Balaam’s Prophecy to a King

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Mt. Sinai had long since been left behind by the Hebrews having spent nearly the past 40 years wandering through portions of the Sinai, Negev and Arabian deserts. Delayed by two generations as a consequence of the Hebrew people doubting God right after they escaped Egypt, a separate promise remained fully in effect: the Hebrew tribes would be protected from their enemies.^[1]

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been promised through God’s blessings that many nations and kings would come from their descendants. Jacob divided the blessing among his sons, future fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel. Only one son, Judah, did he pass along the royalty blessing of a future kingdom.

While promises made at Mt Sinai laid foundational requirements for the Messiah at the place including the promise of a kingdom, no one particular prophecy directly pointed to the future Messiah. First of the distinctive Messiah prophecies came from a very unlikely source…

Following pillars of cloud by day and fire by night, the Hebrews were on their trek to the place.^[2] Standing in the way of the Hebrews was yet another Gentile enemy, Moab, ruled by King Balak son of King Zippor. Moab was located east of the Dead Sea in modern day Jordan.

Balak was painfully aware of how the Hebrews had vanquished the strongly defensed Amorites whose own army had previously defeated Moab and occupied many of its cities. History was poised to repeat itself for Moab, this time at the hands of the Hebrews.^[3]

Dread spread throughout Moab for fear of the size and might of the Hebrew people backed by God. Knowing his military was no match for the Hebrews, the King thought that only supernatural intervention from God could save his kingdom.

Rather than asking for God’s guidance and help, the King tried a different strategy to use God. Balak decided to try to place a curse on the Hebrews and sent an envoy of Moabite leaders to buy the services of Balaam for that purpose.^[4]

Balaam was neither a Hebrew prophet nor even familiar with them. Finding Balaam, the envoy presented the King’s royal request and asked him to take a night to consider it. In real time, the encounter between Balak and Balaam was unknown to the Hebrews.

Praying for guidance that night, God told Balaam not to return to the Balak and not to place a curse on the Hebrews because they were “blessed.” Returning home, the Moabite envoy informed the King the prophet refused to return with them.

Undeterred, Balak upped the ante by sending a larger envoy with more distinguished leaders back to the prophet promising him great honors if he would return with them to place a curse on the Hebrews. In response, Balaam told the envoy that even if he was offered a palace full of silver and gold, he could not do more or less than God’s commandment.

Still, Balaam said he would give the envoy an answer the next morning and that night he again sought God’s guidance. Against God’s instruction, the next day Balaam decided to go with the envoy and meet the King, but their journey was blocked by an angel using a donkey to convey the message.

Balaam became angry with the donkey not knowing an angel was behind it and beat the donkey who confronted Balaam about being beaten. Confessing he had sinned, Balaam was allowed to continue with God’s strict instructions to say only what He instructed.

Upon arriving King Balak, who was irritated with Balaam, questioned why the prophet had resisted royal requests to come see him. Brushing off the question and getting right to the point, Balaam said,

^{Num 22:38}“I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say.”_(NRSV)

Nevertheless, three times Balak took Balaam to a different high position on a mount to observe portions of the extensive size of the Hebrew people because they could not be seen entirely from one location. On each mount, Balak offered a sacrifice.

After each sacrifice, the King asked the prophet to place a curse on the Hebrews. Each time, Balaam sought God’s message which came back with blessings on the Hebrews rather than a curse.

After the third time, Balak was exasperated. Clapping his hands King Balak said, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!”^[5]

Announcing he was going back home, Balaam said he would foretell Moab’s future before he left.^[6] It was a dark prophecy for Moab in the form of an oracle prefaced with a royal prophecy about Israel’s bright future:

^{Num 24:17} “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, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth.”_(NASB)

According to the renowned Jewish sage, Rabbi Rashi, Balaam’s oracle is a Messiah prophecy. Interpretations by the Rabbi are tied to the blessing of Jacob’s grandfather Abraham which said, “kings will come forth from you.”^[7]

“Scepter” is translated in the Bible from the Hebrew word shebet, the same word used in Jacob’s royalty blessing of his son, Judah, in Genesis 49:10. Rashi interpreted the term scepter as representing “a king who rules dominantly” from the future lineage of David.

Referring to the star, Rashi expounded it represents one who “shoots out like an arrow” from Jacob and uproots the sons of Sheth or Seth, the son of Adam; in other words, symbolically uproots all of mankind.^[8]

If the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth was to be a fulfillment of Balaam’s prophecy, a lot of pieces first had to come together to fulfill the promises made at Mt. Sinai. Hundreds of years into the future, prophets of the Bible would bring clarity to these promises that became requirements setting the stage for the Messiah to be born in the royal lineage of the House of David.

