How does Numbers 23:21 reveal God's view of Israel's righteousness and sin? Backdrop: Balaam’s Mountainside View - Balak, king of Moab, hires the pagan diviner Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22–24). - Three times Balaam opens his mouth to curse, and three times God turns the words into blessing. - In the second oracle Balaam blurts out the startling line that forms our focus. The Surprising Declaration “ ‘He has not observed iniquity in Jacob, and He has not seen wickedness in Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.’ ” (Numbers 23:21) What God Saw—and Didn’t See - “He has not observed iniquity …” • Not a denial that Israel ever sinned (cf. Numbers 11; 14; 20). • A statement about how God chooses to regard them at that moment. - “The LORD … is with them” • His presence defines their standing more than their performance. - “The shout of the King is among them” • Covenant loyalty places Israel under a royal banner; God Himself is their victorious King. How Sacrifice Shapes God’s Sight - Daily sacrifices were already being offered in the camp (Numbers 28:1–8). - Levitical blood shed “to make atonement for your souls” (Leviticus 17:11) stood between God’s holiness and Israel’s failures. - Because the substitute died, God could truthfully say He saw no iniquity. - The pattern—sin covered, wrath diverted, righteousness counted—prefigures the cross. Covenant Identity Overrides Present Failings - Exodus 19:5-6: chosen, treasured, priestly nation. - Deuteronomy 7:7-9: loved and kept by oath, not by merit. - Psalm 103:10-12: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins … as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions.” - Jeremiah 31:34: new-covenant promise, “I will remember their sins no more.” Echoes in the New Testament - Romans 4:6-8 quotes Psalm 32: “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.” - 2 Corinthians 5:21: “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” - Ephesians 1:7: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” - The principle is unchanged: God looks at a people united to the sacrifice and sees righteousness. Implications for Believers Today - God’s assessment rests on covenant grace, not fluctuating obedience. - The once-for-all sacrifice of Christ accomplishes what the tabernacle system only foreshadowed (Hebrews 10:1-14). - Assurance flows from hearing the same verdict spoken over us: “no iniquity observed.” - Like Israel, we march under “the shout of the King,” confident that the God who sees us through atoning blood will finish what He began (Philippians 1:6). |
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