Balak, King of Moab, Seeks to Curse Israel:
Israel is now camped out in Moab near the city of Jericho.  Balak, the king of Moab, summons Balam, a pagan gentile divinizer, to divinize and place a curse upon Israel.  God came to Balam and told him not to curse Israel for “they are blessed.”  Yet, in the morning Balam got up, rode on his ass to go see the king Balam, against the will of the Lord.  This angered God, so the “Angel of the Lord” stood in the road to block his way.

Balam’s Talking Donkey:
“Then the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the ass, “Because you have made sport of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” (Num. 22:28-29)  “Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face.  And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your ass these three times? Behold, I have come forth to withstand you, because your way is perverse before me..” (Num. 22:31-32)  Balam then repents “I have sinned.”  Then, Balam went back to Balak to prophesy.

Balam’s First Oracle:
“And God met Balam.”  And, Balam offered seven bulls and seven rams to the Lord.  Balam spoke: “How can I curse whom God has not cursed?”  And, King Balak complained to him: “And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” (Num. 23:11)

Balam’s Second Oracle:
“The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt; they have as it were the horns of the wild ox; For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel;” (Num. 23:21-23)

Balam’s Third Oracle:
As Balam, the pagan Gentile, begins his third oracle, “And the Spirit of God came upon him.”  God does not abandon anyone who calls upon His name, even a gentile pagan. “Blessed be every one who blesses you, and cursed be every one who curses you.” (Num. 24:9)

Balam’s Fourth Oracle:
Now, Balam gives one of the most famous prophecies in the Old Testament.  “I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”  Here is the prophesy:

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Be′or,
the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
and knows the knowledge of the Most High,
who sees the vision of the Almighty,
falling down, but having his eyes uncovered:
 I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not nigh:
a star shall come forth out of Jacob,
and a scepter shall rise out of Israel;
it shall crush the foreheadof Moab,
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Edom shall be dispossessed,
Se′ir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed,
while Israel does valiantly.
 By Jacob shall dominion be exercised,
and the survivors of cities be destroyed!”

Then he looked on Am′alek, and took up his discourse, and said, “Am′alek was the first of the nations, but in the end he shall come to destruction.” And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse, and said,

“Enduring is your dwelling place,
and your nest is set in the rock;
nevertheless Kain shall be wasted.
How long shall Asshur take you away captive?” And he took up his discourse, and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this? But ships shall come from Kittim
and shall afflict Asshur and Eber;
and he also shall come to destruction.”  (Num. 24:15-24)

Balam as a “Magi from the East:”
Here, Balam prophesies about the coming of the Messiah, “a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.”  After this, Balam and Balak went their separate ways. Balam is a kind-of “magus” from the East paralleling the Magi who come from the East to offer worship of the new Christ child (Mt. 2). Here, Balam, a precursor to the Magi, also prophesies about the future Magi who will come worship Christ.

The Israelites Worship Baal at Peor:
The picture of the “wilderness generation” of the Israelites is basically how not to walk with God.  It is a negative example to us of how we should not model our behavior.  This is a warning to future Christian generations to not fall into the same types of sins of unbelief, immorality and idolatry lest we be judged not to enter into the true Promised Land of Heaven.  The wilderness years are a disaster for the Israelites, and a nadir in their relationship with God.  With that in mind, back at Peor, the Israelites began to worship the Moabite false-god, Baal.  “While Israel dwelt in Shittim the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate, and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Ba′al of Pe′or. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.” (Num. 25:1-3)  In the Lord’s anger, He instructs 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.”

Sexual Immorality and Spiritual Apostasy Link:
After the plague is finally stayed, 24,000 Israelites have been killed! (Num. 25:9)  Intermingling and intermarrying with the Midianites led to their worshiping of Baal. So God tells Moses, “Harass the Mid′ianites, and smite them; for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Pe′or..” (Num. 25:16-17)  Sexual immorality again is linked with spiritual apostasy.  This is the same as what happened with the Golden Calf incident, spiritual apostasy and sexual immorality.  What the Golden Calf incident was to the Exodus (1st) generation, so too, was the Idolatry of Baal at Pe’or for the Wilderness (2nd) generation. But again, we see the link between spiritual apostasy and sexual immorality.

Phineas, son of Eleazar, Assuages God’s Anger:
“And the Lord said to Moses, “Phineas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace; and it shall be to him, and to his descendants after him, the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the people of Israel.’” (Num. 25:10-13)

Another Census, the Second Wilderness Generation:
The Lord calls for a new census to find out “all in Israel who are able to go forth to war.”  After the census is complete, it is determined: “This was the number of the people of Israel, six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.”(Num. 26:51)  That is, 601,730 Israelite men of fighting age.  And, “The Lord said to Moses: “To these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names.” (Num. 26:52-53)  The Promised Land is to be divided among this second generation and divided up according the size of each tribes’ population.  Only Joshua and Caleb are left of the first generation of the Exodus, and will be permitted to enter into the Promised Land.

Appointing Joshua the Successor to Moses:
“The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Ab′arim, and see the land which I have given to the people of Israel.  And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was gathered, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin during the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the waters before their eyes.” (Num. 27:12-14) At this point, Joshua is commissioned to take over the leadership of the Israelites and lead them into the Promised Land.  Then, God told Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay your hand upon him; cause him to stand before Elea′zar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight.  You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.” (Num. 27:18-20)  Allegorically, it is not Moses (“the Old Testament”) that leads us to the Promised Land (“Heaven”), but it is Joshua (Greek for “Jesus”) and His Gospel of the New Covenant to the Promised Land of Heaven.

The Two Daily Offerings: Morning and Evening:
“This is the offering by fire which you shall offer to the Lord: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a continual offering.  The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer in the evening.”  Along with the offerings of the two lambs, one in the morning and one in the evening, they are to offer a grain offering and a wine offering. (Num. 28:3-8)  The same offering is to be made every Sabbath as well, and a monthly offering.

Further Feast Offerings Described:
The Lord then described the proscriptions of offerings for the Passover Festival and the other holy Feasts and Festivals.  This includes the Feast of Weeks, Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Booths.  Also, one interesting note about the offerings of the Feast of Booths, over the seven day festival the Israelites were to offer 70 bulls.  The 70 bulls are offered for the “70 gentile nations” of the world. Israel, the first-born son, is offering and interceding for the gentile nations of the world.

 War Against Midian:
“The Lord said to Moses, “Avenge the people of Israel on the Mid′ianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” (Num. 31:1-2)  The Israelites then conquer the Midianites, and bring all the spoils and booty of war to present it all before Moses and Aaron.

The Beginning Conquests of Jordan and Canaan:
“We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.” (Num. 32:32)  “And the Lord said to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho,  “Say to the people of Israel, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,  then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places;  and you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.” (Num. 33:50-53)

The Lord Sets the Boundaries of the Promised Land:
Here the Lord sets the boundaries of the Promised Land to the north, the south, the west, and the east. “Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot..” (Num. 34:13)

Ordinance Against Murder:
“And these things shall be for a statute and ordinance to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.  If any one kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses; but no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.” (Num. 35:29-30)