Considering the Bible

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

This particular typology, or picture of Christ is related to the exercise of power and not an intimate act, though in this case violent. It seems beyond my understanding to think of this as a consensual act of intercourse, but rather an act of political power over a servant of the kingdom.

Simply stated, David took Bathsheba.

As I read the portion of Scripture that describes David’s initial meeting with Bathsheba, it appears that David is the instigator, the manipulator, the power broker, and the dominating force on that fateful day. You see, I have generally thought that Bathsheba may have known that David was in eyesight, and that she may have been laying a trap for him, enticing him, drawing him to her.

I am not convinced, for what woman would in her uncleanness perform such a task. Nowhere do I see her other than one that was abused, even raped by a powerful king, and then sent away. David took her and David lay with her. Verse 4 speaks of David acting, not Bathsheba. The only action Bathsheba took was returning to her house. I imagine her walk back was in shame, that she had been treated so violently.

This understanding of the life of Bathsheba establishes for myself a picture of one who has been violently acted upon by one of power. David was the ultimate authority in the nation at the time, and he did what his selfish desires wanted. He raped a woman without regard to the consequences.

One thousand years later, a Man appeared that came in peace, providing healing and encouragement for the poor and broken hearted. His life was of gentleness and humility, yet those in power decided to violently exercise their power, having him shamed and tortured.

They, like David, let their will and base emotions take control of the situation, not considering the outcome. They wanted what they wanted, and they had the power to get it.

Jesus, like Bathsheba, bowed to the force of power, taking the shame and humiliation without response, without restraint. The record states that Jesus despised the shame, and yet He eventually sat at the right hand of the throne of God. We may visit this topic next time, but for now, consider the likeness of the True King to Bathsheba.

Both suffered unjustly.

Both experienced shame.

Both endured violence.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

As we consider Balaam as a picture of the Christ, we cannot think of Balaam without thinking of the donkey he rode. This donkey, in its efforts to keep it’s master Balaam safe, did all it could to avoid certain danger from the Angel of the Lord. It may seem odd to refer to the donkey as an appropriate topic in relation to the Christ, but did not the Master do all He could to keep us from danger, from the Angel of the Lord.

Also, the donkey is quite appropriate to associate with the Master. Though white stallions are often associated with Kings, a careful reading of the Old Testament reveals that when a King rode a donkey, it was due to him coming in peace.

Consider 1 Kings 1:33

And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.

or Judges 5:10, when Deborah and Barak spoke of royalty

Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.

or Judges 10:4, describing the aspirations of Jair the Gieladite

And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.

or Judges 12:14, speaking of Abdon the son of Hillel’s lineage.

He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years.

Though it may seem obvious to associate a donkey as a beast of burden, and find the likeness of the Christ as the Great burden bearer, it may be also appropriate to see the nature and character of peacefulness as a point of similarity in the Messiah.

After all, He came into Jerusalem, as the prophet predicted.

Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
Zechariah 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

For the Prince of Peace entered Jerusalem on a donkey, humble and on a mission of peace

Matthew 21:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”

The sad thing is that though the donkey sought to protect Balaam, as the Christ sought to protect and save His people, both the donkey and the Savior received a punishment from the very ones they were caring for.

Yet, as with all pictures of the Christ, the punishment was not equal, for the Messiah suffered, bled and died a horrible death, completely unlike the relatively minor punishment received by the donkey.

The likeness is found in the unjustness of the punishment, and not necessarily the extent, or depth of punishment experienced!

How unjust for the Savior to suffer for me!

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

At this point in the narrative, Balak and Balaam are together, with Balak still needing that cursing. He really, really needs that cursing, and yet Balaam is constant in his claim that what the Lord speaks, he will speak.

Balaam gives a number of oracles, or prophecies in chapters 23 & 24 that are worthy of review, and the result is that Balak comes away from this time with Balaam, being cursed himself!

It looks like Balaam, on the surface survived the testing and moved on. Yes, he certainly said the right things!

Except, it appears that Moses brings up a time where Balaam provide some counsel to Balak. He rightly did not and could not curse the people of God as a prophet, but as a counsellor to Balak, Balaam was able to provide Balak’s needs.

Numbers 31:16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

After all of Balaam’s “faithfulness” in speaking, in the manner of a prophet, it seems Balaam takes the king aside, and counsels him with some “free” advise.

I can hear ol’ Balaam even now.

“You know king Balak, if you draw the Israelites away from worshipping God with some wild Moabite women, God may not take too kindly to that. Just saying…”

Effective advice, for after the proclamation of Balaam’s oracles, that speak of the Lord Jesus as the Messiah in chapters 23 & 24, immediately we see the Israelites whoring with the daughters of Moab, worshipping Baal at Peor. The result? The anger of the Lord lashes out, killing many of the Israelites!

Balaam’s third temptation may not have been a specific temptation, at least that I can find, but simply a response to the original thought of “a house full of gold and silver”. Balak’s blank check just couldn’t be resisted.

So Balaam provided some counsel!

Numbers 25:3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel.
Numbers 25:4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”
Numbers 25:9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

Balak, for all his efforts, and through all the frustrations he had with Balaam, was able to find success in weakening those people he feared. Twenty four thousand dead, and Balak didn’t have to raise a spear!

