GOD IS NOT A MAN
The above words are found in Numbers 23. Balak was trying to hire Balaam to curse God's people. Three such attempts were made and the words in our title came during the second effort. Balaam affirms that he can do nor say anything other than what God allows. Each effort is made with the sacrifice of animals on seven different altars. The sacrifices were made and then Balaam goes to speak with God. God meets with him each time telling him what to say. It was on the second attempt that Balaam addresses the issue of the nature of God.
In verse 19, God does not lie. This is affirmed in the New Testament in two different locations (Hebrews 6:18; Titus 1:2). We need to see the importance of God saying something and then going through with it. In verse 19 we find this truth about God; "...hath he said, and shall he not do it?" If God says He will do something, then His nature is at stake if He does not do it. God must follow through with what He declares to man, otherwise, His position as God could be challenged by any skeptic. How does this manifest itself in our present day? God declared that He would establish a kingdom during the days of the fourth world power counting Babylon (Daniel 2:44). Question is the truth in Numbers 23:19 really truth? If God says He is going to do something then He must do whatever it is that He said. The fourth world power beginning with Babylon was the Roman Empire. During the days of the Roman empire God promised to establish a kingdom that would stand forever. Did He or did He not do it? How hard is it to figure out? If the Roman Empire was not the fourth world power, then who is the fourth world power? If the Bible does not mean what it says regarding the kingdom as per Daniel 2:44, what does it mean?
Jesus began His ministry by telling His audience to repent because the kingdom of heaven was at hand (Matthew 4:17). Did Jesus lie? Was the kingdom at hand or not? How by any use of Biblical language does one take the events of Jesus' life and stretch His promise to mean over 2000 years? There is no way from a scriptural viewpoint can one get "at hand" to mean two thousand years. Jesus said there would be some in His audience that would not taste of death until the saw the kingdom of God come with power (Mark 9:1). Did Jesus tell the truth or not? Did some of His audience see the kingdom come or not? If they did not see it, then Jesus lied. If Jesus lied then we have the serious issue about whether or not He is God. He declared that His kingdom was not of this world meaning an earthly kingdom. In the same setting of Scripture He declared that He came to be a King (John 18:36,37). He came to become a King. Did He become a King or did He lie to Pilate. There are far more serious problems than talking about events to take place in the 21st century. One cannot get to our time without doing serious violation to the meanings of the Words spoken by Jesus.
The apostles on the day of Pentecost, by inspiration, applied the events of Acts 2 to the words of David (Acts 2:30). Christ was going to sit on David's throne. Did He sit on David's throne or not? If He did not sit on David's throne then His credentials as the Son of God are made suspect. The apostles explained what David meant? It meant that Jesus would be raised from the dead and that His body would not see corruption (verse 31). The very next verse affirms that God raised Him up. It is by the resurrection from the dead that God for all time to all the world declared that Jesus was His Son (Romans 1:4).
God declared that His Son would be born into this world in the city of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Was He born there or not? This brings us back with great force to the passage in Numbers 23:19. If God speaks, "...shall he not make it good". God is able to bring about what He promised. Rome, nor the Jews, nor anyone else could stand in the way of the carrying out of God's will concerning the events surrounding His Son. Do you know why? Because God is not a man that He should lie. Our salvation rests in the truth that God can be trusted to do what He says. He declares that He can save us and keep us from falling if we follow His Word (Jude 24).