“The rest of the story”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Friday, July 5, 2024

Numbers 24: 1-13 (Forward, p. 68) CEV p. 151

Years ago, there was a popular radio program, ‘The Rest of the Story’, hosted by Paul Harvey. It featured a little-known story—or, at least, the little-known ending to it, and ended with the words, ‘And now you know the rest of the story.’ I have often wished that I had ‘the rest of the story’ in terms of many current news items. Often we hear the initial word, the opening paragraphs, but little in terms of its later developments.

Fortunately, we do have the ‘rest of the story’ when it comes to the Old Testament prophet Balaam. It turns out that eventually he came to no good, no good at all, and was killed for his part in corrupting Israel. However, I must say that I was rather suspicious of him even prior to that. Certainly, he continued faithful to God and consistent in his refusal to accede to Balak’s demand that he curse Israel, even over the course of four different attempts by Balak. But what has raised my suspicions is the fact that he continued ‘hanging out’ with Balak anyway. I would think that after the first ‘no’ from God, Balaam should have just walked away from Balak and left him, frustrated, to ‘stew in his own juice.’ But Balaam did not, perhaps hoping that God would change his mind, thus allowing him to reap a generous reward anyway. Interestingly, in the New Testament, his name is symbolic of greed (see 2 Peter 2:15 and Jude 11) so this certainly gives substance to that idea.

However, maybe this flirting with danger as in the case of Balak, sowed the seeds of a disloyalty or antagonism towards Israel. In Numbers 25 we learn that the Midianites conspired together to lead the Israelites into idol worship in the cult of Baal-Peor and into depravity and fornication with their women. We might not know anything more of this except that in Numbers 31: 8,16 we learn that Balaam had been one of the ringleaders of this conspiracy and so met his death with the rest of them. And indeed, in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 2:14), he is mentioned as being notorious for this sort of thing.

So, what this says to me is that it isn’t the original and early successes, nor an initial faithfulness to God that matters, but whether we continue on with this, whether we remain consistent in our faithfulness to God and to doing only what God tells us to say and do. The key to running a race well is not merely in being in it but also in finishing it and doing so with success. And so it is with life as well. That is the ‘rest of the story’, with Balaam and with us. Amen.

Forward notes: “How fair are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel!” (verse 5)

“Toward the end of the book of Exodus, during one of Moses’s encounters with God on Mount Sinai, God tells Moses, ‘Have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them.’ I am fascinated by the incredibly specific way God describes how to build and decorate this space. For several chapters, God specifies things like the exact dimensions of tables and the kind of wood to use in making them. God describes tiny details, down to the colour and pattern of the curtains!

“Those texts were compiled during the period of exile in Babylon. One day, I thought about the fact that the writers, far from home, were describing a physical space that no longer existed in this world. I relish these words that became a worship space for God’s people, that became their altar, lights, and curtains. I am grateful for the opportunity to enter that beautiful space with them. I am deeply moved that I may join my voice and heart with theirs and that we can rejoice in God’s beauty together!”

MOVING FORWARD: “Is there a beautiful physical space where you go to encounter God? Go there—or create one.”

A concluding note: Our author suggests that those texts that describe Israel’s worship space were compiled during the exile, but that supposition has increasingly come under fire. It suggests, for instance, that Moses was not literate, and that those who followed him—for instance, during the reigns of David and Solomon—could not have compiled and preserved these records. That this suggestion is unthinkable is buttressed by the fact that this is the divinely inspired worship space no less. Would such a thing be left to chance, and to the succession of years! Not very likely.