Numbers 1:1

The LORD spoke to Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the Desert of Sinai on the first day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites came out of Egypt. He said:

It has only been two years, or it's in the second year. It's been a very short time since the Exodus.

Numbers 1:2-5a

"Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one. You and Aaron are to number by their divisions all the men in Israel twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army. One man from each tribe, each the head of his family, is to help you. These are the names of the men who are to assist you

God tells them to take a census.

Numbers 1:17-19

Moses and Aaron took these men whose names had been given, and they called the whole community together on the first day of the second month. The people indicated their ancestry by their clans and families, and the men twenty years old or more were listed by name, one by one, as the LORD commanded Moses. And so he counted them in the Desert of Sinai

One of the things we look at in the New Testament is the lineage of Christ. What is the ancestry of Christ? This tells you from the beginning that God has impressed on the people to record their ancestry. When you talk about an Orthodox Jew, they place great importance on their ancestries. This is why. We will find, later on, that some people lost their ancestors. It was devastating to them and their families. You wanted to protect your ancestry. You wanted to remember who your family was.

Number 2:1-3

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "The Israelites are to camp around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it, each man under his standard with the banners of his family." On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.

Here is an interesting thing. Who was the firstborn of Jacob? Reuben. Who's the first in line here? Judah. What is the lineage of Christ? Judah. The Bible concentrates on the lineage of Christ. Here's the Old Testament portion of the Bible, written well before the New Testament. Why didn't Reuben come first? If you go back and look, Judah is the lineage that God chose.

Take a look at the picture of the encampment and movements of the Israelites:

Numbers 4:29

"Count the Merarites by their clans and families.

This is just a sub-tribe of one of the other tribes.

Numbers 4:30-31

Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the Tent of Meeting. This is their duty as they perform service at the Tent of Meeting: to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases,

What are these people supposed to do? It was their assignment. God said, "This is what you are supposed to do to carry on the very existence/dwelling of God among the people." This is what these people were assigned to do.

Numbers 4:32-33

as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest."

Some people are assigned to carry tent pegs. I like that. That's the mentality we are to have in the church today. Do you mind carrying a "tent peg"? What is a "tent peg" in our church today? The coffee maker, keeping three-year-olds once a month, greeters, helping someone in the parking lot, etc. Those are "tent peg" carriers. There is a similarity between this and what we call "church." This is the dwelling place of God. If the pillar of cloud got up and moved, the Hebrews moved.

This wasn't by chance...
"Well, did anyone grab the tent pegs?"
"I don't know. Didn't you get them?"
"No, I didn't get them. Did you?"

Everyone was assigned a duty to make sure they carried out this relationship with God. That's what I want you to see. I'm not making this up. We can go over to the New Testament where it says that God has placed the members of the body of Christ (the church) as He pleases. Every one of you, get involved in the church (not just First Baptist, but the body of Christ). You have something to do. You have been given a gift and you are to use it. It's not, "come to church, soak it all in, and leave." It's "come, give, and serve." That's what it's all about. This was an example of that.

Numbers 6:22-26

The LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron and his sons, `This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them:" ' "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." '

This is a famous blessing. Many of you have heard this before. I just wanted to point out where it was.

That word "peace" in the Hebrew, Shalom, does not mean just that you have a quiet feeling, but that you have a wholeness and a wellness. It's a completeness about a person. That's a blessing I wanted to point out to you.

Numbers 9:15-17

On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.

Who was leading them? God was. It's a theocracy. They didn't take a vote and say, "Well, should we be moving now or not?" "Well, I don't know. I'm pretty tired. Let's wait until tomorrow." What did they do? They said, "We'll let God direct us." How did God move them? When did God decide to move them? It was His discretion and His sovereign will. It wasn't their decision, "Hey. I've been looking at this rock for ten days. It's time to move on. I've seen this rock, I know this rock, and I want a new rock to look at." No. They said, "We're going to follow God. If God wants us here three weeks, we'll be here for three weeks. If it's two days, we'll stay for two days and then move on." Later on, there is a chapter that covers all of their settlements or camps. You can read about those later.

<How big was the Tent of Meeting?>

It wasn't that big. It was about a fourth of the size of a football field.

Numbers 9:18-20

At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out.

How was this relationship? It's good. It's working well.

Numbers 9:23

At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

They are in obedience. Everything is looking good right now.

Numbers 10 talks about the silver trumpets. We don't have enough time to talk about it here. It's another story. The similarities between these trumpets and the trumpets in Revelation are unbelievable. It will send chills up your spine as you read about the seven trumpets blown to lead these people out. If you have two million people, you don't just holler, "Hey! It's time to go." Each one had a trumpet call. When that trumpet sounded, they moved out. That's how it was ordered.

Numbers 11:4

The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat!

