Introduction
In Numbers 22, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, made a league with the Midianites, and together they sought after Balaam, son of Beor, to come and curse the children of Israel for fear of them.
After a very eventful courtship, so to speak, and a talking donkey, Balaam finally made his way to the plains of Moab at the behest of Balak. In Numbers 23 and 24, Balaam gave four oracles concerning Israel that are extremely prophetic and Messianic in nature.
This four-part series will look at The Oracles of Balaam and highlight the Messianic content along with references and allusions to the Millennial and Eternal Kingdoms that were presented in the Name of God, by the Spirit of God, through the prophet Balaam of Pethor.
When it comes to Balaam, Balaam seemed to be, at one time, a true prophet of the LORD. However, later it appears, Balaam became a “soothsayer” or diviner (Joshua 13:22) which certainly deviated his heart toward greed and covetousness and ultimately apostasy from, and opposition to, the LORD Himself when he counseled the Midianites and Moabites to seduce the Israelites (Numbers 31:16) at Baal-Peor (Numbers 25).
Yet, God did use Balaam, despite his fallen prophetic nature, to prophesy of His chosen people, the Messiah, and the Latter Days; to bless, rather than curse, the people of God, the people of Israel.
Previous articles:
All underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
The Fourth Oracle of Balaam
King Balak of Moab, by this time, was beside himself as he heard Balaam only bless the children of Israel in his first three oracles, a nation and a people whom he intended the prophet to curse.
“And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying, 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?
“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.” – Numbers 24:12-14
Balaam reminded Balak that he could only speak what the LORD commanded him to speak; no more, no less.
Moreover, Balaam seemed to recognize that this would be his fourth and final oracle, for he would “go unto [his] people” when he had finished his oracle concerning what Israel would do to Balak’s people and the surrounding nations in the land of Canaan “in the latter days.”
And he [Balaam] took up his 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, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:” – Numbers 24:15-16
As in The Third Oracle of Balaam, Balaam would attest that he was “falling into a trance, but having his eyes open,” having “heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw a vision of the Almighty.”
Balaam continued with his fourth oracle.
“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.” – Numbers 24:17
A beautiful Messianic prophecy, as Balaam notes that he himself will see the Messiah, “but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh,” when Balaam will eventually see the Lord on Judgment Day.
The “Star out of Jacob” whose “Sceptre shall rise out of Israel” is none other than Messiah Yeshua. Jesus said of Himself in Revelation:
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.” – Revelation 22:16
There also seems to be a secondary application to the Star of Bethlehem:
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him… When they [Magi] had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.” – Matthew 2:1-2, 9-10
And, of course, Jacob’s prophecy concerning Judah and the Sceptre:
“The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” – Genesis 49:10
Lastly, the writer of Hebrews declares what the Father says of the Son’s Sceptre, a paraphrased quotation of Psalm 45:6:
“But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.” – Hebrews 1:8
Balak was the king of Moab, so he was not too thrilled to learn that Israel would “smite the corners of Moab.” This prophecy was initially fulfilled by King David in 2 Samuel.
“And he [David] smote Moab, and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he to put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And so the Moabites became David’s servants, and brought gifts.” – 2 Samuel 8:2
“Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.” – Psalm 60:12
King David also initially fulfilled the prophecy against Edom (Numbers 24:18, below), as well.
“And he [David] put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.” – 2 Samuel 8:14
Yet this is also a dual prophecy in that Judah and Jerusalem will flee to the wilderness mountains of Petra/Mt. Seir, inhabited and controlled at different times by the nations of Moab and Edom, as this area bordered on both nations, after the Abomination of Desolation. When Messiah, the “Star out of Jacob,” comes to rescue the Israeli remnant at His Second Coming, three and one-half years (1,260 day) later, His campaign will begin near to this same location in Bozrah.
The last statement in Numbers 24:17, “destroy all the children of Sheth,” it should be noted that, although the word for “Sheth” or “Seth” is the same Hebrew word for the third son of Adam (Hebrew 8352), the root word (etymology) is different and should actually be translated “tumult,” reading “destroy all the children of tumult” (Hebrew 8351). Essentially, these would be the “tumultuous enemies of Israel.”
Translations that have “children of tumult” include the New King James Version, American Standard Version, English Revised Version, New Heart English Bible, A Faithful Version, and Darby Bible Translation. [This is not an endorsement of these translations or any other translation, but provided for informational value only.]
An interesting sidenote on this is that Seth, the son of Adam and Eve, would be considered a progenitor of the entire human race, just as Adam is.
