Seder 120: Numbers 24----Balaam's Third and Fourth Oracles: Israel's Coming King

 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.

Seder 118: Numbers 20---Edom's Hostility

 God would be directing the Israelites to invade Canaan from the east.  The most direct route to the region east of the Jordan River led through the territory of Edom, the nation descended from Jacob's brother Esau. 

Moses made a formal request for Israel to be granted safe passage through the territory of Edom, but the Edomites turned it down (Num 20:14-21).  This was an early instance of the hostility that developed between the two sibling nations.  

A famous later instance came at the time when Babylon conquered the kingdom of Judah in the early sixth century BC.  Edom rejoiced in Israel's misfortune (Ps 137:7), an attitude for which they were rebuked by the prophets (Obadiah 11-14; Jer 49:7-22; Ezek 25:12-14; 35:1-15).  By cheering on the Babylonians, the Edomites "were hoping for the destruction of the 'foundations' of the Yahweh's rule on earth," Willem Van Gemeren observes in his commentary on Psalm 137.  The Edomites, in Numbers 20 and later, placed themselves in opposition to God's purpose and plan.

Seder 33: Gen 36---Esau's Family

 After the tearful reunion between Jacob and Esau upon Jacob's return to Canaan (Gen 33:4), we do not know much about the relationship of the two brothers. We do know that 

1. Jacob and Esau were together to bury their father Isaac (Gen 35:27-29).
2. Esau settled in the mountainous region of Seir, and Jacob turned down an invitation to accompany him there when he returned to Canaan. 
3. As with Abraham and Lot (Gen 13), Jacob and Esau lived in separate areas so that the land could support the livestock of both (Gen 36:6-8).

When Esau settled in Seir, he displaced the Horites (literally "cave dwellers") who were already living there (Deut 2:22).  A Horite genealogy is given in Gen 36:20-30.  

Some details about the early history of the Edomites, the nation that descended from Esau, are given in Gen 36.  The blessing Isaac pronounced upon Esau in Gen 27:39-40 does not sound too promising, but like other descendants of Abraham, the Edomites were greatly blessed.  

A number of Edomite kings are listed in Gen 36:31-40.  Verse 31 notes that there were "kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites."  (This note apparently was written after Israel began to have kings.)  The kings listed in verses 31-40 are associated with particular towns, so the picture we get is not one of a highly centralized government.  The king at a given time would have been the leader among Edom's local chieftains at that time. 

Hostility between Israel and Edom would come later, starting near the end of Israel's 40 years of wandering in the wilderness (Num 20:14-21).  But we do not have evidence of hostility between Israel and Edom between the time of Israel's return to Canaan and the Exodus.