Daily Devotion | Numbers 23:27–24:25 | 2026 June 04

Title: Daily Devotion | Numbers 23:27–24:25 | 2026 June 04

Scripture: Numbers 23:27–24:25 (ESV, reference only)

Date: 2026 June 04

Speaker: Rev. John Chen

Transcribed, translated & edited by: Joseph Wang (Yufan)

All right, peace to all dear brothers and sisters. We thank God for His grace. We have come to a new day to study Daily Devotion. The Scripture we are studying today is Numbers chapter 23, verse 27, through the end of chapter 24, verse 25. Let us pray. O God, we thank You for Your grace. Lord, You used a false prophet to speak true prophecy. Lord, You let us know that You are the God who rules over all things. You also let us know, Lord, how greatly You desire us to live a holy life, and Lord, how greatly You love us. Bless us, Lord. We ask You to lead us, so that in this present life, under Your blessing and preservation, we may live a holy life and also receive the preservation of Your lovingkindness. In the name of Christ, amen.

All right, let us look at Balaam’s third prophecy. In the first two prophecies, as we said, Balaam used divination and wanted to curse Israel. He exhausted all his schemes and devices. He wanted to obtain the money and possessions that Balak would give him. But the word of God was in him, and he did not dare not to speak it. In the first section of prophecy, what was spoken forth was that the people of Israel were numerous, and that people would desire to be numbered among the people of Israel. In the second section of prophecy, it showed that Israel had no iniquity and was holy, and that they would have great power. These were two words of blessing. After these two times, Balaam should have turned back, and Balak also should have known. But these wicked kings, false prophets, and false priests still wanted to continue afflicting the people of God. Balak said to Balaam, “Go to another place; perhaps from there you may be willing to curse them for me.” His purpose was still to curse them. So Balak led Balaam to the mountain overlooking the wilderness, and Balaam still said, “Build for me seven altars, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams.”

Now, very clearly, this third prophecy is different from the first two. In the first two, he used divination. Chapter 24 says this very clearly: he did not go, as at other times, to seek omens. So he had sought omens, but he had not succeeded. God restrained Balaam’s mouth and made him speak words of blessing. This time he did not seek omens. If he did not seek omens, then what did he do? He faced toward the wilderness. Here there is a passage, a verse, that is especially marvelous: he lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe, and the Spirit of God came upon him. So here we do indeed have a question: can the Spirit of God come upon a false prophet? Very clearly, here, He can. That is to say, the Spirit of God, sometimes according to His mighty purpose and holy purpose, can descend upon some unbelievers, even upon those who resist the one true God, and make them speak words that accord with God’s will. Because the following two sections of prophecy are clearly the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit used Balaam, this stubborn and rebellious false prophet, to speak true prophetic words of blessing. When the Holy Spirit departed, the vessel was then struck down and later fell under judgment. So here we can see that the Spirit of God can do anything. The Spirit of God can use a donkey and make it open its mouth. The Spirit of God can use a false prophet like Balaam, who was as stubborn and rebellious as a donkey. In short, God’s purpose must be accomplished. So when a person insists on resisting God, in fact, he has no way to resist Him. This also broadens and enlarges our horizon. Sometimes we may think, “It seems that the Spirit of God only comes upon the children of God.” Actually, that is not the case. The Spirit of God can still come upon these Gentiles, even upon those who resist God. But the purpose is to carry out what God wants them to carry out, and then He departs. This is not indwelling. This is not the Spirit of God indwelling among the children of God. So these are two different matters.

All right, let us look at the third section of prophecy. The third section says that this is the man whose eye is opened, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered. This is what he says when the Spirit of God comes upon him. What does he say next? He speaks of the tents of Jacob and the tabernacles of Israel. Here, you can understand this in this way. The New Chinese Version translates it as “tabernacles” and “tents.” So the meaning should be that, first of all, it is praising the tabernacle of Yahweh, the tent of meeting. God’s tent of meeting is among the Israelites. It praises the perfection of the tent of meeting, and also the perfection of the tents of Israel. The images he uses next are images of Eden. So it is as if he saw the Garden of Eden. The Israelites become a people of a new Eden. So this is the point.

