Messianic Prophecy in the Pentateuch - Part 04

Chris Rodriguez: Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinguished first-century Jewish point of view. Today our Bible teacher, Stephen Ger, continues his five-part series on Messianic Prophecy in the Pentateuch. And now with today's teaching, here's Stephen Ger.
Stephen Ger: Shalom, this is Stephen Ger. We're continuing our series on Messianic Prophecy in the Pentateuch. And we are smack dab in the book of Numbers. We're in Numbers 23 and 24 today. These are the four oracles of the Gentile seer, the Gentile soothsayer, the Gentile prophet by the name of Balaam. Balaam, you may remember from Sunday school donkey fame. That's in chapter 22, but we're in the actual oracles, the prophetic oracles of Balaam regarding Israel. You'll remember the setup. King Balak of Moab sees Israel amassing on his border and he decides the best defense is a good offense. He hires Balaam of Mesopotamia, who apparently has a tremendous publicist and has a reputation of being a very powerful soothsayer. And he hires Balaam to curse Israel. And there are four attempts that Balaam makes to curse Israel. Now prior to this in chapter 22, God has told Balaam, "Do not curse Israel. It's not going to go so well with you if you do." So don't curse Israel, bless them. But nonetheless, Balaam is going to make an attempt. Let's see how it works out. In the initial oracle, which is a fancy term for a particular prophecy, there were two reasons why Balaam is unable to fulfill his commissioned mandate. Remember Balak hired him to curse Israel. And he tells us in the first oracle why he cannot curse Israel. First point, as God's covenant chosen nation, Israel is to be different, distinct, and separated from other nations. As Balaam says in verse eight, "How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? And how can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? As I see him from the top of the rocks and I look at him from the hills. Behold, a people who dwells apart and will not be reckoned among the nations." So first reason: Israel's different, Israel's distinct. The second reason why Balaam could not curse Israel is that Israel was blessed by God. And the nation's numerical strength should recall to mind, if you're a careful reader of scripture, God's covenantal promise in the Abrahamic covenant to Abraham of incalculable, innumerable numbers of descendants. In verse 10, "Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel?" says Balaam. "Let me die the death of the upright and let my end be like his." You've got to love that in verse 10, that this whole prophecy against Israel concludes with Balaam's expressed wish that his final destiny would be like Israel's. Put yourself in Balak's shoes for a moment. King Balak, you hire a guy to do a job and he's doing the opposite. Balaam's blessing doesn't sit very well with his patron, King Balak. What am I hiring you to do anyway? And so he tries again. And in this second prophetic oracle, in the second prophecy, attempting to curse Israel touches upon Israel's future and alludes on the one hand to a Messianic Kingdom and on the other to a Messianic King. This second prophecy, this second oracle refers to an ideal future moment in Israel's history when Israel is at peace with their God. And I can say this because in 23:21, in the middle of this particular prophecy, Balaam says, "He, the Lord, has not observed misfortune in Jacob nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord his God is with him and the shout of a king is among them." We're obviously not talking about Israel's present just coming out of Egypt. Certainly, there was plenty of sin to be had by this point, Golden Calf, and so forth. And Moses is not a king. This is looking forward into an ideal future moment called the Messianic Age because the Messianic King is in their midst. And by the way, this is the traditional Jewish view of this passage. And this second oracle concludes with Balaam's expressed recognition that neither divination nor magic is going to be able to unravel or reverse the Lord's divine blessing on Israel. No nation is going to ultimately be able to prevail upon them or over them. And Balak the king gives a response. "If you, Balaam, if you, my hired seer, if you cannot say anything subversive, then it's better to say nothing at all. If you can't say anything mean, don't say anything at all. And at any rate, you've got to knock these blessings off. These blessings must cease." Look at how 23 and 24 read. "There is no omen against Jacob nor is there any divination against Israel. At the proper time it shall be said to Jacob and to Israel what God has done." And now we get to the third attempt to curse Israel, the third prophetic oracle of Balaam. Now, this is a little bit different from the previous two because rather than going off alone and seeking to commune with the Lord in solitude, Balaam stays with the king. He wants to show the king, "Look, I'm not doing anything, it's the Lord who's making this happen." And rather than seeking a locale that, as he is able to attempt to curse, he affords a visual overlook on Israel as they're encamped, Balaam says, "I'm not going to even look at them, I'm simply going to look at the desert." But the third oracle instead of containing curses, contains a litany of blessings for Israel. And Balaam expresses how his eyes are now opened. His open eyes