The Book of Numbers

Hebrew Study

Explanation

This time Balaam did not go "to seek for enchantments." He simply looked toward Israel, "and the spirit of God came upon him." What he saw drew from him a cry of admiration: "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!" He described them as "gardens by the river's side," as "trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters," a picture of flourishing, watered, well-planted beauty. He saw their king "exalted," their strength like an ox, their power like a lion, "who shall stir him up?" And he closed with the ancient blessing given to Abraham: "Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee." The hired curser had become, by the Spirit, a herald of Israel's God-given glory.

Gospel Focus

What Balaam saw by the Spirit is how God sees His people, and it is a wonder of grace. Israel was the same murmuring, stiff-necked nation of the earlier chapters, yet through the Spirit's eyes they were gardens and cedars planted by the LORD, goodly and beautiful. This is the glory of the gospel: in Christ, God sees His people not as their failures deserve but as His grace has made them, "accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6). We often feel unlovely, but God calls us "trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD" (Isaiah 61:3). The church is God's garden, watered by His Spirit and beautiful in His sight. And notice the source of the beauty: they were "trees... which the LORD hath planted." Whatever is lovely in the people of God is His own doing, not their own. If you have felt more like a wilderness than a garden, remember how God sees His own: goodly, planted by His hand, watered by His Spirit, and blessed with the blessing of Abraham that no curse can undo.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

Balak had heard enough. "Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together," crying, "I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times." He sent the prophet away: "flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour." Balaam repeated his familiar defense, "I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD... but what the LORD saith, that will I speak." The words sound noble, but they carry the ache of a man who wanted the silver and gold and could not have it. He had done God's bidding with his mouth, but his heart still hankered after Balak's reward. He left with the truth on his lips and covetousness in his soul, having gained neither the wages he craved nor the God he served.

Gospel Focus

"The LORD hath kept thee back from honour," Balak sneered, and unknowingly he spoke a mercy. God kept Balaam from the reward that would have damned him deeper, though Balaam only mourned the loss. Here is the tragedy of the covetous heart: it counts the withholding of unrighteous gain as a loss, when it is really God's protection. And Balaam is a warning that gifts are not grace. He heard the words of God, saw visions of the Almighty, prophesied truly by the Spirit, and was still a lost man, for his heart was set on reward, and he would soon counsel Balak how to seduce Israel into sin (Revelation 2:14). Jesus warned of this exact deception: "many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?... And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you" (Matthew 7:22-23). A man may speak true prophecy, do wonderful works, and perish, if his heart never truly belongs to God. Do not measure yourself, or others, by gifts and words alone. What God requires is a heart wholly His. Better a humble saint with no gift and a right heart than a Balaam with visions and a covetous soul.

Hebrew Study

Explanation

In his final oracle, Balaam, "the man whose eyes are open," who "knew the knowledge of the most High," looked far beyond his own time: "I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh." Then came the great word: "there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel." A King was coming, distant but certain, who would have dominion and subdue Israel's enemies, "out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion." Balaam foresaw judgment on Moab, Edom, and Amalek, and the triumph of Israel's coming ruler. Then the strange episode ended quietly: "Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way." The hired prophet went home with nothing, but he had spoken, almost against his will, one of the clearest prophecies of the Messiah in all the books of Moses.

Gospel Focus

The Star out of Jacob is the Lord Jesus Christ. Balaam saw Him "not now... not nigh," far off in the future, but the prophecy came true. When Jesus was born, wise men from the east came saying, "we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him" (Matthew 2:2), and the risen Christ declares Himself "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). The Sceptre rising out of Israel is His kingly rule, joined to Jacob's earlier prophecy that "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah... until Shiloh come" (Genesis 49:10). What Balaam glimpsed dimly from a mountain in Moab, we know clearly: the King has come, the Star has risen, and He reigns. There is wonder in the messenger, too. God put this shining prophecy of Christ in the mouth of a covetous, hired pagan prophet, proving that the Lord will have His Son proclaimed even by unwilling lips, and that no scheme against His people can stop the coming of His King. The Star Balaam saw from afar has dawned; lift up your eyes to Jesus, the bright and morning star, the King out of Jacob, whose kingdom shall never end.