Balaam is such a mixed bag. He spoke right, seemed to have the ear of God, and yet caused such devastation to the people of God.

Balaam decided to worship things. He found ways to avoid the conditions God set down for him, and when all was said and done, when all the prophecies were spoken, and when Balak was fully frustrated with Balaam, only then would Balaam let the cat out of the bag, and provide Balak counsel. The prophecies certainly were not satisfying Balak, and when any hope of funds transferring hands seemed to be slipping away, Balaam stepped up for Balak. So disappointing!

For the Lord’s last temptation, He was offered all the glory of the kingdoms of the world. The “house full of gold” that Jesus was tempted with far outshone that which Balaam could have imagined.

But the end result was so different. For the Lord, He sought no “out”, no looking for loopholes in the will of God, no adjustments in who (or what) to worship, no distraction from who He would serve. He resisted to the end! He was not simply avoiding sin, He was seeking God with everything He had.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

In our first consideration of Balaam as a type or picture of the Lord, we find him resisting the initial offering of the king of Moab, fighting off the temptation, and successfully sending the Moabite servants back to Balak.

But Balak, like all tempters, is not to give up easily. He needs Balaam’s “talent” and sends more important folks to discuss with Balaam.

Let’s read the passage and consider how Balaam performs in this second tempation.

Numbers 22:15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these.
Numbers 22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me,
Numbers 22:17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’”
Numbers 22:18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more.
Numbers 22:19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”
Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”
Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

Now before we get into this passage, lets remember this is the temptation that includes Balaam’s donkey chit chatting with him. Although super interesting, this portion of the passage will not be dealt with in this posting.

second Temptation

In this second temptation, Balak offers Balaam great honor and a blank check. He is not simply providing the diviner’s fees as in the last temptation. No no no. Balak offered him an incredible, though generic, offer.

Numbers 22:17 ….whatever you say to me I will do

Balaam, if anything in this passage, is not subtle. He pontificates on his ability to resist – I would suggest this is a great weakness – even as the offer of a blank check is provided.

Numbers 22:18 …”Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more”.

Balaam’s response is awesome. Sounds really good, but I wonder. Why mention gold and silver unless it was on his mind? Could he not have simply said no, that Israel was blessed, and that God was in charge, that God was the One who determined Israel’s future?

Balaam begins to show his inner man, his desire for wealth and power in this temptation. The covering is dropping and his nature becomes a bit more evident than in the first temptation.

Yes Balaam rejected the temptation, but he also seemed to introduce an opportunity for the men of Moab to provide greater motivation for Balaam next time.

You know, I am wondering. Did Balaam actually resist the temptation here? As I read a bit further, and see that God becomes angry with Balaam, I have to ask myself – What is going on? Lets review the passage and check out verse 20 through 22 for some clues.

Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.”
Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
Numbers 22:22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, …

What is it that Balaam did, per the passage above, that might have kindled the anger of the Lord?

You see, Balaam eventually ventured off to Moab with these fellas, but I don’t see where the men came to call on him. Notice in verse 20, that tiny word “if”. Notice that God placed a condition on Balaam’s release to venture off, but it seems Balaam, in his desire for houses full of gold, may have made an assumption he shouldn’t have. He simply rose and went.

God told Balaam to rise. Balaam rose in the morning.

God told Balaam to go with the princes of Moab. Balaam went with the men.

The only thing Balaam didn’t do was to wait for the men to come get him. The silence of the passage referring to the men coming to Balaam is deafening. Balaam simply wanted to go and he simply went.

If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny, for Balaam used that “if” word in response to God’s restricting him while travelling

Numbers 22:34 ESV – Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”

Again, Balaam did not simply bow to the Lord, admit his sin and turn back. Was there something in the circumstances that allowed Balaam to think his sin in travelling, without fulfilling the condition God set, was acceptable? Maybe he was simply looking for an opportunity to continue on his way, hoping for the allowance of God in his mission.

In summary, he refused the offer of the Moabites in verse 18, but told the men to stick around. Maybe God may change His mind, maybe he could work this situation. After that night, and knowing the condition God set, Balaam simply started travelling with the emissaries. Now he is asking if….

Numbers 22:34 … if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”

It turns out God did allow Balaam to venture into the lions den, into Moab and to face the tempter himself, Balak, the king of Moab.

Balaam, by his speech and teaching to the Moabites is looking relatively good. He is speaking of God’s blessing on Israel, and the refusal of cursing upon Israel. Yet he seems to be exhibiting the character traits of a self willed, greedy man.

Jesus, though, did not succumb to His second temptation, nor provide any long winded reasoning or excuse, but simply quoted God’s word. He exhibited the willingness to allow suffering to enter His life, and to not test God, but to be subject to the will of God.

Balaam sought the worlds riches, while Jesus rebuked His tempter. Note that this second temptation of the Messiah speaks of God’s blank check to the Messiah, of His care for the Messiah, of the angels at God’s beck and call for the sake of the Messiah.

Such commitment from the Father to the Son, and to think that that care was relinquished for our sake. Of course, the Father’s eye watched over the Son in every trial and terror, until the last, where the Son willingly suffered for our sakes.

He gave up this promise for us. He gave up all for us. He is so unlike Balaam. He is so unlike us.

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Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible