Easter, a time of great hope, approaches.
Colorful Easter eggs will soon dot our church’s lawn as our kids arrive for our Children’s Easter Celebration just 24 hours before we all gather for worship on Easter morning. In that spirit of hope, let’s consider another kind of Easter egg hidden in plain sight on our campus, one that relates to the Old Testament book of Numbers.
In modern parlance, an “Easter egg” is an image, feature, or small but often amusing detail hidden inside a video game, movie, or software application—one that carries a fleeting message, a little gift for the eagle-eyed observer. For example, from the realm of Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock’s quick cameos in his own films are a classic example of this kind of Easter egg. The brief appearance of E.T. from E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial within the Galactic Senate scene in Star Wars: Episode 1, is another.
There are twelve medallions affixed to the walls just outside the Westmoreland Chapel on our campus. Several years ago, while our Sanctuary was being renovated and we gathered in the Chapel for worship, we explored the meaning of each of these medallions on a series of successive Sunday mornings. The most obscure of the twelve might be the one that depicts a white star. The Scriptural reference behind it is equally obscure: one from the book of Numbers.
I see it, but not now, I behold it, but not soon, there goes forth a star from Jacob, there arises a meteor from Israel...
These words of prophecy emerged during the Israelite wanderings in the wilderness from a most unlikely source, the pagan prophet Balaam.
Here’s how it happened.
Seeing the Israelites as a threat to his kingdom, the king of Moab asks Balaam, a famed soothsayer and wizard in the region, to put a hex on Israel. Warned by God not to obey, Balaam nevertheless sets out on his donkey to see the king’s nobles. As a result, God’s anger flares up against Balaam and a fierce angel with a drawn sword soon appears right in front of him along the road. Though Balaam is supposedly someone who sees the future, he doesn’t see God’s messenger right before him, only his donkey does. The donkey wisely turns aside and off the road to avoid the formidable angel. The oblivious Balaam responds by striking his she-ass (as the text calls her) three times until the poor donkey objects, speaking to Balaam directly:
Then God opened the mouth of the she-ass and she said to Balaam: “What have I done that you have struck me on these three occasions...have I ever been accustomed...to do thus to you?”
As Balaam answers his donkey, his eyes are opened, and he suddenly sees what the animal sees—the angel with the drawn sword right in front of him.
Delivered with humor, the meaning couldn't be clearer. The enemies of Israel don’t see God and the things of God right before them. They can’t see, though even their donkeys do.
Finally comprehending the situation he’s in, Balaam bows down before the angel and soon receives another warning from God to refrain from cursing the Israelites despite the fact that he’s been commissioned to do so. God tells Balaam, in fact, to instead bless the Israelites. And having now been set right, Balaam proceeds to the Moabites to offer their king the prophecy, which again was this:
I see it, but not now, I behold it, but not soon, there goes forth a star from Jacob, there arises a meteor from Israel...
Whether it’s this star in Numbers that’s illustrated in the medallion just outside our chapel, or the one that appeared over Bethlehem in Matthew’s Gospel when Christ was born, or the star Jesus refers to as He identifies Himself as “the offspring of David...the bright and morning star” in the book of Revelation, a star in Scripture always seems to symbolize the notion of hope, the hope that a victory is just ahead for those who count themselves in the number who earnestly follow God.
Though we walk this Holy Week through the darkness of the cascading events that take Jesus eventually to Golgotha and to the Cross, may this hope of a promised future triumph encourage you to keep your eyes ahead, discerning even that which is—for the moment—hidden.
Know that there’s always hope for the God-pursuing, eagle-eyed observer because there is always the promise of victory ahead.
God, give us the vision to see and grasp the star of hope. Amen.
