Introduction
In Numbers 22, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, made a league with the Midianites, and together they sought after Balaam, son of Beor, to come and curse the children of Israel for fear of them.
After a very eventful courtship, so to speak, and a talking donkey, Balaam finally made his way to the plains of Moab at the behest of Balak. In Numbers 23 and 24, Balaam gave four oracles concerning Israel that are extremely prophetic and Messianic in nature.
This four-part series will look at The Oracles of Balaam and highlight the Messianic content along with references and allusions to the Millennial and Eternal Kingdoms that were presented in the Name of God, by the Spirit of God, through the prophet Balaam of Pethor.
When it comes to Balaam, Balaam seemed to be, at one time, a true prophet of the LORD. However, later it appears Balaam became a “soothsayer” or diviner (Joshua 13:22), which certainly deviated his heart toward greed and covetousness and ultimately apostasy from and opposition to the LORD Himself when he counseled the Midianites and Moabites to seduce the Israelites (Numbers 31:16) at Baal-Peor (Numbers 25).
Yet, God did use Balaam, despite his fallen prophetic nature, to prophesy of His chosen people, the Messiah, and the Latter Days; to bless rather than curse the people of God, the people of Israel.
All underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
“And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen and seven rams. And Balak did as Balaam had spoken; and Balak and Balaam offered on every altar a bullock and a ram.” – Numbers 23:1-2, 14, 29
In the first three Oracles of Balaam, we are told that seven altars were built and seven bullocks and seven rams – one bullock and one ram for each altar – were offered.
Interestingly, God commanded that seven bullocks and seven rams be offered for the sins of Job’s three miserable comforters – as they had “not spoken of me [the Lord] the thing which is right, like my servant Job” – and Job would pray for them:
“And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath.
“Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job.” – Job 42:7-8
This should indicate to the Bible student that seven oxen and seven rams were often the regularly prescribed offerings before the Mosaic Law was given to Israel.
The First Oracle of Balaam
Balaam, at the Lord’s insistence, would speak the words of God in the hearing of Balak.
“And the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, Return unto Balak, and thus thou shalt speak.” – Numbers 23:5
Thus, Balaam’s words were in truth the Lord’s divine Words as given to him for pronouncement in the hearing of Balak.
“Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? or how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?” – Numbers 23:7-8
How can anyone ever attempt to go against the glorious plans and intents of Almighty God and ever hope to succeed?!? What God has indeed blessed, no man or any entity, holy or fallen, can ever successfully curse.
In fact, before Balaam even went to Canaan at Balak’s request – when God had told him not to go with Balak’s contingent – the LORD had this to say to Balaam regarding Israel:
“And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” – Numbers 22:12
Abram, later to become Abraham, the progenitor of the people of Israel through his son Isaac and grandson Jacob, was promised by God that blessings and curses would be predicated on how people and nations regarded Abraham’s seed.
“I [God] will make of thee [Abram] a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” – Genesis 12:3
Though God would have destroyed the Israelites on several occasions in their wilderness wanderings for their acrimony, unbelief, and hostility toward the LORD – despite all that He had done for them – Moses would successfully intervene on their behalf, and God would honor Moses’ supplication for Israel because He had a divine plan for the nation and truly loved them.
[For more on this unique topic, please see Does God Repent?]
In the end, God would not allow anyone – Balaam included – to curse His chosen people without playing a dear price, as Balak, King of Moab (though not mentioned in Scripture) surely would.
“For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.” – Numbers 23:9
Even “from the top of the rocks… and from the hills,” Balaam and Balak could only have a partial view of the children of Israel. Number estimates indicate that at least 2 million Israelites and the mixed multitude with them (Exodus 12:38) came out of Egypt as they finally prepared to enter the Promised Land. The scene of such a vast number of people coming upon the land must have been extremely potent and quite overwhelming for the Moabite King! Hence, his actions in recruiting the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelite nation.
In truth, Israel’s history would attest that they would indeed “dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.”