When one thinks about it, the descendants from Seth listed in Genesis 5 – Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, and Lamech – could also be said to be progenitors of all the families of Earth, as Lamech’s son, Noah, along with Noah’s wife, their three sons, and his son’s wives, were all who survived the global flood. These eight souls, all descended from Adam, and down through Seth and the other descendants on this list from Genesis 5, are all to be considered the “fathers” of the eventual families of Earth that we see today.
Therefore, the “children of tumult” would necessarily, because of the blood line from Adam through Noah, be among “the sons of Seth.”
“And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.” – Numbers 24:18
As noted above, King David initially fulfilled this prophecy against Edom in part.
“And he [David] put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom put he garrisons, and all they of Edom became David’s servants. And the Lord preserved David whithersoever he went.” – 2 Samuel 8:14
Yet, as we also noted above, this multifaceted prophecy will be entirely fulfilled during the Great Tribulation and onward. The intersection of Moab, Edom, and [Mt.] Seir are all in the location where Israel will flee to in the wilderness mountains after the Abomination of Desolation, supernaturally nourished and protected by God (Revelation 12:14), and will ultimately be included as Israel’s inherited possession.
[Please see A Study of Zechariah 14:1-11 for more information.]
It is Edom/Seir – the descendants of Esau (Edom) intermingled with the descendants of Seir and lived in the region once known as Seir and then known as Edom, southeast of the Dead Sea – who eventually were overthrown by the Nabatean Arabs and died out as a distinct, viable people. However, it seems Edomite blood may still flow in some of these descendants living in modern-day Jordan, though this particular area in southern Jordan is sparsely inhabited today.
The long-range prophecy is that Edom/Seir were also Israel’s perpetual enemies, as well as those who would inhabit that region in the future, and that the land of “… Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies.”
The Text Analysis on this verse reads: “And shall be Edom a possession, Seir his enemies, and while Israel does valiantly.”
Another way of understanding this verse might be, “And Edom shall be a possession [of Israel], Seir also shall be a possession for his [Seir’s] enemies [Israel]; and Israel shall do valiantly,” or “And Edom shall be a possession, Seir, its enemies, shall also be a possession; and Israel shall do valiantly.”
In any case, the idea seems to be that the region of Edom/Seir will eventually be Israel’s possession, as God, through the prophets Amos and Obadiah (whose entire prophecy focused on Edom), attested.
“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.” – Amos 9:11-12
“For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head. For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been.
“But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the Lord hath spoken it.
“And they of the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and they of the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
“And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel shall possess that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephath; and the captivity of Jerusalem, which is in Sepharad, shall possess the cities of the south.
“And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord’s.” – Obadiah 1:15-21
The text analysis of this last verse in Obadiah reads: “And shall come saviors to Mount Zion to judge; the mountains of Esau and shall be of Yahweh the kingdom.”
Those, including King David, the Apostles, and the bride of Christ, that will be coming with our Lord at His Second Coming, will be the “saviors to Mount Zion to judge,” and “the mountains of Esau” shall be counted as part of the Kingdom of Messiah Yeshua.
“Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.” – Numbers 24:19
“Out of Jacob [Israel] shall come He [Messiah Yeshua] that shall have domination, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city [Jerusalem].”
Also in A Study of Zechariah 14:1-11, we learn that Jerusalem will be inhabited by people other than Israel after the Abomination of Desolation as they will flee to the wilderness mountains during the last half of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:14). It is these people that Christ Jesus, along with the returning Israelites from the wilderness mountains of Edom, Moab, Petra, and Mt. Seir, shall destroy after He destroys His enemies encamped against Him from Bozrah to Jerusalem.
“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.” – Numbers 24:20
As history attests, Amalek, as a nation, has indeed perished, though many Israelis today often illustratively link terrorists such as Hamas and other enemies of God’s chosen people to Amalek.
One day, however, when Messiah Yeshua comes back to rescue His chosen at His Second Coming, the very concept of “Amalek” will perish forever!
“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.” – Numbers 24:21
The Kenites were a very important people in the early days of Israel. Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro, was called both a Midianite and a Kenite. The Scriptures also indicate that Israel often, but not always, had a rather warm relationship with this tribe.
As Balaam looked upon the Kenites, he exclaimed “Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.”
The Hebrew for “in a rock” is בַּסֶּ֖לַע “bas·se·la‘” with the Hebrew word 5553 סֶלַע “sela” which is a crag, cliff, ragged rock, stony, strong hold.