Although he is a false prophet, what he speaks is true prophecy. It shows that when God is present with the Israelites, they are called Eden. They are like valleys stretching afar, like gardens beside a river. Water flows from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters. What does this mean? It should be said that the New Chinese Version’s translation may be a little more accurate: “His descendants shall be in many waters.” Water will flow out from within him. Eden had four rivers flowing out of it, remember? Right? His descendants shall be in many waters. The “seed” should refer to descendants. His descendants will come to places of many waters; that is, the Israelites will spread throughout the whole earth. His king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. Who exactly is this King Agag? People have different explanations. But when we combine it with the following context, it should refer to Agag, king of the Amalekites. It should be so, because later it will speak concerning the Amalekites. So in the prophecy, it tells us that even Amalek, which at that time was a fierce and cruel—well, we cannot really say empire, because at that time we cannot speak in that way—but a fierce and cruel tribe or nation, would be destroyed, and the kingdom would be lifted up.

God brought him out of Egypt; he has the strength of a wild ox. What will he do? He will eat up the nations, his adversaries, break their bones in pieces, and pierce them through with arrows. He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like a lioness. This section prophesies the strength of Israel. They will stand up in the world with very great authority, like a lion. The last sentence of the prophecy is: Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you. This Scripture is true prophecy. Although it is spoken by a false prophet, it is true prophecy. This true prophecy is the same as God’s prophecy concerning Abraham: those who bless you will be blessed, and those who curse you will be cursed. This is the word of God repeated once more. But when it is placed in this setting, it is especially humiliating to Balak. Why? Because Balak is the very one who wants to curse the Israelites. So here it is saying: You want to curse the Israelites? Then you will be cursed. Balak will be cursed. So the conclusion of this third prophecy is truly a humiliation of Balak. He made so many schemes and invited Balaam to come, but in the end the result is this result. So Balak became angry with Balaam.

He said, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Now hurry back to your own place. I said I would certainly honor you greatly, but Yahweh has held you back from honor.” This means, “Balaam, you made this trip for nothing. You have nothing now. I will not give anything to you.” Here, in the translation of the Chinese Union Version and the New Chinese Version, verse 11 says, “Now flee back to your place.” Here the New Chinese Version translates it as, “Now quickly go back to your own place.” Perhaps this word can be translated as “quickly go back,” and it can also be understood as “flee back.” I think this is a matter of different choices by translators, but “flee back” is very vivid. It may also fit the background at that time, because at this point Balak may have wanted to kill Balaam. “Quickly flee. Hurry back.” Balaam was still being stubborn with his mouth: “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me? I cannot go beyond the command of Yahweh, to do either good or bad.” So the shrewd Balaam still gained the upper hand with his words, right? “I told you this when I came, did I not?” Right? We have already analyzed the deceit in his heart, so we will not repeat it here.

Balaam then prophesied once more, speaking of the situation that would come afterward. So regarding God’s use of Balaam, God was saying, “I will not only make you bless Israel three times; I will also make you speak forth the prophecies concerning the nations that you have seen. You must utter true prophecy.” So from this perspective, although Balaam was unwilling, and although Balaam wanted gold and silver, God still used Balaam, this vessel, to complete His mission. What did Balaam say? The words at the beginning are still spoken while the Holy Spirit is upon him. What does he say?

In another prophecy, he says that a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel. This is prophetic. It means that in Israel there will appear a king. This king will crush the corners of Moab and destroy all the sons of tumult. He will gain possession of Edom, and gain possession of Seir, the land of his enemies. Israel shall act courageously. One from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities. So the fourth section of prophecy, Balaam’s fourth prophecy, is spoken with reference to the Messiah. It is saying that in Israel there will appear a Redeemer. This Redeemer is a King, and this King will rule the world as it was known at that time. We know that the first fulfillment of this prophecy very clearly points to David. In the Davidic kingdom, David ruled over the nations of the Middle East as they were known at that time. This was a realization, a partial realization, of this prophecy. Of course, we know that the final realization of this prophecy must wait until the second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ will unite all authority under heaven and earth. So this is Balaam’s fourth prophecy.

