This morning, I want you to hear the words of a pagan prophet who will prophesy about the coming of Christ. The oracles of Balaam contain language like that. Not only do they contain truths about God's plan to bless the descendants of Abraham, as well as truths about his unchangeable nature and his unwavering faithfulness, these oracles contain a surprising Christmas message. The promise is that God's deliverer will come and will reign and will overcome the darkness of God's enemies. Now this message was not what King Balak wanted at all. He had hired Balaam to say other things. Balak of Moab was hoping the pronouncements would curse the Israelites and weaken them. They were nearby and Moab was hoping that they would be able to defeat the Israelites if they were weak enough. But throughout three oracles, so far, Balaam has only spoken words of blessing and affirmation about the people of Israel and the plan of God. This has distressed Balak. After the third oracle was finished, he told Balaam to just leave. He was angry at the so-called seer, and he said, flee to your own place in chapter 2311, or chapter 2411. So right now, Balaam is unemployed in Moab. when we come to him in this verse. But he does not immediately leave. The show is not yet over. King Baelic was ready for Balaam to leave hastily. That would mean, had that been the case, that Oracle I, II, and III would have only been a three-act arc. They all worked against the king's interest, to be sure, but it turns out Baelic's interaction is not only comprised of three acts. There is a fourth act, and it's what you might call the firework show. Have you ever been to an event that you thought would end on a particular time and in a particular way just to find out that the ending was a firework show? You didn't see it coming. This is a situation King Balak is in. He just thought he could call for the curtain to be drawn closed, Balaam would leave, that would all be simple, but Balaam has parting words and his words are going to light up the sky of Moab. And what he says in verse 14 is his stated intent. He says, come, or now behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days. He is willing to concede Balak's request. He says, behold, I am going to my people. Now he doesn't mean immediately, he will stay a bit longer. But he's going to state his intent about his following words. And the intent is, come, I will let you know what this people, and he means there the Israelites, what God's plan for Israel will be regarding Moab. What this people will do to your people. And there is something on the horizon in Balaam's oracles that seems rather near at points. And then there's a language like we see here, latter days, which denotes something far in the horizon. The idea here is beyond King Balak and beyond Balaam himself will come a work of God and the plan of Almighty God that are for what are called latter days. The Oracle's content, this fourth Oracle, is verses 15 to 19. And the opening phrase is similar. He took up his discourse. We've heard that several times. The oracle of Balaam, the son of Baor. That's how the third oracle began. He identifies himself once more, as well as his father. The oracle of the man whose eye is opened. Another parallel statement we've seen before. And it's referring to himself with the eye to see what is to come. That's the eye. He's talking about an internal understanding that has been opened. Or he doesn't mean here his physical eyes. He means I am someone who has been enabled to see. My eye is opened. Now opened, not by Balaam himself. God is enabling Balaam's understanding. He says in verse 16 that he himself is the one who gives an oracle. This is the oracle of him who hears the words of God. This means what we are to read about these latter days from this prophet Balaam are going to be words from God for the record. The words of God will be heard. The knowledge of God is known. That's because God's making it known. That's because God's opening his eye and opening his ear so he can see and hear and speak the knowledge of God about what is to come. He sees a vision of the Almighty and he's falling down with eyes uncovered. I think verses 15 and 16 are very lengthy ways in parallel statements for Balaam to say, what I'm gonna tell you next, God's enabled me to see. He says in verse 17, I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. And the first thing to notice about this new oracles content is an individual is in view. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. The same hymn in both lines is meant, I see, I behold, so verbs there of perception and the idea of distance is also important. Not only that there's an individual in view, but when, not now. How close, not near. The distance is emphasized in verse 17. Some individual and then he doesn't end but gives pictures. A star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. This individual. is paralleled with seeing a star and a scepter associated with him. And the images in the ancient Near East would have been quite striking. A scepter was an obvious giveaway of what a king would hold. So the ruler holds a scepter, it represents his authority and his status, the fact that he is the sovereign, he is the one holding the scepter. A star, a star has biblical importance from the book of Genesis forward, but even in the ancient Near East, it represented something of significance. Something prominent. It could even be associated with royalty. Well, if you put star and scepter together, that pair is without a doubt a royal emphasis. A star shall come out of Jacob and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. I think the star and scepter are the hymn