of Moab and the elders of Midian as recorded in Numbers 22-24. An alliance is formed to undermine the strength of Israel and render them vulnerable to attack. A different kind of enemy, a hidden enemy conspires to destroy God’s people.

Anxious for Nothing

Numbers 22:1 Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” …

We were told in Numbers 21:26 that “Sihon the king of the Amorites, …had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.” Now Israel has defeated the one who previously defeated Moab, and Moab is afraid.

These verses describe Moab as ‘in great dread of the people, overcome with fear of the people’. YHWH’s words about Israel’s defeat of Sihon are coming true:

Deuteronomy 2:25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

When the bully that beat you up gets beat up, you could draw one of two conclusions; you have a rescuer, or you have a bigger bully to be afraid of. Moab chose the latter. On one level, their fears were accurate and well founded; Israel’s God was fighting for them, and no one can stand against YHWH. But on another level they hand nothing at all to fear. YHWH had said to Moses:

Deuteronomy 2:9 And the LORD said to me, ‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given Ar to the people of Lot for a possession.’

The Moabites were motivated by fear; but their anxiety was entirely unfounded; YHWH had been forbidden Israel to attack Moab. Here’s the thing; it is unlikely that Moab would have know of this word of the Lord to Moses. They simply looked at the recent events and the current circumstances, and drew assumptions. They were anxious for nothing, because they didn’t know God’s word. This is what a lack of the word of God results in. What you don’t know can hurt you!

Now I’m sure none of you have ever looked at recent events and circumstances through the lens of your own fears and made assumptions, even made plans and acted accordingly. Balak looked at Israel camped adjacent to them and what Israel had done to the Amorites, and wrongly assumed Israel’s intentions toward them. I’m sure you’ve never assumed the intentions of another person? You know what you get when you assume? We’ll see more of that next week, as we get farther into this story. Fear is the opposite of faith.

Jesus told his followers in Matthew 6:

Matthew 6:25 ​“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 ​Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 ​“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Seek God, seek his righteousness, seek his kingdom, O you of little faith! Get to know him through his word. Know his word.

Philippians 4:6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Waging Spiritual Warfare

The king of Moab assumed Israel’s intentions, responded out of anxiety and fear, and an ignorance of God’s word. And his response betrayed a greater ignorance of God’s word.

Numbers 22:4 …So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Balak knows he is no match for Israel; they have defeated the kings who previously defeated Moab. It seems he is aware that there was a supernatural aspect to those victories. The God of Israel was fighting for them. So he engages in a different kind of attack; he endeavors to wage spiritual warfare against Israel. He seeks to hire a man with a powerful spiritual reputation from Mesopotamia near the Euphrates river. Balaam’s name was found on inscriptions discovered in a multi-chamber structure in Deir Alla, Jordan, possibly a temple of some sort. Part of the inscription reads ‘the book of [Ba]laam, [son of Beo]r, a seer of the gods. To him came the gods at night. [And they spoke to] him…’

Balaam has a reputation for blessing and cursing. The king of Moab said ‘I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.’ Now that phrase should get your attention if you know your Bible. In Genesis 12,

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

God is the source of all true blessing. This was God’s promise to Abram, before he left Haran, likely the same area Balaam was from. Lot, father of the Ammonites and Moabites, left Haran with Abram in response to this word from the Lord. This word should have been passed down and known to the Ammonites and Moabites. But the king of Moab is apparently unfamiliar with this, and he attributes the power of blessing and cursing to a pagan diviner.

Joshua 13 describes Balaam as ‘the one who practiced divination’. Deuteronomy 18 warns:

Deuteronomy 18:9 “When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the LORD your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do this. 15 “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

This kind of spiritual warfare is real, but it is forbidden to God’s people. It is an abomination to him, because he has given us something so much better. He has given us his own infallible word. God spoke through Moses, and Moses points to someone greater, to a prophet like me, a prophet who does not hear in dreams and visions, but knows the Lord, speaks to him face to face. Moses commands us to listen to the coming prophet, the better Mediator, the only begotten Son of God, to Jesus. If we have God’s incarnate Word, access to the throne of grace through the blood of Jesus, his own Holy Spirit living in us, why would we seek any other word?

Who is Your Lord?

Numbers 22:7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

This is interesting. Balaam uses YHWH, the covenant name of God. Does this mean that Balaam is a believer in the true God, or just that someone in his line of work has to know all the names of all the different deities?

