Christ in all the scriptures
The parables of Balaam Numbers 24
Parable 3 God is a God of exquisite Beauty 24v1-9
Everything He does is perfect and precise and beautiful. Even the scientists who study the universe know it (though they may not attribute it to God). A universe in perfect harmony, moving uniformly according to set and precise principles. The Greek word for the world is cosmos (perfectly ordered arrangement), the opposite of chaos (perpetual disorder). A reading of Genesis 1 and others reveal that God brought the cosmos out of chaos, and what He did back then for the material world He is doing today spiritually. The spiritual chaos of the present world will move toward perfect order when God's work is finished.
Balaam realised this when he saw the perfection of Divine order in the camp of Israel. No doubt after two attempts to oppose the Divine will, he still cherished the idea of the rewards of unrighteousness, but he now knew that his powers of enchantment were useless before Almighty God. "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. And he took up this parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said: 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. How goodly are thy tents O Jacob, and thy tabernacles O Israel"-24v3-4. He saw with opened eyes what God saw and declared it. He saw from a high vantage point the breath taking view of the camp of Israel spread out on the desert sands, arranged in perfect order of their tribes as God had designed it. The tabernacle in the centre (representing the throne of God) the tribes in order around it. North, south, east, west, the tents were pitched across the desert, housing approx. 3million people. The aerial view was of a central place inhabited by God surrounded by golden cherubim with the fourfold directions of the tents forming the outline of a cross! The unmistakable sight of the shekinah cloud resting upon the holy of holies in the centre proclaimed that God was in their midst (because of what would take place at the Cross! He used the word "goodly" to describe it. This Hebrew word tob (pronounced tobe) according to the scholars, carries the thought of the full spectrum of goodness, moral excellence, aesthetic beauty, pleasantness, ordered, refreshing. What he saw was something of undeniable excellence. When we consider that the tabernacle is "the patterns of things in the heavens (Hebrews 9v23) what he saw was a little reflection of heaven on earth, and it was beautiful to the eyes. A similar word kalos is the Greek N/T equivalent and occurs over 100 times to describe the nobility, the beauty, the excellence of everything concerning God and godliness. All this in distinction to the ugliness and imperfections of man.
Fast forward to the descriptions of the Church of Jesus Christ in Ephesians 2v15-22;5v26-27; 1st Peter 2v5-9...a united church, a sanctified church, an habitation of God, a glorious church, an holy priesthood, a royal priesthood. This is God's view of His people, unlike the divided church of the present with its ugly schisms and unholy practices, God is moving to perfection and that is how we should be seeing things beyond the present chaos.
In this third parable Balaam's perspective was changed. He set his face toward the wilderness, he began to see the world as it really was, a vast, dry, unfruitful wilderness. He was now seeing things from God's perspective, and we now have the most beautiful prophecy of Israel's future. Bear in mind the ugliness of this people's recent history with their murmuring and dissatisfaction, and rebellion. What he sees is a very different outlook for the future. The following verses (5-9) are an exposition of the meaning of the word "goodly".
"How goodly are thy tents O Jacob, and thy tabernacles O Israel. As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord has planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour 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. God brought them forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with their arrows. 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-24v6-9. We must savour every detail of this comprehensive outline of Israel's future role in the world. Far from the will of ungodly men who desire their fall, even their extermination, the God of heaven declares through Balaam the supreme position God has given them.
Israel will flourish..."spread forth as the valleys".
Israel will be beautiful, whose beauty will never fade,..."as gardens by the river's side".
Israel will emit fragrance all around...."as the trees of lign aloes which the Lord hath planted".
Israel will be majestic...."as cedar trees beside the waters".
Israel will share the waters of life in abundance...."he shall pour the water out of his buckets".
Israel's blessed posterity is secure..."his seed shall be in many waters".
Israel will be the dominant force on earth, and exalted above all others...."his king shall be higher than Agag (Agag was the term given to rulers of Amalek, Israel's perpetual enemy) and his kingdom shall be exalted".
Israel were a nation of slaves whom God liberated to highest status...."God brought him forth out of Egypt".
Israel has supreme strength above all nations..."he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn" (in the bible unicorns are depicted as animals of greatest strength).
Israel will crush all enemies who oppose them...."he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows".
Israel will rest in final victory as head of nations (symbolised in the great lion) and no one will dare confront them..."he couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion who shall stir him up?
Israel will be the benchmark of all blessing and cursing from above...."Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee"-refer God's covenant with Israel (Genesis 12v1-3 and confirmed Genesis 27v29, Exodus 23v22, and now Numbers 24v9).
All this perplexed Balak, king of Moab, just as today it perplexes all who oppose Israel, God's covenant people. Even now, none of the above seems likely if we look at the world situation in the present. Yet it will be, just as God spoke through Balaam. Nothing will stop it, God has decreed it! May all who oppose this realise that in opposing Israel they are opposing Almighty God, and there is only one outcome. Graciously, God forgives on repentance, on change of mind and attitude, and that forgiveness is granted on submission to His will. It was through Israel God brought to the world the Messiah, the only Saviour of mankind (Romans 9v4-5). God will exalt Israel to be head of nations, and the Prince of peace will rule the world in perpetual blessing. In the context of present events this truth is very pertinent. Amid the perplexities of the present world, may we see, as Balaam saw, the certainty, the beauty of what God has planned, that nothing can alter
Each wonderful feature of this glorious future of Israel can be expanded out by the readers of these studies. It is not possible to exhaust in each portion, the full meaning. Each one deserves more thought and readers can for themselves trace these principles throughout scripture. Such meditation is good for soul and body. May God bless you all.
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