Talking donkeys have a way of getting your attention.
In the wilderness of Moab, God used one to halt the pagan prophet Balaam, who was riding to curse the Israelites for King Balak’s bribe. After the donkey spoke, revealing the angel of the Lord blocking the path with a drawn sword, God completely hijacked the mission. What was meant for cursing became an unstoppable river of blessing, culminating in one of the Bible’s earliest and most breathtaking messianic prophecies. We’ll see this shortly.
This remarkable story perfectly embodies the biblical pattern: the now and not yet theme is oriented consistently forward. History is important because it catalogues the past as it is oriented forward. We’re not called to rebuild the past but to build forward, learning from the past and especially this idea that God is always orienting His people to the future hope and happenings in His full and final consummation.
In the wilderness of Moab, a pagan prophet named Balaam climbed a mountain with a king’s bribe in his pocket and a curse on his lips. Instead, the Spirit of God overpowered him, and out came these words:
“I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel.” (Numbers 24:17)
That single line has echoed for 3,400 years. It refused to stay anchored in the present moment. It refused to romanticize the past. It was relentlessly, stubbornly forward.
This is the heartbeat of all Scripture: history is not a shrine to rebuild, but a catalog of God’s faithfulness that propels us into His coming fullness. The “already but not yet” is never a holding pattern. It is a forward thrust toward the telos—the purposeful end, the consummation where every promise finds its resounding “Yes!” in Christ.
The Prophecy Bent Toward Tomorrow
Balaam’s fourth oracle wasn’t a nostalgic glance at Israel’s exodus or Abraham’s covenant. It was a distant vision of a coming King whose rule would crush every enemy and establish everlasting dominion. Near-term, it pointed to David’s victories. Ultimately, it blazed toward Jesus—the Bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16).
The phrase “not now… not near” is the Bible’s consistent posture. God never says, “Let’s go back to the glory days.” He says, “See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:19)—even while reminding His people of the old ones.
The Star rose over Bethlehem. The Scepter was planted in nail-scarred hands. Yet the full crushing of every “Moab and Edom” (every last enemy of God’s people) still awaits the return of the King. This tension is not a problem to solve; it is the very shape of faithful living.
History as Forward-Catalogued Memory
One of the most helpful ways I’ve heard this expressed is this:
“The now and not yet theme is oriented consistently forward. History is important because it catalogues the past as it is oriented forward. We’re not called to rebuild the past but to build forward learning from the past—and especially this idea that God is always orienting His people to the future hope and happenings in His full and final consummation.”
This is exactly right.
- The Passover meal wasn’t meant to freeze Israel in the exodus era; it launched them into the Promised Land and, centuries later, became the Lord’s Supper that launches us toward the marriage supper of the Lamb.
- The stones from the Jordan were stacked as a memorial—not so future generations could camp there forever, but so they would remember and cross the next river.
- David’s throne was glorious, yet Hebrews 11 tells us Abraham was looking for “the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”
Every act of remembrance in Scripture is a launching pad, never a landing strip.
When we treat church history, “the good old days,” or even the book of Acts as a blueprint to recreate, we miss the point. God is not calling us to rebuild the tabernacle. He is preparing us for the day when there is no temple because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple” (Revelation 21:22).
Learning from the Past Without Living in It
Numbers 23–25 gives us the perfect illustration.
Chapters 23–24 show that no external curse or political scheme can stop God’s forward plan. Balaam’s oracles declare Israel blessed, numerous, and invincible because the King is among them.
Then chapter 25 shows the real danger: internal compromise. Seduction and idolatry at Baal of Peor nearly accomplished what armies could not. Yet even there, Phinehas’ zeal for God’s honor is rewarded with an everlasting covenant of peace—a forward-looking promise that finds its fullness in our great High Priest-King.
We remember the past so we can repent, learn, and run faster toward the goal.
Building Forward in the Tension
What does this look like practically today?
- Zeal with eyes fixed ahead. Phinehas didn’t spear sin so Israel could stay comfortable in the wilderness. He did it so they could enter the land. Our pursuit of holiness is for the sake of the coming kingdom.
- Hope that refuses nostalgia. When culture feels dark, the temptation is to pine for a previous decade. The biblical response is to lift our eyes: the Star is still rising.
- Participation, not preservation. We don’t hunker down trying to recreate a golden age. We plant, build, serve, proclaim, and create in the present because we know the future is gloriously certain. Every act of justice, mercy, evangelism, and creativity is a preview of the new creation.
The same sovereign God who forced blessing from a greedy pagan’s mouth is still at work, pulling all of history toward the day when “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 11:15).
The Dawn Is Breaking
Jesus stands at both the center and the end of the story. He is the Star that rose in the darkness of Bethlehem, and He is the Bright Morning Star whose full light will swallow every shadow.
So let us catalogue the past with gratitude. Let us learn from every victory and every failure. But let us keep our faces set like flint toward the telos—toward the full and final consummation where death is dead, tears are wiped away, and the shout of the King fills the earth.
The Star is rising.
The Scepter is already in His hand.
We’re build forward into the light. Remember this especially as things seem to grow dark.
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