A Thrill of Hope Day 2: Prophecy from Unexpected Placed
For Advent this year, we chose to discuss the foretellings (prophecies) of the Old Testament. These were Scriptures that foretold Christ & His coming. They prophesied over a future Messiah. I was assigned to Numbers 24:
“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.”
Numbers 24:17
Isn’t that so eloquent? It’s a beautiful foretelling of the coming Messiah. A “star” coming out of Jacob. Pointing to the star leading to Bethlehem in the New Testament.
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” - Matt. 2:9-10
The crazy part is Balaam had NOT seen the promise. He was speaking the words of the Lord, but my guess is he had no idea of the fullness of this prophecy. The fact that his words portrayed a massive promise! I want to sidetrack for a different section in Numbers to a different story of Balaam…
“Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” - Numbers 22:21-33
Isn’t that crazy? Two chapters earlier this prophet was walking in disobedience to the Lord and threatening to kill his donkey!!! How likely are you to take the words of a man who threatens to kill his donkey seriously? In today’s world, he would have been called in by animal rights activists. BUT once again this is the beautiful foretelling of Christ’s redemption plan.
God took a man like Balaam - a normal human man - and transformed him into a man for His prophecies. Balaam went against God’s will, even as a prophet, and God still used him/brought him back on the right path. This is one of those foretellings that brings us hope in our own lives.
As we look to the birth of Jesus and the men He used to tell His story, let’s be reminded that Jesus gives grace. If Balaam can be used to foretell the coming Messiah after threatening his donkey, God can use your life. That is the beauty of Jesus’ coming - His eventual death & resurrection - led to us all being forgiven and able to have a beautiful life with Him. If you aren’t saved, take this as a time to pray and ask Jesus into your heart. If you know Jesus and feel you have been struggling, take this as a moment to believe God is going to use you. You are never too far gone for Jesus!