BALAAM’S PROPHECY CONCERNING THE COMING MESSIAH

Part II

It is not God’s usual way to teach His people everything in one day. Certainly, God is free. Saul of Tarsus was privileged to learn much in three days, and with the jailer it took even less time; but those are exceptional cases. In Jacob’s case there lay a period of twenty years between Bethel and Peniel. It is a privilege when we may come to a full solution in our lives, when we may not only become another person but Another’s, so that Christ becomes our only ground and our only hope.

Christ manifests more of His ministry only when the need of it becomes greater in the hearts of His people. He makes place for Himself and puts down everything that rises up against Him in their hearts. In themselves they are weak and powerless. They can conquer only in His strength. What a blessing it is to know something of these matters; and the more God’s children receive, the more they desire. That is a sign of life. One day they shall behold His full majesty and glory, and then, too, they shall, to their hearts’ content, give God all the glory and honor.

This Star would come out of Jacob, and this Scepter would rise out of Israel. Christ would be born as a descendant of Jacob or, more precisely, of Judah: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise.” It is evident from Scripture that Jesus proceeded from Judah. We read: “Judah,…out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel” (Micah 5:2).

There is, however, another matter. When would this Star come, and when would this Scepter arise? Was it not when everything had come to an end? How sad were the conditions nationally and spiritually when Christ was born in Bethlehem’s manger! It is the same in the hearts of God’s people when Christ is revealed unto them. Then everything is lost, and that is the wonder of it for all those who may experience it.

Spiritually, Jacob became Israel at Peniel. Christ’s coming is not unto salvation of all men, but only of those whom God, according to His sovereign good pleasure, has loved, like He did Jacob. His coming will be for those descendants of Jacob who seek after Him because God first sought them. Christ came to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but in a saving way only to the Israel of God (Gal. 6). And when this Star progresses, Jacob must regress.

Jacob is doomed; that became evident at Peniel. His old name falls away, and Israel becomes his new name. This Scepter would arise out of Israel, so that this conquering Christ would become more and more manifest. On his deathbed it is no longer Jacob who speaks, but then he says: “Hearken to Israel, thy father.” The old man must give up, and the new man, who is created in the image of God, will take over: “By Thee, by Thee alone; alone through Thy good pleasure!” What a privilege when we ourselves fall away with all that proceeds from us, and when Christ becomes our only and eternal Rock and Support. “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” That is the desire of our hearts when this Star comes up and this Scepter arises.

But when this promised King does come, He will smite the corners of the Moabites, and destroy all the children of Sheth. The king of Moab had invited Balaam to curse the Church of God. Moab was closely related to the people of the covenant, for they descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot. Moab was the product of abominable incest.

Moab was very proud. Its object was to prevent Israel from entering Canaan. Presently it would put up a snare for God’s people, so that temporarily God’s displeasure rested on them and thousands of them died in the desert. Moab is a symbol of all who oppress God’s people and try to draw them away from the Lord. Now Christ will smite the corners of Moab. He will cast down its cornerstones and foundation pillars. Its power will be destroyed. And He will also destroy the children of Sheth.

It is remarkable that many Bible commentators are not thinking here of the descendants of the godly Sheth, who was born after Abel’s death as the progenitor of the holy family line; but they take it to mean Edom, the descendants of Esau. The Edomites, too, were bitter enemies of Israel. It was an Edomite who betrayed David to Saul, and it was an Edomite who drew the sword to kill the Infant Jesus.

In both Moab and Edom we see a manifestation of the power of hell; it is the seed of the serpent that tries to thwart God’s counsel. Every which way Satan tried to obtain his goal. And in us, there is no power against such a great multitude. What could Israel do against Pharaoh? How often did not Moab rule over Israel? And how powerless did the people of the covenant feel over against Edom? Jacob’s heart was filled with great fear when he heard that Esau came to meet him with four hundred men.

But Christ came from Edom, with dyed garments, and He moved on with great strength from Bozrah. He has trodden the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Him. He trod them in His anger, and trampled them in His fury; for the day of vengeance was in His heart, because the year of His redeemed had come (Isa. 63)

He would destroy the children of Sheth. Some scholars read: He will remove Sheth’s walls. He will cast down all their defenses and put to shame all their carnal trust, so that they will submit themselves to His dominion. And to those who would not that He be King over them He will say: Bring them here and kill them at My feet!

Christ will destroy them with His rod of iron. He will be King not only over Jacob and Israel, but over the whole world. He will rule from sea to sea and from the rivers to the ends of the earth. Blessed souls who, like Ruth, will be taken out of Moab and who with her may say: Your people are my people, and your God my God. Christ will gather His Church from all languages, peoples, and nations. Moab was very proud, but this King leads His own into the valley of true humiliation and of dust and ashes. Confessing their sin and guilt, and acknowledging His justice and righteousness, they end up at the feet of this King, saying: Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?

Edom was an arch-enemy, but God makes enemies into friends. And God’s people learn something of the fact that they are not reconciled with God as friends and converted people, but as enemies, through the blood of Christ. Where there is no revelation of what we have become in Adam, there can be no revelation of Christ either. To be sure, it is a grievous thing to learn to know ourselves as enemies and haters of God; but to those people it will become a marvel that God saves sinners, and that heaven is opened unto those who deserve hell, and that only on the basis of Christ’s merits.

