Pinchas—Balaam's Vision ... and Ours

Pinchas

by Rabbi Russ Resnik

Now when Pinchas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. Numbers 25:7-8

The zeal of Pinchas is a troubling thing, especially in the post 9/11 world. We're suspicious of religious zeal, but in this story, God rewards it: "I grant him My covenant of peace. It shall be for him and his descendants after him a covenant of priesthood for all time, because he was zealous for his God, thus making atonement for the Israelites" (Num. 25:12-13).

The rabbinic commentaries devote deep and creative thought to the problem of Pinchas' zeal, so we can focus on just one aspect. Pinchas shares God's zeal, or God's jealousy, for his people Israel (Num. 25:11), and we must understand his zealous action in light of the vision of Israel recorded in the previous chapters of the book of Numbers.

In last week's parasha, Balak king of Moab hires Balaam to curse Israel. When Balaam realizes that Israel cannot be cursed, however, he advises Balak to get his women to seduce the Israelites into idolatry and immorality so that they would deserve a curse (Num 31:16). As Balaam's plan unfolds, and the Israelites are in the midst of their sin, Pinchas rises up to stop it by executing an Israelite chieftain and the Midianite woman with whom he is consorting, thus turning God's judgment away from Israel.

Balaam turns out to be a prophet for hire, but he declares a vision of Israel that has been integrated into the traditional daily prayers of the Jewish people. Let's review his vision to see why the enemies of Israel struggled so fiercely to end it, and why Pinchas took such extreme action to defend it. We'll see that the vision, which Balaam describes in four installments, goes beyond Israel to shed light on the character of God himself, and on God's plan of worldwide redemption.

1. Israel is uniquely blessed by God.

Balaam and Balak climb to a high point overlooking Israel's encampment for their first attempt at cursing. But once there, Balaam can only ask, How can I curse whom God has not cursed, how condemn when the Lord has not condemned?

As I see them from the mountain tops,

Gaze on them from the heights,

There is a people that dwells apart,

Not reckoned among the nations . . . (Num. 23:8-9)

Balak needs someone to curse his enemy, and Balaam is the best in the business. He has undoubtedly cursed other nations among the shifting alliances and hostilities of the ancient Near East. But he can't curse Israel because it is not an ordinary nation; rather, it dwells apart, not numbered with the nations at all. By "Israel," I refer to the people group that came out of Egypt, which has survived throughout history and lives on today as the Jewish people. I shouldn't have to state this obvious point, but I do because of various false definitions of Israel that have taken hold in the past and are sadly alive today. The Jewish people remains uniquely blessed, dwelling apart and not numbered among the nations, not by its own choice, but God's. Jewish identity and continuity are not matters of nationalistic pride, but of biblical imperative. In the Messianic Jewish community we should avoid contrasting Jewish loyalty with loyalty to Messiah; the two go together, as we shall see.

2. Israel's failure cannot reverse God's blessing.

Balak is not happy with Balaam's oracle, of course, and suggests that they hike over to another high point to get a different perspective on this situation. Perhaps from here they'll be able to make a curse stick. When Balaam again looks out upon Israel, however, he can only say,

God is not man that He should lie,

Or mortal to change His mind.

Would He speak and not act,

Promise and not fulfill?

My message was to bless:

When He blesses, I cannot reverse it. (Num. 23:19-20)

The Israel that Balaam must bless hasn't earned a blessing. Just a generation earlier, it had corporately worshiped the golden calf and then refused to enter the Promised Land. More recently, a large segment of Israel had joined in Korah's rebellion, and throughout the story it has been filled with complaining, unbelief, and resistance toward God. But God's blessing is not dependent upon human merit. In the same way, and despite the objections of many theologians, God's election and blessing rest upon Israel to this day, even after the corporate Jewish "no" to Yeshua, "for the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable" (Rom. 11:29). God still says "Yes" to Israel, despite the Jewish "no" to Yeshua.

