Num 23:8 | KingComments | STEP | Balaam pronounces four, or better seven, blessing discourses, for the fourth blessing discourse contains four discourses. In each of the four both Jacob and Israel is mentioned. Each prophecy has a different content. Each time something more is brought forward of what God has in His heart as a blessing for His people. Each discourse also emphasizes a certain name of God: 1. God and the LORD ( ); 2. God and the LORD his God ( ): 3. God, the Almighty ( ); 4. God, the Most High and the Almighty ( ). The discourses that Balaam will pronounce are the first great prophetic utterances in the Bible. The prophecies are spoken by a false prophet, but he is forced to proclaim true prophecy. Balaam does not speak to the people. Moses did not hear it. Yet Moses writes down everything that Balaam said because he was inspired by the Spirit. God can have a man write things down that are truth, without that man himself having been there. For example, the account of creation in Genesis 1-2 is done in the same way. The people know nothing of all the wonderful things that Balaam mentions about them. Maybe they are grumbling in their tents at the same time. The practice of this people is in any case in stark contrast to what we successively see in the four prophecies that Israel is before God: They are 1. a people who dwells apart ( ), 2. a justified people ( ), 3. a people full of beauty and freshness ( ) and 4. a people to whom the coming of Christ in His glory is promised ( ). These discourses are primarily about God’s earthly people, Israel. But they are also instructive for the church of God. Like Israel, Scripture presents the church of God in two ways. On the one hand we see the church in its ‘wilderness life’ and on the other hand as the object of God’s counsels. In the church we see grumble and unbelief, deviation and failure. But when we see the church from above, from God’s perspective, we see its value to Him. Therefore Balaam is always in a high place ( ). The first discourse manifests what Balaam notices when he looks at that people from the top of the rocks. If he had walked between the tents, he would have seen and heard something totally different. He starts by stating where he comes from, who has let him come and what his mission is. He has been told that he must come to curse Jacob and to denounce Israel. And he has come. Under the power of God, however, no curse comes out of his mouth, but blessing. First he justifies that he cannot curse whom God does not curse, and cannot denounce whom the LORD does not denounce. By this he connects the name “God” to Jacob and the name “LORD” to Israel . The almighty God is on the side of the weak, stumbling, willful Jacob. God calls Himself the God of Jacob. He will never disengage Himself from Jacob. LORD is the name that recalls the covenant between Him and His people. He will never give up the promises contained in the covenant, of which Israel, the people of God’s counsel, is the center. The first characteristic of the people is that they are a people who live apart amidst all nations. This also applies to Christians. They are in the world, but not of the world ( ). God has taken a people from the nations for Himself, for His Name ( ). Separation is not negative, it is not just about being separated from something, but separation is positive, separated for a purpose, namely to be there for God. That God does not reckon His people – Israel formerly, the church now – among the nations, is His side. In practice, the church has not remained apart. Yet this does not detract from the truth that God does not reckon His people among the nations. Similarly, the believer can be unfaithful and connect with the world, something that is explicitly against the will of God ( ). But the new life of the believer has no part in the world. While Balak did his best to bring the people of God to the attention of Balaam as meaningless as possible ( ), he speaks of a people who cannot be numbered as the dust of the earth cannot be numbered ( ; ). Balaam only sees a part of it, “the fourth part”, which could be one of the four standards in which the people are divided (Numbers 2). Nevertheless, he speaks of the fact that this fourth part cannot be numbered. How great then must the entire people be! When he sees these people, he thinks about their future. He sees as it were the end, the ultimate goal. Then he thinks of his own end. He wants to die the death of a righteous one, but at the same time wants to live as a wicked one. He will die the death of the wicked one because he did not want to live as a righteous man and did not want to belong to a people who God has separated for Himself.

‏ Numbers 23:8

First Discourse

Balaam pronounces four, or better seven, blessing discourses, for the fourth blessing discourse contains four discourses. In each of the four both Jacob and Israel is mentioned. Each prophecy has a different content. Each time something more is brought forward of what God has in His heart as a blessing for His people. Each discourse also emphasizes a certain name of God:

1. God and the LORD (Num 23:8);

2. God and the LORD his God (Num 23:21):

3. God, the Almighty (Num 24:4);

4. God, the Most High and the Almighty (Num 24:16).

The discourses that Balaam will pronounce are the first great prophetic utterances in the Bible. The prophecies are spoken by a false prophet, but he is forced to proclaim true prophecy. Balaam does not speak to the people. Moses did not hear it. Yet Moses writes down everything that Balaam said because he was inspired by the Spirit. God can have a man write things down that are truth, without that man himself having been there. For example, the account of creation in Genesis 1-2 is done in the same way.

The people know nothing of all the wonderful things that Balaam mentions about them. Maybe they are grumbling in their tents at the same time. The practice of this people is in any case in stark contrast to what we successively see in the four prophecies that Israel is before God: They are

1. a people who dwells apart (Num 23:9),

2. a justified people (Num 23:21),

3. a people full of beauty and freshness (Num 24:5-7) and

4. a people to whom the coming of Christ in His glory is promised (Num 24:17).

These discourses are primarily about God’s earthly people, Israel. But they are also instructive for the church of God. Like Israel, Scripture presents the church of God in two ways. On the one hand we see the church in its ‘wilderness life’ and on the other hand as the object of God’s counsels. In the church we see grumble and unbelief, deviation and failure. But when we see the church from above, from God’s perspective, we see its value to Him. Therefore Balaam is always in a high place (Num 23:9 ; 14 ; 28).

The first discourse manifests what Balaam notices when he looks at that people from the top of the rocks. If he had walked between the tents, he would have seen and heard something totally different. He starts by stating where he comes from, who has let him come and what his mission is. He has been told that he must come to curse Jacob and to denounce Israel. And he has come.

Under the power of God, however, no curse comes out of his mouth, but blessing. First he justifies that he cannot curse whom God does not curse, and cannot denounce whom the LORD does not denounce. By this he connects the name “God” to Jacob and the name “LORD” to Israel. The almighty God is on the side of the weak, stumbling, willful Jacob. God calls Himself the God of Jacob. He will never disengage Himself from Jacob. LORD is the name that recalls the covenant between Him and His people. He will never give up the promises contained in the covenant, of which Israel, the people of God’s counsel, is the center.

The first characteristic of the people is that they are a people who live apart amidst all nations. This also applies to Christians. They are in the world, but not of the world (Jn 17:16). God has taken a people from the nations for Himself, for His Name (Acts 15:14). Separation is not negative, it is not just about being separated from something, but separation is positive, separated for a purpose, namely to be there for God.

That God does not reckon His people – Israel formerly, the church now – among the nations, is His side. In practice, the church has not remained apart. Yet this does not detract from the truth that God does not reckon His people among the nations. Similarly, the believer can be unfaithful and connect with the world, something that is explicitly against the will of God (2Cor 6:14). But the new life of the believer has no part in the world.

While Balak did his best to bring the people of God to the attention of Balaam as meaningless as possible (Num 22:41), he speaks of a people who cannot be numbered as the dust of the earth cannot be numbered (Num 23:10; Gen 13:16 ; Gen 28:14). Balaam only sees a part of it, “the fourth part”, which could be one of the four standards in which the people are divided (Numbers 2). Nevertheless, he speaks of the fact that this fourth part cannot be numbered. How great then must the entire people be!

When he sees these people, he thinks about their future. He sees as it were the end, the ultimate goal. Then he thinks of his own end. He wants to die the death of a righteous one, but at the same time wants to live as a wicked one. He will die the death of the wicked one because he did not want to live as a righteous man and did not want to belong to a people who God has separated for Himself.