Sela is often paired with Petra as Sela Petra. Additionally, there is also another mountain fortress near Petra known as es Sela. According to the following article on es Sela:
Es-Sela’s defensive character is immediately apparent after one ascends the many switchbacks of the worn staircase and passes through the narrow, rock-cut passageway that served as the stronghold’s only entrance. Flanking the passage are natural rock towers outfitted with guard chambers and topped by the remnants of well-built fortification walls. Positioned along the edges of the summit are numerous rock-cut rooms and chambers with strategic views over the surrounding valleys, while more than two dozen cisterns are carved in the plateau’s white sandstone bedrock, all of which collected vital, life-sustaining rain water through an interconnected system of channels and diversion walls.
Many have conjectured – and I concur – that the mountains of Petra/Mt. Seir in modern-day southern Jordan will be the mountainous wilderness that Israel escapes to after the Abomination of Desolation to be protected supernaturally by God during the Great Tribulation. The above description of es-Sela, along with Petra, is the optimum place for Israel to flee!
We noted in A Study of Zechariah 14:1-11 that Jesus will begin His Second Coming campaign in Bozrah, and the article above says, regarding es-Sela:
Located just 3 miles north of the Edomite capital of Bozrah (modern Buseirah) in the rugged highlands of southern Jordan is an imposing natural rock fortress that still carries the name es-Sela.
There can really be no doubt that this is the area, along with Petra and other rock fortresses in the Mt. Seir region, that Israel flees to in the Great Tribulation.
But what is the connection with the Kenites who lived south of this area in modern-day Saudi Arabia where Mt Sinai is located?
According to the following article on the Kenites, we read:
The Kenites came from the south: Midian, Edom, and Arabah.
This explains why Balaam referenced the Kenites in relation to his fourth oracle: some of the Kenites were living there at this time and had the Amalekites as their Canaanite neighbors!
“Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.” – Numbers 24:22
Assyria – or Asshur – prevailed over the northern nation of Israel (and was a constant thorn in the side of the southern nation of Judah) and other nations and tribes, including the Kenites, during her kingdom reign. As they did with Israel and many of the other nations they conquered, the Assyrians took the Kenites and carried them away captive.
“And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this! And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever. – Numbers 24:23-24
Abraham was a descendant of Eber. The name Eber is believed to be why the Israelites were often called Hebrews, thought to be a variation on the name of Eber. If Israel is in view as Eber, then we can associate this parable in the near term to Antiochus in Daniel 11.
“For the ships of Chittim shall come against him [Antiochus]: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
“And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” – Daniel 11:30-32
“The people that do know their God [that] shall be strong, and do exploits” against Antiochus, after he desecrated the Temple, are the renowned Maccabees.
However, Eber had other descendants as well, and it may be that these descendants could be in view.
Regarding Chittim, according to Strong’s: Or Kittiyiy {kit-tee-ee’}; patrial from an unused name denoting Cyprus (only in the plural); a Kittite or Cypriote; hence, an islander in general, i.e. The Greeks or Romans on the shores opposite Palestine — Chittim, Kittim.
Since Assyria was conquered by the Babylonians, it does not appear that this is a prophecy that was soon to be fulfilled. As the Bible so often does, concerning prophecy, Balaam’s oracle seems to bounce back and forth through time.
So, this could very well be a blended prophetic parable that can allude to the end-times, specifically the battles Antichrist will wage against his last adversaries before his world-wide Mark of The Beast economic and worship system, that will obviously include Israel or Eber.
[Please see Daniel 11:36-45 – Antichrist’s Last Adversary when Daniel’s prophecy moves from the exploits of Antiochus to Antichrist.]
“And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.” – Numbers 24:25
Conclusion
In completing our study, it would certainly be fitting that the fourth and final oracle of Balaam would end with blended prophecies of the destruction of some of the nations in the vicinity of the Promised Land as well as subtle references to the end-times with the Star out of Jacob, the Sceptre [that] shall rise out of Israel defeating His enemies and ultimately setting up His Messianic Millennial Kingdom in fulfillment of the promises God has made to His chosen people, Israel!
Surely there is an evil darkness before the magnificent dawn of Messiah in the Messianic Millennial Kingdom. From a kingdom of death, doom, and destruction of a Satan possessed tyrant, to the glorious Kingdom of the King of kings and Lord of lords, Israel indeed has a glorious promised future!
And this dawn that begins with the Messianic Millennial Kingdom will culminate in the even more glorious Eternal Kingdom when John heard…
“… a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.” – Revelation 21:3
“I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” – Revelation 22:16-17
Amen!
“O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.” – Micah 6:5
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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