allow him to perceive God's perspective on Israel and God's position regarding Israel. And these blessings accumulate until in verse 24:7, 8, and 9, there's a prophecy of a coming Messianic King. This King who will rule over an exalted Messianic Kingdom which exercises dominion over the nations. And the Messianic figure is going to be superior to the royal dynasty of the Amalekites, Israel's archetypical enemies. Let's see how this particular oracle ends, 24 verse 9. "Blessed is everyone who blesses you and cursed is everyone who curses you." Again, if you know the Abrahamic covenant, you're cheering as a reader. You're cheering in your seat that no matter how the attempt goes to curse Israel, it can't be done because God is with His people and they belong to Him. But by now Balaam has so aggravated King Balak that he loses his temper and he demands Balaam get out. No refund, no nothing, just leave. But before Balaam departs, this Gentile soothsayer leaves his former patron with a fourth prophecy which will again express blessing over Israel. And the fourth oracle begins with the mention of the uncovering of the seer's eyes. And the topic is the prophetic future, specifically the Messianic Age, the Messianic era. Balaam spoke of an extraordinary individual in Israel's far future. A star. And that star comes forth from Jacob and a scepter rises from Israel. Let's look at this verse in chapter 24 verse 17. "I see him but not now. I behold him but not near." "A star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel, and shall crush through the forehead of Moab and tear down all the sons of Sheth." Now if you paid attention when we discussed in a previous session the prophecy of Genesis 49:10, you will see that this prophecy in combination with the one from Genesis 49 solidifies the Messianic identity. That he's a Jewish king. And not only a Jewish king who will hold the scepter, but his coming would be heralded by the astronomical sign of a star. Now think about how the New Testament uses this passage and how important familiarity with this passage is in understanding what the Gospels say. Not just the Gospels, but the entirety of the New Testament. Because this prophecy of Balaam of the star should be indelibly inscribed in every believer's heart. Because when we get to the familiar story told and retold annually of wise men from the East, likely Mesopotamia, the region of Balaam, who followed the star and sought to find the one who was born King of the Jews, we all should see that connection. And in fact, the imagery of Balaam's prophecy is evoked at the very end of the New Testament itself with John's description of Jesus as the morning star. Numbers 24:17 has traditionally been seen by the Jewish people as Messianic prophecy. If we look at the Targums, it reads, "A king shall rise out of Jacob and be anointed the Messiah out of Israel." That's how they paraphrase this phrase. Another Targum reads, "When the mighty king of Jacob's house shall reign and the Messiah the power scepter of Israel be anointed, he shall slay the princes of Moab. From them their king shall arise and their redeemer be of them." And you know, this prophecy was infamously ascribed in the second century AD to the disastrously failed Messiah named Bar Kokhba by the Great Rabbi Akiva. The revered Rabbi set alight the hopes of millions and lit the second Jewish rebellion against Rome when he renamed Simon bar Kosiba with the Messianic title Bar Kokhba, the son of a star. Unfortunately, the Great Rabbi Akiva recognized only the victorious royal half of scripture's prophetic Messianic portrait and he consequently backed the wrong Messianic horse. And that resulted in his own death and the death and enslavement of countless fellow Jews and dispossession of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. And finally, the Great Rabbi Maimonides of the 12th century saw in this passage two anointed ones. King David in the first half and then in the second half, future Messiah. "I see him, not now," he says, "that's David." "I behold him but not near," "this is the Mashiach." "A star has shot forth from Jacob," "this is David." "A brand will rise up from Israel," "this is Mashiach." Nonetheless, it is inarguable that it is clearly the teaching of the New Testament and of rabbinic literature that Numbers 23 and 24 are powerful Messianic prophecies.
Chris Rodriguez: Thank you, Steve. If you missed part of this series, you'll be glad to know that it's available on one convenient compact disc. For the suggested gift of just $6, just point your web browser to our online store at messianicspecialties.com and search for Messianic Prophecy in the Pentateuch and place your order with our secure server. If you'd prefer ordering by phone, just call our toll-free order line at 1-800-926-5397 and our operator will be glad to assist you. Of course, you can still order by mail. Just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78215. And as always, when you're in touch with us, whether it's through the mail or by phone or even on the internet, if you would please, mention the call letters of the station. This is Chris Rodriguez. Join us tomorrow for another edition of Messianic Prophecy in the Pentateuch right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries in San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on the station by the free-will contribution of our listeners in this area.