Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After setting up camp and a good meal they lay down for the night, and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend: "Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" says Holmes. Watson pondered for a minute. Knowing Sherlock’s penchant for deductive reasoning, he attempted to interpret the phenomena surrounding him. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. What does it tell you, Holmes?" Holmes was silent for a minute, then spoke. "Watson, you idiot. Someone has stolen our tent." There are times we can be so intent on seeing, we are blind, we miss the forest for the trees, or at least we don’t notice the tent is missing. Just as Watson could see the wonders of creation, but missed the tent, we may look around to see many wonderful aspects of God’s beautiful creation and forget the foundational truths of redemption. Again and again, we need be reminded of what it means to be chosen by God, called by God and made a child of God. In our passage those truths come from the most unlikely and surprising source: the false prophet Balaam. From the one who wanted riches for the gift God had given him, God used this diviner for His own glory. Last week we were introduced to this blind seer, this mixed up magician, this prophet for profit. As you recall Balak of Moab hired the powerful sage, Balaam, to curse the Israelites. Balak recognized their numbers far exceeded his own armies. So he resorted to magic, having Balaam curse them, thus making them vulnerable to the unseen spiritual forces and rendering them incapable of defense. While Balaam journeyed from Mesopotamia to an area just northeast of the Dead Sea, God stopped Balaam dead in his tracks by means of a talking donkey, millennia before Mr. Ed. While in route to pick up his paycheck from Balak, the donkey turned off the road, later rammed Balaam’s foot against a wall and finally sat down on the road. While the problem was obvious to the donkey, the great psychic Balaam was blind to the presence of the Angel of the Lord. He was famed for his extrasensory powers but could not see what was obvious to a donkey. The donkey speaks and Balaam engages in a casual conversation with the beast of burden. It is only then that God finally opens Balaam’s eyes and at last he sees the problem. Balaam, as with all those who are mouthpieces for God, are no better than a donkey, for it is only by God’s grace they can speak. God allows Balaam to meet with Balak, but is warned once again that he may not curse Israel. At Bamoth Baal Balak and Balaam begin their work of cursing God’s people. On seven altars seven bulls and seven rams are sacrificed. Balaam steps aside awaiting the message from God. But each time Balaam speaks, rather than cursing Israel, God makes him bless His chosen people. Angered by not getting his money’s worth, Balak has Balaam move to another location. With a change of location, perhaps God too will change His mind. Again Balaam sings the praise of God who chose Israel as His people in the past and promises to continue protecting them in the future. Balaam is unable to curse Israel, for in spite of his desire for the financial reward, God has so covered His people with a tent of protection that this cannot be ignored. Unlike Dr. Watson whose tent disappeared and he didn’t notice it, because of the Father’s mercy, He covers us with Christ, but we often forget its presence. God covers us with His protection - Numbers 23:7-10
Balaam is unable to undo God's protection Although Balak paid top dollar to get the desired results (a cursed and defeated people of God), Balaam was unable to say anything bad about God’s chosen people. Balaam could only point out that God covered His people with His protection. Like the donkey who spoke the day before, Balaam could only say that which God allowed him to say. But what he said far exceeded his ability to fully grasp the truth of his own words. Balaam doesn’t merely say that he should not curse Israel, but that he can not. It is not in his, or anyone’s, ability to harm those whom God has chosen. Balaam echoes God’s promise to protect His people given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3. This early description of God’s covenant with Abraham still stands. To curse God’s people whom God protects only calls condemnation on oneself. Balaam sees God’s protection making His people distinct Through the Spirit Balaam is able to appreciate Israel’s peculiar character. Because God has chosen her, she is different from other nations. Balaam alludes to a fundamental principle of Old Testament theology: God chose Israel to be His own people. To say they live apart is more than just separateness. The term refers to security and safety that comes from God’s protection. It points out the benefits of knowing God’s sovereign election. They are not just one of many nations; there is something unique about them, but that uniqueness does not come from within themselves, but because of God’s special love for them. We don’t earn God’s protection by being distinct and separate. Rather, God’s calling us as His children declares us to be distinct. His calling is what makes us special. Balaam desires the benefits of God’s protection "Let me die the death of the righteous." When God opens blind Balaam’s eyes, he sees the benefits of His protection. Even in the most frightening of situations, God’s presence is there; their death is unlike any other. For those in Christ, death’s sting has been taken by Christ’s death for us