God’s Word for You

Numbers 24:1-5 Will we know one another in heaven?

by Pastor Timothy Smith on Wednesday, November 24, 2021

24 When Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go to look for omens as he had done at the other times, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 When Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, the Spirit of God was upon him.

This third time, Balaam did not try any omens. By this we understand that he had attempted some form of divination with the first two oracles, probably something to do with the carcasses of the rams or bulls that were sacrificed, but all sorts of things were available to a heathen soothsayer. He might have been looking at the flames of the fire on the altars, or the smoke, or the flights of birds, or something to do with the zodiac or the positions of the fixed or wandering stars. But this time Balaam was not peering into the sky or the steaming entrails of a slaughtered animal. He only looked out toward the wilderness below, and the Holy Spirit came upon him. As Professor E.R. Wendland put it, “No longer a pagan diviner, he had become a prophet of the Divine, Yahweh.”

This event is not the same as when the Apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4), but is closer to what happened when the Holy Spirit came upon Saul (1 Samuel 10:10, 19:24). He had no choice but to proclaim what was given to him.

This message is more organized and formal than the previous two. Balaam names himself and his father at the beginning, the way the Hebrew prophets generally do (Isaiah 1:1, etc.). Counting the introduction and blessing, there are twelve short pieces (called strophes) to the oracle, and the concluding blessing is also a warning to Balak: “May those who bless you be blessed, and those who curse you be cursed” (Numbers 24:9).

What Balaam saw out in the wilderness was Israel, encamped the way God commanded, tribe by tribe in their orderly groups, with the tabernacle in the center of the nation. Tribe by tribe, blessing by blessing, obedient family by obedient family: This was the people of God. And the word of God came to Balaam:

3 He took up his oracle and said:
  The declaration of Balaam son of Beor,
  the declaration of the man whose eye is open,
4 the declaration of the one who hears the words of God,
  who sees the vision of the Almighty,
  who is falling down, but his eyes are wide open:

There are some interesting dialect changes in Balaam’s speeches, such as the way “son of” is said differently than in Moses’ usual Hebrew. But in these two verses we should especially pay attention to Balaam’s eyes. His eye is now open (vs. 3), and his eyes are even “wide open” (vs. 4). “His eyes are wide open,” is really a passive statement. Balaam is not saying, “these are open eyes” or “I have opened my eyes” but “my eyes have been opened (by someone, i.e. the Lord God), as in John 19:30.

This is a call back to the incident with Balaam’s donkey, when Balaam’s eyes were opened by God so that he could see the Angel of the Lord (Numbers 22:31). Now he is beginning to see things differently, and even to look at Israel from a different internal point of view (not just a different mountaintop). These were God’s people, under the protection of the Almighty.

What does Balaam mean when he says “who is falling down” in verse 4? He means himself, since the same subject is understood for “his eyes are wide open.” But in what way is Balaam “falling down”? The Greek translator thought that he meant “falling asleep” (ἐν  ὕπνῳ). I think that the translator was thinking that Balaam was receiving this vision in a dream, the way Abimelech did (Genesis 20:3) and Joseph, too (Genesis 31:10). But the falling here is not a falling asleep, but a falling down. The last time Balaam’s eyes were opened, he saw the Angel of the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity. Now his eyes have been opened to see Israel truly, and the prophet now falls down. He is not showing reverence, as if he is bowing, but he has been thrown to the ground by God Almighty, who came before with a killing sword (Numbers 22:31). He has been overpowered by God, but not to be put to death, but rather to speak the word of the Lord like Saul in Samuel’s presence, lying down and prophesying all day and all night (1 Samuel 19:24).

5 How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob,
  and your dwelling places, O Israel!

Can anyone read this and not think of Psalm 84:1, “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Armies”? The dwelling places of Israel may have looked nice to Balaam in his ecstasy, but how much greater, broader, grander, holier, and more beautiful everything will be in heaven.

Not long ago, a couple in their 90s asked me a question as they fought back tears, “Is it true that husbands and wives won’t know each other in heaven?” The Bible never says this! But I found out that their trouble was over the obsolete King James vocabulary. When Jesus was asked about marriage, he said that when Christians rise from the dead, they “will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die, for they are like the angels” (Luke 20:35-36). But a minister had decided to use the Elizabethan euphemism “know one another” rather than say “get married” or “have sexual relations,” speaking with the King James expression: “Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived” (Genesis 4:1). Jesus was talking about marriage and sexual intercourse, because that’s what the Sadducees were asking him about (Luke 20:27), trying to trap him with a hypothetical question.

But the answer to the question, will we know one another in heaven, is answered in several places in the Bible. The answer is always Yes.

1.  Just as Moses and Elijah spoke with Christ about his departure (Luke 9:30-31) on the Mount of Transfiguration, and were recognized to be Moses and Elijah by James, Peter and John (Mark 9:5), so also we will keep company with one another and enjoy delightful, insightful and spiritual conversations, especially about the glorious mystery of redemption and salvation, which we cannot understand perfectly in this life. Revelation 5:9 also says this, even though it seems impossible for man to discuss the matter of salvation apart from the painful matter of sin. But heaven’s bliss is beyond our ability to comprehend in this lifetime (Philippians 4:7).

2.  1 Thessalonians 4:17 includes the joyful words “together with them” (ἅμα σὺν αὐτοῖς, hama syn autois). Paul used these words to comfort the grieving Thessalonians who were troubled by the fate of Christian friends and family who had died before Christ’s return (which they hoped would be quite soon). This comfort surely included the promise that they would not only be together with their loved ones, but also recognize them, interact with them, and enjoy the blessings of eternal life together.

3.  Perhaps the finest proof passage for this was cited by Luther just a few hours before his death. At the dinner table, he brought the subject up himself, and his companions asked him for his answer. He said, citing Genesis 2:21-23; ‘What did Adam do? He had never seen Eve in all his life; he lay there and slept. But when he woke up, he did not say to her, ‘Where did you come from? Who are you?’ He said, ‘This flesh is taken from my flesh and his bone is taken from my bone.’ How did he know that this woman had not come from a stone? It was because he was full of the Holy Spirit and had true knowledge of God. In that life we will be restored to that knowledge and image in Christ, so that we will know father and mother and each other by sight better than Adam knew Eve.”

How lovely, how beautiful are the tents, the temporary homes, of God’s people here on earth. They are beautiful because God dwells with us, the Holy Spirit making his home in the temple of our hearts (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19). It will be even more beautiful hereafter—not because of the marble and crystal and gold, if those things will even be used, but because Jesus is there, and our beautiful loved ones, too.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith

 

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