Numbers (Part 17)
Bible Study Time 5-4-08
(From James Roberts 5-23-99)
Bible Study Time 5-4-08
(From James Roberts 5-23-99)
This morning we are going to be looking at three passages of scripture. We are going to begin with Numbers, Chapter 24, and then we will look back at Genesis, Chapter 49, before going on to Isaiah, Chapter 11.
In our study last week we saw that there was a King of Moab by the name of Balak who was afraid of the people of Israel. He tried to hire a false prophet by the name of Balaam to put a curse on the people of Israel, and Balaam was more than willing to do so because he wanted the money that Balak was offering. However, God did an unusual thing. In spite of Balaam’s desire to pronounce this curse, Balaam actually pronounced a blessing upon Israel because God spoke through Balaam. As we look at Numbers, Chapter 24, we see some of the details of Balaam’s prophecy. Verse 15 says:
Numbers 24:15-16 NKJV
15 So (Balaam) took up his oracle and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
In order to understand this first part of Balaam’s prophesy, we need to go back to last week’s lesson in which we saw Balaam’s journey to meet with Balak. He was riding on his donkey and all of a sudden the donkey turned aside out of the path and into the field. The donkey did this because she had seen the Angel of the Lord standing in the path with His sword drawn. Balaam did not see the Angel of the Lord so he struck and cursed the donkey.
Later, as Balaam and his donkey were passing through a narrow passageway which had a wall on either side, the donkey once again saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the pathway. When the donkey tried to move around the Angel of the Lord, the donkey crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. Again, Balaam did not see the Angel of the Lord and so he struck the donkey again.
Finally, as Balaam and the donkey headed down the pathway again, they came to a place that was even narrower than before, and when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord in the pathway, she simply lay down under Balaam. When Balaam began to beat the donkey, the donkey spoke to Balaam and Balaam started arguing with the donkey. But this time Balaam’s eyes were opened and he saw the Angel of the Lord with His sword drawn.
The Angel of the Lord then spoke to Balaam and said that if the donkey had not swerved, Balaam would have been killed, so Balaam fell down before the Lord. Later, as Balaam stood with Balak ready to pronounce a curse upon Israel, he said that he spoke as one whose eyes had been opened. Truly, he did speak as one who had seen the Lord and had heard the voice of God. As he spoke, he gave this prophesy in Numbers 22 and verse 17:
Numbers 24:17-19 NKJV
17 "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.
18 "And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city."
This is a prophesy concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Balaam said, I see Him, but not now. He said that the Star that shall come out of Jacob is not yet here, but when that Star does appear, He will bear a mighty Scepter and will destroy all of His enemies. Balaam also said that when this ruler comes, Israel will do valiantly, meaning that Israel will be a mighty force upon the earth.
This reminds us of what we read in Genesis, Chapter 49, where we see Jacob on his deathbed. Jacob gathers his sons around him and gives prophecies concerning the tribes that were to arise from his sons. When Jacob spoke to Judah, he said:
Genesis 49:8-12 NKJV
8 "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
This too is a beautiful description of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jacob refers to the Lord Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and we see both His first and second coming. Jacob said that this coming ruler would first come riding upon a donkey, and this refers to the humiliation of the Lord Jesus at His first coming.
As we know, the Lord Jesus did come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey knowing that His crucifixion was at hand. Jacob said that His clothes would be washed in the blood of grapes, and this speaks of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus. At His first coming, the Lord Jesus went to the cross to shed His own blood so that you and I might have eternal life.
But Jacob said that this promised one would also come with a scepter in His hand, and this scepter stands for the authority and power with which the Lord Jesus will come at His second coming. At His second coming He will establish His dominion over the nations of the earth. At this second coming the Lord Jesus will truly be revealed as the great Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Jacob and Balaam both gave prophesies concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus. Balaam lived many years after Jacob but said that the coming of the promised ruler was still not at hand. He said, I see Him, but not now; the Star will come, His scepter will rise and He will cause His enemies to bow down before Him.
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but this morning we are going to look at Isaiah, Chapter 11, verses 1 and 2, where we read:
Isaiah 11:1 NKJV
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
It’s obvious from this verse that the tree of Jesse has been cut down, but the root stock has survived in the ground. This is a subtle but accurate description of the fact that Israel was going to be temporarily set aside and that the throne of David would be left vacant for a certain period of time. During this time David’s throne would not be destroyed, however. The root stock of David would remain viable contrary to all appearances.
