We come today to the book of Numbers. What an
odd name for a book in the Bible, we might think.
But the English name for the Bible originates
in the fact that there are two census figures
which are recorded in this book. One of them
early on in the book is the census of the nation
before their march in the wilderness. The latter
one is their census. after the march. The Hebrew
name for the book is, in the English, In the
Wilderness, which perhaps is a more fitting title
for the book because it records that period of
time between the giving of the law on Mount Sinai
and the ultimate arrival of the nation at the
front door of Canaan at the plains of Moab. It
covers a period of some 39 years, all of which
was spent in the wilderness. Here is recorded
that fateful decision on the part of the people
to disbelieve and disobey the Lord by failing
to enter into Canaan at Kadesh Barnea. And you
recall as a result of their failure there, God
condemned a whole generation to die on that wilderness
march. As Israel eventually arrived at the plains
of Moab and prepared to enter the land God had
given to them, their presence in the land of
Moab created a great amount of fear. The Moabites
had heard how Israel had, during their wilderness
time, conquered the Amorites. And the Amorites...
had fallen to them, and the Moabites now were
fearful of the same thing. So Balak, who was
the king of the Moabites, thought of an alternate
strategy to a military one. Fighting didn't work
for the Amorites, so he had to think up some
strategy that might work more effectively for
them, the Moabites. He decided to send for a
prophet who might come and on behalf of the Moabites
curse the people of Israel. Such a prophet was
found. His name was Balaam. Balaam was a false
prophet. He was not a believer in the true God,
and yet he had contact with the true God. He
is somewhat of an enigma to us in the Old Testament.
We read about him, though, in Numbers chapter
22, and I invite you to turn there and look at
verse 5 with me, where it says that Balak sent
messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, at Pethor,
which is near the river, that is the Euphrates
River, in the land of the sons of his people,
to call him, saying, Behold, a people came out
of Egypt. Behold, they cover the surface of the
land, and they are living opposite me. Now therefore,
please come, curse this people for me, since
they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I may be
able to defeat them and drive them out of the
land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed,
and he whom you curse is cursed. So the elders
of Moab and the elders of Midian departed. with
the fees of divination in their hand. And they
came to Balaam and repeated Balak's words to
him. Balaam was a false prophet who loved money.
And the story that unfolds before us indicates
that at first he declined to go with them. God
told him not to. But they came back and offered
some more money. And it was hard for him to say
no, and God said, well, if you want to do it,
do it. And so Balaam went to Moab, and there
three times attempted to curse the people of
Israel. But he had warned Balak that he would
say nothing that God didn't put into his mouth.
And God would not put into his mouth, of course,
curses upon his own people. Rather, God gave
to Balaam words of blessing. And that was all
he would speak. Balak took him to one place and
then another place and then another place. He
said, try it here. And they would build alders
and they would kill bulls and they would kill
rams. And then he would try to give the cursing
and nothing but blessing would come out of the
mouth of Balaam. Now that would make you kind
of mad. If you had hired this man to come and
pronounce a curse, And he couldn't or wouldn't
do it. And that is exactly what happened. Look
over in chapter 24 and verse 10. It says, Balak's
anger burned against Balaam. And he struck his
hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, I called
you to curse my enemies. But behold, you have
persisted in blessing them these three times.
Therefore, flee to your place now. I said, I
would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord
has held you back from honor. Balaam said to
Balak, Did I not tell your messengers whom you
had sent to me, saying, Though Balak were to
give me this house full of silver and gold, I
could not do anything contrary to the command
of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord.
What the Lord speaks, that will I speak. And
now, behold, I am going to my people. Come and
I will advise you what this people will do to
your people in days to come. And he took up his
discourse and said. And now Balaam is going to
give some more words to Balak regarding the future
of the people of Israel. The oracle of Balaam,
the son of Beor, and the oracle of the man whose
eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the
words of God and knows the knowledge of the Most
High, who sees the vision of the Almighty falling
down, yet having his eyes uncovered. So far he's
just introduced himself. Now he says, I see him,
but not now. I behold him, but not near. A star
shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall
rise from Israel, and shall crush through the
forehead of Moab, and tear down all the sons
of Sheth. And Edom shall be a possession. Seir,
its enemies, also shall be a possession. While
Israel performs valiantly, one from Jacob shall
have dominion and shall destroy the remnant from
the city. Now we're going to stop at that point,
although his words go on talking about the future
of Israel. Because we have just read some of
the most significant verses in all the book of
Numbers. We have here a passage that is messianic.