in lines one and two of this verse. I see him, I behold him. What does he see when he sees this individual? A scepter. A royal figure. Now in the Old Testament we see in Genesis forward that sometimes stars are used as an image for people. Abraham looks into the sky, Genesis 15, the Lord says, count the stars if you can, so shall your offspring be. But we don't mean just a multitude of people here in view, like a multitude of stars. We're seeing one star rise. There is someone from the line of Abraham that is set apart. This is a star among all the other stars. This is a star that is associated with a scepter that will rise out of Jacob in Israel. The reason we know this is an individual in view and not the nation itself is because the star comes out of Jacob. In other words, the nation, Jacob or Israel, Jacob being the collective singular for the nation, Jacob or Israel is the source for the rising individual who comes as a scepter and star. Future royalty is tied to Israel. This figure is a king. We're reminded of scepter and royal imagery from Genesis 49. This language from Numbers 24, if we're careful Bible readers, this is something we might recall from Genesis 49 10. Jacob blesses Judah and he says, the scepter shall not depart from Judah. nor the rulers staff from between his feet until tribute comes and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Even in Genesis 49, 10, a royal figure was in view and the peoples would come to him with adoration and obedience and worship. And we're told here in Numbers 24, I think the same figure that a pagan prophet is now foreseeing. the star or scepter has victorious accomplishment. Verse 17 says, it, the star, the scepter, meaning the figure, shall crush the forehead of Moab, break down all the sons of Sheth. These were contemporaries in the land of Israel, around the land of Israel. and some in the land of Israel, that would represent the enemies of Yahweh. And I think King Balak, being the king of Moab, would find this opening statement about the victory of this coming one very distressing. It shall crush the forehead of Moab. Who's hearing these words among pagan leaders? We have the king of Moab right there. King Balak of Moab is hearing about his place under the judgment of the God of Israel. This future figure will subdue him. He's told that the future of the Moabites is defeat. Not only will a king rise from the Israelites, they will have victory over the enemies of God. Moab represented by Balak, had hoped that they would defeat the Israelites. No one shall come from Israel to overcome the Moabites. So it does turn out that Balaam can prophesy defeat of an army. It just turns out not to be in Balak's favor at all. Balak wanted to curse Israel. But his nation will be under the judgment of God. Israel's king will be a head crusher. Moab shall be crushed. The picture of crushing the head of something is also found in Genesis. Not only the language of a scepter associated with the tribe of Judah, but all the way back to Genesis 3.15, the seed of the woman would be born to crush the head of the serpent. The enemies of Yahweh are like the seed of the serpent. The Moabites are like the seed of the serpent, and their defeat is one more installment of the grand promise that the serpent will be defeated. Israel's king will be a head crusher. The sons of Sheth are probably a parallel way of talking about this same group. The Shutu people is probably what the sons of Sheth come from, and they were a group of nomads who were in this very vicinity. And since our language parallels things all the time, the language here of Moabites and the sons of Sheth are probably parallel. And then in verse 18, we see another enemy of the people mentioned. Edom shall be dispossessed, Seir. Another word for Edom. Edom and Seir, all God's enemies shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. Verse 18 takes us from Moab south to Edom. Edom had earlier shown hostility to Yahweh. You see this in the book of Numbers in chapter 14. We see Edom not allowing the Israelites to cross into the promised land. We see Edom under the judgment of Yahweh in multiple texts to come. Here it is prophesied. Moab. Edom, Israel is doing valiantly over her enemies because of the victory of God. Israel is growing strong. Moab's king, Balak, had hoped Israel would languish in defeat and would weaken to the point of destruction. It will not be that way. It will be that case for the enemies of Yahweh. Verse 19, one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities. This one from Jacob is the same scepter and star. This is the one, he says in verse 19, that will exercise dominion. That language is first introduced in Genesis as well. God created His image bearers, that they would exercise dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and the animals of the land. And that they as image bearers would be faithful image bearers under the God who has made them. This one to come will be a new Adam. Alas, Adam, he will exercise dominion. He will be the one with the scepter. He will reign and vanquish the enemies of Yahweh, delivering God's people. He will exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of the cities. In other words, evil will be vanquished and not just partially. Sin will be overcome and not just in part. Rather, the victory of God's future king is prophesied. Both Edom and Moab were conquered at different points in the years to come. Some of the victories over Moab and Edom were under the reign of David. And so we could even imagine that long before the coming of Christ himself, David was a kind of type or temporary prefigurement of the one who was to come, because he battled with