Balaam's Prophesies and Foreshadows of Jesus
Numbers 24 has one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring prophecies in the Old Testament. God essentially takes an idol-worshiping sorcerer, and reveals the coming of the Messiah through him. He says in his fourth prophecy:
17 “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls[b] of[c] all the people of Sheth.[d]
18 Edom will be conquered;
Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
but Israel will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob
and destroy the survivors of the city.”
To some, this may seem like a long shot. But the evidence is there to support the claim that he is talking about Christ. It is traditionally held that the Magi in the second chapter of Matthew's gospel account, regarded the star that they saw as that of belonging to the Messiah (Matt 2:2). Additionally, in the Old and New Testament alike, the Messiah is seen as one ruling with an iron scepter (Psalm 2:9, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15). What is most striking about this prophecy is that God uses someone such as Balam to convey the deep mysteries of his salvation plan. This is a beautiful and striking prophecy laid down some 1200-1500 years before the birth of Christ.What do you think about it?
Other foreshadows of Christ:
Water from the Rock (Num 20:8)
Moses was commanded to speak to the rock so that it would yield water. Instead, he struck the rock in anger and was consequently punished for this disobedient act; he would not accompany Israel into the promised land. I always asked myself why the penalty was stiff in this case. Paul says something very peculiar in the NT:
3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.(1 Cor 10:3-5)
Perhaps Moses was to speak to the rock because it was actually Christ. Maybe the point was to ask Christ for the water. Did Moses then strike Christ in anger?
The Bronze Snake (Num 21: 8-9)
Israel rebelled again and were thus plagued with venomous snakes. They were to look at the bronze snake lifted high on a pole which Moses was commanded to make. The people were to look at the snake, trusting in God's salvation from the snakes and the subsiding of their punishment. Jesus later says,
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)
Jesus compares the way the Israelites were to put their trust in God by looking at the bronze snake to how we must look at Jesus on the cross in faith, believing that he is God's means of salvation.
Numbers 24 has one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring prophecies in the Old Testament. God essentially takes an idol-worshiping sorcerer, and reveals the coming of the Messiah through him. He says in his fourth prophecy:
17 “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls[b] of[c] all the people of Sheth.[d]
18 Edom will be conquered;
Seir, his enemy, will be conquered,
but Israel will grow strong.
19 A ruler will come out of Jacob
and destroy the survivors of the city.”
To some, this may seem like a long shot. But the evidence is there to support the claim that he is talking about Christ. It is traditionally held that the Magi in the second chapter of Matthew's gospel account, regarded the star that they saw as that of belonging to the Messiah (Matt 2:2). Additionally, in the Old and New Testament alike, the Messiah is seen as one ruling with an iron scepter (Psalm 2:9, Rev 2:27, Rev 12:5, Rev 19:15). What is most striking about this prophecy is that God uses someone such as Balam to convey the deep mysteries of his salvation plan. This is a beautiful and striking prophecy laid down some 1200-1500 years before the birth of Christ.What do you think about it?
Other foreshadows of Christ:
Water from the Rock (Num 20:8)
Moses was commanded to speak to the rock so that it would yield water. Instead, he struck the rock in anger and was consequently punished for this disobedient act; he would not accompany Israel into the promised land. I always asked myself why the penalty was stiff in this case. Paul says something very peculiar in the NT:
3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. 5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.(1 Cor 10:3-5)
Perhaps Moses was to speak to the rock because it was actually Christ. Maybe the point was to ask Christ for the water. Did Moses then strike Christ in anger?
The Bronze Snake (Num 21: 8-9)
Israel rebelled again and were thus plagued with venomous snakes. They were to look at the bronze snake lifted high on a pole which Moses was commanded to make. The people were to look at the snake, trusting in God's salvation from the snakes and the subsiding of their punishment. Jesus later says,
14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. (John 3:14-15)
Jesus compares the way the Israelites were to put their trust in God by looking at the bronze snake to how we must look at Jesus on the cross in faith, believing that he is God's means of salvation.
i think you're right david about verse 17-19 referring to Christs coming onto this world, although I can see how some may not think this way.