A passage that speaks of the coming Redeemer.
who would reign. And so as we think about Christmas
in the Pentateuch and in the book of Numbers
specifically, this morning we're going to examine
the reign of the Redeemer, because that is the
word that Balaam gives. You say, well, how could
Balaam, a false prophet, speak what is truth?
I'm not sure I know the full answer to that,
except that God definitely did. put the words
into the mouth of Balaam. Perhaps we have here
an illustration of the marvel of inspiration
when God chooses to use unworthy vessels, and
yet truth is delivered through them untarnished
and uncompromised. For that matter, there is
no writer of Scripture that could be called worthy.
None could be called worthy, although Balaam
was a false prophet. And yet God chose to give
truth in this instance through a wicked man who
was willing to sell his services as a religious
leader. Dr. Ronald Allen says regarding the prophecy
that we've read that this prophecy should come
from one who was unworthy makes the prophecy
all the more dramatic. and startling. Christmas
in Numbers is contained in this prophecy about
the reign of the Redeemer. This prophecy of the
star scepter, as it is called in verse 17, is
a messianic reference. He says, a star shall
come forth from Jacob, a scepter shall rise from
Israel. The star slash scepter prophecy. That
it is Messianic was even agreed to by ancient
Jewish commentators and translators. There was
a period of time when the Jewish people, in their
dispersion, began to pick up the Aramaic language
instead of the Hebrew language. And so to assist
them in their understanding of Aramaic, and their
lack of understanding often in Hebrew. Many of
the Jewish rabbis and leaders wrote commentary
or paraphrases of the Hebrew Old Testament into
the Aramaic language. Those were called targums,
which means an interpretation. We have still
existent today targums. very ancient commentaries
or paraphrases of the Old Testament in which
Jewish rabbis would give the meaning or the explanation
or the interpretation of the Hebrew words as
they understood them. Now, regarding these words
in numbers, there are some significant statements.
The Targum of Ancalos, as it is called, It's
one of the most complete targums of the Pentateuch,
the five books of Moses. And regarding this verse,
the rabbi who was writing it said that the verse
refers to when a mighty king of Jacob's house
will reign and the Messiah will be magnified.
So you see, even the ancient Jews understood
that this was a Messianic reference. The Targum
of Jonathan reads this way, When there shall
reign a strong king of the house of Jacob, and
Messiah shall be anointed, and a strong scepter
shall be from Israel. That was that rabbi's understanding
of this prophecy. The star scepter prophecy was
also understood to be messianic by the early
church fathers. Justin Martin, who died in 168
A .D., and Athanasius the Great, who died in
373 A .D., both referred to this passage in Numbers
saying that it referred to the Lord Jesus Christ.
So when we come to Numbers chapter 24 and we
look at this verse, understand... This is not
some preacher's idea in 1991. We're looking at
something that historically has been understood
as messianic. Now, what is specifically stated
here about Messiah? Well, there are at least
four things that are stated. First of all, it
says there is a male figure that is seen in the
distant from Balaam's day. Notice he says it,
I think, in a rather moving way. I see him, but
not now. I behold him, but not near. Balaam says,
I look into the future of Israel, and I see a
male figure. I see a man. It's not soon. He's
not at hand. He's not near, but I see him. The
second thing he says, that this man will be of
Israel and will reign as a royal sovereign or
a king. Notice he says, a star will come forth
from Jacob. A star was a symbol of a king, a
mighty ruler. A scepter shall rise from Israel,
he says. And then he says that this one who will
reign from Israel, will deliver Israel from all
of her enemies, including Moab. He will crush
the forehead of Moab. Edom will be a possession,
Seir. And all of the enemies of Israel will be
destroyed. And finally, he says, at the same
time, this future Messiah, this ruler, will cause
Israel to grow strong as her enemies languish.