Edom and had some victory. He battled with Moab and had some victory. And in fact, he was a king that arose out of Israel. And so the monarchy was established from Judah's tribe under David. Now, I know Saul preceded David. He was from a different tribe. David begins the hope that one from Judah's tribe would hold the scepter forever. And so it's appropriate that even Jewish rabbis would see significance with this story in the life of David. But there were even early rabbis who believed that this passage in Numbers 24 had a messianic layer to it that wasn't fulfilled by David. But that the future Messiah would overcome the enemies of Yahweh. One writer puts it this way, not a Jewish rabbi, but a Christian scholar. He says, the star and scepter refers to the nation's future king, not only to David, but to David's greater son. And Jesus himself says in Revelation 22, 16, I am the descendant of David, the bright and morning star. And this language alludes powerfully to the image of rule and reign and a star from Numbers 24. Now that's the fourth oracle of Balaam. This is still the fourth scene, but there's a surprise in store, because sometimes when you're in a firework show, at the very end of the show, everything starts going really fast, and things start erupting, and as beautiful as it's been, and as much sky as it's lighting up, you really see an escalation in some firework shows that we've probably been to. There are a few remaining oracles in verses 20, 21 and 22 and 23 and 24. They're really short, but they all fit in the same scene. So while Balaam has a fourth scene, this scene has four oracles. We've just looked at one of them. Three remaining. Now if we're counting, We've seen three oracles before today, and if we're counting all the ones in this fourth scene, there are four. The stories of Balaam and Balak contain seven oracles, which is a very important number to the Old Testament anyway. So seven oracles from Balaam, four of which are tucked into this passage. We've seen the longer one already this morning, and now in verses 20, 21 and 22, and 23 and 24, we see the last three. These are about other enemies of Yahweh. Verse 20, Amalek. Verse 21, the Kenites. And in verses 23 and 24, We see these in verse 24, Ashur and Eber. These are other enemies of Yahweh to be overcome by the power of God. Sometimes when you read the later prophets of the Old Testament, they will string together some oracles against enemies of Yahweh that are neighbors around the land. And you will see Egypt get mentioned in Babylon get mentioned or Assyria get mentioned and they're just back to back to back to back. That's a very common way of writing in books like Isaiah or Ezekiel. The first time that style of stringing oracles together against the enemies of Yahweh, the first time that occurs in the Bible is here in Numbers 24. And so later prophets sort of imitate this style that's found here in the Torah. And in verse 20, we see the language about Amalek. He looked on Amalek. That probably means not just that he spiritually perceived what is to come, their destruction, where he's positioned gives him a view not only of all the tribes of Israel, he's got such a view of the peoples, he can see land in the distance that would have been occupied by these neighbors as well. And he looks on Amalek and he took up his discourse and he said, Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction. That's the oracle. But none of it's good news for Amalek. In other words, here you have this first among nations, which might mean they seem so powerful, they were a leader among other nations in terms of intrigue and strategy. First among nations perhaps even as a thorn in Israel's side from the days of Exodus 17. Amalek has already been on the scene of Israel's life. Balaam says, their end is utter destruction. That's not even like, oh, they've got some glimmer of hope. They are utterly destroyed. The last mention in the Bible of the Amalekites is in the days of Hezekiah, and they fade from biblical and archaeological history. In verse 21, he looks on the Kenites, which are associated with the Midianites from Exodus. The Kenites seem to be a kind of subgroup. They're not mentioned often. In fact, we might look at the word Kenite and think, okay, they're not like the Amalekites or the Moabites, which occur more often. The Kenites aren't mentioned often. But he takes up his discourse about them, and he says, Enduring is your dwelling place, and your nest is set on the rock. This is a picture of what looks to be an impenetrable people. In other words, their dwelling place, their administration, their way of life seems secure. Enduring is your dwelling place. And then the position, your nest is in the rock, seems to be saying, you are so high, you could not be easily brought down. Verse 22 says, nevertheless, Cain shall be burned when Asher takes you captive. The language Cain here seems to be an ancestor of the Kenites. We see a common pattern here where Edom and Seir could be paralleled. Or you see Cain here in verse 22 and the Kenites in verse 21, same region. Evoked with different terms. Cain shall be burned when Asher takes you away captive. When your nest is high in a rock, does that mean no one can bring you down? No, indeed, you will be taken captive by another people. Asher, the Asherites. But then what about them? That people, the Asherites, they're mentioned in verses 23 and 24. And he took up his discourse and said, alas, who shall live when God does this? But ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asher and Eber, and he too shall come to utter destruction. That's the last and seventh oracle of Balaam. The question, who shall