Numbers 24:14-25; The Coming Star and Scepter ~ 20260719 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org
2026.07.19 Numbers 24:14-25; The Coming Star and Scepter; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20260719_numbers-24_14-25.mp3
Israel is spread out on the plains of Moab, poised to enter the promised land. Unbeknownst to them, Balak king of Moab hired Balaam to curse Israel for him. God made it explicitly clear to Balaam that he was not to go beyond God’s word, because God had blessed Israel. Balak took Balaam to three high places where he could look out over the camps of Israel; at each high place he built seven altars and sacrificed seven bulls and seven rams.
On the high place of Baal, YHWH put a word of blessing in his mouth for Israel; God alone is the true source of blessing and cursing; Israel is unique, set apart from all the nations, chosen by God, and the Lord has made them numerous as the dust. They are viewed as upright, and Balaam wishes to share in the blessings they will enjoy in the afterlife.
From the top of Pisgah, YHWH put another word of blessing in his mouth; ‘God is not a man that he should lie, or the son of man that he should change his mind.’ He infallibly keeps all his promises. God is with his people as their King, and he views them as righteous. He is for them, and no forms of divination or sorcery can overthrow his blessings on them. They will conquer all their enemies.
Then from the top of Peor, the Spirit of God came upon Balaam, and his eye is opened. He describes them as the restored garden of Eden, and he points to their fruitfulness, a source of blessing to many. He points to a coming King who will defeat their ancient enemy, whose kingdom will be exalted, who will crush the nations, all who are opposed to them. He recites God’s blessing upon Abram from Genesis 12; ‘Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you’ (Nu.24:9; Ge.12:2).
Balak is frustrated; “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them” (23:11); “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all” (23:25); ‘And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. ...“I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the LORD has held you back from honor”’ (24:10-11).
Numbers 24:12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’?
Balaam reveals his heart; his attention is still fixed on silver and gold as both Peter and Jude warn (2Pt.2:15: Jd.1:11),
Balak had commanded him to cease from speaking and return home without pay, but the Spirit of the living God was upon Balaam, and compelled him to speak. No sacrifices were required, no compensation expected, no seeking omens; God would have the final word, and his blessings could not be stopped, not by any attempt at cursing, not by the king of Moab, not by a pagan diviner for hire. Balaam is bound to not go beyond the word of YHWH; to speak only what YHWH speaks.
Balaam Oracles 4-7
Numbers 24:14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
15 And he took up his discourse and said,
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
16 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 with his eyes uncovered:
17 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;
it shall crush the forehead of Moab
and break down all the sons of Sheth.
18 Edom shall be dispossessed;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed.
Israel is doing valiantly.
19 And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion
and destroy the survivors of cities!”
20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
“Amalek was the first among the nations,
but its end is utter destruction.”
21 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.
22 Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned
when Asshur takes you away captive.”
23 And he took up his discourse and said,
“Alas, who shall live when God does this?
24 But ships shall come from Kittim
and shall afflict Asshur and Eber;
and he too shall come to utter destruction.”
25 Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way.
Here we have four uninvited oracles again under the control of the Spirit of God, which rounds out the total to seven. These final four shift the focus from who God is and his blessing on his people, to the consequences on those who oppose God’s people. The last three are very concise, directed toward specific people groups. The first is the longest, with a preface about Balaam, and points to a coming king who will conquer his enemies.
Balaam’s eye has been opened by the Spirit of God come upon him. He hears the words of El, he has been given knowledge of Elyon, he sees a vision from Shaddai. He is face down on the ground with his eyes finally opened.
A Scepter Shall Rise out of Israel
And what he sees is something that will come in the distant future, in the latter days. The one he sees is not now and not near, a distant coming future one. He describes this one as a star and a scepter. A scepter is a rod carried by royalty which symbolizes authority and judgment. A rod can also be used as a lethal weapon. Jacob’s blessing on his son Judah as a lion has been echoed in the second and third oracles of Balaam.
Genesis 49:9 Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? 10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
There will be a coming King, a ruler bearing a royal scepter with which he will crush the skulls of his enemies.
A Star Shall Come Out of Jacob
The star imagery is more surprising. ‘A star shall come out of Jacob’. The descendants of Abraham were promised to be numerous as the stars. But stars in the Bible often point to superhuman beings. The Lord challenges Job in Job 38 ‘where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth’
Job 38:6 On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, 7 when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
The morning stars are pictured as sons of God or celestial beings who sing together and shout for joy. Psalm 148 makes a similar connection:
Psalm 148:1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! 2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens!