Notice, while Israel performs valiantly, he says,
one from Jacob shall have dominion. And so Israel
will go like this while her enemies will go like
that because of this future deliverer. The point
in the prophecy of Numbers is that Israel's ultimate
blessing awaits the arrival of her deliverer
from all of her enemies. Now I'd like for you
to turn with me to the New Testament, to the
Gospel of Matthew, where we read earlier this
morning in our scripture text. Those of you who
are familiar with the Gospel of Matthew know
that Matthew wrote his Gospel to present Jesus
Christ as the King, specifically the King of
the Jews. And so from the very first verse, he
introduces Jesus as royal. He says, the book
of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of
David. And then he gives a genealogy that traces
him all the way back to David legally. His point
is that Jesus Christ was qualified and was, in
fact, the king of Israel. Now, when we come to
chapter 2, we have the story of the three wise
men, as we often call them, the three magi. A
lot of tradition has been added to this account
over the years. The tradition, for example, that
they were kings. The Bible nowhere says they
were kings. That there were three of them. It
doesn't say that there were only three. That
their names were Melchior, Balthasar, and Gaspar.
The scriptures nowhere named them. A lot of tradition
has been added to this story. But there is truth
here that you and I need to understand. Because
Matthew alludes to this prophecy in Numbers as
he presents Jesus Christ as the ruler who would
come, the king, the star, the scepter. The Magi
came to do homage to the king of the Jews. It
is important to understand that this whole period
of time, was a period of expectation. In his
commentary on Matthew, John MacArthur, I think,
summarizes it well. He says, During that time
there was a widespread expectation of the coming
of a great king, a great deliverer. The Roman
historian Suetonius, speaking of the time around
the birth of Christ, wrote, There had spread
over all the Orient an old and established belief
that it was fated at that time for men coming
from Judea to rule the world. Another Roman historian,
Tacitus, wrote that there was a firm persuasion
that at this very time the East was to grow powerful
and rulers coming from Judea were to acquire
a universal empire. MacArthur goes on to write,
the Jewish historian Josephus reports in his
Jewish Wars that at about the time of Christ's
birth, the Jews believed that one from their
country would soon become ruler of the habitable
earth. And he goes on to explain other ways in
which this was a time of expectation. In some
respects, it was a time something like our own.
For there is beginning to build in our world
a sense that something has to happen, that things
cannot go on as they are now. Now, I wasn't around
at the turn of the last century, but those of
you who were, that's a joke, folks, I think,
would recall that around the turn of the century,
into the 1900s, There was also a time of expectation,
a real emphasis on biblical prophecy. The Christ
was coming. It seems to be the kind of a thing
that happens with the turn of centuries. But
in this case, we have also the turn of a millennium.
We go from the 1900s to the 2000s. Two thousand
years ago, there was the same kind of a sense
in the air. Something was about to happen. And
a great ruler, or maybe a series of them, was
going to arise to dominate the whole earth that
was habitable. And there was this idea being
talked about that that person would come from
Judea. And so we have arriving in Judea the Magi.
Who were they? The word Magi, as you can easily
see, gives us our word magic or magician. The
Magi were people who specialized in astrology.
Combined with... a type of science of that day,
combined with politics, combined with astronomy.
It's kind of hard to put your hands around what
a magi was, but that's the idea. It was a lot
of these ideas pulled together. They certainly
were people who observed the heavens, and that's
obvious from the context here. They were spread
throughout the whole Middle East. These magi
came from the land of the sun's rising. That
would be, for that day, Babylon or Persia or
perhaps Parthia, over in the area of the Euphrates
River or beyond it. These men had observed something
unusual in the heavens as a part of their trade.
A star had arisen, as it says here. It was the
appearance of that star that arose, coupled with,
probably, their familiarity with Jewish writings
that led them to come to Judea. You say, how
would they get familiar with... with Jewish writings.
Well, these were people who liked to read prophecy.
That was part of their thing, predicting the
future. And it's likely that Daniel and other
Jewish people in the area of Babylon hundreds
of years before had distributed the Jewish scriptures
so that that became part of the library of Babylon
and Parthia and Persia. And so these astrologers,
astronomers, politicians, scientists, as they
studied through the books and saw this amazing
sight in the heavens, put together the idea that
here was a fulfillment of what everybody was
expecting. A ruler had now been born in Judea.
Matthew records this visit of the Magi. In doing
so, it's important to understand that he is not
sanctioning astrology. Matthew was well acquainted
with the Old Testament. He quoted lots of it.
