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The Coming of Christ (A Star Out of Jacob #4)
Christ Church on December 19, 2021
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Through Covenantal Eyes (A Star Out of Jacob #3)

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THE TEXT

Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

Then he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

“How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters.

“His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.

“God brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall break their bones
And pierce them with his arrows.
‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’

“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”

Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”

So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? (Numbers 23:27–24:13).

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The Shout of a King (A Star Out of Jacob #2)

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INTRODUCTION

This second blessing pronounced by Balaam doubles down on the first, insisting that God is determined to bless Israel because He always keeps His promises. On top of that, God insists that He sees no evil or trouble in His people. This doesn’t seem right to us, and that’s why we need to be reminded how His grace works.

THE TEXT

And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?20 Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.21 He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.23 Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!24 Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain (Num. 23:18-24).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

God address Balak with a “shema” summons to hear, just as Israel is command (cf. Dt. 6) (23:18). God assures him that he doesn’t lie and he doesn’t change his mind like men; what He has promised to do, He will surely accomplish (23:19). Balaam repeats that he has received another instruction to bless; God has blessed and it cannot be reversed (23:20). But this isn’t merely a refusal to curse; God does not see any iniquity in Jacob, no reason to curse Israel (23:21). The Lord Himself is in the midst of Israel, and therefore God only hears the voice of a great king (23:21). God brought them out of Egypt with the strength of a unicorn, so there is no incantation or divination that can come against them and the whole world is impressed with what God has done (23:22-23). Therefore, Israel will be a conquering nation, like lions that devour their prey (23:24).

UNBREAKABLE COVENANT PROMISES

When God says He isn’t a man who changes his mind or breaks his promises, He is pointing back to the covenants He has made and kept. God made covenant with Adam in the Garden after the Fall, promising to one day crush the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3). God renewed covenant with Noah, saving his family and promising never to flood the world again (Gen. 9). God renewed covenant with Abraham and promised that in his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 15, 17). God kept those promises by delivering Israel out of Egypt (Ex. 3) and renewing covenant at Sinai (Gen. 19-24). This track record has only increased, as God kept covenant through the judges and renewed His promises to David (2 Sam. 7). All of these promises are being fulfilled in Jesus. This is what Mary and Zechariah sing about at the coming of Jesus (Lk. 1:55ff). All the promises of God find their “yes” in Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20). God is not a man who lies or goes back on His word. But God is the kind of God who loves men who have.

WHAT GOD SEES

We noted last week that Balaam’s first blessing is already incredible since God pronounced a blessing on a nation full of complaints and unbelief, but God goes even further here insisting that He has not seen any trouble or wickedness in Israel (23:21). On the surface this is outrageous, since the book of Numbers chronicles Israel’s troubles and evil. But the same verse explains how this is possible: God Himself is in Israel, the shout of a king is in their midst (23:21).

What Balaam is prophesying is God’s covenant love and promises. The God who calls light out of darkness and life from the dead, calls those things which do not exist as though they did (Rom. 4:17, cf. 2 Cor. 10). God promises the complete remission of our sins, a perfect standing, and His complete approval and everlasting blessing in Christ crucified and risen from the dead. Faith in Christ is being fully convinced that what God has promised, He is able to perform (Rom. 4:21). And when that kind of faith receives those promises, an individual is justified. Faith sees Christ for us, and God simultaneously sees Christ in us. God forgets all our sins in the blood of Jesus, and the status of Christ’s perfect obedience is imputed to us (Rom. 4:22-24).

In the covenant, God declares His love and intention to bless. In the covenant, He declares us holy, saints (1 Cor. 7:14, cf. 1 Cor. 1:2, Eph. 1:1, etc.). And when that love is received, when that promise is believed, we are justified, and all that God sees in us is Christ. All He hears in us is the shout of our King. And one of the most glorious things our king shouts is: It is finished. In Christ, He doesn’t see any trouble or evil in you. This isn’t a blind, sentimental love; it’s a bloody, truthful love.

CONCLUSION

Christianity is a militant religion, but what is frequently misunderstood or misconstrued is the fact that our militance is driven by God’s fierce grace. What do we want to see fill Moscow? God’s grace: His fatherly, covenantal affection. So, fathers, are you for your children? Can you pronounce this blessing on your family?

Do you have a critical eye or a covenantal eye? A covenantal eye is not blind to flaws or weaknesses, but it is inclined to overlook them, wants to see them repented of. Love covers a multitude of sins, and love confronts some sins. But God’s grace is lavish, and we are called to give what we have been given.

