NUMBERS

Numbers Chapter 24

• Numbers 24:1 And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 
• 2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him. 
• 3 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 
• 4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 
• 5 How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! 
• 6 As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. 
• 7 He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 
• 8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows. 
• 9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. 

In spite of God's judgment on Israel because of their sins of forsaking Him and committing adultery with idols, God still has not forsaken Israel and this prophecy still holds true today. Yes, God does judge Israel but God has not abandoned his promise to Abraham. In thee, meaning Israel shall all nations be blessed. Blessed are they that bless Israel and cursed are they that curse Israel. No matter who does not like this prophecy, it is from the Lord and we can't change it.

The president of the United States or any other nation can't change it either. God will punish Israel for their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, but He will also punish any nation that comes against Israel. Israel will rule the whole world headed by none other than Jesus. 

There is a great tribulation period coming when Israel will be brought back to God by way of Christ Jesus. Without Jesus no one can be reconciled to God. It will take a great tribulation of around 7 years for Israel as a nation to find out who the Messiah really is and that is the same one their ancestors had crucified around 2000+ years before. He is soon to return. A remnant of Israel will turn to the Lord during that time. They will rule and reign with Christ in the coming Millennium. It can't be stopped. 

Those that believe now in Christ whether Jews or Gentiles are part of the church or congregation of believers. They will be taken by way by rapture just before the tribulation starts. There are variations of beliefs concerning this but at some time God will send Jesus to gather His saints before the wrath of God is poured out. 

During this great day of judgment or wrath, the nation of Israel will recognize that the ones their ancestors pierced is the one true Messiah that had to come the first time to make an offering for sin but is coming the 2nd time to set up His kingdom on earth for 1000 years. This is to show all who are alive at the time what it is like to have a righteous ruler. Israel will be the nation Christ will rule from. 

The church has never replaced Israel at any point in history. Instead we who have received the Christ that the Jews rejected are sort of adopted or grafted into the vine of Israel by faith in Him. We do not replace, only become part of the picture so to speak. We are to love Israel not hate them. We are not to hate them even for rejecting Christ. In fact if Christ had not have died for sins, none of us would be saved. That is why Jesus came in the flesh and become one of us. To die for sins. Without the atoning death of Jesus Christ there would be no way for any Jew or Gentile to be saved.

The covenant and the law was for the Jews. Jews also have a new covenant in Jesus the Messiah. They cannot be saved by trying to keep the law. Jesus is the new way of salvation for both Jews and Gentiles. 

The prophecy Balaam gives here, "I will bless those that bless thee and I will curse those that curse thee," is still in effect. It means Israel, never the church. We have a special place in Christ. We who have been faithful and have believed in the Lord, turned away from sin and have placed our trust in Jesus, have a special calling and a special place. We have the hope of escaping the things coming upon the earth. Read Revelation 3 in the letter to the Church of Philadelphia.

• Revelation 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 
• 8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. 
• 9  Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 
• 10  Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. 

To go in the rapture one must meet the same requirements given to the Philadelphia church. To keep His word and not deny His name. Also have love one to another which is how the world will know that we belong to Jesus. In saying all this though, this does not mean any believers in Jesus will not suffer persecution or tribulation but it does mean we will escape the wrath of God poured on unbelievers and those that do persecute Israel or believers in Jesus the Christ.

• 1John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 
• 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. 

If we bite and devour one another, if we persecute unbelievers or Israel. If we beat up our fellow servants, the Lord will come when we are not aware of it and we will not go with Him but remain during the tribulation. We have no calling from our Lord to force the Christian religion on anyone. We are to preach the gospel of repentance and faith in Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to make the converts.

In order to enter the Kingdom of God one must be born again by the spirit of God. That cannot be forced on anyone. God has to do the converting. We teach and preach but God does the changing of the life that comes to Christ. This business of mixing church and state and using force only stamped out the gospel in the Middle Ages by the Roman Church and even among some Protestant denominations. Conversion to Christ is by the Spirit of God and a life changed into one of holiness when a believer is clothed by the righteousness of Christ. We can't force this on anyone, we can only preach it. 

• Numbers 24:10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. 
• 11 Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour. 
• 12 And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 
• 13 If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?

Although Balaam says this now, we know from the book of Revelation and also Josephus mentions it, that Balaam went home only to think about these things and devise a way to get his rewards and honor. In chapter 25 of Numbers, we read of the fornication and idolatry by Israel which they went into by the enticement of by the daughters of Moab. According to Revelation, Jude, Peter and Josephus, Balaam was behind all the sin mentioned in chapter 25. 

• Numbers 24:14 And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days. 
• 15 And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 
• 16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: 
• 17 I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 

Wow, Balaam was even able to prophecy about the coming of the Messiah, which we now know as Jesus. Jesus will surely rule and reign in the house of David. This great day is yet to come. Balaam could have been a great man of God if he had not have fallen into the temptation of greed and gain. He was willing to let Israel be cursed if it would get him money and possessions.

