Advent Day 16 Numbers 24:15-17

“And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, 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 with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.” (Numbers 24:15-17)

If you ask someone about Balaam, you will most likely hear about His talking Donkey. But, upon seeing and hearing the angel of God, Balaam became much more. Balaam was an oracle of the Lord and delivered a messianic prophecy to the Moabites. The very prophecy we find in today's verse.

What is interesting is that the words spoken by Balaam are very similar to the words written by John in the Book of Revelation. John wrote, “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”(22:16) Balaam, some 1500 years before the cross, prophesied the very thing Christ, on this side of the cross, spoke to John on Patmos during his imprisonment there.

Balaam also spoke similar words to those that God spoke somewhere around 2500-2600 years earlier to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (Genesis 3:15 NIV)

You see, scripture confirms itself, sometimes thousands of years later. Genesis 3 confirms Numbers 24, which confirms Revelation 22. God is no fool, nor is His Word. God provided us with Scripture, which tells the story of creation, humanity, salvation, and the second coming of Christ. You need only read the Bible and look at the sciences, geology, history, archaeology, and other fields to see them confirm the testimony of the Word of God. Believe in the Word of God, they are the breathed words of the Almighty given to the inspired authors of every book of the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The Advent celebration we observe every year commemorates the true events in the life of Christ. His incarnation in the flesh. Becoming a man to have the ability to pay for man's sins yet remain sinless. Imputing His righteousness upon us while bearing the death sentence we deserved. This Advent, will you not remember the beginning of the Word that became flesh, the begotten Son of the Father who came to save us, the wicked, from our sins? Amen.

Grace and Peace.

Advent Prayer Day 16

Lord God, Heavenly King,

Help us to remember your sole purpose in coming in the flesh.

This Advent, help us to see the unity of the Bible and its reliability.

Open our eyes to the depth and breadth of your Word.

Whilst we remain weak and easily tempted by sin, let the Spirit strengthen or weakness, and convict us in our failures.

Open our hearts and let us grow in sanctification, relishing in our assurances in Christ, that we cannot be plucked from Your hand.

The day of the birth of our Savior draws nearer, draw us nearer to You, that we may have a profound understanding of the gift You have provided for Your children.

For His sake and in His name, then holy name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.