Who is the "rabble"? Does anybody know who this is? Do remember that when the Hebrews left Egypt, some "others" went with them? They were non-Israelites. They were Egyptians. These are the rabble. These are the other people who went with them. They said, "Hey, wait a minute. Maybe there's something to this God." Or maybe they were tired of Egypt. For whatever reason, others left Egypt besides the descendants of the twelve tribes from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They picked a tribe and stuck with them.

This is an important lesson for us. We could be going well as a church. We could be going well as a Sunday School class: hitting on all eight cylinders, we're giving, we're serving, etc. And then some "rabble" come in and what do they say? What do the "rabble" say in a church? "The youth music wasn't good." "We have too much Bible Study and not enough fellowships." That's what the rabble are saying. "We want different food. I've had too much of this manna. I want something else now. I'm tired of manna." Who gave them the manna? God did and they have survived on it.

The rabble started it--the people who were not part of them. I'm not saying all of them were, but some of the rabble began pointing out things of the world. That's what I want you to see. Everybody was being obedient. Everything was going well.

And then someone said,
"You know, I'm tired of this stuff. Aren't you tired of manna?"
"Well, now that you mention it, I am too."
"Well let's go complain to Moses then. We have a right to."

Do you get the picture? Now none of us would ever do that, would we? We're always on target with God. We always understand what God wants us to do.

Numbers 11:5-6

We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost--also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!"

Listen to that, "at no cost." They were in slavery but there was no cost!!?

Numbers 11:10-15

Moses heard the people of every family wailing, each at the entrance to his tent. The LORD became exceedingly angry, and Moses was troubled. He asked the LORD, "Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? Where can I get meat for all these people? They keep wailing to me, `Give us meat to eat!' I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now--if I have found favor in your eyes--and do not let me face my own ruin."

Can you see this?

Uh Oh! Moses is feeling bad, too.

How's Moses doing? He's whining, too. How long have they been out of Egypt? They're in the second year, right? How long are you willing to last on something God has told you to wait for and be patient with?

Hasn't God already told them what the future holds? He says, "I have a Land for you. It's full of milk and honey. I know what it's going to be. You're going to have this. It's already yours. You're going to go get it." And what are you saying? "God, that's the future. I want it now. I want something now." God says, "OK, I'll give you manna for now. Will you be patient with me? Will you persevere? Will you just give me time?" And what do we say? "No, God, that's not enough."

Numbers 11:16-17

The LORD said to Moses: "Bring me seventy of Israel's elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the Tent of Meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.

There are two things I like about this passage:

1. It tells you about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament came and went. God assigned the Holy Spirit to empower people with the Holy Spirit. He assigned people who were not Israelites, people who were not "holy", with the Holy Spirit. That was how God used or carried out His commands or what He wanted to do. You'll find that all throughout the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we have the promise of the Holy Spirit in each one of us. That's what Christ said, "I must leave so that the Spirit can come and when He comes He will indwell you." You are sitting here today with the same Holy Spirit that was on Moses. God said, "I'll take that same Holy Spirit and put it on these seventy." That's the awesomeness of what you have today compared to what they had back then. We don't see the pillar of fire, though. They had some things we don't have today. We have faith.
2. After this seventy come about, it's very interesting, the seventy become a "clique" or a standard, traditional group of people in the Hebrew/Israelite/Jewish world culture. When you get over to the time of Christ with the Sanhedrin and Pharisees (who tried Jesus the night he was betrayed), does anyone want to guess how many were in the council? 70. They kept the same seventy. Here's a root or source of that seventy.

Numbers 13:1-2

The LORD said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."

Doesn't this sound a little confusing? Who told them to send spies? It says, "the LORD," doesn't it? If you read Moses' address in Deuteronomy, Moses said that the people actually went to God and begged and pleaded to send spies first. God said, "OK, go ahead and send them." That's what happens. You can read the background over in Deuteronomy. It's kind of like you want to do something in your life but you're not sure it's God's will. After a while, you begin to think that it's God's will and you say, "Well, God told me to do this." You really have to go back and ask, "Now who really wanted to do this to begin with? Me or God?" Do you see what I'm saying here? It's not that God wanted us to do it. We wanted to do it and He allowed us to out of His permissive will, not His perfect will. He said, "I've already given it to you. You don't need spies, but if you want to send twelve in, go ahead." Is everybody with me?

So the Israelites do send some people into the Land.

Numbers 13:26

They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.

This is a moment of decision. It is a moment of faith. God said, "I've given you everything. I've shown you everything. I've taken care of you for two years now in the wilderness. Do you believe me? It's a moment of faith. Here's a test. Let's see what you'll do."

Numbers 13:27-33

They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

How do the people feel? Discouraged and scared. Because what did they see? They saw the world. They saw the world as being greater than what God's promises were. God has already told them. He's already taken care of it. They've already seen Him work. Now you are in the back of the pack (with the tribe of Naphtali) and you've heard this report. What are you thinking? "Maybe I don't want to go now. Maybe the desert isn't that bad with the manna."