God’s people were clearly warned against worshiping these celestial beings:
Deuteronomy 4:19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.
God’s holy angels are quick to reject worship (Rev.19:10; 22:8-9). We are never to worship created beings. Deuteronomy 32 describes idolatry:
Deuteronomy 32:17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded.
Isaiah 14 reveals the power behind the king of Babylon:
Isaiah 14:12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.
Lucifer in pride aspired to be like the Most High, he sought to rule over the stars or celestial beings. He sought the worship God alone deserves. But he and his angels will be cast down (Rev.12:4,9).
Jesus in the gospels connects the stars falling from heaven in the last days with the powers of the heavens being shaken (Mk.13:25); ‘the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places’ (Eph.6:12). Amos 5:26 and Acts 7:41-43 mention worship of a star-god.
The Coming Human / Divine King
Satan is an impostor, but this prophecy points to a coming one who is both king and divine. And as one who comes out of Israel, descended from Jacob, he must also be human.
We see all these pieces, the anticipation of a divine/human God king come together in several prophecies.
Scepter of a God-King
Psalm 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ... 6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” 7 I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
In Psalm 2 we see the coming King who will rule with an iron scepter, but this one, called YHWH’s Anointed or Messiah is also the begotten Son of YHWH. Psalm 45 is even more clear:
Psalm 45:6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness; 7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
The scepter and throne belong to God eternally. But this God-king has been anointed by God, your God. Who is the God-King, and who is anointing him? Hebrews 1 quotes Psalm 45 in contrast to angels who are never to be worshiped, and says it is ‘of the Son he says ‘your throne O God, is forever and ever…’
Hebrews 1 also says that the Son ‘is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature’. Isaiah 60 says:
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2 For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. 3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
YHWH will rise like the sun; the glory of YHWH will break the darkness and shine with his glorious light.
Peter comments on his experience on the mountain when Jesus’ glory was revealed and ‘his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light’ (Mt.17:2); Peter says:
2 Peter 1:19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
Jesus himself claims in Revelation 22
Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Jesus, the coming star and scepter, the God-King, is both the source of David, and the descendant of David in his humanity.
Jesus The Conquering King
And he will crush the skull of his enemies and dispossess them; in him Israel is doing valiantly. This “one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” Moab, who waged spiritual warfare against Israel, Moab’s head will be crushed. Edom, who refused Israel passage, will be dispossessed. Amalek, ancient enemy of Israel who attacked when they left Israel shall be utterly destroyed. The Kenites, one of the inhabitants of the land (Gen.15:18-22) will be taken captive and their city burned. ‘Alas, who shall live when God does this?’ Who shall live? No enemy of the Lord will live. Only the one who runs to Jesus to take refuge in him from his coming wrath. Have you taken refuge in Jesus? Today he is a star shining in the darkness, a light to fix your eyes on as you navigate through this present darkness. But one day he will rise in all his glory and dispel all darkness, and if you are part of that darkness you will suffer his wrath. Run to Jesus, hide in him, and you shall live. Truly live.
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2026.07.19 Sermon Notes
Numbers 24:14-25; The Coming Star and Scepter
Balaam’s heart is driven by greed
2 Peter 2:15; Jude 1:11
A scepter shall rise out of Israel
Genesis 49:9-10
A star shall come out of Jacob
stars and sons of God, angel hosts
Job 38:6-7; Psalm 148:1-4
angels are never to be worshiped
Deuteronomy 4:19; Revelation 19:10; 22:8-9
demons are behind the idols people worship
Deuteronomy 32:17
Lucifer wanted to be like the Most High
Isaiah 14:12-15; Revelation 12:4, 9
The powers of the heavens shaken
Mark 13:25; Ephesians 6:12
worship of star gods
Amos 5:26; Acts 7:41-43
The coming king is YHWH’s Anointed and YHWH’s Son
Psalm 2:1-9
God on the throne anointed by God
Psalm 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:3, 8
YHWH’s glory will rise like the sun
Isaiah 60:1-3
Jesus is the bright and morning star
Matthew 17:2; 2 Peter 1:19; Revelation 22:16
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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org