by Douglas Ward, Ph.D.
As disciples of Jesus we regularly pray, "Hallowed be your name" (Matt 6:11; Luke 11:2). These words express a desire for God's uniqueness and preeminence to be universally recognized and acknowledged.(1)
The events of the Exodus caused God's name to be hallowed or sanctified in the eyes of many. He delivered the Israelites from Egypt with a series of mighty wonders. One purpose of which was to demonstrate his greatness and power to both Israel and Egypt (Exod 7:5; 10:1-2). Pharaoh's magicians were forced to admit that the plagues were of divine origin (Exod 8:19). Surrounding nations also took notice, as evidenced by the reaction of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro the Midianite. "Blessed be the Lord," he declared, "who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh and has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians." His conclusion? "Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods ... "(Exod 18:10-11).
The Exodus was still widely remembered forty years later. In fact, God's reputation expanded when Israel soundly defeated the attacking armies of kings Sihon and Og (Num 21). A remarkable instance of hallowing the name of the LORD is the way Rahab of Jericho bore witness when speaking to the Israelite spies. "We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites," she tells them. "And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath." (Joshua 2:11)
Not everyone chose, like Jethro and Rahab, to acknowledge God's sovereignty. King Balak of Moab hoped to prevail over Israel by enlisting the aid of the renowned Balaam son of Beor (Num 22:1-6). Balaam "practiced divination" (Joshua 13:22), which means that he tried to discern the will of the gods by reading various omens. Balak believed that Balaam might also be able to influence the will of the gods. His plan was to hire Balaam to curse Israel.
The extent of Balaam's fame as a diviner is suggested by the fact that he lived in faraway Mesopotamia (Deut 23:4), a journey of over four hundred miles from Moab.(2) There is also archaeological evidence of Balaam's status. In March 1967, a Dutch archeological team at Deir Alla in Jordan found fragments of an inscription about Balaam that had originally appeared on a plastered wall. This inscription calls Balaam a "seer of the gods" and describes a troubling vision that came to Balaam one night. The inscription, written in a northwest Semitic language, is believed to date from the eighth century B.C., several centuries after the events recorded in the book of Numbers.(3) It seems, then, that Balaam was still remembered hundreds of years after his death.
Despite his reputation as an expert on the supernatural, Balaam's powers were severely limited. This fact became evident during his journey to Moab. When a sword-wielding angel blocked his path, Balaam was oblivious to the presence of the angel. His donkey possessed greater spiritual awareness than he did (Num 22:22-35).
Balaam apparently desired to curse Israel, but he was powerless to oppose the will of God (Deut 23:4-5; Joshua 24:9-10). To the chagrin of King Balak, Balaam pronounced blessings on the descendants of Jacob. God's name was hallowed through the words of the ancient world's most famous diviner. "God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind," Balaam proclaimed. "Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" (Num 23:19)
The Bible teaches that all those who oppose God will ultimately be defeated, as were Balak and the Pharaoh of the Exodus. In Ezekiel's prophecy against Gog and Magog, nations that represent the enemies of God and his people, God tells Gog, "With pestilence and bloodshed I will enter into judgment with him, and I will rain upon him and his hordes and the many peoples who are with him torrential rains and hailstones, fire and sulfur" (Ezek 38:22). The imagery in this verse (pestilence, hailstones, fire) calls to mind the mighty works of the Exodus. As it was then, so shall the LORD's name be hallowed continually. "So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations. Then they will know that I am Yahweh"(v. 23).
In Balaam's fourth, final and most famous oracle, he looked into the future, "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" (Num 24:17). According to both Jewish and Christian tradition, the star and scepter represent the Messiah in his kingly role. Balaam saw this star/scepter exercising universal dominion and conquering all the enemies of Israel (vv. 17-20).
By virtue of his resurrection, we believe that Yeshua of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and will return to reign forever and ever. As in days of old, once again the Father's name will be hallowed (Rev 11:15-18; I Cor 15:24-25). That future reign is an important part of the fulfillment of Balaam's oracle.
But let us be ever mindful that Jesus also reigns in his church today (Eph 5:23). "Your kingdom come" follows closely on the heels of "Hallowed be your name" in the prayer he gave us. Through the witness of our words and deeds, the Spirit testifies to a needy world that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is uniquely holy. And that by defeating sin and death at the cross, He is truly the author, the giver, and the sustainer of life.
Come, let us bow down in worship, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev 4:11)
Footnotes:
(1) For more discussion of the meaning of this prayer, see for example "The Jewish Background of the Lord's Prayer" by Brad H. Young, Gospel Research Foundation Inc., Tulsa, 1984.
(2) Commentator R. Dennis Cole estimates that the trip to Pethor in Mesopotamia would have taken 22 to 25 days in each direction. See Numbers, New American Commentary, Volume 3B, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, 2000, p. 380.
(3) See the article "Fragments from the Book of Balaam Found at Deir Alla" by André Lemaire, Biblical Archaeology Review, Sept/Oct 1985.
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