live when God does this, is pressing the point that the power and sovereignty belongs to God, not to any of these pagan peoples, not to the Edomites, not even ultimately to the Israelites. But Asher, who takes them captive in verse 22, these Kenites that it takes captive, The Asherites shall be brought low in verse 24. Ships shall come from Katim and shall afflict Asher. I had to look up Katim. What does this refer to? Katim is associated with the area of Cyprus and ships would cross the Mediterranean sea to this part of the promised land. And when such ships would come, sea peoples would bring warriors with them as well. When ships arrive, they shall afflict Asher and Eber, these enemies of Yahweh, that in time will succumb as well. to utter destruction. What we've noticed in verse 15 through 19 is in the fourth oracle, the future king shall come from the people of Israel and his name will be Jesus. And he'll be wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And what we know is that this star, this scepter that rises out of Jacob shall overcome the enemies of Yahweh. And every one of these names and regions would have been very important to the contemporaries of Numbers. In other words, it would have mattered to them what happened to Amalekites that were wicked, or Kenites that were hostile, or the Edomites that sought to undermine the purposes of Yahweh, or the Moabites that wanted to curse Israel. And what he's saying here is, none of the enemies of Yahweh will triumph. The message of the king coming from Jacob is that the victory of this king will cover the enemies of his people. There's a great heart which we can take here and great cheer and joy in knowing that despite the brokenness and fracturedness of the world around us, that the king who has been born and has come from Jacob and Israel will have victory. This is promised and prophesied here in Numbers 24. Not only here, but from the lips of a pagan prophet who was paid to curse Israel, here he is making statements about the glorious future for the people of God over against the enemies of Yahweh. And with those seven oracles, the chapter will close. In verse 25, then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way. We're not told what Balak's reaction was. Previously, he has said things like, what are you doing to me? Or I told you to curse the people and all you're doing is blessing the people. Every time we've seen a remark from Balak, We don't have one here. And I don't think that's because he didn't have any thoughts. He may have indeed been completely speechless and walked around with his mouth hanging open as he departed. Absolutely flabbergasted that not only will the Moabites not triumph over Israel, the Moabites will succumb to the judgment of Yahweh. All of this is crushing news. Balak goes his way back to the administration in Moab. Balaam is gonna go back to the Euphrates River where he is from in that area. He goes back to his place and they part. Balaam won't be finished with his influence here. We'll see this later in Numbers, but here the story ends, the Balaam and Balak cycle that we began in six sermons now talking about Numbers 22 to 24. Two sermons for Numbers 22 and then one sermon for each of the four scenes with Balaam and Balak. And the New Testament does not explicitly cite Balak and what he has heard here, though sometimes Balaam will be mentioned in some of the New Testament letters as an example of a false teacher who did what was foolish. Here we see that God's will has prevailed in the life of Balaam with his words. Balaam has indeed spoken what is true, even though there's not a prophet in the New Testament that says, like Numbers 24 tells us, There is a fascinating scene in the Gospel of Matthew of the appearance of a star. And what I want to suggest to you is the appearance of the star in Matthew chapter 2 is meant to recall for the Bible reader Numbers 24's prophecy about the king who would come. In Matthew chapter 2, I want you to hear some familiar words. Now, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. I want you to notice here that people from the east traveled to meet a king. And that itself recalls Numbers 24, where one from the east travels to meet a king. And these magi, these wise men, they come to Jerusalem to Herod the Great. And they say, where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and we have come to worship him. And they say, where is the king been born? You know what they associate together? Star and a scepter. Because for them, the rising of this star indicates something divine and royal that has come. Where is the king who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw a star when it rose and have come to worship him. Christ had been born in Bethlehem. The account in Matthew 2 is giving us the language of Numbers 24 by allusion. The scepter and star has risen, if you will. And now pagan wise men from the east have come to inquire about the star and to worship the one whose advent it represented. The scribes inform Herod the Great and the group about the location. They quote from Micah, and they say the promised king was to be born in Bethlehem, and so the wise men are gonna travel to see him. Balaam had said in Numbers 24, 17, I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. Now the Magi in Matthew 2 arrive at the one who was the star and scepter from Israel, the promised son who would reign forever and crush the head of his enemies and the head of the serpent. The Magi could say something different from Balaam. In the presence of the Bethlehem child, each of the men who were the Magi could say, I see him now and I behold him here. Let's stand together as we pray.