A king waited anxiously amidst a large crowd. From afar, a man could be seen walking slowly, as if in a trance. The man looked strange: he could only see with one eye, and that eye had bulged out of its socket.
As he began to speak, the crowd dispersed. Some were disappointed, others angry. But the man ignored them and continued speaking as if he were under a spell.
This story repeated itself two more times. Each time, fewer people came to see and hear the strange man, while others even began to mock and laugh at him. The king finally became furious with the man and sent him home in disgrace.
Who was the king and why was he so disillusioned?
The king was Balak. He ruled in ancient times, when people believed in magicians and sorcerers. Balak summoned the master sorcerer of his time, Balaam, to curse the Jewish people.
But Balaam did not curse the Jewish people. Instead, he blessed them with words that God placed in his mouth. His prophecies contain great blessings for the Jewish people and for the entire world.
Balaam prophesied about the coming of the Messiah: "I see him, but not now; I can look upon him, but not in the near future. A star will come out of Jacob, and a rod will rise in Israel.".
Maimonides explains, "I see him, but not now," referring to King David. "I can look upon him, but not in the near future," referring to King Messiah. "A star will come out of Jacob," is King David, and "a rod will rise in Israel," is King Messiah.
Why does the prophecy mention King David alongside King Messiah? First, to strengthen our faith that Messiah will come. David was born hundreds of years after Balaam's prophecy. We are waiting even longer for the coming of Messiah. However, we can be certain that the second part of the prophecy will be fulfilled, just as the first part was.
There is another lesson. Putting two kings together in the same prophecy shows us that they will both act similarly. David spread Torah study and the observance of the mitzvot throughout the Jewish people. He defeated all his enemies and brought peace to the land. He brought the Ark of the Testimony (Aron HaKodesh) to Jerusalem and prepared the construction of the Temple (Beit HaMikdash).
This is the kind of thing Messiah will do. Messiah will bring all the Jewish people back to the observance of the Torah. He will lead them to the Land of Israel, and there they will live in peace. And he will build the Temple.
Extracted from Please tell me what the Rebbe says.