And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
The princes of Moab rose up and went back to Balak with the report that Balaam refused to come with them. The refusal came because God had forbidden Balaam to go with them and to curse Israel, for Israel is blessed and conducted under the banner of the God of heaven, so that no curse from man could retard their progress. Balaam had once been a prophet of God and a good man, but he apostatized and gave himself up to covetousness, loving the wages of unrighteousness. He became double-minded, pursuing the favor and honor of the enemies of the Lord for rewards while still professing to be a prophet of God.
He knew he should have refused Balak's rewards at once and dismissed the messengers, but the presents in their hands and the promises of wealth and honor excited his covetousness. Instead of sending them away immediately, he delayed and asked them to tarry the night while he sought further counsel from the Lord. He then sent them away reluctantly, saying only that the Lord would not suffer him to go with them and would not let him accompany them, without telling them that God had forbidden the journey. In this he stands as an example of one who worked contrary to God by bringing selfishness and covetousness into God's work and leaving God out of the heart and plans.
This refusal was one part of Balak's repeated efforts to move Balaam from his steadfastness. The king of Moab conducted him from one point to another in the vain hope that he might be induced to change the blessing of Israel into a curse. Balak did not succeed, for human applause and the fear of man were alike powerless to shake one sustained by divine power and to turn blessing into cursing.
The princes of Moab rose up and went back to Balak with the report that Balaam refused to come with them. The refusal came because God had forbidden Balaam to go with them and to curse Israel, for Israel is blessed and conducted under the banner of the God of heaven, so that no curse from man could retard their progress. Balaam had once been a prophet of God and a good man, but he apostatized and gave himself up to covetousness, loving the wages of unrighteousness. He became double-minded, pursuing the favor and honor of the enemies of the Lord for rewards while still professing to be a prophet of God.
He knew he should have refused Balak's rewards at once and dismissed the messengers, but the presents in their hands and the promises of wealth and honor excited his covetousness. Instead of sending them away immediately, he delayed and asked them to tarry the night while he sought further counsel from the Lord. He then sent them away reluctantly, saying only that the Lord would not suffer him to go with them and would not let him accompany them, without telling them that God had forbidden the journey. In this he stands as an example of one who worked contrary to God by bringing selfishness and covetousness into God's work and leaving God out of the heart and plans.
This refusal was one part of Balak's repeated efforts to move Balaam from his steadfastness. The king of Moab conducted him from one point to another in the vain hope that he might be induced to change the blessing of Israel into a curse. Balak did not succeed, for human applause and the fear of man were alike powerless to shake one sustained by divine power and to turn blessing into cursing.