3. Israel has a destiny yet to be fulfilled.

Balak is not so easily put off. He insists that Balaam change his location and try again. This time the spirit of God comes upon Balaam and he speaks forth an even greater vision of Israel. Ironically, this utterance of Balaam, the Gentile prophet-for-hire, has become part of the traditional Jewish prayers, to be recited upon entering the synagogue: Ma tovu ohalekha Ya'akov, mishkenotekha Yisrael.

How goodly are your tents, O Jacob,

Your dwellings, O Israel!

Like palm-groves that stretch out,

Like gardens beside a river,

Like aloes planted by the Lord,

Like cedars beside the water;

Water shall flow from his buckets,

And his seed shall have abundant water. . . .

Blessed are they who bless you,

Cursed are they who curse you. Num. 24:5-7, 9

Balaam looks out at a bunch of tents in the desert, tents that must look pretty beat up after sheltering the Israelites from the blasting sun and barren sands for nearly forty years—and he sees a well-watered garden. Israel remains blessed, filled with the promise of fruitfulness (which should be a personal encouragement to those of us who feel beat up and dusty ourselves). Balaam had already pronounced blessing upon Israel, but here is a hint of something more. A garden doesn't exist for itself, but to give pleasure and produce to the gardener. When God is the gardener, the fruit will be spread abroad to all. Balaam catches a glimpse of Israel's destiny as the source of blessing to the nations. Israel is not only watered by God's blessing, but "water shall flow from his buckets" upon the nations. The final two lines of this oracle reflect God's original blessing on Abraham as the source of blessing upon all humanity: "And in you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). Israel's destiny, says Balaam, is to fulfill that promise of universal blessing.

4. Israel's Messiah fulfills that destiny-on behalf of Israel and the nations.

This oracle earns Balaam a pink slip from Balak. But before he clears out his desk and heads home, Balaam says, "Let me tell you what this people will do to your people in time to come."

I see him but not yet,

I behold him but not near:

A star rises from Jacob,

A scepter comes forth from Israel;

It smashes the brow of Moab,

The foundation of all children of Seth. (Num. 24:17)

The star that arises from Jacob has been understood from earliest times as a symbol of Messiah. In the second century, 60 years after the destruction of the temple, the Jewish people rose up again in revolt against Rome. The Jewish general was so successful at first that the great rabbi Akiva declared him to be Messiah, and the general was renamed Bar Kochba, "Son of the Star," based on this prophecy. Bar Kochba ended in defeat; the true star, however, shines not just for Israel, but to fulfill the blessing of Abraham: "And in you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Smashing the brow of Moab and the foundation of the children of Seth doesn't sound like a blessing. But this means that man's dominion over the nations will be broken, so that the kingdom of God can be established over the entire human race. Messiah brings judgment so that the promise of universal blessing can be fulfilled. Gentile believers today prophetically enact this promise of universal dominion in advance of Messiah's return by submitting to him as king.

Balaam could not embrace his own vision, but tried to do an end run around it. Pinchas, on the other hand, rose up to defend it, not only for Israel's sake, but for the sake of God's reputation, because God had pledged irrevocable blessing upon Israel, and for the sake of God's plan of worldwide redemption. This same vision provides the foundation for our understanding of Messianic Judaism:

1. Israel is uniquely blessed by God.

2. Israel's failure cannot reverse God's blessing.

3. Israel has a destiny yet to be fulfilled.

4. Israel's Messiah fulfills that destiny-on behalf of Israel and the nations.

This is the vision that we capture in the UMJC tagline, "Welcoming Messiah Home." Because Israel remains elect and Messiah arises out of Israel, Jews who find Messiah don't stop being Jews, or leave the people of Israel, as has so often been claimed. Instead we welcome Messiah from within our own community and tradition. And the day will surely come when we join the Jerusalem chorus welcoming Messiah with the words "Baruch Ha-ba b'Shem Adonai, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Russ Resnik, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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