God speaks to Balaam. “Who are these men with you?” Why does the omniscient God asks questions? Not because he lacks information. He asks questions to make us think, to teach us, to cause us to search our own hearts. When God shows up in the garden after Adam rebelled, and asks ‘where are you?’ (Gen.3:9). He’s not asking about a location on a map; he’s asking about the condition of his heart. He’s giving him an opportunity to confess, to come clean. It’s not that God doesn’t know who these men are or where they came from or why they are there. He’s pursuing this pagan diviner. Balaam knows something of YHWH, he knows his name, but if he knows anything about this God, he knows he is using methods and taking direction from men that are opposed to God and his people. Will Balaam do things his own way, will he hire himself out for riches to do a job he knows is directly opposed to YHWH God of Israel? Who will he obey? To whom will he bow the knee? Who is your Lord? Will you serve YHWH, or an earthly king, or yourself and your own desires? God is speaking to Balaam, revealing himself to Balaam, inviting him to examine his heart, his motives, his allegiances, who he’s listening to, what he’s doing, where he’s going, and why.

Balaam’s answer is more in the line of giving God a summary of the information, as if he didn’t know already.

Numbers 22:10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.”

God’s command is clear. ‘You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people’ and he gives the reason ‘for they are blessed’.

Balaam appears to follow God’s command. ‘Go, for YHWH has refused to let me go with you.’ But what Balaam leaves out is more telling than what he says. He lays the blame on YHWH for forbidding him to go. It is not reluctance on the part of Balaam; he is willing. And he leaves out God’s second command ‘you shall not curse the people’. And he leaves out this foundational truth ‘because they are blessed’.

It would be good if the story ended here (and we’re going to leave off here for this week), but I want us to think about what God says.

God’s Purpose to Bless

You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. Deuteronomy 7 says:

Deuteronomy 7:6 “…The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

God chose to set his love on them; God is determined to bless them. We’ve been walking with this grumbling and complaining people through the wilderness, as they have rejected God and experienced his discipline. This disobedient people, a whole generation of whom have died in the wilderness, are blessed? ‘The Lord disciplines the one he loves’ (Heb.12:6).

The Israelites have no idea what is happening behind the scenes; they are completely oblivious to the spiritual warfare that is being waged against them. But God sees, God knows, God is standing in their defense. God is not discussing with Balaam their faults, failures and flaws; he simply says ‘they are blessed.’ Why? Because God chose to bless them. And the one God blesses is blessed.

***

Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

Numbers 20 chronicles death; death of Miriam, death promised to Moses and Aaron, the death of Aaron the high priest, and the transfer of his responsibility to his son Eleazar to serve the next generation.

Numbers 21, this next generation faces opposition and cries out to the Lord for help, and he gives them victory where they had previously been defeated. But their hearts still need to be transformed. There is no water, and so they speak venomous words against the Lord and against Moses. They call his good gifts, his provision ‘worthless’. They called the bread from heaven ‘worthless’. Jesus said:

John 6:33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” …35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

In a conversation about God’s miraculous provision of manna in the wilderness, Jesus claimed to be the bread who comes down from heaven, the bread of God. In describing this bread as ‘worthless’, they foreshadow a rejection of God’s provision in Jesus, and outside of Jesus there is nothing but to be given over to the power of the serpent. But as rebels, through their mediator, they cried out for rescue, and God decreed that his own curse on them be lifted up for all to look at, and whoever would look would live (Jn.6:40). You, who have spurned Jesus as insufficient, not enough for you, deemed his cross repulsive, repugnant, offensive, recognize your desperate situation and look to Jesus, lifted up on a cross, who became a curse for you; turn away from you sins, turn to Jesus, look and live!

Numbers 21 records the beginnings of transformation in this next generation. They began by seeking the Lord’s help and experiencing his gift of victory, but they tried out their parents’ habit of grumbling and complaining, and found that it ends in death. They confessed their sin, and God provided a way for them to escape the death they deserved.

Turning Sorrows into Song; March to the Land

In the rest of Numbers 21 we see a transformation of their grumbling and complaining into rejoicing, celebration of God’s provision, into song. The people begin to turn their sorrows into singing.

Numbers 21:10 And the people of Israel set out and camped in Oboth. 11 And they set out from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness that is opposite Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they set out and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites, for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD, “Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon, 15 and the slope of the valleys that extends to the seat of Ar, and leans to the border of Moab.”

This travel narrative advances quickly toward the land. It is a staccato list of the movement of the people (a more complete list is in Numbers 33); there is no narrative, no record of grumbling or complaining. After the detour around Edom by way of the Red Sea, they travel north crossing the brook Zered east of Moab and then across the Arnon river into Amorite territory.

God gave specific instructions in Deuteronomy 2 not to engage Edom or the descendants of Esau in battle, for he had given them the region of Seir as a possession. He warned them not to engage Moab or the descendants of Lot, for he had given them Ar as a possession. Later he would warn not to attack Ammon, the other descendants of Lot. Crossing the Arnon would bring them into Amorite territory, a people who were not related to Abraham. An excerpt from ‘the Book of the Wars of YHWH’ is cited, a scrap of poetry or song describing the geography of the area. They sing of the valleys, the slopes, the rivers.