so that the grave no longer terrorizes as it does those with no hope. God’s protection of His people is not only in their life, in the here and now, but also in death. We may imagine that God’s protection is on us as long as life is going well, but this passage reminds us that in life and death, God’s protection is present. The trouble is, our gaze is so much on the things of life around us we forget this important truth. That protection remains on us today. At times I succumb to the melancholy madness of looking around our world and becoming depressed. I see the ravages of depravity in our culture as well as in the church. It is then I need to be reminded of God’s protection of His people. This past week I listened to an excellent tape series by Ken Myers of Mars Hill Audio called Best Selling Spirituality in which he discussed the impact of new age spirituality. He highlighted new books such as The Celestine Prophecy, Conversations with God and Embraced by the Light. These works, although popular even among professing Christians, consistently contradict the biblical record of the God we serve. Hearing the success of these false teachings I can succumb to the lie that we’ve been cursed, that God’s tent of protection is gone. I fall prey to imagining that God’s enemies are winning, that people will not respond to the Gospel. It is then that I forget God’s preserving grace, His protection that is on us. One Native American tribe had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy's 13th birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long. God covers us with His presence - Numbers 23:18-24 God’s presence does not waiver God’s protection of us is made certain because of God’s presence with us. This is what Balaam makes clear in the second oracle.
The second oracle ratifies and underscores what was said in the first. The reason for this consistency is because God does not change His mind. You’ve heard it said that it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, but such vacillation marks everyone of us. As finite creatures not knowing all the facts, we constantly have to adjust. But God, sovereign and omniscient, has no need to change. From eternity past He has known all and has no need to adjust. This unchanging, inflexible nature of God gives us hope. Malachi 3:6 tells us that because God does not change, we are not consumed. If God was changing from day to day, we could image that one day He would be pleased with us and the next He would shake His fist in wrath. Our very hope of eternal life rests on this unchanging nature of God. Titus 1:2 tells us that we have this hope because God, who does not lie, promised this before the beginning of time. God’s unwavering presence gives us hope Why does this give us hope? Look in verse 21. What the NIV translates as misfortune and misery may refer to either physical problems or ethical errors. Either way, it seems Balaam is either blind, or he sees something we have forgotten. As we have wandered with Israel through Numbers we have seen both physical and moral failings. Misfortune characterized these people step by step, 40 years worth of misfortune. What Balaam sees is the truth that God’s presence is based on His covenantal, unchanging love for His people. Their sin could never exhaust His mercy. The reason is simple: the shout of the King is among them. The shout refers to the exuberant shout of joy, the exclamation of happiness. It is the sound of the trumpet during times of celebration reminding the people of the King’s presence. God is not a distant emperor, secluded from those for whom He cares. The tabernacle was a constant reminder that while one could not approach God as an equal, He was always among His people. God’s promise to never leave us or forsake still stands. We have hope because we, like Israel in the desert, are so full of misfortune and misery; we sin constantly - yet, God’s victory shout is present with us even now. God sees no sin in His people; He sees no misfortune and misery, not because we have accomplished the impossible and made ourselves worthy, but because God has declared us righteous because of Christ. All the sins of God’s elect were laid upon Christ. He bore them in His own body on the tree, endured and satisfied the wrath of God for them, and bore them away. The Son of God redeemed us from the curse of the law, made an end of our sins, and justified and sanctified us by His blood. God Almighty has, through the effectual atonement of Christ, so thoroughly blotted out our sins that He does not behold them. They are covered by the righteousness of Christ. Therefore, God sees no sin in His people! This is a powerfully comforting truth of the gospel, "without which," John Gill appropriately declared, "the gospel must cease to be good news and glad tidings to the sons of men." God covers us with His power - Numbers 24:3-9
