Balaam and the King of Moab

BALAAM AND THE KING OF MOAB

In 1401 BC, Balak, the king of Moab, became afraid that his nation would be attacked by the Israelites. He had seen how Israel had destroyed his neighboring nations, and now they were camped in the plains below Moab, and it was obvious to the king that his people were greatly outnumbered. Would Moab be Israel's next conquest? Balak sent some of his princes to Midian to search for a well-known wizard by the name of Balaam who had been reported to have the power to pronounce curses upon people and nations. While he waited for his men to return, Balak made an agreement with the Midianites to help him fight against Israel.

When the princes of Moab found Balaam, they said to him, "Our king Balak desperately needs your help, because the Children of Israel who have come out of Egypt are a serious threat to our nation. They outnumber us greatly, and we can't possibly defeat them! Look here ... we have brought a generous gift for you if you will agree to curse these people."

Their offer was very tempting to Balaam, so he said, "Stay with me tonight, and I will ask God if He will let me do what you are requesting." They agreed to wait until morning, and during the night God spoke to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men who have come to you?" replied, "They are Balaam princes of Moab who came to ask me to protect them from the Israelites who are threatening their nation."

In His directive will. God said to Balaam, "You shall NOT go with the men ... neither shall you place a curse upon Israel, because I have blessed them!"

The next morning, Balaam told the men, "Return to Moab without me, because God has refused to let me go with you." The princes were very disappointed, but they went back and reported to their king that Balaam had refused to help.

Then Balak sent another group of princes who were more honorable than the first group, and they pleaded with Balaam saying: "Our king asks that you reconsider your refusal to help us. Not only will Balak reward you handsomely, but he will also promote you to a high position of authority in Moab! Ask whatever you will, but you must curse those who are threatening our people!"

Balaam responded, "If Balak would give me all his silver and gold, I could not go beyond the Word of the Lord my God; however stay here tonight, and I will again ask the Lord for His permission to let me help you." In answer to Balaam's request, the Lord used His permissive will to test Balaam and said, "You may go with the men, but you shall speak only My words regarding the Israelites." Balaam was happy when God said he could go, but he was so obsessed with the idea of becoming rich and famous that he kept trying to think of a way to curse Israel. He got up very early the next morning and was disappointed to find that the princes of Moab had left without him, so he took two of his own men and went after them.

God became very angry with Balaam, and the angel of the Lord stood on the road with a sword in his hand to stop them. Balaam did not see the angel but his donkey did, and she turned aside into the field. Balaam whipped the animal and tried to turn her back onto the road, but the angel of the Lord placed a wall on either side of the road and stood in her way. This time the donkey threw herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot! Balaam beat her severely with his whip, and she began to move forward again. This time the angel of the Lord went further down the path and stood in a narrow place so that the donkey was unable to turn in either direction. She didn't know what to do, so she fell down under Balaam. He became enraged and beat his faithful animal again! Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?" By this time, Balaam was nearly insane with anger... instead of being shocked to hear the donkey speak to him, he replied, "I have beaten you because you forced your will against mine! Now I wish I had a sword in my hand so I could kill you!"

The donkey replied, "I'm your property, and you have ridden upon me ever since you first owned me. Have I ever been disobedient to you before this?" Balaam answered, "No!" Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes so he could see the angel of the Lord standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand, and Balaam fell flat on his face!" The Lord said to Balaam, "Why have you beaten your faithful beast these three times? I went out before you to stop you, because your thoughts are evil. The donkey saw me and turned away, and if she had not done so, I would have killed you and saved her life!"

Now Balaam knew he was actually speaking to the Lord, so he humbled himself and said, "Behold, I have sinned. I didn't know it was You who was trying to prevent me from going. If you are still displeased with me, I will not go to Balak." Then the Lord used His permissive will once more and said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but you shall speak only. the words that I shall give you."

Balaam found the princes of Moab and accompanied them to Moab. As soon as Balak saw the men, he went out to meet them. He greeted Balaam and said, "Why did you wait so long to accept my offer? Don't you realize that I am able to appoint you to a position of great honor among my people?" Balaam answered, "As you see, I have come here at your request, and now if you will permit me to speak, I will say the words that God puts into my mouth."

The king took Balaam to the city of Kirjath-huzoth and offered a sacrifice to his gods. After that, Balak took Balaam and the princes of Moab to a high hill where they could see one quarter of Israel's army, and Balaam said, "Have your people build seven altars here on which we may offer a ram and an ox. Meanwhile, I will go a short distance away and ask the Lord for further instructions."

When Balaam was alone, the Lord came to him, and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars of sacrifice ... what words shall I speak?" The Lord replied, "Return to Balak and speak the words that I will put in your mouth." Balaam returned to Balak and his people where they waited by the altars of sacrifice, and he said to the king, "Your majesty, you have brought me out of Midian to curse the Israelites, but the Lord has blessed them, so I am not permitted to curse them."

The king was very disappointed, but he said nothing while Balaam spoke the words the Lord gave Him to say which were: "From the top of these rocks, I can see the Children of Israel, and the number of them is like sand on the seashore. They have been separated unto Me from all the nations." Then Balaam said to the Lord, "Let me die the death of righteousness, and let my final end be as that of Israel."

In disgust, Balak threw his hands up and shouted, "What have you done to me, Balaam? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead of cursing them you have blessed them!" Balaam replied, "God has overruled your desire to curse Israel! Do you expect me to disregard the words of the Lord my God?"

Still not discouraged, Balak answered, "Come over here and try just once more to curse my enemy. We will build seven more altars and make a sacrifice to your God." Balaam responded, "Wait, and I will ask the Lord what He wants me to do."

When Balaam was apart from the Moabites, the Lord again put words in his mouth, so when he returned to Balak he said, "Listen to the words of the Lord, Balak. God is not a man that He should lie; neither will He change His mind about the people whom He has blessed. He brought Israel out of Egypt for a special purpose, and no enchantment or divination can be used against them! The Children of Israel shall be victorious over their enemies, and their victories will demonstrate the power of God to all nations." Balak interrupted and said, "SAY NO MORE! Do not try any longer to curse or bless Israel for me!" Balaam replied, "Didn't I tell you that I could speak only the words the Lord gives me to say?" The king was still determined to have his own way, and he said to Balaam, "I won't be satisfied until we try once more to curse the people who are camped in the valley below! Come with me to the top of Mt. Peor, and we will build another seven altars on which to sacrifice to your God!"

Although Balaam knew that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he stood there thinking of a way to please Balak. However, as he stood there observing the Israelites in their tents below, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and Balaam spoke beautiful words about the future blessings God has prepared for Israel, and he said to Balak, "Blessed are those who bless Israel,
and cursed are they who curse Israel."

Finally, realizing it was useless to further entice Balaam into placing a curse upon Israel, Balak became very angry and said, "I called you here to curse my enemies, and three times you have
blessed them! Now, GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! I wanted to promote you to a place of honor, but your God has prevented me from doing so!" Balaam replied, "When your messengers came to me with an offer of great riches, I told them I could speak only the words which the Lord would give me. Now I will go and return to my own people in Midian.

Soon after Balaam's encounter with Balak, the Lord sent the Israelites to fight against the Midianites. Many of their kings were killed in the battle, and Balaam was among the casualties.
He did not receive the rewards he had hoped to gain, but he was obedient to the Lord his God.

Written by Lois Delany 10/14/2009

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