Tag: Parashat Balak

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How Messiah makes the best-laid plans of snake and men go oft awry (Numbers 19–24)

How Messiah makes the best-laid plans of snake and men go oft awry (Numbers 19-24). Photorealistic image of a copper snake slithering across a leather surface.

In the Torah readings of חֻקַּת‎ Chukat (“statute of,” Numbers 19:1–22:1) and בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9), we see the mysterious instructions for the red heifer, Israel’s apostasy; judgment by “fiery” snakes then the brass serpent; and also a talking donkey. One may wonder why all of these are coming together.

One thread through it all is the downhill slide of the first generation of Israel post-Exodus as they are dying off and the second generation are ascending into leadership. Chukat and Balak cover nearly 40 years of time in the history of Israel between the Exodus from Mitzraim (Egypt) and her entry into the Promised Land.

How the snake relates to the donkey and the savior finds its fullness in the arrival of Yeshua haMashiakh (Jesus the Christ).

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Discussions Torah

How you can recognize the Antichrist (Numbers 22–24)

How to recognize the Antichrist (Numbers 22-24)

The prophet Bilam (Balaam), described in the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9), was a gentile prophet from the ancient country of Aram. We see that even though Bilam was a Gentile, he was a prophet of God.

God did not only send prophets to Israel. God, in His mercy, sent prophets to all the nations of the world.

Unfortunately, we meet with Bilam, not in his early years when God first called him to prophetic office, when his heart was open to God. Instead, we are meeting Bilam at the point when his evil inclination has overtaken the good in him. We follow along with him as his greed, corruption and vanity lead him to his downfall, which was so complete, that his story is given to us a template of how the Antichrist will one day function in the world, deceiving, if possible, the elect.

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Torah readings

Parashat Balak (בלק): Numbers 22:2–25:9

Studies in Torah

A talking donkey may seem like fodder for a cartoon, but the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9) contains a very real message for Israel about its future and the Messiah. Often, the Creator uses what we don’t expect — an animal, a prophet not of Israel — to shake up the complacent and underscore the gravity of the situation.

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Discussions Torah

Marginal prophet: Balaam reveals Heaven’s future for Israel and the cause of his fall (Numbers 22–24)

Marginal prophet: Balaam reveals Heaven's future for Israel - and the cause of his fall (Numbers 22-24)

The account of the talking donkey is one of the best known parts of Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9), but it’s only part of the critically important warning for the people of God looking for the coming of the messianic era.

Pagan king Balak and proto-televangelist Bilam (Balaam) tried to marshal higher powers to push back on Israel. Their offering of seven rams and seven bulls did not help them win points with the Holy One of Israel. Bilam had some favor with God — until his intentions and actions turned to evil.

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Discussions Torah

So you say you want a revolution? Better watch where it’s headed (Numbers 19:1–25:9)

It’s apt that the double Torah reading חֻקַּת‎ Chukat and בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 19:1–25:9) this year includes Shabbat on July 4, when we here in the United States celebrate the Declaration of Independence and what it states about the intent for where this nation was going to go.

Ancient Israel was at a spiritual and literal crossroads. Would it embrace its destiny as the people beyond number (Genesis 15 and 22) and as a nation of priests (Exodus 19), taking the nations closer to the Creator?

Similarly, we in the U.S. can ask ourselves if we’re going to follow the God-led legacy of freedom started at Plymouth in 1620 or the greed-led legacy of bondage started in Jamestown in 1619? The Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights point to the Spirit-led legacy of Abraham through Sinai and Yeshua the Messiah (Jesus the Christ) to Plymouth, rather than flesh-led legacy of Jamestown.

And we’ll see in this study that we can ask ourselves which kind of legacy are we pursuing in how we walk out our lives today and in the days to come.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 23–24: Balaam’s 4-fold warning for the end-times generation

Title banner: Balaam's 4-fold warning for the end-times generation with a campsite of yurts in the background

The New Testament has multiple warnings about the “error of Balaam” (Jude 11) and “teaching of Balaam” (Rev. 2:12–17), specifically for the Body of Messiah at the apocalyptic time around the Day of the LORD.

But what does the amazing account in Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9) of a talking donkey and double-agent prophet have to teach us today? In short, remember who we are as “treasures” of the Kingdom of Heaven, why that’s special, and whether we are being transformed into people who have the character and heart of the Messiah.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 22–24: Beware of self-loving, double-speaking prophets

A man stands atop of a high place in the Grand Canyon with arms outstretched in praise

It’s important to respect yourself as one who bears the image of God, but when does self-love cross over into conceit? And when that conceit is in the heart of a prophet that practices deceit, it’s a sobering warning. The lesson of Balaam told in Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) and expanded upon in Micah 5:6–6:8 and Jude 3-16 is a warning and a contrast between a true prophet of God, namely Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), and a false prophet.