Mensa Otabil - A Scepter of Israel
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Well, as we get close to Christmas, we are looking at prophecies concerning the birth of Jesus Christ and what it means to us today. So today, we look at the Book of Numbers, chapter 24, and verse 17. It reads, «I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel, and batter the brow of Moab, and destroy all the sons of tumult.»
This prophecy was made by a very unlikely person, and his name is Balaam. Balaam was a false prophet, and he was a prophet for hire. People who hired him paid him money to go and make a prophecy. He was hired by a king called Balak, who was the king of Moab. This was at a time when Israel was in the wilderness; they were going to the promised land, but they were in the wilderness, and the nations were afraid of them. The Moabites were very afraid because they had heard about the story of Israel and what they had done to the Ammonites.
So now, King Balak goes to hire the false prophet Balaam. He says, «Go and speak a curse over Israel.» So he collects his money and goes, planning to declare a curse over Israel. When he goes, he opens his mouth to declare the curse, but then a blessing comes out. It goes on for many instances, and this is the culmination of what Balaam said. He is talking about an individual; he says, «I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near.» What does that mean? In other words, I see something in the spirit; I see an individual, but the person is not here now, or it’s not going to happen now; it’s going to happen in the future.
Something will happen in the future that will bring liberty to God’s people. He talks about two things describing this individual. He says a star shall come out of Jacob, which means that this person will be a star; he will be bright, he will be brilliant — he would be, quote -unquote, a heavenly person. So I see a star coming out of Israel, and that is the best description this false prophet could use to describe Jesus-that he will be a star. Many people believe that the star that guided the wise men to the birthplace of Jesus was in response to this prophecy.
It’s not clear whether it’s a direct response, but what we can say is that even Balaam, the false prophet, couldn’t help but speak about the coming Messiah. God has His way of using unusual people to declare His purposes. He says a star will come; a heavenly individual will appear and shine in the darkness of our world. He will shine bright. The second thing he says about this individual coming in the future is that a scepter — a scepter is the rod of rulership -will also emerge. This person is not just going to be a star; this person is going to be a scepter. He is going to have authority; he is going to have rulership.
Now, remember this: Balaam is supposed to speak against Israel, and now he says that this individual who comes out of Israel, the star and the scepter, will destroy all the other nations, including Moab. When he says that he will destroy Moab, it doesn’t mean he will destroy them physically, but the gods, the idols, the worship of Moab will be destroyed by this star and this scepter that will come out of Israel. In Christ Jesus, the star and the scepter appear; He brought light and the kingdom of God into our lives.
Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, may the star and scepter of Christ overrule every evil conspiracy against Your purposes. In Jesus' name, amen and amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. Pastor Mensa Otabil, shalom, peace, and life to you.