ReplyDeleteProphesying is a strange thought to me. I'm very skeptical towards a lot of the prophecies out there, mostly for reason that the ones i kinda followed ended up being far from accurate. Christian and non-christian ones. Because it's 2012, one that comes to mind is the end of the world prophecy from the mayan calendar. The mayans had some really smart mathematicians within the civilization and have had huge impacts in the math world. Was wondering what people thought of this prophecy? And if you don't believe in this "ridiculous" stuff, then what's a number you would give on the end of the world?(rhetorical question). I don't always think about these things, but once in a while these thoughts come up. How would I live my life, if I knew that this year were really the end of life? Because school takes up most of my time, I'd prob drop out and then what... What do you guys think? (not rhetorical at all)
I'm somewhat skeptical of modern-day prophecies as well. I can say that I would believe the bible's prophecies however because most, especially from the OT, are very accurate (enslavement of Israel told to Abraham as well as duration of captivity, specific kingdoms rising and falling in Daniel, the suffering servant from Isaiah, to name a few). I believe that the Mayan's produced some brilliant minds, however I can't say that I agree with their end of the world prophecy. Namely because, taking the Bible to be a credible source, I take into account Jesus' words when he says that no one will know the hour of his return, signalling the end of the age (Mark 13:32). So I especially don't hold to Harold Camping's prophecies because of what scripture says and because he's repeatedly proven wrong.
DeleteAs for the immediate implication for our lives in view of the end of the age, we can see how not knowing it serves to make us more proactive about our lives. Since his coming will be like that of a thief in the night (1 Thess 5:2-4), we are called to be alert at all times and make the most of our lives in Christ. So I would not necessarily stop what I am doing but instead simply serve wholeheartedly as a witness of the gospel wherever God has placed me. I would stay employed in my lab so that I could pray for and serve my lab members that they might come to Jesus. The same goes with how I interact with my family and church members as well. What do you guys think?
I also wanted to say that because the events in the old testament happened so long ago, it's hard for me to relate and I really do lose interest in reading it everyday. This passage was encouraging though, because I always enjoy topics on Christ because I feel it brings my faith and "the big picture" in life into perspective. I was also just wondering, what do you say (if there is something to be said) to christians who don't feel compelled to read the whole scripture, and just take the message of Christ as truth? It may not be a matter of being ok or not ok, but I was just wondering, is it fine if a Christian doesn't feel compelled to read all of scripture and just read some of it? Or maybe not read it at all but still say that they accept Christ?
ReplyDeleteDanny, this comment is very refreshing. I think you hit the nail on the head with your idea of longing for the big picture of the Bible. The more you read through the entire Bible, the more you begin to connect the OT and NT in an edifying way. I believe that since scripture ultimately points to Christ (Jn 5:39) and the fact that Christ is called the Word (John 1:1,14) the Bible can be viewed through the lens of looking for Christ. Caution should be taken however to not short-circuit certain parts so that we end up looking past the immediate text from trying to 'read Christ into it'. For instance, we can read Leviticus and learn very important general lessons from it, such as the aspect of God's holiness. This is good general knowledge about God. But also, when we bring in Christ, we realize that we can only be holy through him. So there are layers to a given text and we should be careful to study it thoroughly. I feel as though if we don't understand the OT, then it is very difficult to understand Jesus' teachings and other NT truths because the NT writings repeatedly quote or refer back to key OT teachings and truths. There are so many parallels between the OT and NT; for instance, the story of Exodus is a parallel to our relinquishment from sin and Satan as Christians (Paul uses this analogy and language). Also, in Hebrews we are taught to look back at the example of the Israelites in Numbers so as not to make their same mistakes. There is so much more to be said on this topic. I particularly like the book of Hebrews because it makes the interconnection between the Torah's teaching on temple worship and Christ. Very fascinating. On a final note, if you are interested on seeing how Christ can properly preached from the OT, you might want to check out last year's Gospel Coalition resources here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/conferences/2011/#media. Very good material.
ReplyDeletehey dave, I totally agree again. Reading the bible, (even the old testament) really does help me to understand the Gospel and the importance of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. So I have to question myself as to why I have such thoughts(or excuses, could be both): "you don't have to read the whole bible to be christian, you just have to accept the word of God as truth" or "reading the bible is good, but not necessary, it's more important to live out my life in Christ". My thoughts may have some truth in them but I really have to question them for myself.
DeleteOn average (really rough estimate), I read about 6 books a year outside of school, which I think is supposedly below the average in America. Do I just say these things, because I really believe that the church or the ministry I am affiliated with is being too strict or legalistic or is it just me and my laziness/uninterest to pick up a book and just read? I suspect it's laziness/uninterest. Maybe after I have read the whole bible, I'll have some legitimate opinions on the matter.
And that kinda leads me to my next question, but I'll save that for later because I'd like to hear more responses from my previous comments