In Moses’ farewell speech to Israel just before his death, as he blessed the twelve tribes as they were preparing to go into the Promised Land, he had the following to say about God’s chosen people, Israel, which is a blended prophecy of their initial settlement in the land of Canaan with an allusion toward the eventual fulfillment of his prophetic declaration being revealed within the Messianic Millennial Kingdom:
“Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine; also his heavens shall drop down dew.” – Deuteronomy 33:28
Historically, Israel as a nation has been dispersed from her land twice since she entered the promised land. For almost 2,000 years, in Israel’s second exile for rejecting her Messiah, she never lost her national identity as she would mostly “dwell alone” as outcasts in the Gentile nations of the world, and in all that time, she never really was “reckoned among the nations.”
After the Abomination of Desolation at the midway point of the Tribulation, when Israel will, for the final time, be exiled from the Promised Land, she will finally be regathered and brought back into her land by the Lord’s holy angels, never to be uprooted again.
“And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.” – Mark 13:26-27
In all of this, Israel has not, nor ever will, lose her national identity as God’s chosen people!
“Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” – Numbers 23:10
Again, the immense scene of this massive amount of people littering the valley of Moab as witnessed by Balak and Balaam, with only “the number of the fourth part of Israel” in view, was terrifying for the enemies of God’s people who sought to curse them — and it should have been, because the Creator God – Israel’s God – was against them!
How ironic it is that Balaam, when considering Israel, desires to “die the death of the righteous.” Talk about a man who is devoid of understanding his own standing before the Lord!
In numbers 25, the children of Israel committed whoredom with the women of Moab and Midian, who were in league with each other, and worshiped their gods at Baalpeor. God destroyed 24,000 Israelites with a plague for this gross trespass against the Lord.
We then learn in Numbers 31 that it was Balaam himself who gave counsel to seduce Israel with the women of Moab and Midian in this way. Following the horrendous events at Baalpeor, Israel ended up going to war against Midian, and the Israelites inexplicably left the women alive, and Moses understandably was not pleased.
“And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.” – Numbers 31:15-16
Because of this sin, Balaam was killed in the battle:
“And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.” – Numbers 31:8
Needless to say, Balaam did not “die the death of the righteous.”
Balaam ended his First Oracle with the words, “let my last end be like his [Israel],” with God’s oracle spoken through Balaam being a foregleam of the same message given by the Apostle Paul to the believers in Rome concerning Israel:
“And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.” – Romans 11:26-27
Of course, this will finally be realized at Messiah Yeshua’s Second Coming when all of Israel will have received Yeshua as their Messiah at the end of the Tribulation, and will finally begin to be fulfilled the glorious promises made to Israel in Christ’s Millennial Kingdom.
Balaam, in concert with God’s inspired Words given to him, requested, “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!” On both counts, Balaam failed miserably.
Concerning Balaam, Peter said of false prophets:
“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.” 2 Peter 2:14-15
Jude also spoke of Balaam, along with Cain and Korah, in relation to false prophets:
“But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
“Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.” – Jude 1:10-11
To the church of Pergamum, our Lord also warned His people concerning “the doctrine of Balaam”:
“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” – Revelation 2:14
As far as Balaam’s testimonial, “Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel,” students of the Word of God can recognize the correlation to the many statements by God concerning His promises to the Patriarchs of Israel.
Abraham: “That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” – Genesis 22:17-18
Sarah: “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child [Isaac] when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.” – Hebrews 11:11-12
Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” – Genesis 26:3-5
Jacob: “And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.” – Genesis 32:12
Moses reminding God of His covenant in one of his intercessions for Israel: “Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever.” – Exodus 32:13
Moses stated in his summary to the children of Israel: “The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude…. Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now the Lord thy God hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.” – Deuteronomy 1:10, 10:22
King David also believed and knew this promise: “But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the Lord had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens.” – 1 Chronicles 27:23
Later, God, through His holy Prophets, would fortify His divine promise to Israel’s patriarchs.
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.” – Jeremiah 33:22
“Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.” – Hosea 1:10
“The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.” – Isaiah 10:21-22 (Quoted by Paul in Romans 9:27)
Yes, all Israel will be saved, be returned to their God-given land one final time, and will indeed receive the blessings and honor the Lord has promised them in His majestic Messianic Millennial Kingdom, which “shall overflow with righteousness!”
“Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.” – Psalm 53:6
The Psalmist spoke well of the divine end results that would follow – that of God’s mercy, righteousness, and blessings over Israel and the nations in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom:
“God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
“That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
“O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
“Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
“Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.” – Psalm 67:1-7
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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