It is a great mercy to learn experientially that Christ comes and smites the corners of the Moabites and destroys the children of Sheth also internally. Christ captures Moab, subjects it, and conquers it by His Spirit and Word. Christ spreads the wings of His love over His favored ones, keeps them from destruction, and protects them in the day of vengeance. He controls all works of unrighteousness by His Word and power, and keeps His children from all wickedness, making straight paths for their feet (Heb. 12:12ff.). He protects them from their enemies and leads them into His blessed fellowship, so that they learn to walk in His strength. He removes the remnants of the old man and gives them a new heart.

To smite the corners means also, according to the marginal notes, to cause to fall, to remove the walls. Christ would remove all trespasses far from them and cast down the stronghold in which the enemy of their salvation kept them. He would gird them with His strength and cause them to dwell in safety in the midst of their enemies. This expression therefore refers to the safety of the Church in Christ. It is with this King, who is also their Head, that they go forward toward their eternal glory and salvation.

The day is nigh when Christ will come in the glory of His father, with all His holy angels, to take His place upon His judgment seat. Then Moab and Edom will be beaten, destroyed, and scattered forever. Then, too, the redeemed Church will be carried to the Lord in the air and in the clouds, and then God’s people will be forever with the Lord. There, there will be no darkness any more. There, no sin will grieve and torment any more, and no enemy will ever terrify any more. And there they will behold the King in His eternal maiesty and bring unto Him all honor and praise.

This was the desire and longing of their soul when still here. It is known unto the Lord, since He is omniscient, how often they expressed this both in secret and in public. Indeed, how often did it grieve them that also in this respect they fell so far short of the mark.

God’s poor people are constantly dissatisfied with themselves. They must constantly condemn and accuse themselves concerning their limited knowledge of God and Christ, and then they say: Lord, how barren my life is! What ought it to be and yet what is it! They often speak when they should keep silence, and they often keep silent when they should speak. But the time will come when it will be fulfilled what we sing in Psalm 68: “There all of them receive their hearts’ desire.”

Beloved, the question is whether matters stand thus with each and every one of us personally. God looks for truth in the inward parts. What is necessary for each of us is a very close examination. With rapid strides we move on towards eternity, and death will determine our destiny forever. The number of those who no longer have any hope of heaven or who no longer believe in hell any more increases by the day. They are even less than Balaam. Our hearts should be filled with fear and trembling when we look into the future. Poor generation that lives on, without any concern, in the hardness of their hearts. How terrible it will be when this King of Zion shall come one day as the Judge, to judge the quick and the dead! What I want to beseech you is: “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little!” Blessed is he who may lose the battle against the Lord here in this life, and who may learn to know Christ as King in his heart.

This King is a merciful King, full of grace for those who may humbly kneel before Him and learn to beg for mercy. Today there is still time to cry, to seek, and to find. The door has not been locked for the night. The service of King Jesus is a service of love.

The devil pays his underlings, but this payment is nothing but eternal pain and remorse. He promises the whole world, but what they get is hell. King Jesus, however, promises His subjects peace and joy through the Holy Spirit, indeed, everything we need for this life and the life to come; and at last He gives them eternal life. It is a reward that shall never perish and that surpasses all expectations.

May God’s dear Spirit work in your hearts to the end that is pleasing to the Lord. Let us remember that to face eternity we need more than talk and even prophecy. The mouth can say so many things of which the heart has no knowledge or sense. That was the case with Balaam. God’s people sometimes fear that what they say may be nothing but dead-profession. This can grip them with fear. But those “talkers” are not vexed with this fear. Nominal Christians and hypocrites don’t know this kind of struggle. They are often more assured than are the established children of God. The devil does not bother them. That they might be Balaams never enters their minds.

God’s people can be so shaken that often they walk this earth by day and night in sorrow and fear, when they think how deceitful the human heart is, and how manifold Satan’s wiles are to lead their souls astray with regard to eternity.

Afterwards they must often exclaim: “Lord, how is it possible that I am so easily vexed with fear and doubts, so that I am like a driven sea, as if there were no longer a God in heaven?” Indeed, David said i Psalm 30:7, “Lord, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.”

Many deaths and many cares

Vex my fearful heart:

Save me, Lord, from all my snares....

People of God, how often is it necessary for this King to go before us! He must constantly reveal Himself as the great Mediator, and cause light to shine in our dark hearts! “In thy light shall we see light.” Also, how often must He sway His scepter to destroy, both outwardly and inwardly, Moab and Edom!

Our flesh does not subject itself to the law of God, neither can it do so. On the other hand, it is necessary that this King often disturb us, because our flesh wants to rest outside of Christ and is ever inclined to depart from His ways. Hence it is so necessary, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, to rest only in God through Christ. Had we but mouths to praise this King and to proclaim His greatness!

It becomes more and more evident how poor we are in ourselves. If only we felt the need of our souls more keenly; if only we had greater desire to learn this King better; if only we needed Him more often in order that we might glorify His ministry in our souls unto mortification of sin and self-will and unto a humble and childlike walk in the fear of the Lord!

One day we shall triumph with Him. May our souls look forward to that day with great desire and longing!

May the God of all grace by His Spirit increase and revive this longing. Amen.

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