This prophecy was first fulfilled when the armies of Babylon carried away the people of Israel into Babylon and left the throne of David vacant. But this prophesy also speaks of the time when Israel and her kingdom program were temporarily set aside at the end of the Acts period, or the time period covered by the book of Acts.
Today, no descendant of David is sitting upon the throne of David in Jerusalem. The tree of Jesse has been cut off because the nation of Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as her promised Messiah. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the prophesies that were given through Jacob and Balaam but was not able to fulfill those prophesies because the nation of Israel rejected the Lord Jesus.
Israel’s kingdom program was set aside, but make no mistake about it, one day there will be a branch that will grow up out of the root stock of Jesse. Someday the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the Son of David. He will sit upon the throne of David and establish His dominion of righteousness over all the earth. Isaiah 11 goes on to describe the beautiful character of this Kingdom and its King. Isaiah 11, verse 2, says:
Isaiah 11:2-5 NKJV
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
Beloved, do not expect righteousness to come from the governments of this world. There will be no equity for people on this earth as long as men have charge over the earth. In fact, someday all of the governments of the world will end up in anarchy, and the man of sin will seize this opportunity to establish his authority and power over the earth.
The kingdom of the man of sin will be a reign of terror that will last until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth from heaven. When the Lord returns, He will slay the wicked with the rod that comes out of His mouth, even the word of God. He will speak the word and the wicked will die. Then He, Himself, will establish His kingdom of righteousness.
Now today, God offers righteousness to all those who are willing to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him as the One who died, was buried and then rose again so that we might have eternal life. Do you know Him today as the One who is your peace, the One who died for you that you might have eternal life?
Well, I see our time is gone for this morning. The Lord willing, we will take up in our journey through the scripture next week. Thank you for studying with me in this another broadcast of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
In our study last week we saw that there was a King of Moab by the name of Balak who was afraid of the people of Israel. He tried to hire a false prophet by the name of Balaam to put a curse on the people of Israel, and Balaam was more than willing to do so because he wanted the money that Balak was offering. However, God did an unusual thing. In spite of Balaam’s desire to pronounce this curse, Balaam actually pronounced a blessing upon Israel because God spoke through Balaam. As we look at Numbers, Chapter 24, we see some of the details of Balaam’s prophecy. Verse 15 says:
Numbers 24:15-16 NKJV
15 So (Balaam) took up his oracle and said: "The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor, And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God, And has the knowledge of the Most High, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Who falls down, with eyes wide open:
In order to understand this first part of Balaam’s prophesy, we need to go back to last week’s lesson in which we saw Balaam’s journey to meet with Balak. He was riding on his donkey and all of a sudden the donkey turned aside out of the path and into the field. The donkey did this because she had seen the Angel of the Lord standing in the path with His sword drawn. Balaam did not see the Angel of the Lord so he struck and cursed the donkey.
Later, as Balaam and his donkey were passing through a narrow passageway which had a wall on either side, the donkey once again saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the pathway. When the donkey tried to move around the Angel of the Lord, the donkey crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall. Again, Balaam did not see the Angel of the Lord and so he struck the donkey again.
Finally, as Balaam and the donkey headed down the pathway again, they came to a place that was even narrower than before, and when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord in the pathway, she simply lay down under Balaam. When Balaam began to beat the donkey, the donkey spoke to Balaam and Balaam started arguing with the donkey. But this time Balaam’s eyes were opened and he saw the Angel of the Lord with His sword drawn.
The Angel of the Lord then spoke to Balaam and said that if the donkey had not swerved, Balaam would have been killed, so Balaam fell down before the Lord. Later, as Balaam stood with Balak ready to pronounce a curse upon Israel, he said that he spoke as one whose eyes had been opened. Truly, he did speak as one who had seen the Lord and had heard the voice of God. As he spoke, he gave this prophesy in Numbers 22 and verse 17:
Numbers 24:17-19 NKJV
17 "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.
18 "And Edom shall be a possession; Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession, While Israel does valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion, And destroy the remains of the city."
This is a prophesy concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Balaam said, I see Him, but not now. He said that the Star that shall come out of Jacob is not yet here, but when that Star does appear, He will bear a mighty Scepter and will destroy all of His enemies. Balaam also said that when this ruler comes, Israel will do valiantly, meaning that Israel will be a mighty force upon the earth.
