Maybe you remember the story of Balaam. Balaam was a seer who was hired by Balak the king of Moab to curse the people of Israel. The king of Moab was worried because Israel had come out of Egypt, and they were traveling north. They were a force to be reckoned with and the king of Moab knew that he needed all the help he could get if he was going to defeat this threat coming up through the desert, so he hired Balaam to speak a curse over the people. The king of Moab believed that Balaam’s words were more than just words. He believed that Balaam’s words had power to hurt the people of Israel. Perhaps you remember how it went though. Each time Balaam began to speak a curse against the people of Israel God made him speak blessings. The king of Moab was furious but this was Balaam’s response, (from Numbers 24:13), “Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the LORD-and I must say only what the LORD says”. All the blessings that Balaam spoke over God’s people came true. There is one that is particularly important to us during this Advent season. Balaam said, (from Numbers 24:17), “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” Though he didn’t know it, Balaam was talking about Jesus. Jesus was the one who was coming and generations of God’s people from that time on continued to BEHOLD him by faith, seeing him over and over again in the word of God, till one day he came. Now we behold him. We behold him coming at Bethlehem in a lowly manger, to be our savior from sin and death. Like Balaam we continue to see him but not now to behold him, but not near, for Jesus is coming again.