Recap

So far in Numbers we've read as the Israelites made the final preparations to leave Sinai, the journey to the promised land, the stop in the wilderness of Paran where the people rebel and decide not to enter land, and then the journey in the wilderness as we waited for the old generation to pass..

We read through all the preparations and new instructions that seemed like random rules but were actually a retelling of Genesis 1-9. Israel was to be a like a new creation, learning from the mistakes of the first time round.

We then read as Israel set off, established and ordered by God, only to immediately complain. Then Aaron and Miriam, Moses' own brother and sister, challenged whether Moses was really hearing from God.

After that the Israelites arrived in the wilderness of Paran, just outside Canaan. Moses sent 12 spies to check out the land, and 10 of the 12 complain that the land was filled with descendants of the nephilim and they had no chance. God then tells them that none of this generation will enter the promised land. This was followed by the Levites rebelling under Korah.

So the people set off back into the wilderness to continue to be tested by God until the old generation pass. The people complained and Moses this time rebelled a little losing his spot in the promised land. They fought some battles, complained some more, and more of the old generation die. In winning some battles the Israelites also claimed some land.

Numbers 22-24

The people settled in the plains of Moab which is where they stay for the rest of Numbers. While there a new character enters the scene. Balaam. This story can easily be confusing because it seems to be sending mixed signals, but when looking at the wider story some deeper sense seems to be drawn out. 

In Numbers 20 we see Moses mess up and fall out of favour with God. In light of this, God brings out a new spokesperson to bring his blessing to his people. 

Balak, the king of Moab, sees the threat that Israel poses to his nation. The Moabites were the descendants of Lot, when his daughters slept with him (Genesis 19:30-38). They are like distant cousins to the Israelites. 

Balak invites Balaam to speak a curse over them. Balaam is a diviner, a foreign sorcerer who uses sacrifices to hear from the gods. Despite this, God decides to speak to him concerning Israel, that he isn’t to curse Israel but bless them instead. 

The irony here is that even though God’s people fail and aren’t faithful to him, he is still able to find people outside of those loyal to him to bring about his will. So while Moses isn’t loyal, here Balaam is committed to only speaking what God has chosen to say to him.

We then get an interesting story of Balaam and his donkey, to remind us that this is still a fallen man. Just because God is choosing to use this man doesn’t mean he condones the practice of evil by worshipping other gods. 

Balaam is a great sorcerer who is able to see into the future through his divination, yet here he can’t see what is in front of him while his donkey can. Balaam, who was considered very wise at the time, is speaking foolishly, while his own donkey is able to speak and speak words of wisdom. In many ways it’s a silly story, but it shows us how even great men and women can be foolish when it comes to the ways of God.

It’s also worth mentioning in this story that while Balaam is obeying God here, he is still a sorcerer practising magic that is opposed to God. We will see how he turns against God’s people much later on.

From here we see Balak invite Balaam to curse Israel three times, and three times Balaam blesses Israel. By force of habit, he tells Balak to use sacrifices to find out the will of the gods, but it is God, the God of Israel, who puts the words in his mouth. 

The final time Balaam speaks is to pronounce curses over the nation of Balak and the surrounding nations who would try to fight Israel. Here’s a list of the nations and how they fit into the story so far.

Moabites - Descendants of Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19:30-38)

Edomites - Descendants of Esau, brother of Jacob (Genesis 25:19-28)

Amalekites - Origin unknown

Kenites - Traditions and linguistics suggest these are the descendants of Cain, but if so it is unclear how they survived the flood

Kittim - Descendants of Noah through Japheth (Genesis 10:1-3)

Asshur - Descendants of Noah through Shem (Genesis 10:1, 22)

Eber - Descendants of Noah through Shem (Genesis 10:1, 22-24)

Even at this international level, we’re meant to see that these different people groups are all part of one larger family. Part of the shame of the human condition is that this family is at odds with one another.

This moral of this story about Balaam is this, God will bring about his will. Regardless of what the will of the other people is. Regardless of whether he gets to use one of his own people, or whether he has to go out and find someone who doesn’t know him. God will bring about his will.

Psalm 47

The psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah, and falls into the category of praise psalm. It can also, however, fit in the category of royal psalm, as it is recognises the rule and reign of God as king over all the earth.

Psalm 47:1 - A call to praise

Psalm 47:2-5 - God is a victorious king

Psalm 47:6 - A call to praise

Psalm 47:7-9 - God reigns over all the earth

The psalm opens with a call to praise God. What’s interesting is that this call is to ‘all peoples’ (Psalm 47:1). This includes those who are non-Israelites. The reason they are to praise God is because he has subdued all the nations underneath Israel.

This may seem strange to us. Why would a nation who has been defeated by the Israelites want to worship their God? This was actually a fairly common practice. Just as when a people are conquered they come under the authority of the conquering king, these people conquered by God through the Israelites, are now under God’s authority.

From this we see that Israel had a theology for the whole earth being reunited under God. They saw this coming about through military conquest. Jesus’ death and resurrection would ultimately come and wage war against the powers of death and sin, and unite the earth under God, so in many ways the Israelites weren’t wrong. But it wouldn’t look like anything they had been expecting.

The psalmist calls again for the people to praise God as their king, for he will reign over all nations. But now the idea is developed further. The people of different nations are not to remain subdued and conquered underneath Israel. They are to gather before God, just as the Israelites. Equals.

In this psalm we get to see this idea of God’s kingdom and the uniting of all the nations here in the Old Testament, two ideas many people assume are unique to the New Testament.