Do you get the picture here? It's a moment of faith. They have a decision to make.

Numbers 14:1-2

That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!

Have we heard this before? Yes.

Numbers 14:3-4

Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

How is their faith now? Can you identify in your life where, as a Christian, you accepted Christ with a pure, clean heart and said, "I want to go to church. I'll read the Word every now and then. I'll pay attention in Sunday School every now and then," but God said, "I'm going to present you with a "Kadesh-barnea" experience in your life and let's see if you really believe in me--really believe that I can take care of you." There are some things that are going to happen to you in your life that will be "Kadesh-barnea experiences." "I'm going to get you to this point where I'll tell you what I've promised you and that I'll take care of you, but you're not going to see it. You will see all the bad things. You'll see the guns, the world, how overcoming it is, how ruthless and devouring it is. You'll see all the bad things about it. Are you still willing to believe me?"

Do you understand why I think this is so important in a Christian's life now? Because only by getting past this moment of faith can you strengthen your faith and walk further with God. They didn't do it. We're going to see what the consequences are. You wonder why a lot of Christians are defeated today and walk around with the attitude, "I just don't seem to break through. I don't see where God is." We're going to discover that the same thing that happened to these Hebrews is what happens to us. I've been there. Many, if not all, of you have been there. Let's keep going.

Numbers 14:5-8

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.

That's confirmation, isn't it? God has said it. That settles it. I don't need to argue about it, discuss it, evaluate it, do the pros and cons, or plusses and minuses.

Numbers 14:9-10

Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites.

There's an insight. This one says that God has removed their protection and given it to us. Don't miss that. When God says that He'll take care of you, what has He done to the rest of the world? He's prepared the rest of the world to protect you from it. It's not just you. He's already done everything you can possibly imagine.

Numbers 14:19

In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now."

There's another insight into God. We always think of God in the Old Testament as a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire, and a God of vengeance. What is He here? Love and forgiveness. They're discovering the softer-side-of-the-Old-Testament God. It's not just God who was the baby in the manger. This God loves us and gave His only Son for us that we might have the peace, love, and security that this world cannot offer. This world cannot give us anything. God says, "I'm going to give you that. That's what He gives us today. It's His gift to us so that we can walk about this world in freedom, not bound up or imprisoned to anything this world throws at us. We walk in freedom. We have no fear to take the next step in our lives. We have complete freedom from everything--no fear of financial problems, no fear of sickness or death. God has given it all to us. That's how we walk today.

Numbers 14:20-25

The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times--not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea. "

What has He told them to do? Turn around. "You had your chance. You blew it. Turn around and go back." That’s what He told them to do. They blew their chance—their moment of faith. Think of your life again. When you come up to that moment of faith, you say, "I can sense God’s direction but this is what I see. Do I go with what I see or do I, by faith, claim what God has given me." Every one of us need to get to those points and get past them in the sense that we step out on faith, not by seeing. If we keep going with the "seeing," what happens after a while? All God becomes to you is what you can see. But we don’t serve a visible God. We serve an invisible God, an omnipotent God.

Numbers 14:29

In this desert your bodies will fall--every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me.

That is who is going to die in the desert. They’re going to do laps around Mount Sinai and wander around in the wilderness. They’re going to do this for 38 years. It’s going to take that long for these people to die off.

Numbers 14:39-40

When Moses reported this to all the Israelites, they mourned bitterly. Early the next morning they went up toward the high hill country. "We have sinned," they said. "We will go up to the place the LORD promised."

This sounds just like us, doesn’t it? When we realize our failure and God’s faithfulness, we say, "Well, I’ll just make up for it." That’s what they’re going to do. "Oh, God, we’re sorry. We’ll go ahead and do this."

Numbers 14:41

But Moses said, "Why are you disobeying the LORD's command? This will not succeed!

God has already told them to go back. You had your chance. You missed it.

Numbers 14:42-45

Do not go up, because the LORD is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the LORD, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword." Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD's covenant moved from the camp. Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

Do you see what they did? They tried to make up for it. Doesn’t that sound just like us? If we got a second chance, we’d try to do twice as much or go do something else. God says, "No, just leave it alone. Trust me. Just walk with me and let me do this."

So that’s what happens. They go back and wander around Mount Sinai. That’s the bulk of the "wandering in the wilderness."

Numbers 15:1-2

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `After you enter the land I am giving you as a home

Do you all remember the movie Hoosiers? The seventh player has to sink two free throws to win the game. He’s a little fella. The coach gathers the players around and says, "Now after ‘Stinky’ has made these free throws…" Do you remember this? He said it very positively. He didn’t say, "You are going to make those free throws. I know you are. We’re all with you." He said, "Now after he makes these free throws, I want you to…" Like it was a done deal. This is what God is saying here and what He says throughout the Old Testament. Don’t miss it. It’s a done deal. "I’ve already given it to you. After you enter the Land…" It’s all done. It’s all over with. It’s called "prophetic future tense." God says, "It’s already done."

