Numbers 31:1,7-8,16: "The LORD said to Moses, 'Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites.' . . . . They (the Israelites) fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man . . . . they also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword . . . . (he had given) advice (to the pagan women that they would lure the Israelite men) and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague stuck the LORD's people."
Balaam is a rather obscure person mentioned in just a few chapters within Scripture; nonetheless, he is a man whose life teaches us an invaluable lesson of the need for obedience to the Lord. Balaam was a sorcerer who lived in the region of Aram. He had previously been summoned by Balak, King of Moab, to pronounce a curse on the Israelites, who had been moving through the region on their way to the Promised Land. Balak and the Moabites were struck with fear at the massive numbers of Israelites who had entered their territory, and their fears were only heightened when they found out how decidedly the Israelites had defeated the Amorites in battle. The king wanted a divine advantage in order that he might defeat the Israelites, and when he heard that the sorcerer's curses had effect (see Numbers 22:6), he offered Balaam great financial incentives to come and curse the children of God.
During the night, the Lord appeared to Balaam and told the sage not to go with the Moabites nor to pronounce a curse upon the Israelites, for they had received a covenant blessing from the Lord. When Balaam shared this news with the messengers of Balak, they returned only to find the king even more insistent to have the sorcerer return to Moab and pronounce a curse against the descendants of Abraham. The king sent even more impressive and numerous messengers back to Balaam with more financial incentive; but Balaam would not pronounce the curse in defiance to the Lord's will, even if the king were to give him the palace filled with precious treasures. In a strange twist of events, God permitted Balaam to go with the messengers, but he was only to do to what the Lord advised, not what the soliciting messengers were trying to get from him.
Although we are not told what happened during the commute, Balaam apparently did something against the expressed will of God, for as the sorcerer traveled on his donkey toward Moab, the Angel of the Lord blocked his path, drawing His sword to kill him for his disobedience. In a rather humorous series of events, the donkey saw the mighty angel blocking the path and turned into a field. Balaam apparently did not see the angel and continued to beat the donkey to get back on the path, but the donkey would not respond; instead, she lay down in the path even as her master continued to beat her. In his heated anger, Balaam did not realize that the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey to speak with the sorcerer, and when she asked why he was beating her relentlessly, the sage quickly replied that the donkey made him a fool before the royal entourage. Balaam was resolved to kill the donkey if only he had a sword; ironically, the donkey had spared Balaam's life by not continuing down the path. The Lord then opened the eyes of Balaam so that he could see the angel of wrath with sword drawn; it did not take Balaam long to jump off of his donkey and bow in submission to the heavenly being that was posed to strike him down. Balaam admitted his sin and was willing to return to his home, but the Lord again told the sage that he was to go with the messengers. Again, Balaam was only to speak what the Lord told him so say. From this re-emphasis of only speaking the Lord's dictates, we only can only suspect that Balaam was making some promises to these messengers along the way that were in defiance to the will of the Lord. Was Balaam enticed by the potential profit and prestige that lay before him if only he would do what the King of Moab requested? If Balaam had any notions of doing anything contrary to the Lord's will, his encounter with the angel settled the matter.
In fact, when Balaam gets to King Balak, he can only pronounce blessings upon the Israelites as per instruction of the Lord. The frustrated king of Moab sent Balaam away with no financial blessing, saying "the Lord has kept you from being rewarded. (24:11)"
In the next chapter (25) we find that the Moabites enticed the Israeli men to have sexual relations and follow their pagan gods at Peor, resulting in God's judgment of a plague that killed 24,000. In chapter 31 we find that Balaam was the one who encouraged the pagan women to entice the men of Israel. Did Balaam regret that he did not get the financial reward from the king of Moab and then devised a way that he knew could bring a divine curse upon the Israelites? In any event, God's judgment befell him to the point that he was killed by the sword by the Israelites in chapter 31.
It is amazing to see the disobedience of a man who had experienced such an incredible display of the awesome power of God; in fact, it is striking that a man who had averted the wrath of God once, would succumb to such rebellion against the Lord that would invariably bring divine judgment. Whereas we may be inclined to shake our heads in disgust at such behavior, do we not also test the Lord with our chronic disobedience. How often have we experienced a divine encounter with the Lord (and been resolved to faithful obedience to Him) only to later feast upon the evil temptations that would treat His Holiness with contempt? When we behave in such ways, we are no different from Balaam. Let us confess our sins while God's mercy is before us, so that we will not fall prey to His divine wrath. Even now, the angel of the Lord may have his sword drawn down the path of our disobedience. Let us turn from this path and follow the Lord in a spirit of contrition, confession, and surrender.
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