So when we look at Balaam’s four prophecies as a whole, step by step they become blessings for the Israelites, and they also tell the Israelites what kind of blessing they will receive. The first section explains the strength and flourishing of Israel, that many peoples all desire to come to the Israelites. The second matter, the second blessing, speaks of the strength of the Israelites, the strength of a wild ox. The third section of prophecy is still prophesying Israel’s strength. They will be like Eden. The place where they dwell will be like Eden. They will surpass the powerful nations of that time. They will conquer the whole world of that time. Those who bless them will be blessed, and those who curse them will be cursed. This prophecy concerning Abraham will be fulfilled upon this people of Israel. Then when it comes to the fourth prophecy, it says that a mighty One will come forth and will rule the whole world. The early form of the Messiah has already appeared here. Balaam still has several more sections of prophecy to utter; this is the mission God has laid upon him to complete.

First, it speaks concerning Amalek. Amalek is the first among the nations. Is not his king Agag? He will come to destruction. The dwelling place of the Kenites was originally good, but the Kenite shall be consumed, until Asshur carries you away captive. As for how exactly the Kenites were carried away by Asshur, this matter probably happened when the Assyrian Empire arose. This is a record concerning a period of warfare. In the land of the Middle East, Asshur would be raised up and would unify the world of that time.

The third section of prophecy is that Asshur will still be destroyed. Asshur will still be destroyed. As for who exactly the one coming from Kittim refers to, this is indeed a question. The Assyrian Empire was destroyed by the Babylonian Empire, and the Babylonian Empire was then destroyed by the Persian Empire. So the island of Kittim probably refers to people from the Greek side, Spain, Greece. These people came and destroyed. So at that time, as we know from history, later the whole region of the Middle East became the center of the world. Babylon, Asshur, all of these were in the region of the Middle East, in Mesopotamia.

Then those who came from Kittim were the Greek Empire. So this speaks very far into the future, right? You see, after Asshur came Babylon; after Babylon came Persia; and only after Persia came Greece. This prophecy later appears in this way in the book of Daniel. But here, all at once, it mentions that those from Kittim will afflict Asshur and afflict Eber, and they will also come to destruction. So here, what we see is the progressiveness of revelation.

That is to say, here, this passage of Scripture, from verse 20 to verse 24, is actually God, through the false prophet Balaam, prophesying the development of the whole history of mankind. This kind of prophetic pattern will repeatedly appear later in the prophetic books. After the prophets speak concerning the history of Israel, and after the raising up of a deliverer, they will also constantly mention, for example, that Aram will be judged, that Nineveh will be judged, and so on. This pattern of prophetic prophecy has already appeared here. Here, the prophet whom God uses, including a false prophet like Balaam, prophesies the history of human development. What does this history tell us? All these empires cannot last forever, until one true Ruler, the One who holds great authority, will come forth. So this is the implication of his prophecy. Here you see, he prophesies concerning three empires. One is—well, we should not say an empire of Amalek—but this nation of Amalek will come to destruction.

The second is that he prophesies the rise of the Assyrian Empire. And there is also the rise of an empire from Kittim, which destroys Asshur. We have said that what he speaks here reaches very far into the future. Of course, Balaam himself certainly did not know what was going on. But when we look from the later history, we can see that this prophecy points to the development of the whole subsequent history of mankind over several thousand years. Of course, it is very, very vague, and there are also many leaps in between. For example, when the Greeks came to destroy, what they destroyed was actually no longer Assyria. What the Greeks destroyed was the Persian Empire. But the line of development is clear. This is a prophecy concerning the history of the development of the world.

So here, in verses 20 to 24, what information should we receive? It is that God uses prophets, including a false prophet like Balaam, to prophesy the history of all mankind, telling them that the rise and fall of these empires are in God’s hand. As for Moab at that time, there is no need even to speak of it; it had long since disappeared and no one knows where it went. So God rules over the whole history of mankind. And who is the One who truly holds authority at the end? He comes out of Israel. The descendant of Jacob, such a King, is the true Messiah. Very clearly, this points to Jesus Christ, to the coming of the heavenly kingdom, and finally to the second coming of Jesus Christ, when He will rule the whole world.