And he knew those texts undoubtedly that condemn
astrology and any participation in it in any
fashion whatsoever. God hates astrology. Matthew
does not condone. but he records what happened.
These men came from the east looking for the
Jewish king. It has often been wondered what
the star was, and there's not an easy answer
to that. I think the best answer is that it was
a supernatural event which God designed for the
benefit of these people. It is interesting to
me to note that Balaam, who gave the prophecy
of a star rising in Israel, came from the very
same geographical area that the wise men came
from hundreds of years later because of a star
that directed them to go to Judea. Probably the
star that they saw was a manifestation of the
Shekinah glory of God. And God caused that to
happen in such a way that they understood it
to direct them to the land of the West, to Palestine.
And so they came. There is no indication that
the star wandered through the heavens leading
them, though it's often depicted that way. They
did the logical thing. Having understood that
there was a king of the Jews born, they went
to the capital of the Jews, the city of Jerusalem.
And there they inquired after him. And our text
tells us that they went to Herod. Herod was an
interesting person. D .A. Carson writes about
him in the Expositors Bible Commentary saying,
Herod the Great was born in 73 B .C. and was
named King of Judea by the Roman Senate in 40
B .C. By 37 B .C. he had crushed, with the help
of Roman forces, all opposition to his rule.
Son of the Idumean Antipater, he was wealthy,
politically gifted, intensely loyal, an excellent
administrator, and clever enough to remain in
the good graces of successive Roman emperors.
His famine relief was superb, and his building
projects, including the temple begun in 20 B
.C., admired even by his foes. Those are the
good things that can be said about Herod. In
a secular sense, he was a good leader, good administrator,
good politician, a very fine military leader.
But he lacked character. Carson goes on to say,
he loved power, inflicted incredibly heavy taxes
on the people, and resented the fact that many
Jews considered him a usurper. Now here's the
reason for that. He was named the king of the
Jews, but he was not a Jew. He was an Edomite,
an Edomian. The Edomites were the historical
enemies of the Jews. And so in order to consolidate
his power over the people that he ruled over,
he married a Jewess of one of the most influential
families of the Jews. In his last years suffering
an illness that compounded his paranoia, he turned
to cruelty and in its fits of rage and jealousy
killed close associates, his wife, and at least
two of his sons. He is a man who in his latter
years became insane. Insane with jealousy. Insane
with hatred. Insane with murder. It is said that
a few days before he died, which was about a
year or maybe two after Jesus was born. It is
said that Herod knew that there would not be
mourning in Jerusalem because of his death. And
so he ordered the arrest of some of the leading
people in Jerusalem and commanded that the moment
he died, they were to be killed so that there
would be weeping in Jerusalem. That's the kind
of a man he was. And we read later here in Matthew
chapter 2 of his slaughter of the innocents.
The babies in Bethlehem. But they went to Herod
and asked, where is the king of the Jews? Well,
of course, that immediately got his interest.
And he inquired of the religious leaders as to
where the king was to be born. Probably he did
not inquire of them in one session. Because he
brought together, it says, the chief priests
and the scribes, and these two groups did not
get along. The chief priests were the liberals
of the day, the Sadducees. They didn't believe
a whole lot. That's why they were Sadducee. They
were the liberals of the day. On the other hand,
there were the scribes, the Pharisees, the legalists.
And these two were like this. So probably in
order to test them to make sure that each was
telling the truth, he brought them in separately
and inquired where the Christ was. was to be
born where this king was to be born and they
both apparently did answer appropriately in bethlehem
bethlehem located some five or six miles to the
south of the city of jerusalem on one of the
main main trade routes he reported the place
to the magi and then asked that when they had
found this babe that they should return and tell
him exactly where the babe was so that he might
come and worship him also. We know, of course,
that that was a lie. Well, the Magi got the word
they wanted, and so they went outside of the
city, and it says that again the star appeared
to them. I believe that this was another appearance
of the Shekinah glory of God, and that in some
supernatural way, God caused that Shekinah glory,
that brilliance of... his presence, to direct
them to the exact house where Jesus, Joseph,
and Mary were living. And notice it says, they
came into the house and they saw the child with
Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshipped
them. Is that what it says? No, it doesn't. It
says they worshipped him. Not her. They did not
come to worship the Holy Family. They came to
worship Him, the Lord Jesus Christ. And they
presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense,
and myrrh. We have in what occurs here A contrast
of attitudes regarding the birth of the king.
