The Bible in a Year
“Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.” — Numbers 23:10
As we journey through Scripture together in this year-long reading plan, we eventually meet a curious and troubling figure: Balaam. In Numbers 23:10, he utters one of the most arresting statements in the Old Testament: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his.” It is a beautiful request. It is thoughtful. It is even spiritually perceptive. Yet it comes from a man whose heart was divided.
Balaam was a prophet who knew how to speak truth. When constrained by God, he could bless instead of curse. He recognized the distinct calling of Israel and the favor of the LORD upon them. His statement about dying the death of the righteous reveals that he understood something critical: death is not the end of the story. Hebrews 9:27 reminds us, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Balaam did not dodge the reality of death. In that sense, his request was intelligent. He faced what many prefer to ignore.
In our own time, we often sanitize death or push it to the margins of our thinking. We prepare for retirement, careers, vacations, and emergencies, yet rarely do we prepare our souls. The wisdom literature consistently urges us to number our days (Psalm 90:12). To consider death soberly is not morbid; it is wise. John Calvin once wrote, “We are not our own; therefore let us not set it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us.” To think about death rightly is to remember that our lives belong to God and that eternity outweighs temporal gain.
Yet Balaam’s request is not only intelligent; it is instructive. When he says, “Let me die the death of the righteous,” he acknowledges that not all deaths are the same. Physically, every human heart will one day stop beating. Spiritually, however, there is a world of difference between dying reconciled to God and dying in rebellion against Him. Jesus Himself said in John 8:24, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” That is a sobering statement. The New Testament makes clear that righteousness is not self-generated morality but a gift secured in Christ. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that God made Christ “who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The word “righteous” in Hebrew, צַדִּיק (tsaddiq), describes one who is just, upright, and aligned with God’s covenant standards. In the New Testament, the Greek δίκαιος (dikaios) carries the idea of being declared right before God. Balaam admired the end of such people. He saw that the righteous possess a hope that extends beyond the grave. But admiration is not transformation.
And here is where his request becomes incomplete. Balaam wanted to die like the righteous, but he did not choose to live like them. Numbers 31:8 records his end—he died among the enemies of Israel. The man who longed for a righteous death aligned himself with unrighteous gain. He loved reward more than obedience. As the apostle Peter later warns, Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15). He desired heaven’s comfort without heaven’s King.
This tension confronts us as we read the Bible in a year. It is possible to appreciate biblical truth, to speak about faith, even to feel stirred by godly examples—yet remain unchanged in our daily choices. A.W. Tozer once observed, “The true Christian ideal is not to be happy but to be holy.” Balaam wanted the happy ending without the holy journey.
So what does this mean for us today? It means that if we desire to die the death of the righteous, we must first be made righteous by Jesus Christ and then walk in that righteousness. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. But that faith produces a life increasingly shaped by obedience. We do not earn heaven by our works; yet a heart transformed by Christ will bear fruit.
In the flow of the Church year, whether we are in an ordinary week or approaching a holy season such as Lent, this theme is always relevant. Lent, in particular, calls us to examine not only how we wish to end our lives but how we are living them now. Repentance is not simply sorrow over sin; it is a reorientation of the heart.
As we continue through Scripture, Balaam’s story stands as both warning and invitation. It warns us not to separate destination from direction. It invites us to anchor our hope fully in Christ. The righteousness that secures a blessed end is not found in vague spiritual sentiment but in union with Jesus.
For further reflection on biblical righteousness and eternal hope, you may find this article from Ligonier Ministries helpful: https://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/what-is-righteousness. It thoughtfully explains how righteousness is grounded in the work of Christ and applied to believers.
Today, as we read and reflect, let us not merely say, “I hope to die well.” Let us ask, “Am I living faithfully now?” Eternity is shaped not in our final hour, but in the daily pattern of trust, repentance, and obedience.
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