So when the prophecy of the prophets speaks concerning the rise and fall of the nations, what is its purpose? It is to remind and warn these kings on earth: your royal authority will not last long. The purpose for which I give you these kingdoms and this authority is to carry out My judgment. The One who finally rules over the rise and fall of kingdoms is Me, Yahweh. The final servant whom I raise up, the One who holds great authority, the King of whom it is said, “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel,” will rule the whole human society. This is the purpose of prophetic prophecy. So we thank God for His mercy. Here, through the false prophet Balaam, God has already prophesied the whole history of mankind, and has pointed out that the final Redeemer, the final Savior, comes from Jacob, and that a scepter shall rise out of Israel. Of course, here also, in the fourth section of prophecy, Moab is mentioned.

What will be the result for Moab? In verse 17, Moab will certainly be crushed. Moab has no good outcome, right? You wanted to come and curse Israel? In the end, God has already told you your result through the false prophet, namely, that the corners of Moab will be crushed, and the sons of tumult will be destroyed. So this is concerning the whole prophecy of Balaam.

In verse 25, you need to pay attention: “Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.” Here, in fact, later in Deuteronomy, Moses’s description of this is very clear. So here, before Balaam went back, he still gave Balak a scheme. That is why the events of chapter 25 happened. The events of chapter 25 were the idea Balaam gave to Balak. He had no way to curse the Israelites, but he still wanted to obtain Balak’s gold and silver. What should he do? He gave Balak an idea. He said, “You should send people to seduce the Israelites and make them sin. After they sin, this God will come and strike the Israelites.” In the end, his wicked scheme succeeded. So Balaam, in the end—this is not recorded in verse 25 here, but later it is mentioned in Deuteronomy.

So how wicked Balaam was. In the end, he still wanted to get this gold and silver. Truly, we ask God for mercy. Ah, truly, the human heart is just like this. When it is filled with evil desires, it will always think up all kinds of schemes. Later in the following Scriptures, God Himself also repeatedly says to the Israelites, “I did not allow Balaam to curse you,” showing God’s love for the Israelites.

This Scripture is recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 23. Here it shows God’s will. Deuteronomy chapter 23, verse 4: “because they did not meet you with bread and with water on the way, when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. But Yahweh your God would not listen to Balaam; instead Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you.”

Verse 6 says, “You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever.” This is what Moses said in Deuteronomy chapter 23. So from here we see that the reason God wanted to stop Balaam has already been explained by Moses: because Yahweh your God loved you. In Joshua chapter 24, verses 9 and 10, these are also words spoken by God. Joshua chapter 24, verse 2: Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel.” So this is a section of God’s words. In Joshua chapter 24, verse 9, it says, “Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and fought against Israel. And he sent and invited Balaam the son of Beor to curse you. But I would not listen to Balaam. Indeed, he blessed you again and again. So I delivered you out of his hand.”

These two passages are God’s own speech. Why did God do this? Because of God’s love for the Israelites, His love for the Israelites. So I think that in this story, what we read is Scripture’s self-interpretation, Scripture already interpreting Scripture. What we read is God’s love for the Israelites, God’s preservation of the Israelites. So God did not listen to Balaam, the false prophet, when he used the method of divination. Instead, it became a blessing for the Israelites. So may God lead us to understand this passage of Scripture more deeply.

God used a false prophet to utter a section of true prophecy. It is a prophecy concerning the coming of the Messiah. It explains that the Israelites will rise up and will possess the whole world. I think that in such an example, it truly can be applied to us Christians. What does this mean? The true coming of the Messianic kingdom will be at the return of Jesus Christ. And we, this group of God’s people, we also will—in fact, we are the same. We also have the strength of a wild ox. We also will crush the enemy nations. We also will crouch and lie down like a male lion and like a lioness. We also must rise up in this age to be light and salt. We must rise up in this age to preach the gospel widely. I think this is the reminder this passage of Scripture gives us: these prophecies are finally fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and the prophecy concerning Israel must also be fulfilled upon us, so that we may become a people who can truly and courageously go to war against this world, so that the glory of God may be highly lifted up and displayed. All right, our sharing today will simply stop here. Thank you, everyone.