The song of Balaam (3): Sing the beautiful tents!
[Numbers 24:1-9]
It is interesting to see the order of the march in their wilderness and the order of the tabernacle in their settlement as the Israelites leave Egypt and head toward Canaan, the Promised Land (Internet). When they marched in the wilderness, they were divided into four large divisions: (1) The priests who carried the ark marched in front, followed by the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun as the first division. (2) Next, the Gershonites and Merarites carried the tabernacle, followed by Reuben, Simeon and Gad as the second division. (3) Next, the Kohathites carried the furniture and all the utensils of the sanctuary, followed by the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin, as the third division. (4) Finally, as the fourth division was the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali, who marched. What is interesting here is that when the Israelites marched, the priests who carried the ark marched to the front, and the Levites who carried the tabernacle and the holy things marched between the tribes of Israel. This was to keep the Israelites to live the God-centered and the tabernacle-centered life all the time to maintain godly living and faith in God. And so was the Israelites' march toward Canaan and their camp setting in the wilderness. In other words, they camped three tribes each in four directions: east, west, north, and north, centering on the tabernacle. This is what God instructed the Israelites, and the reason why the 12 tribes encamped centered on the tabernacle from east to west to north and south was because God wanted all the tribes to unite and cooperate by living the God-centered life. The first song of Balaam, which we have already meditated on (Num. 23:7-10), was camping on the plains of Moab, three tribes each in four directions from east to west, north and south (22:1). Balak, king of Moab, took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there Balaam saw part of the Israelites (v. 41). He blessed Israel after seeing only one-fourth of them (23:10). And the Balaam's second song (vv. 18-24) says that the king of Moab Balak took Balaam to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah (v. 14). It is the song that Balaam blessed the Israelites when he saw only part of the Israelites (v. 13).
In Numbers 24:1-9, after the second blessing song of Balaam, the king of Moab Barak led Balaam to another place (23:27), to the top of Peor, the highest place in the country to overlook the wasteland (v. 28). And there, Balak tried to make Balaam to curse the Israelites for himself (v. 27). But Balaam, in the first and second song, saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he didn’t resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert (24:1). “When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came upon him” (v. 2). So Balaam again blessed the Israelites in his third song (v. 10). Interestingly, the Bible says in Numbers 24:1 Balaam didn’t resort to sorcery as at other times. This reminds us that Balaam wasn’t a true prophet, but a false prophet, a diviner. Although it seems like Balaam was a true prophet by obeying God’s word when he said “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the LORD says?” (23:26, cf.: 22:38, 23:3, 12), but we can know that he was a false prophet when we see in Numbers 24:1 that “he did not resort to sorcery as at other time.” Although Balaam wanted to curse Israel at the request of Balak, God turned the curse into a blessing for the Israelites because the Lord loved them (Deut. 23:5). In other words, God wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam so He had to bless the Israelites (Josh. 24:10). Looking at this, Balaam, a false prophet and diviner, didn’t bless the Israelites twice because he wanted to obey God's word. Actually he wanted to curse them because he loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Pet. 2:15). But God even used such diviner to bless the Israelites by putting a message in his mouth (Num. 23:16). In particular, in the third song of Balaam, “the Spirit of God came upon him” (24:2), which means that God the Holy Spirit controlled and ruled over Balaam and made him to bless the Israel again for the third time. That’s why in Numbers 24:4, Balaam said “the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened.” It means that Balaam couldn’t curse the Israelites according to his desire, but he spoke by being controlled by the Holy Spirit (Park).
If we say this Balaam's third blessing song in a word, we can say that he sang the beautiful tents of Israel. Look at Numbers 24:5 – “How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob, your dwelling places, O Israel!” I want to meditate on the third song of Balaam in Numbers 24:1-9 under the heading “Sing the beautiful tents!” and think about in three ways what it means to sing the beautiful tents of Israel.
First, singing the beautiful tents of Israel means singing the happiness of Israel.