This is still a temptation among people of God today. This is why I keep harping on the prosperity doctrine and warning of its deception. We are never to rob the poor, despise the poor and turn away from the brethren who are poor. The prosperity doctrine teaches that God blesses the rich and we are not to give to a poor ministry. This is not the truth. We better be helping the poor struggling churches as well as help the poor individual families.

When a church is ready to lose its building and their finances are drying up, as long as they are teaching the gospel of truth, we have an obligation to help them not assume God is not blessing them and that they do not deserve any help. This doctrine is deadly and cruel. 

That poor pastor who stays faithful to a small church even though he has very little tithes to live on may be bigger in the sight of God than the one with back yard swimming pools and that live high on the hog because they have a large congregation with plenty of money. We can't assume like many are doing that God is favoring the rich one and cursing the poor one for some reason. I'm so sick of that doctrine. I believe God has the poor believers among us for a reason, to see if we will help them or shut up our bowels of compassion against them. This prosperity stuff is the exact opposite of what Jesus taught. 

Jesus said give and it shall be given unto you. That is true, but the ones that teach the new doctrine of prosperity teach that we should give to is the ones who don't need it. Instead, we are to give to those who don't have it and who can't give back to us. 

• Luke 14:12 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. 
• 13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 
• 14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 

What a blessing it is to study the words of Jesus Himself. 

• Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 
• 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 
• 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

This modern day doctrine is part of the doctrine of Balaam. Fornication and idolatry is also a part of the doctrine of Balaam. It is a doctrine that says, you can sin and still prophesy and be in God's favor. It is a doctrine that says you can be rich and have plenty but still have God. Idolatry is the love of riches and possessions as well as bowing down to statues.

Read the story of the rich man and Lazarus or the rich man who went away sorrowful because he would not part from his riches at the word of Jesus Christ. The prosperity people are misusing the parable of the talents to get gain. They also may be mixing up the scriptures about the future prosperity of Israel as a nation and applying it to individuals. They are fulfilling the warning of the apostle Paul: 

• 1Timothy 6:3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 
• 4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 
• 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. 
• 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 
• 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 
• 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 
• 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 
• 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 
• 11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. 

The parable of the talents is talking of spiritual things. Those that have nothing will lose what they have. It is not talking of the riches in this life but in the things of the spirit. Let us take the whole teaching of Jesus and the apostles, not just one or two pet verses to teach that God wants us rich. 

The Old Testament promises of prosperity is for the end time when Jesus comes to set up His Kingdom. It centers around Israel. We who are faithful in Jesus Christ will be rich then. Then we will possess the kingdom. We are never promised the "good life" now. Our inheritance now is the Holy Spirit and being born again by that spirit with the hope of life eternal. We may be rich, we may be poor but we are equal in Christ. 

They use to make fun of those that teach, "Pie in the sky by and by." That's exactly what it is though. Our reward is in the things of the spirit and the things coming; in the world we have tribulation. Not the great tribulation that is the wrath of God, but tribulation because of standing for the gospel and not compromising to please the world. We are not promised riches in this life. Some may be rich but that isn't guaranteed for believers in Jesus. Jesus is our reward. Being saved from sin, is our joy. Sin brings death. Sin brings eternal loss of one's soul. We need our sins cleansed and our souls right with God. That is our reward in this life. A big price was paid for it. 

Remember the story of Moses who identified with his people instead of the riches and wealth he could have had in Egypt. He went on to become on of the greatest prophets in history apart from Jesus Himself. 

• Hebrews 11:24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 
• 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 
• 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward. 

This is the example we should follow. Not someone who is telling us that God wants us to be rich. The bible is full of these things if we look. Remember the warning to the church at Laodicea in Revelation 3 near the end of that chapter. 

• Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 
• 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 
• 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. 
• 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 
• 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 
• 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. 

The book of Revelation along with many other scriptures teach the right kind of prosperity, not one that despise the poor and is centered on selfishness.

• Numbers 24:18 And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. 
• 19 Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. 
• 20 And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever. 
• 21 And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock. 
• 22 Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive. 
• 23 And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! 
• 24 And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
• 25 And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way. 

This is not the end of Balaam as we see in chapter 25 but is shows us that a man can be used of God and prophesy but still lose out with God if he does not remain in the good ways of God. He had to do as God commanded but in his heart he wanted the rewards of unrighteousness. 

• 2Peter 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 
• 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 
• 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 
• 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
• 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 
• 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 
• 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 
• 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 
• 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 

God warns but are we listening? All through the bible we can learn the way of godliness and righteousness but do we listen? The first place to look is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through faith in Him we receive the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. We do not have to be ignorant brethren. We can know the truth and the truth will make us free. 

• John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 
• 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

-DC