Balaam’s Oracles are Messianic Part 2

Establish the need: What are the details of the Messiah in Numbers 24?

Review: Last week we considered five reasons we believe Balaam’s third and fourth discourse found in Numbers 24:5-9 and Numbers 24:14-19 are Messianic prophecies.

1. Clues from the Pentateuch: a prophetic poem at the end of an era
2. Clues from themes from the Abrahamic Covenant in Balaam’s narrative
3. Clues from themes in Genesis 49 in Balaam’s narrative
4. Clues from the narrator of Balaam’s narrative
5. Objection: Isn’t Balaam a false prophet?

Purpose: In this session we will consider three details about the Messiah found in Numbers 24:7-9 and refute an objection

1. The Messianic Seed will be a King of Israel (Numbers 24:7)
2. The Messianic Seed will be come out of Egypt (Numbers 24:8)
3. The Messiah will bless those who bless Him and curse those who curse Him (Numbers 24:9)
4. Objection: Isn’t this about Saul?

While Balaam’s Oracles might not be taught often in Churches that it is a Messianic Prophecy, it is important key themes of the Messiah is tied together: “The Balaam narrative with its discourses provides the interpretative key for connecting the dots between the creation mandate, God’s promise to Abraham, and the coming Messianic King.”[1]

The Messianic Seed will be a King of Israel (Numbers 24:7)

The Prophecy: “Water will flow from his buckets, And his seed will be by many waters, And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.” (Numbers 24:7)

1. Who is he when it says “his Seed”? In verse 5 we the third person masculine singular is Israel/Jacob: “How pleasant are your tents, Jacob, Your dwelling places, Israel!”
2. Recall the word Seed is one of the Messianic Title in Genesis 3:15.
3. This Seed seems to refer to the Messiah instead of the people of Israel given the third person masculine singular use of “he, him” in Numbers 24:8-9.
4. Paralleling “His Seed” is “His ”
5. A detail is given of His Kingdom: “his kingdom shall be exalted”
6. The counterpart to Numbers 24:7b of the Messianic Kingdom is Numbers 24:8b, which describes the kingdom of Israel as devouring nations.[2]
7. Fascinatingly enough this Messianic King is described as being “by many waters,” is this possible a prediction He will be around lakes and sea? One can think of the Sea of Galilee!
   1. The significance here is that for the first time we see the Seed is explicitly said to be a King.
   2. That is, the Messianic King of Israel and the Seed of Eve are not two separate Persons.

The Messianic Seed will be come out of Egypt (Numbers 24:8)

The Prophecy: “God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox. He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones,” (Numbers 24:8)

1. Notice it says ““God brings him out of Egypt”
2. The “Him” refers to the Messianic King.

An objection arises: But how could this be another Exodus from Egypt?

1. To counter this objection we should consider how there was an “Exodus” from Egypt before Moses’ Exodus
2. The first time the people of God’s promise left the Promise land to go to Egypt because of a Famine was in Genesis 12:10= “Now there was a famine in the land; so Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a time, because the famine was severe in the land.”
3. Just like with Moses’ time God struck Pharaoh and Egypt with a Plague for wanting to wrong against god’s people: “But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (Genesis 12:17)
4. Just like Moses’ time Pharaoh sent God’s people away with all their possession: “Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for myself as a wife? Now then, [m]here is your wife, take her and go!” 20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they [n]escorted him away, with his wife and all that belonged to him.”(Genesis 12:19-20)

Given that Numbers 24:8 predicts the Messiah would come out of Egypt we are not surprised this anticipation is repeated later again in Hosea 11:1= “When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.”

1. It would be hard to see this is Messianic without it being rooted in Numbers 24:8.
2. Note here the Messiah is called “My Son.”

Thus in the New Testament when we learn of Jesus going to Egypt we see this fulfillment: “He stayed there until the death of Herod; this happened so that what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Matthew 2:15)

The Messiah will bless those who bless Him and curse those who curse Him (Numbers 24:9)

The Prophecy: “He crouches, he lies down like a lion, And like a lioness, who dares to rouse him? Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.”” (Numbers 24:9)

1. 1. 1. Note the second half of this verse says this: “Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you”
      2. This echoes the promise of God to Abram in Genesis 12:3.
      3. There is a sense of irony: “In his actions Balaam brings a curse on his own head even as he speaks words of blessing.”[3]
      4. But who is the “you” in “Blessed is everyone who blesses you”? Note the first half of Numbers 24:9 suggests it is the Messiah where the phrases is from Genesis 49:9= “Judah is a lion’s cub; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares to stir him up?”
   2. Here once again we see Balaam’s prophecy here “connects the dot” in Genesis to show that the prophecies of Genesis 12:3 and Genesis 49:9 is going to be fulfilled in One Person the Messiah.
2. Objection: Isn’t this about Saul?
   1. Some thinks this is fulfilled by King Saul since Numbers 24:7 mentioned Agag: “And his king shall be higher than Agag,” with this referencing King Agag that Saul defeated.
   2. But when we look at 1 Samuel 15 it does not seem likely it refers to Saul: “However, quite contrary to the positive expectations, Saul’s failure to put Agag, the Amalekite, to death does not result in the establishment of an exalted kingdom (see Numbers 24:7), but rather to God’s rejection of Saul and his lineage (1 Samuel 15:23). If anything, the description of Saul’s disobedience in 1 Samuel 15 casts doubt that Saul could possibly be the king of whom Balaan prophesied in Numbers 24:7-9.” [4]

[1] Seth D. Postell, “Numbers 24:5-9, 15-15: The Distant Star” in The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2018), 305.

[2] R. Dennis Cole, Numbers (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2000), 420.

[3] Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, Numbers-Ruth, Revised: The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 328.

[4] Seth D. Postell, “Numbers 24:5-9, 15-15: The Distant Star” in The Moody Handbook of Messianic Prophecy (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2018), 299.

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