Look at Numbers 24: 6-7a: “Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the LORD, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. ….” From the top of Beor overlooking the wasteland (23:28), Balaam look out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe and the Spirit of God came upon him (24:2) and sang the happiness of Israel as he sang the beautiful tents of Israel. He sang the Israel's happiness by singing that Israel was “like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters” (v. 6). Isn't it interesting and strange that Balaam looked at the Israelites in the wilderness from the top of Beor and sang their beautiful tents were “like gardens beside a river” and “like cedars beside the waters”? How could there be “a river” and “the waters” in the wilderness? But Balaam, who was captured by the Holy Spirit and was singing the beautiful tents of Israel, was singing while watching the river and the waters in the wilderness that couldn’t be seen by his physical eyes.
When I thought about this part of the Balaam’s song, I remembered the Korean gospel song ‘The fountain will overflow in the desert’: (v. 1) ‘The fountain will overflow in the desert. The flower will blossom in the desert and will perfume its aroma. When the kingdom will be reigned by the Lord, then the dessert will become flower garden. The lions will play with the lamb and the children grow together. The Lords’ kingdom of true love and joy will come soon. (v. 2) The forest will grow in the desert. The beautiful birds will sing in the desert. When the Lord’s kingdom comes, the desert will be a paradise. The Lord’s kingdom of true love and joy is coming soon in where the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den and will not get hurt.’ Isn't it amazing? How can a spring overflow in the desert? How can the desert become a flower garden and a paradise? Isn't it possible because God who gives water in the desert is with us? Look at Isaiah 48:21 – “They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts He made the water flow out of the rock for them; He split the rock and the water gushed forth.” Balaam, who was captured by the Holy Spirit and sang the beautiful tents of Israel, compared the its tents with gardens beside the river and cedars beside the waters because the water was very important Near East region at that time and he associated the water with happiness (Park). In other words, Balaam saw that God who broke open springs and torrents in the desert was with the Israelites so he sang that they are truly happy people. Why are the Israelites whom God was with truly happy people? Look at Deuteronomy 33:29 – “Blessed are you, O Israel; Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD, Who is the shield of your help And the sword of your majesty! So your enemies will cringe before you, And you will tread upon their high places.” The reason why the Israelites are truly happy people is because they are God's saved people. In God's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt through Moses and His leading them to the Promised Land, Canaan through the desert for forty years, God protected and guarded them, as well as He defeated all their enemies as the sword of their glory and gave them victory. In addition, God not only delivered manna from heaven in the wilderness for the Israelites, but also He allowed them to drink water from the rock.
As I meditated on this, I remembered Jesus the Rock. Look at 1 Corinthians 10:4 – “and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ.” The Bible says that when Jesus Christ, the Rock, was crucified and dying on the cross, one of the Roman soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear (Jn. 19:34). Therefore, whoever believes in the Jesus’ death on the cross is washed away all the sins by the precious blood of Jesus, received the forgiveness of sins, and justified by those who believe in his resurrection (Rom. 4:25). So the Bible says we are blessed. We are happy people. Look at Romans 4:6-8: “David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.’” The Bible says that we who are forgiven by the blood of Jesus on the cross are blessed. Just as water break forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert (Isa. 35:6), God has caused the Lord's congregation in the wilderness (Acts 7:38) who believe in Jesus streams of living water will flow from within them (Jn. 7:38). That is, God has given the life of Jesus, eternal life, to all the saints in the wilderness congregation who received Jesus as their Savior. We, who are forgiven of all sins and receive the grace of God's salvation through the blood of Jesus on the cross, are truly blessed and happy people in God's eyes. And the church, the gathering of such blessed and happy people, is the beautiful tents in God's eyes. Therefore, we must sing the beautiful tents of the church. We must sing the happiness of the church.
Second, singing the beautiful tents of Israel means singing the Israel's exaltation.
Look at Numbers 24:7b-9a: “… And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted. ‘God brings him out of Egypt, He is for him like the horns of the wild ox He will devour the nations who are his adversaries, And will crush their bones in pieces, And shatter them with his arrows. He crouches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him? …’” From the top of Peor which overlooks the wasteland (23:28), Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe, Balaam was captured by the Holy Spirit (24:2) and sang the beautiful tents of Israel (v. 5), that is the Israel’s exaltation (v. 7). In other words, Balaam lifted his eyes and saw Israel dwelling in that tribe by tribe, and sang that God blessed them to make them prosper and flourish their power. That is why he sang in verse 7b, “And his king shall be higher than Agag, And his kingdom shall be exalted.” The reason why Balaam sang that the nation of Israel would become stronger than Agag, which was a strong nation at the time, was because God was with Israel. Therefore, God not only brought the Israelites out of Egypt (v. 8), but was also with them to fight against their enemies and to make Israel a great and strong nation. So as Balaam sang the beautiful tents of Israel he described Israel as “the wild ox” and “a lion” (vv. 8-9). These animals symbolize strength (Park).
