Numbers 24:15 - Meaning and Application

The work of prophets was both to bless and to speak in the Lord’s name. Balaam, as a prophet, had already been forced to bless Israel, and now he foretells future events. His opening words are much like those in Numbers 24:3, 24:4. He acts like a true prophet very well, because God allowed and directed him to do so, even though his own heart was not right.

He boasts that his eyes are open, because prophets were once called seers (1 Samuel 9:9). They had to speak what they had seen, so before they opened their mouths, their eyes had to be open. He also says that he has heard the words of God, which many people hear without taking them in or obeying them. He adds that he knows the knowledge of the Most High. A person may have much knowledge about God and still lack God’s grace, receiving the truth in his mind but not loving it in his heart. Balaam also says that he saw the vision of the Almighty, but not in a way that changed him.

He gives God very high titles, calling him the Most High and the Almighty. No one could speak more respectfully of God or seem to value knowing him more. Yet Balaam still had no true fear of God, no real love for him, and no faith in him. A person may get very near to heaven and still fall short of it.

Balaam then speaks of the one who would be the crown and glory of Israel. In one sense, this points to David, who, after some time, would strike Moab’s corners and take possession of Mount Seir, while Israel would act bravely under him (Numbers 24:17, 18). This was fulfilled when David defeated Moab and measured them with a line, so that the Moabites became David’s servants (2 Samuel 8:2). At the same time, the Edomites were also brought under Israel’s rule (Numbers 24:14).

But the main point is Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. This is a striking prophecy about him. God wanted word of Christ’s coming to reach not only the Jews, but also other nations, long before he came, because his gospel and kingdom would spread far beyond Israel’s borders. Balaam says, “I shall see him, but not now,” meaning that he saw him in vision, but very far off, at least 1,500 years away. Or we may take it this way, Balaam, a wicked man, would see Christ, but not near at hand, and not as Job saw him, as his Redeemer and for himself (Job 19:25, 27). When Christ comes in the clouds, every eye will see him, but many will see him only from a distance, like the rich man in hell saw Abraham.

Christ is said to come out of Jacob and Israel as a star and a sceptre. The star shows his glory and brightness, like the bright morning star. The sceptre shows his power and rule, for it is he who will have dominion. Perhaps this prophecy, remembered among eastern peoples, helped lead the wise men from the east to ask for the one born king of the Jews when they saw an unusual star over Judea (Matthew 2:2).

His kingdom will be worldwide and victorious over every enemy. David’s victories over Moab and Edom were a picture of this. The Messiah will destroy, or, as some read it, rule over, all the children of Seth (Numbers 24:17), meaning all people, since all nations come from Seth, son of Adam, after the rest of Adam’s sons were cut off by the flood. Christ will be king not only of Jacob and Israel, but of the whole world. All the children of Seth will either be ruled by his golden sceptre or struck by his iron rod. He will set up his own universal rule, authority, and power, and bring down every opposing power (1 Corinthians 15:24). Some read it as, “He will unwall all the children of Seth.” That is, he will tear down their defenses and false hopes, so they must either submit to his rule or stand open to his judgments.

His Israel will also act bravely. Those who belong to Christ, strengthened by his power, will wage spiritual war against the powers of darkness and be more than conquerors. Those who know their God will be strong and do great things (Daniel 11:32).

Balaam then speaks about the Amalekites and the Kenites, whose land he may have been looking toward at the time. The Amalekites were then the chief of the nations (Numbers 24:20), which is why Agag was called a great prince earlier (Numbers 24:7). They were also the first nation to attack Israel after the exodus from Egypt. But the time would come when, however great they looked, they would be completely ruined and wiped out. “His latter end shall be that he perish forever.” Balaam confirms the doom of Amalek that Moses had already announced (Exodus 17:14, 16), where God swore to have war with Amalek from generation to generation. Those whom God fights against will surely perish, because when God judges, he always wins.

The Kenites were then the safest of the nations. Their home was naturally strong, as if nature itself had built their defenses. They placed their nest, like an eagle, in a rock (Numbers 24:21). They thought they were secure, yet the Kenites would be wasted (Numbers 24:22) and slowly brought low until they were carried away captive by the Assyrians, as happened in the captivity of the ten tribes. Bodies politic, meaning nations and kingdoms, are like human bodies, even the strongest ones decay over time and finally fall apart. Even a nest in a rock is no lasting protection.

Balaam then looks far ahead, even to the time of the Greeks and Romans, who are likely meant by the coast of Chittim in verse 24. He begins this part of the prophecy with a question: “Alas! who shall live when God does this?” Here he admits that all changes in kingdoms and states are the work of the Lord. God does this, whatever human tools he uses. But Balaam speaks sadly about these events and sees them as fearful. His question may mean that these things are so far in the future that no one can know who will live to see them. Or it may mean that they will be so dreadful and destructive that hardly anyone will escape alive. Who can live when death rides in triumph (Revelation 6:8)? Those who live then will be like brands pulled out of the fire, with their lives given to them as plunder. God prepare us for the worst times.

The prophecy itself is also notable. Greece and Italy both lie near the sea, so their armies were often sent out in ships.

He now seems to predict that the Greek armies would humble and bring down the Assyrians, who were joined with the Persians. This was fulfilled when Alexander the Great overran the eastern lands. He also predicts that the Greek and Roman powers would afflict the Hebrews, that is, the Jews, the descendants of Eber. That began to happen when the Greek empire oppressed the Jewish nation, but it came most fully when the Roman empire destroyed it and brought it to an end.

But he also says that Chittim, meaning the Roman empire, into which the Greek empire was finally absorbed, would itself perish forever. That will happen when the stone cut out of the mountain without hands destroys all these kingdoms, especially the feet of iron and clay (Daniel 2:34). As Dr. Lightfoot says, Balaam, instead of cursing the church, curses Amalek, the first enemy of God’s people, and Rome, the last. So let all your enemies perish, O Lord!