God’s power is at work in us God’s protection is certain because of God’s presence. What does that presence mean but that God’s power resides with His people. Again and again we live as though our tent is missing, our covering is gone. But we are covered by God’s power. For this reason Balaam praises Israel. Their tents are beautiful… Those around Balaam must’ve thought he lost it by now. Those Israelites, slaves a generation before, have spent the last 40 years wandering around the desert. Their tents, no doubt, were weather beaten. Their bodies were dirty. Yet in this vision Balaam sees what God sees. In verse 6 Balaam progressively builds on the poetic picture of the luscious greenery of the fertile valleys in Canaan. For Israel, who spent the last generation in the desert, the imagery is striking. They are compared first to the low lying gardens which follow the banks of the desert streams called wadis. Next they are compared to the a type of aloe tree which grew to a height of some ten feet. Finally, they are cedars, like our mighty redwoods, the majestic giant of the land. The cedar was a mountainous tree, never found along open water, but the image conveys the increased strength of the cedar, that Israel will become more powerful than anyone could ever imagine. If a cedar is a grand and mighty tree without an abundance of water, how much stronger will it be with that life source added? Again water is used to convey the fruitfulness and abundance. Remember they’ve been in the desert all their lives. This abundance and growth is a picture of their growth. Their population will proliferate, their power will increase in numbers and in might. Like the mustard seed parable in Matthew 13, Israel will begin small and is now promised growth and increase far beyond what anyone would ever imagine. God’s power allows us to rest Recall how the previous generation could not see God’s power at work when at Kadesh Barnea they refused to believe God’s power was sufficient to defeat the supposed giants in Canaan. God allows Balaam to see what they missed - God’s power will guarantee that they will take the promised land. But not only that, God’s power is at work in us to be able to rest. While God’s power ensures their victory, God’s power continues to protect them. In verse 9 they are likened to the lion who no one dares awaken. There is a sense of peace and security here that is now ours. How well do you sleep when you know everything is taken care, your worries have disappeared? As the weather warms I notice cruising through my neighborhood a mom or dad pedaling on their bikes, perhaps getting a good work out and pulling behind them a yellow cart. Inside, safely strapped in the carriage rides a young child. While the warm sun reduces the parent to a puddle of sweat, the kid is relaxed and cool, resting in the shade and blissfully unaware of the heat. They are resting in the shadow of the parent, enjoying the ride. Do you enjoy the shadow of God’s power right now or are you trying to pedal your guts out, trying to take care of everything, trying to control, manipulate, orchestrate, acting like you’re an orphan, without a Father who cares for you? How is it we have this covering? God covers us with His provision - Numbers 24:15-19
God’s provision is in the promised one How is it we are covered by God’s protection, presence and power? Balaam foretells of one who was to come in the future; he prophecies of one coming later in time. He speaks of the promised Messiah. In the ancient Near East, stars and scepters were images of kingly authority. This passage is partially fulfilled by David, who defeated the Moabites, conquered Edom, and routed the inhabitants of the hills of Seir. But David’s conquests were partial and temporary. But Jewish and Christian interpreters have always understood this to speak of one greater than David. Ancient Jewish versions of the Old Testament were clear in their claiming this to be the Messiah, the perfect King. A century after Jesus, a messianic pretender named himself Bar-Kochba - son of the star - in order to identify himself with this prophecy. But this passage reaches its complete fulfillment in Christ. It is Christ whom John in Revelation calls the Bright Morning Star. One must wonder if, Balaam, having seen these events, returned to the east, to his community of magicians called magi and told of this star coming out of Jacob. Then, centuries later God confirmed to other diviners from the east that they knew when the new King was born, for they saw His star. God provided protection, presence and power in the anointed King. His defeat of His enemies is swift and complete. But as those magi well understood but so often so many forget, the means by which this one rules is unlike what we would ever consider. When those wise sages from the east found the one whose star demanded their worship, they fell before a peasant child. They knew, they could see, by God’s grace, what escaped the religious leaders of the day, the pastors and theologians. The King who would crush the skulls of the sons of Sheth would first come to die the sinner's death. The crown on the Kings brow was made of thorns; His scepter signifying judgment struck Him. Our provision was found in the agony of the Cross, in the substitutionary death, the righteous for the unrighteous. His death is the covering we need for our sins, for our lives. God’s provision before us on the table In the same way, we can easily miss the truth of the one who came to provide a covering for His people. We can miss in the simplicity of this table, in the bread and wine, His gift of grace to us. We will miss the wonder of His majesty, His power and His glory, if we forget that He came as a servant to die in our place. That is the lesson of this table. It is in what these elements signify that we understand His provision for us, that we see the means by which His enemies are defeated. Are you struggling to know if God is willing and able to protect you? Have you wondered if His presence is certain? That His power is for you? It is found here in simple bread and wine, in these elements set aside from a common use for this special celebration. This is the kiss of God’s grace. |