God’s Gracious Provision: Water

Numbers 21:16 And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— 18 the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” …

Here YHWH himself takes the initiative. ‘Gather the people together that I may give them water’. God knows our needs before we even ask (or complain; Mt.6:8). Sometimes the Lord withholds his blessings until we look to him, until we are gathered together so that we recognize it is the Lord that is providing our needs. Here the people are gathered together to receive a gift from the Lord, and here for the first time since crossing the Red Sea (Ex.15:1), they break into song. Spring up O well! Rather than leading them to an oasis, rather than striking or speaking to a rock, this time they were gathered together to dig a well at the Lord’s direction. This could be a work song, as the people encouraged one another to dig. Notice this was not top-down leadership, where the princes and nobles sat under palm branches while they supervised the workers working. No, the leaders led by serving, by digging, working together at the instruction of the Lord to provide water for the people. And this was an occasion for singing, celebrating the provision of the Lord (Ps.5:11). He alone is the source of our every blessing.

Sihon King of the Amorites Defeated

Numbers 21:18 …And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert. 21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel.

The Amorites were among the Canaanite tribes that the Lord had promised all the way back to Abram (even before he was renamed Abraham) that he would drive out before them (Gen.15:16-21). In fact it was the Amorites whose iniquity would bring about God’s judgment when he led his people in to dispossess them.

The people sent a diplomatic message to Sihon king of the Amorites with the same offer they had made to Edom; Sihon responded the same way; he refused them passage and mustered his army to meet Israel in the wilderness.

But this time went differently.

Numbers 21:24 And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and taken all his land out of his hand, as far as the Arnon.

The history given here that the Amorites had taken this land from the former king of Moab becomes important 300 years later in Judges 11 when the Ammonites come against Jephthah and demand he return the land Israel took from them. He responded that the land in dispute was not taken from Ammon, but from the Amorites, who took it from Moab, and Israel will possess whatever YHWH gives them to possess; Ammon can possess whatever their god Chemosh has given them to possess (Jud.11:21-24).

This time, with no divine prohibition to prevent them, Israel engaged in battle with the Canaanites. Where their fathers were afraid even to attempt to approach the inhabitants, their children stepped out in faith and the Lord gave them victory. Again they break into song.

Numbers 21:27 Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. 28 For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon. 29 ​Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon. 30 So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.” 31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.

This is a victory song, a taunt song mocking the powerless false gods of other nations. Moab’s god Chemosh has sold his sons and daughters to an Amorite king, and now YHWH has shown himself more powerful than even the victorious Amorites or their false gods. It matters what god you worship! The Lord gave his people total victory over their enemy.

Og King of Bashan Defeated; The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Numbers 21:33 Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 But the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.”

Here YHWH gives them a word of encouragement; ‘do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand’. Was not the previous victory enough to carry them on? We learn from Deuteronomy 3 that:

Deuteronomy 3:1 (For only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the common cubit.)

Og was a remnant of the Rephaim, a giant whose bed was 13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide, and it was put on display by the Ammonites in Rabbah. This is exactly what ignited fear in the 10 spies:

Numbers 13:28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. …33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Rephaim, Anakim, Nephilim. Goliath was 9.5’ tall (1Sam17:4). Giants. ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand’. When David faced Goliath he understood

1 Samuel 17:46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, …that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”

‘The battle belongs to YHWH. That the earth may know that there is a God in Israel’

Numbers 21:35 So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

Deuteronomy 3 records

Deuteronomy 3:4 And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. 6 And we devoted them to destruction, …

A Greater Purpose: The Fame of the Name of YHWH

These lands east of the Jordan were given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. But there was a greater purpose in all this.

Deuteronomy 2:24 ‘Rise up, set out on your journey and go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and contend with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to put the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

YHWH making a name for himself; In Joshua 2, Rahab told the spies:

Joshua 2:9 and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. 11 And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

The people of Gibeon deceived Israel into making a covenant with them:

Joshua 9:9 …because of the name of the LORD your God. For we have heard a report of him, and all that he did in Egypt, 10 and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon the king of Heshbon, and to Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.

God is glorified when he triumphs over his enemies, when he extends mercy to those who turn to him, and when his people rejoice and sing. Psalm 135 says:

Psalm 135:8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast; 9 who in your midst, O Egypt, sent signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants; 10 ​who struck down many nations and killed mighty kings, 11 ​Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan, 12 and gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to his people Israel. 13 Your name, O LORD, endures forever, your renown, O LORD, throughout all ages. 14 ​For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants.

The fame of the name of YHWH, his renown endures forever. YHWH vindicates his people, and has compassion on his servants.

God’s fame, his renown, is put on display most eloquently in the name above every name (Phil.2), the name of Jesus, who humbled himself to become human, to become obedient to death, even death on a cross, to rescue rebels. He was lifted up on a cross, so that whoever would acknowledge their need for him, look to him for rescue, would be given the gift of eternal life.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org