Promises made at Mt. Sinai were fulfilled over time, but one part of Balaam’s prophecy was not yet fulfilled – “A star shall come forth from Jacob.” Was it a symbolic prophecy of someone who would uproot all of mankind or was it a literal prophecy fulfilled by “his star” observed by the Magi signaling the birth of the “King of the Jews”… perhaps both?

Updated January 4, 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] Deuteronomy 2-7; 23:23-31; Number 14:24, 26-35.
[2] Numbers 14. “Sinai Peninsula;” “Negev;” and “King’s Highway.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2014. http://www.britannica.com
[3] Numbers 21-22. “Map of OldTestament Israel.” Bible-history.com. <http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/israel-old-testament.html> “Israel and Judah.” Free English Site. map. 2017. <http://www.freeenglishsite.com/LDS/other/Moab.htm>
[4] Numbers 22. CR Deuteronomy 23:5/6.
[5] NASB. Numbers 24:10. “What is the error of Balaam?” EndoftheMatter.com. image. 2022. <https://i0.wp.com/endofthematter.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/BalaamintheBible-171300653-43bf701fd28844c6a5682acf05b9c83a.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1>
[6] Numbers 24:20-24.
[7] Gensis 17:6, NASB.
[8] Rashi. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary Commentary for Numbers 24:17.

Is Passover an Appointed Time for the Crucifixion?

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

Is Passover an Appointed Time for the Crucifixion?

Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth didn’t happen on just any day of the year…the timing is simply too hard to ignore. His execution was either a 1-in-365 happenstance incident or, perhaps, an appointed time of divine design.

Nisan 15^th – Jesus was crucified on the first day of the Jewish Passover. Merriam-Webster defines a sacrifice as “an act of offering to a deity something precious.”

Passover commenced at sunset, the beginning of a Jewish day, with the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The meal was intended to commemorate the time when the sacrifice of an innocent lamb had been required of God for salvation from the angel of death in Egypt.

A basic understanding of an appointed time helps to determine whether the timing of the crucifixion was merely a coincidence or more than that. Clues are found in the story of how the Hebrew Law came to be given by God at Mt. Sinai.

_ _ _ _ _

God’s booming voice coming from the burning bush at the base of Mt. Sinai instructed Moses to return to Egypt after a 40-year exile. Along with his brother Aaron, they were to confront the mighty Pharaoh of Egypt with a clear and succinct message:

^{Ex 5:1} …”Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”_(NKJV)

Initially, Pharaoh was not willing to give up his slave labor force, but he paid a big price. Suffering through several plagues, Egypt’s ruler was finally wanting to stop the misery and commanded, “‘Go, serve the Lord your God.”

Realizing he was about to make a big mistake if he let all of his Hebrew slaves leave, Pharaoh asked, “Exactly who is going with you?” On the other hand, if he only released the Hebrew men to go have this feast, he could hold their family’s hostage.^[1]

Moses countered with an unexpected response that blunted Pharaoh’s scheme: “We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and our daughters, and with our sheep and our cattle we will go, because we are to hold a pilgrim feast for the Lord.”^[2]

‘No way!’ was the essence of Pharaoh’s response saying, “‘No! Go, you men only, and serve the Lord, for that is what you want,” then Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.”^[3] The 9^th plague of deep darkness for three full days came next, but Pharaoh still did not relent.

A 10^th plague was now coming to persuade Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. This time it would include very personal consequences with more major financial impacts.

Livestock value to both the Egyptians and Hebrews was very significant, especially for the enslaved Hebrews. Sheep were the source of clothing, food and milk, even as pets. For a household to lose a single lamb meant losing a valuable commodity.

For the Egyptians, cattle were valued in much the same way as sheep. Cattle were part of the Egyptian religion and represented a status of wealth where losing a significant portion of livestock would have a disastrous affect.^[4]

Leading up to the horrible night of the 10^th plague, God offered protection for the Hebrews if they followed a precise sacrificial ritual. Each family was to choose one of their unblemished lambs, sacrifice it, splash its blood on the door posts of their homes, and roast the lamb for a family feast at sunset.^[5]

At midnight, the angel of death passed over any home with the lamb’s blood splashed on the doorposts thereby sparing the of the Hebrew’s firstborn and their livestock. The 10^th plague was devastating for the Egyptians – every firstborn died including the death of Pharoah’s own son breaking his resolve.