This reminds us of what we read in Genesis, Chapter 49, where we see Jacob on his deathbed. Jacob gathers his sons around him and gives prophecies concerning the tribes that were to arise from his sons. When Jacob spoke to Judah, he said:
Genesis 49:8-12 NKJV
8 "Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.
This too is a beautiful description of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jacob refers to the Lord Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and we see both His first and second coming. Jacob said that this coming ruler would first come riding upon a donkey, and this refers to the humiliation of the Lord Jesus at His first coming.
As we know, the Lord Jesus did come into Jerusalem riding on a donkey knowing that His crucifixion was at hand. Jacob said that His clothes would be washed in the blood of grapes, and this speaks of the shed blood of the Lord Jesus. At His first coming, the Lord Jesus went to the cross to shed His own blood so that you and I might have eternal life.
But Jacob said that this promised one would also come with a scepter in His hand, and this scepter stands for the authority and power with which the Lord Jesus will come at His second coming. At His second coming He will establish His dominion over the nations of the earth. At this second coming the Lord Jesus will truly be revealed as the great Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Jacob and Balaam both gave prophesies concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus. Balaam lived many years after Jacob but said that the coming of the promised ruler was still not at hand. He said, I see Him, but not now; the Star will come, His scepter will rise and He will cause His enemies to bow down before Him.
There are many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but this morning we are going to look at Isaiah, Chapter 11, verses 1 and 2, where we read:
Isaiah 11:1 NKJV
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
It’s obvious from this verse that the tree of Jesse has been cut down, but the root stock has survived in the ground. This is a subtle but accurate description of the fact that Israel was going to be temporarily set aside and that the throne of David would be left vacant for a certain period of time. During this time David’s throne would not be destroyed, however. The root stock of David would remain viable contrary to all appearances.
This prophecy was first fulfilled when the armies of Babylon carried away the people of Israel into Babylon and left the throne of David vacant. But this prophesy also speaks of the time when Israel and her kingdom program were temporarily set aside at the end of the Acts period, or the time period covered by the book of Acts.
Today, no descendant of David is sitting upon the throne of David in Jerusalem. The tree of Jesse has been cut off because the nation of Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as her promised Messiah. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the prophesies that were given through Jacob and Balaam but was not able to fulfill those prophesies because the nation of Israel rejected the Lord Jesus.
Israel’s kingdom program was set aside, but make no mistake about it, one day there will be a branch that will grow up out of the root stock of Jesse. Someday the Lord Jesus Christ will return to the earth as the Son of David. He will sit upon the throne of David and establish His dominion of righteousness over all the earth. Isaiah 11 goes on to describe the beautiful character of this Kingdom and its King. Isaiah 11, verse 2, says:
Isaiah 11:2-5 NKJV
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
3 His delight is in the fear of the Lord, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;
4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
5 Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, And faithfulness the belt of His waist.
Beloved, do not expect righteousness to come from the governments of this world. There will be no equity for people on this earth as long as men have charge over the earth. In fact, someday all of the governments of the world will end up in anarchy, and the man of sin will seize this opportunity to establish his authority and power over the earth.
The kingdom of the man of sin will be a reign of terror that will last until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth from heaven. When the Lord returns, He will slay the wicked with the rod that comes out of His mouth, even the word of God. He will speak the word and the wicked will die. Then He, Himself, will establish His kingdom of righteousness.
Now today, God offers righteousness to all those who are willing to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and trust Him as the One who died, was buried and then rose again so that we might have eternal life. Do you know Him today as the One who is your peace, the One who died for you that you might have eternal life?
Well, I see our time is gone for this morning. The Lord willing, we will take up in our journey through the scripture next week. Thank you for studying with me in this another broadcast of Bible Study Time.
Church links:
3 comments:
As always, I enjoy your studies. I would truly like to see one in the book of James. Our ladies are having a Bible study group but as of yet, we are using only Bible(s)..several different translations. But not a study guide. Now, I know that using only the Bible is perhaps a good idea but I usually need a little input as to the interpretation sometime.
Miss you here in Huntsville.]
Sincerely, Faye B.
I know what you mean about the value of commentaries. That is one reason that I like the Swordsearcher computer Bible Study program. It has several commentaries for each verse in the Bible. It is any easy way to get the opinion of several Bible Scholars in just a very few minutes. I have a link to the Swordsearcher website at the top of this blog. Thanks again.
Thanks for your interest. May God bless in every way.
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