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Let Me Die the Death of the Upright (A Star Out of Jacob #1)

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INTRODUCTION

As we prepare to celebrate Christmas, we will spend the next four Sundays looking at four prophecies of the coming hope of Israel from an unlikely source: Balaam, the scoundrel prophet of Israel. Despite the circumstances, these are some of the greatest benedictions of Scripture describing God’s determination to bless Israel through the coming Messiah and in Him, all the nations of the earth.

THE TEXT

“The Balaam said to Balak, ‘Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here…’” (Num. 23:1-13)

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The backdrop to these verses is famous: Balak King of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel apparently because he intended to go to war with them (cf. Josh. 24:9). On the way, the Lord’s angel confronted him, but only his donkey could see the angel. After beating and threatening the donkey, the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and he spoke and then Balaam’s eyes were opened to see the angel. Having been severely warned by God, Balaam arrives and instructs Balak to set up an elaborate set of altars and offerings, and speaks this “parable” saying that Balak has called him to curse Israel (23:1-7). But Balaam asks how he can possibly curse whom God has not cursed, and how can he denounce whom God has not denounced (23:8)? Therefore, out comes a great blessing: Israel is a great and mighty nation that can be seen from the tops of the rocky crags of mountains, and Israel is famous among the nations – well known, unique, and not mistaken for any other nation (23:9). Israel is very numerous – who can count the dust of Jacob? Who can even number a portion of the dust of Israel (23:10)? Finally, Balaam insists that Israel is righteous and upright, and so blessed, that there could be no better death than to die among them: let my end be like his (23:10).

A PROVERB IN THE MOUTH OF THE KING

The word translated “parable” or “discourse” is the word for “proverb.” And while this word can sometimes refer to a “byword,” a sort of cautionary tale, clearly something more “proverbial” is going on here: there is deep kingly wisdom at work here. But it isn’t Balak or Balaam. Notice the layers of irony: Why in the world would a pagan king hire an Israelite prophet to curse Israel? Apparently Balak knows that Israel has the upperhand and he wants that mojo. Balaam would apparently be willing to curse, and yet all that can come out is a blessing on Israel (four times). Add to this the fact that Israel is not really in great shape. Remember the unbelieving spies and all the complaining in the wilderness (Num. 13-14), and even though Balaam couldn’t curse Israel, he was involved in the relatively successful plot to seduce the Israelite men with Moabite women (Num. 25, 31:16). This is all high octane providence, which is just another way of saying God is King over all. Sometimes people object to the doctrine of providence because they think that God will be harsh, unfair, or petty, but this story illustrates God’s abundant patience, overwhelming kindness, and amazing sense of humor. Left to ourselves, we seek and deserve cursing, but God the Wisest King works all things according to His counsel because He is determined to bless (Eph. 1:11).

Balaam is hired to pronounced curses, but the only thing that can come out is blessing: “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or who shall I defy, whom the Lord has not defied?” (23:8). And so it is in all things in this world: Joseph: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Gen. 50:20). “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). This same providence was at work in a Roman census that sent a young couple to Bethlehem, and an evil king’s plot to kill a young child (Mt. 2, Lk. 2). The center of this doctrine of providence is the Cross itself: “Him [Jesus], being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, yet by the hand of lawless men did crucify and slay” (Acts 2:23). God is King, and this world is His proverb.

THE DEATH OF THE UPRIGHT

The final benediction of this first prophecy is really striking. One suspects layers of irony here as well. Many of the Israelites will be dying shortly after they fall into sin, and Balaam will die in battle (Num. 31:8). But the straightforward meaning of the blessing is that there is no better way to die than being among the tribes of Israel. Death is a curse (Gen. 3:19), and death is an enemy (1 Cor. 15:25-26). And yet, the Bible also says that when a man puts on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’ (1 Cor. 15:54).

Balaam’s blessing is that all would die the “death up the upright,” that all might have his end (Num. 23:10). This is Jesus, the seed of the woman, the descendant of Eve, the seed of Abraham, who came to crush the seed of the serpent (Gen. 3:15). Jesus is the upright one, the Righteous One, and in His death, He crushed the head of the serpent, the devil. He destroyed his power by taking all the accusations he could bring against us and they were nailed to His cross, taking away the fear of death (Col. 2:14, Heb. 2:14). The death of the Upright Man took away the sting of death (the law and our guilt) so that it is only “sleep” for those in Him.

CONCLUSION: TAKING UP HIS CROSSES

The call to follow Jesus is the call to take up His cross. He calls us to die, but if we can see that summons from the tops of the mountains where Balaam prophesied, we can see that call to die with Him as the greatest honor, the greatest blessing. Jesus was born to die, so that we might die with Him, so that we might rise with Him.

