A STAR OUT OF JACOB
Numbers 24:12-19 (KJV)
And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
In my studies for Christmas messages this year I discovered a passage I had never, to my recollection, considered before.
When the Wise men came searching for the one that “is born King of the Jews” they were guided by a star.
Almost everybody attributes their connection of a star to Jesus
· To their being magi – soothsayers, used to using the stars for their divinations
· To an obscure reference that Daniel must have left in Babylon (though not in his inspired prophecy.)
There are only two passages in the Bible where a star can be absolutely attributed to the coming of Jesus.
The one we all know is Matthew 2:1-11 (KJV)
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
The second, and the one that came out of my studies this Christmas season, is Numbers 24:17 (KJV)
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
And the man who God uses to give us this passage is Balaam, an enigma in the Scriptures.
The thing that most people know Balaam for is his ass, that spoke to him.
Not many people have an experience like that.
The other thing that he is noted for is his ungodly character described in the New Testament.
Listen to these verses:
2 Peter 2:15 (KJV)
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;
Jude 1:11 (KJV)
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.
Revelation 2:14 (KJV)
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.
· The way of Balaam
· The error of Balaam
· The doctrine of Balaam
Obviously he wasn’t a very good man.
Here’s the thing about that;
Everything said about him in Numbers 22-24, he does exactly what God told him to do.
· He was hired to curse Israel.
· He never did it. He only blessed them.
The most negative thing said about him in the Old Testament is
Numbers 31:16 (KJV)
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.
I think there is a special place in hell for those “Christian Counselors” who, for a fee, giving hurting believers permission to abandon the teachings of the Bible.
Balaam could not curse Israel, but he did something much worse, he counseled them to commit trespass against the Lord.
And Israel hated him for it.
Numbers 31:8 (KJV)
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.
As I said, Balaam is an enigma.
He has always been a confusing Bible character for me.
But I figured out why.
I have always seen him as a good man gone bad.
When Balak first approached him about cursing Israel, Balaam told them, “No.”[1]
The only place I can see where he really did anything wrong is that his first response should have been enough.
If God had told him not to curse Israel, Balaam didn’t need to go ask God again.
But he did ask God again, and the second time God told him to go.
Balaam obeyed and kept on obeying God, never once cursing Israel, even though not doing so made the King of Moab very angry.
It has always seemed to me that he stuck to his guns, he kept on preaching the truth despite the danger, and in the presence of his enemies.
But here’s the thing, Balaam was not a good man gone bad.
Balaam was a bad man God used
Numbers 22:5 (KJV)
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Pethor was a city in Mesopotamia.
Apparently, Balaam was a “prophet for hire” there.
That is no more of a jump than all of the jumps I’ve heard to make good Balaam turn into bad Balaam.
There is a girl in the city of Philippi who reminds me of him.
Acts 16:16-19 (KJV)
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:
The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
I have no idea where Balaam got the reputation as a prophet or whether he had demonic power enabling him – the Bible doesn’t say.
But I have become convinced that the way of Balaam is “prophet for hire.”
The error of Balaam was in using the ministry for money.
The doctrine of Balaam was polluted because it was molded to tickle the ears of his hearers.
All of a sudden, I see him in a different light.
-The servants of the King of Moab come to send for him.
-In a feigned show of piety, he instructs them to stay the night so he can “talk to God.”
Maybe his plan is to tell them, “No” the next morning so he can negotiate for a higher fee.[2]
The king of Moab sent even more influential messengers the second time to Balaam, with even more authority to offer him greater rewards.
Balaam says,
Numbers 22:18 (KJV)
And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
He pretends to have no interest in money or their bribes.
But he does promise to “ask” God again.
And this time, he says God told him to go with them.
Numbers 22:20 (KJV)
And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
But what if that’s only what Balaam said God said?
Suddenly God’s anger make sense.
Numbers 22:22-33 (KJV)
And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
At this point God has Balaam’s attention.[3]
At least for the time being, his game is up.
The rest of the account, Numbers 22-24, God superintended over Balaam just like He did with his ass.
Balaam could only say what God allowed him to say.
He was not a better man for it any more than the ass was a better beast for speaking.
He was just an instrument God used.
And he used him to give remarkable prophecies.
I’ll call your attention to just two of them.
Numbers 24:8-9 (KJV)
God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.
He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.
Remember the Lion of the tribe of Judah?
Revelation 5:5 (KJV)
And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
Balaam gives us a prophecy of the second coming of Jesus Christ.
And then,
Numbers 24:16-17 (KJV)
He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
“There shall come a Star out of Jacob…”
This is a prophecy regarding the first coming of Jesus.
This is what the wise men, 1400 years later[4] saw.
How they knew the star was a sign of one born king of the Jews, the Bible does not say. It would not be wise to think we are wiser than the Bible.
But this is what they saw.
Let me get to the “message” of this message.
· God used an ass to get the attention of a wicked con man.
· God used a wicked con man to prophecy a great truth about Jesus Christ and
· God used an indistinct Star to bring the wise men to Jesus Christ
Don’t you suppose God can use you?
Conclusion
2020 begins in just three days.
· Will you yield to God to tell someone about Jesus?
· Will you ask God to help you get your life right?
· Will you set your sights on the soon coming Jesus Christ?
[1] Numbers 22:5-13 (KJV)
He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
[2] Whether or not that was his intent, that is what happened.
[3] Like the witch at Endor who was terrified when she pretended to call Samuel from the grave and God really sent him.
1 Samuel 28:7-12 (KJV)
Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou artSaul.