Isn't it amazing? How could the weak nation of Israel become such a strong nation? The reason is that the great and mighty God was with them, strengthening and exalting them, causing the nations to fear the nation of Israel. To what extent did God make Israel a fearful among the nations, we can see glimpse of it by looking at what a woman named Rahab, who lived in the city of Jericho, said to two men who were sent as spies to the land of Canaan before God destroyed Jericho for the Israelites: “… "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath” (Josh. 2:9-11). The reason why Rahab and the Canaanites’ hearts were melted and no courage remained in was because they heard what God, who is in heaven above and on earth beneath, did for the Israelites and that He strengthened them and made the nation of Israel strong by being with them.
I remember the Korean gospel song “Great and mighty is the Lord our God”: “Great and mighty is the Lord our God Great and mighty is He, Great and mighty is the Lord our God Great and mighty is He, Lift up your banner, let the anthems ring, praises to our king. Great and mighty is the Lord our God Great and mighty is He.” When our great and mighty God is with us the church, I believe that even our weak church in people's eyes will be exalted and strengthened so that we may praise our Lord, King of kings, holding up and waving the banner of victory. No matter how great an enemy like Goliath we have, we will move forward with faith and conviction like David, “… the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD'S and He will give you into our hands”(1 Sam. 17:47). Then the Lord our great and mighty God will enable us to be victorious. Until we enter heaven, the land of true promise, I believe that the great and mighty Lord God will be with us, the congregation in the wilderness, and to make us flourish and to strengthen us. Therefore, until we receive the crown of victory, we must sing the beautiful tents of the church, the exaltation of the church.
Third and last, singing the beautiful tents of Israel means singing the blessings of Israel.
Look at Numbers 24:9b – “… Blessed is everyone who blesses you, And cursed is everyone who curses you.” What does it mean? It means that as the Israelites are blessed people of God (22:12), whoever they bless they will be blessed and whoever they curse they will be cursed. Although the king of Moab Balak called Balaam, a diviner, to curse the Israelites (23:7) so that he could defeat them and drive them out of the land (v. 6), God turned the curse into a blessing for the Israelites (v. 8; Deut. 23:5). What was the reason? The reason was because God loved the Israelites (Deut. 23:5). Because God loved the Israelites, He wasn’t willing to listen to Balaam but He turned the curse into the blessing for the Israelites (v. 5). The reason was that God was faithfully fulfilling His promise to Abraham. Look at Genesis 12:1-3: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.’” God prospered the Abraham’s descendants as He promised Abraham and made him a great nation and made his name great. And God made Abraham the source of blessing and blessed those who blessed him and cursed those who cursed him.
Our God is the true God. The true God fulfilled the word of promise to Abraham and, through his descendants, sent Jesus on earth to be the source of true blessings. And God gave us all spiritual blessings by causing Jesus to be cursed for us, to be crucified to death, and to be resurrected (Eph. 1:3). And God blessed everyone who blessed us, and cursed everyone who cursed us. Therefore, like Balaam, we too must be captured by the Holy Spirit, and sing the blessings of our church. Let us sing the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”: (v. 1) “Come, Thou Fount of ev'ry blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy grace Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, Mount of God's unchanging love,” (v. 2) “Here I raise my Ebenezer Hither by Thy help I'm come And I hope, by Thy good pleasure, Safely to arrive at home. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand'ring from the fold of God He, to rescue me from danger, Interposed His precious blood,” (v. 3) “O to grace how great a debtor Daily I'm constrained to be Let that grace now, like a fetter, Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love Here's my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for Thy courts above. A-men.”
Seeing in faith the happiness, exaltation and blessedness of the church of Christ,
Pastor James Kim