And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
Israel had conquered the Amorites and Bashan by supernatural power and was encamped opposite Jericho, and Moab was terrified because Balak judged Israel too mighty to meet in battle. Balak held that anyone Balaam blessed was blessed and anyone he cursed was cursed, so elders of Moab and Midian went to Mesopotamia with costly gifts to hire his reported supernatural power to curse Israel.
The verse is Balaam's answer to God in the night, naming Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, as the one who sent to him. The sending he reported was a call to curse the people who came out of Egypt and covered the face of the earth, so that Moab could overcome them and drive them out. God came to Balaam in the night through an angel and asked what men were with him, and the verse is his reply to that question.
Balaam had once been a good man and a prophet of God but had turned away through covetousness to love gain from wrongdoing. He became double-minded by still claiming to serve the Most High and to be His prophet while pursuing the favor, honor, presents and rewards of God's enemies. He already knew from God's work for Israel what answer to give, for his curse could not harm them while they were true to God. His duty was to refuse Balak's rewards and dismiss the ambassadors, but his pride was flattered and his covetousness was stirred by the presents in their hands and by costly treasures and prospective exaltation, which he greedily accepted.
While claiming strict obedience to God's will he tried to comply with Balak's desire by daring to linger with temptation and keeping the messengers overnight to seek counsel from the Lord before giving a firm answer. His asking them to tarry overnight exposed that divided mind. His report brought God's command not to go with the men and not to curse the people because they are blessed, conducted under the banner of the God of Heaven whom no human curse could hold back. Balaam reluctantly sent the men back to Balak in the morning, showing that the effort to curse Israel was forbidden by God and could not succeed because God's blessing rested on them.
The account to which the verse belongs is an example of rulers seeking to have Israel cursed and of working against God when selfishness and covetousness shape conduct and plans and leave God out of the heart and work. Balak led Balaam from one place to another in the vain hope of turning Israel's blessing into a curse, but failed. The same failure attended later efforts to move Luther from steadfastness to retract, showing that human applause and fear of people are powerless against one sustained by divine power.
Israel had conquered the Amorites and Bashan by supernatural power and was encamped opposite Jericho, and Moab was terrified because Balak judged Israel too mighty to meet in battle. Balak held that anyone Balaam blessed was blessed and anyone he cursed was cursed, so elders of Moab and Midian went to Mesopotamia with costly gifts to hire his reported supernatural power to curse Israel.
The verse is Balaam's answer to God in the night, naming Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, as the one who sent to him. The sending he reported was a call to curse the people who came out of Egypt and covered the face of the earth, so that Moab could overcome them and drive them out. God came to Balaam in the night through an angel and asked what men were with him, and the verse is his reply to that question.
Balaam had once been a good man and a prophet of God but had turned away through covetousness to love gain from wrongdoing. He became double-minded by still claiming to serve the Most High and to be His prophet while pursuing the favor, honor, presents and rewards of God's enemies. He already knew from God's work for Israel what answer to give, for his curse could not harm them while they were true to God. His duty was to refuse Balak's rewards and dismiss the ambassadors, but his pride was flattered and his covetousness was stirred by the presents in their hands and by costly treasures and prospective exaltation, which he greedily accepted.
While claiming strict obedience to God's will he tried to comply with Balak's desire by daring to linger with temptation and keeping the messengers overnight to seek counsel from the Lord before giving a firm answer. His asking them to tarry overnight exposed that divided mind. His report brought God's command not to go with the men and not to curse the people because they are blessed, conducted under the banner of the God of Heaven whom no human curse could hold back. Balaam reluctantly sent the men back to Balak in the morning, showing that the effort to curse Israel was forbidden by God and could not succeed because God's blessing rested on them.
The account to which the verse belongs is an example of rulers seeking to have Israel cursed and of working against God when selfishness and covetousness shape conduct and plans and leave God out of the heart and work. Balak led Balaam from one place to another in the vain hope of turning Israel's blessing into a curse, but failed. The same failure attended later efforts to move Luther from steadfastness to retract, showing that human applause and fear of people are powerless against one sustained by divine power.