On Herod's part, there was hostility. He was
jealous that any king claiming to be king of
the Jews should be born. And he was determined
to destroy that king. And today there are those
who are hostile to the Lord Jesus Christ. And
they will do anything they can. to attack him,
to attack his people, to destroy the work of
God in the world, to suppress the truth of God.
They are hostile to God. Then there are the religious
leaders, who though they knew the right answers,
were absolutely indifferent as to the news that
the king of the Jews had been born. And so following
them today are large masses of people. who live
in apathy, who celebrate Christmas with family
and gifts and good food, but who have absolutely
no concern beyond that for the spiritual meaning
of it. We've been having some Christmas teas
in our church, and one of the ladies who had
one just a few days ago invited a neighbor who
was in her mid -thirties. And after the tea was
over, she went to her neighbor and said, I so
appreciate your inviting me here. She says, I
am 30 -some years old, and I never knew why people
talked about shepherds and wise men and so on
around Christmas. I have never heard that story
before in all my life. Do we understand there
are people like that in our society? who are
celebrating something, who are apathetic to it
because they know nothing about its spiritual
significance. Then there are the wise men who
come and worship and who give to the Lord Jesus
Christ gifts honoring his royalty, his deity,
his coming death. Very practically speaking,
the gifts probably provided the money that Mary
and Joseph needed for them to finance the trip
down to Egypt, the stay there, and then the return
to Nazareth later. This was God's provision for
them. As these wise men worshipped, they brought
money, monetary gifts, to the Lord Jesus. What
we have in Matthew is an illusion. to that star
scepter prophecy in the book of Numbers. The
king that Balaam said he saw, but not now and
not near, is the king that you and I know as
the Lord Jesus Christ. The king who came now
2 ,000 years ago. He is the king of the Jews.
He is the king of Israel. He is the King of righteousness.
He is the King of peace. He is the King of the
nations. He is the King of kings and Lord of
lords. God used a star of some heavenly supernatural
event to direct the wise men to where the Lord
Jesus was. Do you and I understand today that
we are God's stars, as it were? That God has
put us in the world to direct people whose heart
he is preparing that they might come to Jesus
Christ and know him and worship him? You say,
where does it say anything like that in the Bible?
Well, Philippians chapter 2 and verse 15, it
says that you and I are like luminaries in the
world, lights in the world. You and I are like
reflectors of Jesus Christ. That people might
see his glory in us and be led to worship him.
The real question that I want to close with,
though, is this. Jesus Christ is the king. But
is he the king in your heart? What is your attitude
toward the king? Are you allowing him to rule
in your life as sovereign? What gift do you give
to him today, on this Sunday before the time
we celebrate his birth? Do you give him your
heart? Do you give him your worship? Do you give
him your will? Do you give him your all? As we
come to the Christmas season, let's give everything
we have to him. Let us bring our gifts, not merely
of gold and frankincense and myrrh, but the gift
of our lives, the gifts he has given to us, and
give them to him in worship and devotion. Someone
has rightly said, though Jesus Christ in Bethlehem
a thousand times be born, if he's not born within
your heart, your life is still. Let's pray together.
You know, friend, the one who was hostile to
the Lord Jesus, Herod, and those who were merely
apathetic that he was born, though they had different
attitudes in life, are spending the same place
for all of eternity. They share hell together
because they refused to receive and to worship
the Christ. Have you opened your heart to Him?
Have you received Him? Have you given to Him
your all? If not, will you do that today? Father,
we thank you that this one born in the manger,
the one worshipped by the Magi, indeed became
the Lamb of God who died for our sins. And we
bow in awesome worship before you, recognizing
that this babe is the Redeemer who came to rule.
Lord, establish your rule in my heart, in the
heart of each one of us. There let your kingdom
begin and let it grow. We present to you ourselves
in worship. We yield unto you all that we are
and have. And we ask you to make us, in this
season and in every season, bright stars, illuminaries,
lights in the world. You might use us to bring
others to faith in yourself. In Jesus' name,
amen. Would you stand with me, please?