Sermon Text: Numbers 24:15–17a
Date: January 7, 2024
Event: The Second Sunday in Lent, Year C
Numbers 24:15–17a (EHV)
Balaam took up his oracle and said:
The declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
the declaration of the man whose eye is open,
16the declaration of the one who hears the words of God,
who receives knowledge from the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
who is falling down, but his eyes are wide open:
17I see him, but not now.
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob.
A scepter will rise up out of Israel.
A Star Comes Out of Jacob
There are a lot of things surrounding the birth of Jesus that are traditions, but not necessarily biblical truths. For instance, many of the pictures we have in our heads from artwork or other sources are only sometimes accurate. Mary riding to Bethlehem on a donkey? Perhaps, but that’s not recorded for us in Scripture. Were Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in a wooden barn that first night? Probably not; it was probably more like a cave area for the animals.
But perhaps the most perplexing and tradition-filled part of this season is Epiphany, the Wise Men’s visit. The Wise Men weren’t there the night the shepherds came; when they arrived in Bethlehem Mary and Jesus were in a house. The word used to describe Jesus is more akin to our word “toddler” than “newborn” or “infant.” And how many Wise Men were there? No idea. There were three gifts, but who knows how many people made this journey. This scene is filled with many questions that we cannot definitively answer. Where did these men come from? What was the star they followed—something miraculous or a natural occurrence in the stars that God used to indicate the birth of the Messiah? And how did they even know that a star appearing like this indicated that the Messiah had been born from the Jewish people?
We’re not here this morning to answer those questions or to play Christmas-time trivia. That merely serves as a reminder that there are a lot of unanswered questions about this whole season that we’ve been through. Epiphany starts a new season in the church year, a season about revelation. We begin with the Wise Men’s visit to worship the child Savior because this is our first recorded mention of people who were not Jewish coming and seeing their promised Redeemer.
Our focus for this morning will be our First Reading, one of the early promises of the Savior. It takes place during Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, not long before they would finally take over the Promised Land. One of Israel’s enemies, Balak, the king of Moab, hired Balaam to curse Israel for him. We have a lot of unanswered questions about Balaam, too. Where did he come from? What was his job, really? He seems to be invested in the spiritual things—but more along the lines of the occult rather than anything dealing with the true God. In fact, he seems to see the true God as a tool in a toolbox in the same way a carpenter would regard a saw or hammer.
Now, certainly, God could do whatever he wanted to or needed to despite what Balaam said or did, but God chose to make a statement through Balaam. He would not allow Balaam to speak curses on his people; rather, God put words of blessings for his people into the mouth of this occult practitioner. Perhaps you recall Balaam’s donkey whom God enabled to speak to Balaam when the donkey could see the Angel of the Lord, but Balaam could not (Numbers 22:22ff). Through Balaam, God is making a point about who is in control here. It’s not Balaam, it’s not the king of Moab, it’s not even Moses or the people of Israel. God is the one who is in charge.
Our text is taken from the second-to-last of Balaam’s messages about Israel. He can never utter the curses that the king of Moab hired him to do. Instead, he can only speak blessings on Israel and curses against her enemies. And this oracle, or message, gets to the heart of the purpose of this division: God has an incredibly important plan for this nation.
The introduction to Balaam’s message emphasizes his own frailty in this whole matter and God’s superiority: the declaration of the man whose eye is open, the declaration of the one who hears the words of God, who receives knowledge from the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, who is falling down, but his eyes are wide open. What is Balaam bringing to this? Nothing. Any power, any significance to the words that Balaam speaks comes directly from God.
And what words of significance does God have to bring through Balaam? I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise up out of Israel. He sees someone who is coming but has yet to arrive. He’s on his way, but he’s not close yet. He is described as a star coming out of Jacob’s family, a scepter coming out of the people of Israel. Stars and scepters were both linked to royalty. A king is coming, a powerful ruler will come out of this people.
