“How Beautiful are Your Tents, Jacob”
Numbers 24:5
Yahveh showed Balaam the beauty of Israel. “Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord [Yahveh] to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as he did at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God [Elohim] came upon him and he spoke his message. “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from [El Shaddai] the Almighty, who falls prostrate and whose eyes are opened: ‘How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places Israel!’” (Numbers 24:1-5).
“Balaam saw the heart, mind, and purpose of the Holy One of Israel for His Jewish people. And that is what we need to do—to see the beauty of His sovereign will and plan””
HalleluYAH! He saw the beauty and the glory of Yahveh (the LORD), and how it was His love for His people that made them so beautiful. Balaam could see the beauty of the Almighty’s glory in what He did to create the tribes and the tents of Israel that were laid out before him. He now had eyes to see with the perspective of God, and ears to hear the voice of Yahveh (the LORD). This is the same man who could not see what the donkey saw, but now he saw the heart, mind, and purpose of the Holy One of Israel for His Jewish people - that is His passionate heartbeat throughout the Scripture. Here is the preview of Balaam seeing “the light of revelation” as a Gentile because he saw the “glory of His people Israel” (see Luke 2:32). And that is what we need to do—to see the beauty of His sovereign will and plan. We can have eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts filled with delight over the beauty of who He is, what He is all about, what He has done, and what He is going to do.
“Balaam saw the ultimate beauty of what Yahveh would do on the tree of Calvary when He would make Jew and Gentile into “one new man””
“This is what the Sovereign Lord [Yahveh] says: ‘These are the boundaries of the land that you will divide among the twelve tribes of Israel as their inheritance, with two portions for Joseph. …I swore with uplifted hand to give it to your ancestors, this land will become your inheritance. …You are to distribute this land among yourselves, according to the tribes of Israel. You are to allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners [the Gentiles] residing among you and who have children [these were foreigners who had raised their families worshipping the Almighty with Israel]. You are to consider them as native-born Israelites…” (Ezekiel 47:13-14,21-22). HalleluYAH! This is talking about the Messianic Kingdom. Balaam saw the beautiful sight that included the aliens, the Gentiles, who would become, through the blood of Yahshua (Jesus), one with the commonwealth and the promised blessings of Israel. Balaam saw the ultimate beauty of what Yahveh would do on the tree of Calvary when He would make both peoples into “one new man” (see Ephesians 2:14-17).
“…And they [the Gentiles] shall be to you as the native-born among the sons of Israel; they shall be allotted an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And in the tribe with which the alien stays, there you shall give him his inheritance, declares Yahveh” (Ezekiel 47:22-23). “…and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘Yahveh is there’” [Yahveh Shammah] (Ezekiel 48:35). That is why it is so beautiful—Yahveh is in the midst of His people! Through His Son, He has brought all nations and all peoples who love Him together, through the atoning blood of the Passover Lamb who had brought His people out with an outstretched arm, “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob,” for they are filled with the Almighty One’s mercy and goodness. Whoever is far away (the Gentile) is brought near by the blood of Yahshua (Jesus), and whoever is near (the Jew) was brought even closer through the blood of Messiah. Together they bring glory to Yahveh, the Holy One of Israel, and the shout of the King is in their midst!
“Balaam says, “May those who bless you [Israel] be blessed””
“How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your dwellings, O Israel! Like valleys that stretch out, like gardens beside the river, like aloes planted by Yahveh (the LORD), like cedars beside the waters” (Numbers 24:5-6). This describes all who are in Yahshua (Jesus) through His atoning blood, the inheritors of a place with Israel. “Waters will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant living water…” (Numbers 24:7). They are considered native-born Israelites, taking their place in one of those beautiful tribes. Balaam the humble soothsayer was subdued by the beautiful awesomeness of Yahveh (the LORD), along with His sovereign will that pivots around His purpose, plan, and love for Israel. Moved by this, Balaam says, “May those who bless you be blessed” (Numbers 24:9).
Listen to the prophecies in Balaam’s fourth oracle, “…A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab…Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city” (Numbers 24:17-19). Balaam prophesied Messiah!
