We noted previously that there was a prophetic word from Balaam about Jesus that alludes to both His divinity and power. Our reflection also included the fact that God’s promise applied to individual as well as community. Let’s delve deeper in the text to reflect on that connection. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Numbers 24:17 NIV
[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 of all the people of Sheth.
Jacob’s Star, Israel’s Scepter 2
The book of Genesis tells us that Jacob was Abraham’s grandson, from whose lineage God’s chosen people was established. Genesis 32 tells us that Elohim also renamed Jacob Israel, henceforth he became the father of the nation Israel.
If the Son of God was a descendant of Jacob, He was also the fulfilment of God’s promise to Abram. That promise, delivered in Genesis 17:5, indicated that Abram would be the father of nations. We can infer that Balaam’s inclusion of Jacob allows for the whole world (especially since Jesus’ genealogy includes a few Gentiles). As Israel’s scepter, when they had not yet been established as a nation, we also see God’s authority vested in the prophesied Messiah.
In a world where kings were treated as gods or demi gods, YHWH was declaring that Israel, the nation, would be ruled by God’s own son. This might not be a simple concept for us to absorb today, but it was not strange to those times. Ancient Near Eastern tradition equated the birth of a nation with spiritual phenomena surrounding the king’s birth. Y’shua’s birth fulfilled God’s prophecy long after Israel was established as a theocracy.
What Balaam prophesied should have infuriated those who hired him. They paid him to curse the Children of Israel, he prophesied that they would become a nation, with a powerful king who would eliminate them. Note that a scepter was not merely a symbol of governance and authority, it also conveyed divine authority. A scepter that would be more powerful than Moab was the embodiment of their fears.
Self-Check
How does knowing Jesus as scepter help us face life’s challenges?
Digging Deeper
Did you also notice that both Moab and Sheth would suffer wounds to the head? That takes us back to Genesis 3. The enemy was promised that God’s chosen seed – i.e., God’s star or descendant – would bruise its head. While this doesn’t make Moab or Sheth Satan, we definitely see that God’s prophecy remained consistent. Balaam’s prophecy bears similarities to God’s first promise of a Saviour. It is worth noting that Sheth, or Seth as it is more commonly known, can mean appointed compensation or tumultuous destruction.
Could Balaam’s prophecy then be confirmation that at God’s appointed time, the head of the subtle one will be truly crushed? We saw the partial fulfilment in Jesus’ Resurrection. Balaam’s prophecy is an assurance yet again that God’s promised Son will rescue us from the enemy at His Second Advent.
Ironically, with Ruth being named in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus, we also see that YHWH used one of Moab’s own descendants to defeat Moab. His humanity proved His divinity and defeated the enemy. God’s authority definitely rests upon Him. Siblings, Israel’s scepter has been born. Come, let us worship Him.
Point to Ponder
The Trinitarian concept of Christ as God, Sovereign, and Descendant is not very common to us today. Yet, it is implied in Balaam’s prophecy. How might we consciously relate to that image of Christ?
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May all we seek be found in Christ