Salvation from the plague of death set the stage for what would become Israel’s first legally mandated Feast of Unleavened observance. Passover was to be observed every year from that time forward:^[6]

^{Ex 12:14}‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance._(NKJV)

A few weeks later, God handed down the Law to Moses atop Mt. Sinai. The Law defined the observance of three annual Festivals or Feasts and a permanent place to observe the Passover at its appointed time:

^{Lev. 23:}^4-7‘These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.

‘On the fourteenth day of the first month at twilight is the LORD’S Passover.

‘And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

‘On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. _(NKJV)

Centerpiece of the Passover commenced on Nisan 14 was the sacrifice of the paschal lamb eventually to permanently occur in the place God was yet to reveal.^[7] Following at sunset, Nisan 15, was the Feast of Unleavened Bread featuring the roasted meat of the sacrificial lamb.

Passover was a week-long celebration yet the Festival was intended to be a solemn time in remembrance of God’s miraculous deliverance from slavery and tyranny. The Law’s definition for observing the Passover used similar terms as for the weekly Sabbath, each was called “a holy assembly” or “holy convocation.”^[8]

Found to be innocent by the government rulers Tetrarch Herod and Procurator Pilate, at the urging of the Jewish leadership Jesus was crucified on the first day of Passover observed at its appointed time. Events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus at the Passover were controlled solely by his archenemies – out of the control of Jesus, his Disciples or any alleged Christian conspirators.

Was the crucifixion of Jesus on Passover, Nisan 15, merely a coincidence or a divinely appointed time?

Updated August 28, 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

NKJV = New King James Version translation.
NET = NETBible translation

REFERENCES:

[1] NET.
[2] NET.
[3] Quotes from NET translation. Exodus 10[iv] Exodus 12.
[4] Benner, Jeff A. “Ancient Hebrew Livestock.” Ancient Hebrew Research Center. 2022. <https://www.ancient-hebrew.org/culture/ancient-hebrew-livestock.htm> Cownie, Emma. Emmafcpwnie.com. 2018. “Why cattle mattered in the Ancient World.” <https://emmafcownie.medium.com/why-cattle-mattered-in-the-ancient-world-4e27b1c37e58> “Cattle in the ancient world of the Bible” Women In The Bible. 2006. <https://womeninthebible.net/bible_daily_life/cattle_ancient_world/#:~:text=Cattle%20were%20an%20important%20status%20symbol.%20In%20biblical,as%20well%20as%20for%20ploughing%2C%20threshing%20and%20transport.> Broyles, Stephen. The Andreas Center. 2010. <https://www.andreascenter.org/Articles/Sheep%20and%20Goats.htm> “Sheep in History. Sheep101.info. 2021. <http://www.sheep101.info/history.html
[5] Mock, Robert. Destination Yisra’el. “The First Pesach in the Land of Egypt.” photo. 2017. <https://destination-yisrael.biblesearchers.com/destination-yisrael/2017/04/the-history-of-the-passover-in-the-days-of-the-nazarene.html&gt
[6] Exodus 12:27; Deuteronomy 16:1-8.
[7] Exodus 12; Deuteronomy 16; Leviticus 23. “Abib” and “Nisan.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011.
[8] Exodus 16:22-23, 29; 20:8-10; Leviticus 23:3. Babylonian Talmud. Rodkinson. 1918. Book 1, Tract Sabbath, Chapters 1-10; Book 2; Erubin, Pesachim, Book 3, Chapter IV, VI, VIII. <https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm#t03> Edersheim, Alfred. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. 1883. Book V, Chapter 15. pp 1382-1392 & pp 1393-1421. <http://philologos.org/__eb-lat/default.htm> Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple – Its Ministry and Services. Chapter 10. 1826 -1889. The NTSLibrary. 2016. <http://www.ntslibrary.com/PDF%20Books/The%20Temple%20by%20Alfred%20Edersheim.pdf> Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6359-friday “Festivals,”“Holy Days,” “Passover,” ”Shabbat,” “Sabbath ” & “Sabbath and Sunday.” 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com> “Shabbath.” <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/shabbath/index.html; “Shabbat” and “Festivals. Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com

The Empty Tomb – Resurrection or Conspiracy?

Posted on by K.B. Vogelman

The Empty Tomb – Resurrection or Conspiracy?

For the more than 2000 years, the incident reported by the Gospels to have occurred at dawn on Sunday during Passover has been debated countless times. Believers say it was a Resurrection; skeptics have proposed many conspiracy theories to explain away how the body simply vanished.

Two named Jewish Council members laid the dead the body of Jesus killed by crucifixion in Joseph’s own unused the tomb. Four named women from Galilee also witnessed the body of Jesus being prepared for burial on a slab stone inside the tomb, then a stone rolled in front of the entrance to it.

