In The East
“I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from Israel . . .” Numbers 24:17
Come Forth – Balaam was not the best among the prophets. His story reads with a touch of humor and pathos. But when it comes to far-reaching vision, Balaam saw the truth. Matthew knew all about Balaam’s vision. In fact, in the LXX (the Greek translation of the Tanakh), the same root word is used in Balaam’s prophecy that Matthew uses when he describes the birth of the Messiah. That word is anatelei (in Numbers – come forth) and anatole (in Matthew – in the east). Matthew’s readers would recognize the correspondence and take notice of the fulfillment of the prophecy.
OK, so what? Wouldn’t anyone draw the same conclusion? Why is it such a big deal? It’s a big deal because it tells us something important about Matthew’s readers. It tells us that:
- Matthew’s readers must have been familiar with the Numbers passage. He assumes that they will know his allusion.
- Matthew’s readers knew the Messianic import of Balaam’s prophecy.
- Matthew (or his translator) knew the Greek LXX similarity.
- Matthew considered the events surrounding the birth of Yeshua to be proof of His role as the Messiah.
And this, of course, means that Matthew considered the Tanakh the official, authoritative source of God’s revelation of Yeshua’s purpose. Take away the Old Testament background, remove its authority from Matthew’s readers, and all of this intricate connection evaporates. It is meaningless unless his audience considers the Tanakh God’s final word on the matter.
Of course, most of us have no problem with this at all. We believe, and rightly so, that the Old Testament prophecies are the final word of God’s revelation about His Son and His plan of redemption. But this leaves us in a dilemma. If the prophecies are God’s valid word for Matthew’s audience (and for us), then why is the rest of the Tanakh no longer valid? What allows us to pick and choose which verses should be accepted as proof and which ones are no longer necessary? Do you think that the Hebrew readers of Matthew’s good news thought to themselves, “Well, isn’t it nice to know that God predicted this centuries ago. That really matters. But, of course, all the other stuff doesn’t matter anymore.” Does it seem conceivable to you that Matthew would accept some verses as absolute proof from God but reject others as no longer what God intended? Can you read Matthew without this artificial division? Try it. You might discover a different picture of the good news.
Topical Index: rise, east, Balaam, anatole, Matthew 2:9, Numbers 24:17
“it’s ALL good,” brother Skip! lol!!
“Every word of G-d is pure.” (Proverbs 30.5)
Jesus answered, “It is written: (just love those three words!)- ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of G-d.'” (Matthew 4.4)
There are those who say “the Bible is inspired in spots.” I’m sure glad they’re inspired to “spot the spots”, aren’t you? LOL!!!
Skip, it is amazing the similarity (even phonetically) of these words tied together through prophecy, current events and truth. This would seem to be coincidence but I doubt it. I would be interested in knowing how often this occurs throughout the Scriptures (Tanakh and LXX), however, I am not sure whether that matters at this point. This seems to ride on the back of the post yesterday describing the tangibleness of faith, doesn’t it? I understand how the author presents us with all the historical “evidence” of how God chose, called and enabled the landscape of time to be shaped in order for us today to be able to take Him at His Word and see how He still works today. The Word is of dire importance, isn’t it?
Yes it is! And that’s why we struggle so much with translation issues.
Num 24:1 When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness.
Num 24:2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
Num 24:3 He took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;
Num 24:4 The oracle of him who hears the words of God, Who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered
Hi Skip,
For me it is sort of interesting that Balaam seems to fall on his face, but his two “eyes are uncovered” and his third “eye is open”.
Seemingly like Jesus, Balaam sets his face “toward the wilderness,” rather than seek omens (signs from God), but “the Spirit of God came upon him” anyway.
God the Father seems to have Balaam’s back covered, because Balaam is blessing Israel.
The more I consider how “Balaam was not the best among the prophets.” and the grace God gave to allow him to see the Lord from a distance is quite comforting actually. God wills and accomplishes His purpose whether we understand it or not. And it appears that NO ONE can formulate or predict this special grace. He is merciful and compassionate on whom He wills. I trust all who see the Master recognize this special grace and realize it is the marvelous work of a mighty God. Uh…shall we see faith in this!! Brothers and Sisters, let’s not take this for granted! Blessings are upon us!
Dear Mary,
I so much appreciate your faithful witness to the call of the Master. God does indeed shower His grace on those of His choosing, a lesson we must never forget as we walk the pathways of this world. Whom God calls is not up to us or our evangelistic efforts. We are called to be living stones – witnesses to a life worth having – but He does the work of dragging those to Him. So much of my own life is caught in the daily struggle to obey, to be useful for His purposes. He certainly has to drag me along. I am one of those lost sheep who often seems to kick at the Shepherd who would bring me to safety. That He continues to hold on to me is amazing grace. The challenge to completely abandon myself to His purposes is a renewable contract, a 24 hour (and sometimes much less) determination to do what I am able to do today that will delight Him and bless others. It is by grace alone that my life has reached some level of calm in recent years, but the turmoil rests beneath the surface, ready to turn me. As the Lord said to my brother, “You must master it.”
“Balaam was not the best among the prophets.”
Hi Mary,
This comment caught my eye as well and I have a couple of thoughts to share.
For me, to say that Balaam in not Yeshua is kind of like saying the movie, The Usual Suspects, is not as good as The Seventh Seal.
Well I would argue that in “Suspects”, Kevin Spacey is supposed to be funny (I aint no rat Agent Kujan / I hate cops), whereas in “Seal” Max Von Sydow is DEAD serious.
The message (content) of the two movies might be the same, but the literary genre (form) is different.
Comedy vrs Tragedy.
I notice that in The Jerusalem Bible, Balaam is not even listed as a minor prophet.
And in Num 22, Balaam seems to be more of a “poet” than the prophet Num 24; but Balaam is always a model of obediency in relation to Yahweh, in a comic mode.
If you want to lol, read the scene where Yahweh uses Balaam’s donkey as an Oracle; it is very funny, to say the least.
But the punchline is dead serious:
“The donkey said to Balaam ‘In all this time (since Balaam’s youth) have I ever failed to serve you? He (Balaam) answered ‘No’.”
The donkey is just like his Master.
A model of obediency.