There would be pale echoes of this coming ruler in Israel’s history. Joshua who would take over for Moses, some of the judges like Gideon or Ehud, and certainly the days of the powerful monarchy of Israel in Saul, David, and Solomon. But none of these fulfill the true scope of what is being promised. None of these were “the one” who could fulfill these promises. Balaam’s words echo what God had promised through Jacob as he blessed his sons some 500 years before this: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until the one to whom it belongs comes (Genesis 49:10).
Only one has the right and authority to rule over all people, the one who would bring people from distant lands not just to greet and pay respects but to worship as the Wise Men set out to do. The one coming, but not yet seen, but not yet close at hand, is the Savior of mankind, the Messiah God promised to bring through his chosen people, Israel.
Balaam’s words are spoken roughly 1400 years before Jesus was born. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. He’s there, he’s coming, there’s absolutely no doubt about that, but he hasn’t arrived yet. As the people of Israel begin to settle in the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, this is another step on the Messiah’s journey. He is coming to take his place, to rule.
Over the last several weeks we’ve seen more detailed riffs on this regal Messiah. David was promised someone to sit on his throne forever. Mary was assured that her firstborn would have a kingdom that would never end. This Messiah, this Savior, this Jesus is the king in the most important way possible.
A king’s primary responsibility is to protect and care for his people. The picture of the shepherd is fitting here, and it’s a picture that Jesus applies to himself. A shepherd seeks the physical welfare of the sheep in his care. He ensures they have plenty to eat and drink, and when a predator comes, he steps in to protect the vulnerable animals. A king also looks to provide for his people physically—ensuring there’s enough food and that their enemies pose no threat to them.
We can certainly see Jesus as being that kind of physical provider, an all-powerful King who ensures that we have our daily bread and who ensures that while we may not have everything we want, we do have everything we need, especially from a spiritual, eternal perspective.
And that’s the special emphasis that Jesus provides that no earthly shepherd, king, parent, or philanthropist can do. Jesus provides not just for the here and now, but for eternity. In fact, while our here and now well being is incredibly important to him, this rising star and scepter’s purpose was always focused on eternal life. While we certainly need our daily bread, we need food, water, clothing, shelter, and all that God provides, what we really need is a king to defeat our spiritual enemies.
The Wise Men knew this. They weren’t coming to make a peace treaty or inspect an odd astronomical occurrence. They were coming to worship the special king who was promised from the Jewish people—the Savior of mankind. They were coming to worship this king who would grow and mature but do so perfectly, without sin. They were coming to worship this king who would take that perfect life and offer it on the cross in exchange for our sinful failures of lives. They were coming to worship this king who would defeat our true enemies—sin, death, and hell—by his death and then prove it by his resurrection from the dead. They were coming to worship the long-promised Messiah, the star rising out of Jacob. They were coming to worship Jesus.
And so do we. We don’t have Balaam’s perspective anymore. Jesus’ work is not far off in the future. We don’t even have the perspective of the Wise Men who knew that these things would happen to this child in the years ahead. No, today, Jesus' work is complete and accomplished. Your salvation is won. Your forgiveness is certain. The Star promised out of Jacob shines on you, assuring you that your sins are gone and that eternal life is a free gift.
And still, we wait. We can have Balaam’s perspective: I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. While the work of our salvation is complete, our full experience is not yet here. We are still in this world of sin, and we are individually still hampered by our own sinful natures. Jesus will return to bring us home, either at our deaths or on the last day, but we do not know that day or hour. I see him, but not now. I behold him, but not near. Or maybe our perspective is, “I see him, I behold him, but the time of fulfillment is blurry.” Today? Tomorrow? 30 years from now? 1,000 years from now? We do not know when our lives will end, and even less do we know when Jesus will return to bring us home.
But that star has risen out of Jacob. Your sins are forgiven. So whether we have hours or decades left in this life, whether there are moments or millennia ahead for this world, our forgiveness and eternal security are certain. Jesus lived and died for us. Our king defeated our enemies. Our Star shines on us now and will shine fully forever in heaven. Thanks be to God! Amen.
