After his first two oracles, Balaam saw that there was no possibility he would be placing a curse upon Israel. Numbers 24:1 informs us that at this point, "he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens." Instead, the Spirit of God spoke through him, and he blessed Israel a third time. He pictured Israel in an Edenic setting (24:5), and then he spoke more specifically about a king of Israel---"his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted" (v 7).
The reference to Agag reminds us of the Amalekite king later defeated by King Saul (1 Sam 15), and of the fact that the infamous Haman of the Persian court was an "Agagite" (Est 3:1, 10). On the other hand, the Septuagint and Samaritan Pentateuch say "Gog" rather than "Agag." Gog is the infamous prophesied end-time opponent of Israel who is defeated by God (Ezek 38-39; Rev 20:8). The reference to Gog suggests that the king in view here is the Messiah. Some have connected the beginning of verse 7 ("Water shall flow from his buckets") with Jesus as the source of "living water" in John 7:37-39.
The beginning of verse 8 ("God brings him out of Egypt") parallels Num 23:22 ("God brings them out of Egypt"), speaking in the singular rather than in the plural. In context, this seems to be a reference to the Messiah coming out of Egypt (Matt 2;13-15). It seems that in Matthew 2:15, Matthew could have had Num 24:8 in the back of his mind along with Hosea 11:1.
The first part of Num 24:9 repeats Gen 49:9, and it could again be a reference to the death and resurrection of the Messiah, as Kevin Chen has argued. The second part of Num 24;9 refers back to the Abrahamic promise of Gen 12:1-3.
After this thrid oracle Balak made clear that Balaam would not be receiving any reimbursement for his efforts. But before the two parted, Balaam gave him a free bonus oracle that explicitly refers to "the latter days" (v 14). "A star shall come out of Jacob," he proclaimed, "And a scepter shall rise out of Israel" (v 17).
This prophecy of the star and scepter has always been viewed as Messianic by both Jews and Christians. The scepter imagery refers back to Gen 49:10. William Grissom has suggested to me that the two parallel clauses of the prophecy might refer to the two comings of the Messiah.
The prophecy about crushing the forehead of Moab (v 17) contains another allusion to Gen 3:15. Num 24:17 is referred to later in Jer 48:45. The dispossession of Edom (v 18) is picked up later by Obadiah.
Numbers 24 is one of the most important Messianic prophecies in the Pentateuch, given by a Gentile seer who blessed Israel in spite of himself. Sadly, Balaam resisted God and the message God gave through him. In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on October 8, 2022, Rob Wilson contrasted Balaam with the faithful prophet Isaiah.
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