Numbers: For grace to devour our faithlessness was always the plan

Balaam

Balak is worried for his kingdom. He thinks Israel is going to come up the mountain and destroy him. So he sends nobles to hire Balaam, a man who lives 450 miles away. He hires Balaam to curse Israel, but he can’t. He speaks blessings over Israel and even prophesies of both King David and ultimately Christ.

Why does the donkey speak? God wasn’t just feeling silly that day.

PICTURE OF BIBLE REFERENCES

What is a fable? Why we know it isn’t - exact locations - more = less probable

Balaam is a false prophet who tries to manipulate “the gods” to his will, but God says I will not be manipulated

Balaam is supposed to be a man who has wisdom and sight, yet not Balaam - but a donkey - sees the angel of the Lord. Because NOTHING sees unless God gives sight.

Balaam is supposed to be a man who speaks blessings and curses over nations. Who changes the destinies of nations. Yet before God speaks through Balaam, He speaks through a donkey. We aren’t supposed to see God speaking through Balaam and say, “oh, wow. Balaam was really something. He heard from God.”

Prove it! On the way to Balak the donkey sees the angel of the Lord 3 times. Each time the donkey submits to the angel instead of Balaam because it can see the angel and is afraid. Each time the donkey is chastised by Balaam for it’s disobedience. After the 3rd time Balaam said if I had a sword I would kill you… and God opened his eyes to see the angel. The angel tells him, if the donkey had not turned I would have destroyed you.

Balaam goes to 3 different mountains, prepares 3 sacrifices, and 3 times seeks the Lord. Each time out of fear he submits to what God says and tells Balak God has blessed Israel. 3 times Balak chastises Balaam.

Numbers 24:9 “9 Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse them? “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!””

If Balak would have cursed Israel and not headed the word of the Donkey, sorry I mean Balaam, what would have happened?

Numbers 24:15-19 “15 Then he spoke his message: “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, 16 the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:

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. 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.””

It is just as miraculous that God spoke through Balaam as He did through that donkey. It’s no greater miracle that God let a donkey see the angel than letting Balaam prophesy of the Messiah.

Israel’s betrayal (Moab Seduces Israel)

With our story so far. Watching everyone fail in the first half of numbers. What would you guess happens next?

Numbers 25:1-3 “1 While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, 2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the Lord’s anger burned against them.”

Peor is familiar to the story. It’s where Balak had Balaam build the altars to curse Israel.

God is making an example of Balaam: one that will be referred to 8 times throughout scripture...

Revelation 2:14 “14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.”

Balak couldn’t curse the people of God but maybe he could convince them to abandon their God and “Yoke” or “attach” or “marry” themselves to idols.

So God sent a plague that killed 24,000 people. He demanded every person who served the idols, especially the leaders, be put to death. And the Midianites became enemies to Israel because they conspired against Israel.

Portioning out the land

Why even write this? Imagine being Moses writing this after completing Numbers 22-26. Moses wasn’t there on the mountain when Balaam was sent to curse Israel. God had to tell him about that. Imagine writing about how Balaam tried to curse Israel, and was protected by God, and then getting to that word “Peor” and being like… oh no…

Then you write about how Israel was seduced into worshiping a false God AT THE TEMPLE of the guy who was hired to curse you. Why write about what happens when they get into the land? These people don’t have a shot in hell of keeping the covenant.

Then the story is interrupted.

The responsibility of the Husband Num30

Why is this here? This isn’t the justice part, the Law part, the Holiness part…

Ezekiel 16:1–15 (NIV)

1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, confront Jerusalem with her detestable practices 3 and say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Jerusalem: Your ancestry and birth were in the land of the Canaanites; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean, nor were you rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths. 5 No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. Rather, you were thrown out into the open field, for on the day you were born you were despised. 6 “ ‘Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, “Live!” 7 I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew and developed and entered puberty. Your breasts had formed and your hair had grown, yet you were stark naked. 8 “ ‘Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body. I gave you my solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you, declares the Sovereign Lord, and you became mine. 9

Jeremiah 2:2 “2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: “ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown.”

Isaiah 54:5 “5 For your Maker is your husband— the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

The entire story of Hosea and Gomer. Gomer is the wife Hosea loves but runs from her husband again and again back into prostitution. And God tells the prophet go buy her back.

Numbers 30:10-15 “10 “If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath 11 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand. Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. 13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself. 14 But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. 15 If, however, he nullifies them some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing.””

Outro

This is the gospel according to Numbers.

God’s people enter into an everlasting bond with Him.

They fail, often and badly. They begin to resent each other, there’s fighting among the people, they have trouble trusting Him, and they are deceived by false prophets and even give their bodies to idols.

And for that they deserve to die.

Except that God’s love for them is so deep, so wide, and so high that He tells his wife. If you break this bond between us I will make it right. I will take the death. I will take the punishment and I WILL STILL ENTER THE COVENANT KNOWING THIS IS THE CASE.

God set up the marriage covenant so that when Christ made you His bride you could not sin your way out of it. Because when He made that agreement He took responsibility for every time we would turn our back on Him.

Israel is going to keep sinning. They are going to keep chasing other Gods. They are going to sin in every way imaginable.

Read Ezekiel 16, Israel’s history is revolting.

But God knew is was going to be and did it anyway.