Setting the scene the next day, the Jewish leadership testified to Pilate the body was in the tomb and needed to be secured. Dual security methods were implemented by the authority of Pilate to prevent the body from being stolen.

Guarded by an armed Roman-Jewish military squad called a koustodia by Matthew, the tomb was sealed. Predawn of Sunday, according to Mark, finds Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jose, Salome, and Joanna fretting about who would roll away the stone set in place Joseph of Arimathea.

Four conclusions can be drawn from these two accounts: the women expected to find the dead body of Jesus; they were not accompanied by either Joseph, Nicodemus or any of the Disciples; they were unaware the tomb had been sealed nor that it was being guarded by koustodia.^[1]

Sunrise of Sunday begins the final phase in the sequence of events at the tomb preceded by the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus of Nazareth. A significant number of ten verses in Matthew and eight verses in Mark describe the scenario at the tomb that morning; Luke paraphrased how events at the tomb began.

Calm and quiet quickly took a dramatic turn when Matthew describes a great earthquake occurred. In a matter of moments, the Roman-Jewish legally imposed chain of custody over the body of Jesus was suddenly broken.

^{MT 28:2-4} “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.” _(NKJV)

Angelic beings pointed out to the witnesses at the tomb that it was empty. Witness accounts gathered by the authors of Matthew and Mark describe the tomb being opened by an angel or a young man wearing a wrap-around, brilliant white robe.

Shortly thereafter, Luke’s report describes two men in dazzling apparel.^[2] One speaking angel or two present angels, both can be true.

Seasoned Roman-Jewish military soldiers and the women of Galilee were paralyzed with fear by the traumatic sequence of events. Incapacitated by terror, they watched and listened as the events at the tomb unfolded.

Reactions of witnesses to a traumatic event are indications of what was going through their minds. Matthew reports the chaotic scene that Sunday morning where those present scattered in three directions.

Hardcore military squad and the four women reacted in a similar manner – they all ran away. Mark reports the petrified and dumbstruck women didn’t say a word as they ran from the tomb. Luke said they were “terrified.”

Women of Galilee headed for the location of some of the Disciples. The koustodia split up, some diverting to the Jewish chief priests, the others to destinations unknown.

Reactions to the unbecoming behavior by the koustodia is telling. The guard’s message rang true to the chief priests based on their response to the information.

Chief priests were undoubtedly surprised by this unexpected turn of events. Quickly they assembled the elders of the Jewish Council (possibly including Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea) to deal with their new problem.

Irony of ironies, areJewish leadership had just testified to Pilate the body of Jesus was inside the tomb and had implored him to secure the tomb to prevent the theft of the body. Now they were compelled to address the inexplicable missing body in-spite-of the Roman-Jewish security measures they had implemented. Matthew describes what they decided to do:

^{MT 28:13-14}“You are to say, ‘His disciples came at night and stole his body while we were asleep….’ If this matter is heard before the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.”_(NET)

Further insight to the authority of the koustodia is also revealed. Promising to appease Pilate if the koustodia’s dereliction of duty became an issue, it confirms the guards were ultimately under Pilate’s Roman authority though strongly influenced by the Jewish leadership.

Meanwhile, the women of Galilee arrived at the location of some Disciples. John’s eyewitness Gospel joins the description of events at this point with Mary Magdalene’s bewildered announcement to the Disciples. She is quoted exclaiming:

^{JN 20:2} “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”_(NET)

Two Disciples identified by John, Peter and himself, ran to the tomb to see for themselves finding it empty save for the burial linens. The two returned home in wonderment.

Both the koustodia and the women reported the same event to two different parties describing how the chain of custody had been broken by events at the tomb. Each party hearing the information reacted differently, yet neither party called the reports false.

Four women from Galilee, members of the koustodia, the broken chain of custody, two angels, and the empty tomb are details that are challenging to refute if they are false.

Were the events involving the empty tomb a false narrative or was there a Resurrection?

Updated June 7, 2024.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

NET = NET Bible translation; NKJV = New King James Version translation.

Gospel Resurrection account: Matthew 28, Mark 16; Luke 24, John 20.

[1] “Centuries later, archaeologists opened the tomb of Jesus.” News24hours. photo. 2016. <https://news24hours.in/2016/10/31/centuries-later-archaeologists-opened-the-tomb-of-jesus-christ>
[2] NetBible.org. Greek text. Matthew 28:2, aggelos and katabaino. Mark 16:5, neaniskos, periballo, and stole. Luke 24:4, astrapto and esthesis.