It has been said that everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help mom do the dishes, which is just to say, the really hard part is choosing the right death. “Everyone dies, not everyone truly lives” is just another way of saying not everyone chooses the right death. You can lay your life down by helping with the dishes; you might also need to lay your life down to lead your family in cheerfully doing the chores. Your car might need fixing, but so might your five year old’s heart. You may be burdened with many cares, but have you considered that your cross may be to lay them down? This death is a blessing. Maybe not easy, but it’s always good.

Fundamentally the right death is the obedient death. Many of these deaths are straightforward (repent), but when it gets really gnarly, trust Christ our wise King who knows how to turn all things for our good. This is His story, and He knows the way out of every grave.

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The Apostles Creed 3: Almighty

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction:
We have confessed our faith in God the Father, and looking ahead we saw that He is the Father of Jesus Christ. We are not confessing faith in some kind of an abstract definition. And yet, like all particular persons, God the Father has attributes and characteristics, which means that we do have to get into some definitions. The first one mentioned here is that He is the Almighty.

The Text:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text:
The Creed was originally written in Greek, and the word here rendered as Almighty is pantokrator, meaning omnipotent or almighty. This is an attribute of God that is an overarching description, and that same word is used in various places in the New Testament (2 Cor. 6:18; Rev. 1:8; 4:8). But as we arrive at this description of Him, we have to be careful not to detach it from what Scripture reveals to us everywhere else.

The Divine Attributes:
When talking about God, we do have to talk about His attributes. There is no other way for finite beings to discuss an infinite being. And in addition, we know that this is lawful for us to do (and not impudence) because the Bible does it all the time. And so we must recognize that these are attributes that can distinguished from one another, but never separated. For an illustration we can easily distinguish height and breadth. A child can do that. But separating themselves would be another matter. So we can distinguish God’s power, and kindness, and holiness, and love, and so on. But we cannot separate them; they are all one in the divine simplicity.

That said, we need to distinguish certain aspects of God’s being that He delights to share with us and others that He does not share. In fact, He cannot share them with us in the very nature of the case. He communicates His holiness and His love to us, for example, but not His omnipresence.

When God communicates His love to us (Rom. 5:5), for example, He is making countless finite creatures more like Himself, and this is a process that will continue on forever and ever. We will always have head room, always have room to grow. But there are certain characteristics that God could not share without creating a second God alongside Himself—which is absurd, as nonsensical as a four-side triangle.

 

Admonishing the Sophomoric:
So this leads to a predictable question. If God is Almighty, well, then, can He make a rock so heavy that He can’t lift it? This assumes a false understanding of what the infinite power of God actually means. Of course He cannot make a rock like that—there are many things the Omnipotence cannot do. God cannot be tempted (Jas. 1:13). He cannot lie (Num. 23:19). He cannot undo His own omnipotence. God cannot do anything in violation of His own nature or character. Putting it the other way around, God can do absolutely anything that is consistent with His nature and character.

As C.S. Lewis said somewhere—quite trenchantly—nonsense doesn’t stop being nonsense just because we are speaking it about God.

The Place of Logic:
And here is another place where some rarified theology is of immense practical importance. Some people object to reasoning like this because, they say, “logic doesn’t apply to God.” But if that is the case, then we should all eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. If logic does not apply to God, then “I will never leave you nor forsake you” could easily mean “for now,” or “unless I change my mind.”

The foundation stone of logical reasoning is what is called the “law of identity”—A is A. Other laws accompany it—A does not equal not A, the law of non-contradiction. But before your eyes glaze over, let me ground this in the express word of God. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb. 13:8).

But we still have to be careful how we talk about this. If logic is subordinate to God, and subject to arbitrary change, then we are all in this terrible spot. But if logic is senior to God, and He somehow submits to it, then this is the will and voice of another God, the true Most High God. And that is absurd. So what this means is that “right reason” or “logic” is an attribute of God. When we are talking about consistency, we are reflecting what God is like, and that means what God is everlastingly like.

Our Refuge and Strength:
Now let us go back for a moment to the Fatherhood of God for a moment. It striking that one of the few places in the New Testament where the same word for Almighty is used has a close relationship to the Fatherhood of God, just like in the Creed. “And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Cor. 6:18).

When the Bible talks about the power and strength of God, it overwhelmingly does so by describing His might on behalf of His people. The strength of God is not abstract doctrine given to us for the entertainment of abstruse theologians.

Boil this down. What this means that you in the will of God outnumber absolutely everybody. “For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, Neither did their own arm save them: But thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, Because thou hadst a favour unto them” (Ps. 44:3). And if you would see the right arm of God, then you must look to Jesus Christ.

 

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