When He looks at your life, with all the promises He’s given you in the New Testament, He does not look at it the way you do saying, "Well, one of these days I’ll feel the Holy Spirit within me. One of these days, I’ll see the spiritual gift I have. One of these days, I’ll have the spiritual peace that others have. I know that God will give it to me one day." Do you know what God says to you right now? He says, "I’ve already given it to you. You just haven’t taken possession of it. You already have it. It’s because of your ‘Kadesh-barnea’ failure that you’re not getting it. I’ve already given it to you. You have it." He says that over and over in the scriptures, "I’ve already given you all that you need. There is nothing more to give. You already have it. It’s you. You’re still tied up in this world. You’re still hung up with this world. You’re still distracted by this world. You still will not trust me with everything you have."

Numbers 20

Chapter 20 contains the infamous point where Moses doesn’t get to enter the Promised Land because he strikes the rock twice instead of speaking to it. Those of you who went through the "Rock" word study will remember this.

38 years go by between chapters 15 and 20. You can read it all. The people continue to live on manna. Guess what clothes they wear? The same ones—they don’t wear out. God takes care of them. If you read this, you have to ask, "How did they live 38 years out there?" God took care of them in the wilderness. Think about the wilderness we’re in. There are so many applications for us today. God can take care of us in our "wilderness" the same way He took care of them completely.

All the people died off. We have a new congregation. These people were under 20 when all this happened. Now you’re 35 or 40 or whatever. You’ve spent a lot of time in the wilderness and you’re very anxious to get to this Promised Land. You know the prophecies. It’s been passed down that all the people have to die off and everything. So the new people have to get ready to go into Canaan.

Numbers 21:4-5

They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

Have they learned? No. Did the children learn from their parents? Yes, but they learned the wrong things.

Numbers 21:6-9

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

Does that sound like a strange story? Have any of you been to a doctor’s office or medical building and seen this symbol:

If you’ve ever wondered where it came from, this is it. It’s a staff with a snake on it. It comes from this story. Anyone who looks upon the bronze serpent will be healed—healers, physicians, doctors.

The people never get it right. They continue to rebel against God. We won’t turn there, but in 2 Kings 18 there’s a story about a cleansing (cleaning out of idols and so forth). One of the things they clean out and throw away is this bronze snake. After Moses did this, the people saved the staff and bronze snake. They started worshipping it like an idol. This is where the people of Israel took something that God had given them to heal them and said, "We’ll worship it." In 2 Kings, we’ll see that it’s destroyed.

These stories are in here for a reason. Take a look at John 3. We sometimes take something religious and worship it instead of God. We worship what is created rather than the Creator.

John 3:14-16

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Everybody knows John 3:16, but not many know that verses 14 and 15 are related to this story in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, God said, "If you believe in me, let them look upon the serpent and be saved." What does that say about the Son of Man? "If anyone believes on me, let him look upon me and be saved." It’s not a coincidence that we find these stories in here. Things in the Old Testament explain things in the New Testament. Things in the New Testament explain things in the Old Testament. This is just a wonderful story.

There’s one more thing I want to look at in Numbers. There’s a fascinating story between Balak and Balaam. We don’t have time to really study it. It’s really fascinating. These are all non-Hebrew people dealing with God. I told you that as we get into the Old Testament, a lot of people get the impression that the Old Testament is all Jewish and Hebrews and Israelites. You get to the story about Balak and you see that God is working with all these other people at the same time. He just said, "Here’s something I want to say about the coming Messiah, Christ."

This is one that is very appropriate at this time of year. It’s in chapter 24. This was Balaam who was a sort of prophet who believed in a lot of gods but also believed in the Almighty God, Jehovah. He listened to Jehovah and interacted and dialogued with Him. He also had all these other idols. That’s what makes this story fascinating.

Balaam is issuing an oracle saying, "Here’s a prophecy."

Numbers 24:15-17a

Then he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, the oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.

This is a non-Hebrew talking in the Old Testament.

You would think he’s a great Prophet, wouldn’t you? Just from reading this.

When you talk about the Magi or wise men around Christmastime, this is some of the prophecy that the Magi in the East read. They had copies of this Hebrew or Greek scripture. Back then, as a learned scholar or Magi, you read all kinds of documentation from other nations, not just your own. This is the prophecy they read to learn about the star. They read that a star would come out of Jacob (Jacob being Israel), a king. This is the root or source: Balaam’s prophecy.

This is well documented. I’m not just playing tricks on you. Now you know where they got it from.