“The Oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eyes 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 eyes uncovered” (Num. 24:15-16).
A full three chapters of Numbers are devoted to the Balaam story, making it by far the longest narrative in the book. The question is why. Why would this much space be devoted to the exploits and oracles of a pagan prophet? One answer lies in its position in the book. The story occurs after a series of Israel’s rebellions and failures to keep the covenant. In the midst of their rebellion and wandering, the Balaam story illustrates to Israel that even in the midst of their wilderness they are still the covenant people of God. No pagan king or pagan prophet, no matter the amount of gold, no matter the amount of sacrifice, no matter the amount of perceived spiritual influence, can undo what God has done in binding himself to a people. It is the Lord who has declared Israel to be his treasured possession among the nations (Ex. 19:5).
But there is more to Balaam’s prominence. Israel had forgotten not only their privileged place, but also the power of the God who promised his allegiance and because of this they fundamentally doubted the goodness of God. The wilderness had become their only reality because they did not rehearse the covenant, and they had forgotten their mighty deliverance from Egypt, the words of blessing and covenant at Sinai, and the provision of God in the desert. So through the mouth of a pagan prophet, God choose to remind his people of all he had done.
Balaam, the internationally renowned prophet, is helpless before the power of the Lord. Balaam, in the midst of his oracle, asks, “How can I curse whom God has not cursed?” In Balaam’s utterance Israel is reminded that the Lord is the one who blesses and curses and the Lord is the one who opens and closes. God had opened Balaam’s eyes, so that his oracles, was “the oracle of the man whose eye is opened” (Num. 24:3; 25:15). God has opened Balaam’s mouth because of “the Lord [who] put a word in Balaam’s mouth” (Num.23:5). And when he opens his mouth to speak, the words of Balaam’s oracles are stunning. He rehearses the covenant for Israel. He reminds them of their privelage. He reminds them of the might in the Lord. But most stunning of all, Balaam prophesies a coming king, who will crush the enemies of God, “a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel” (Num. 24:17). This is the Messianic promise, the coming Christ, who is the true seed of Abraham who will be a blessing to all nations. In the end, the prominence of Balaam, has much to do with God’s plan to use his treasured possession Israel to bless all people’s in all places through the coming of the true and better Israel, Christ himself. In light of that vision, we all must fall down with eyes uncovered.