And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
Numbers 22:21 belongs to the account of Balaam's decision to go with Balak's messengers, the princes of Moab, recording that he rose in the morning, saddled his animal, and went with them. He got up and hurried to overtake them even though they did not call him that morning.
God had first forbidden Balaam to go, then allowed him to go only if the men came to call him. The messengers were annoyed at his delay and expected another refusal, so he could easily have excused himself and stayed, but he treated the absence of a second refusal as leave to go. Balaam knew he should refuse them, but greed, covetousness and selfishness and the prospect and love of honor and gain led him to accept their gifts and go, leaving God out of his heart and plans. He tried to comply with Balak while still professing obedience to God, seeking to please both God and man with a double mind, and his turning of conditional permission into an excuse to follow his own inclination was presumptuous folly driven by a covetousness that would have gratified itself if it dared. His going kindled the anger of the Lord, so that God sent His angel to stand in the way to slay him.
His going led into Balak conducting him from one point to another in the vain hope of inducing him to change the blessing of Israel into a curse. As an example, his going with Moab's princes shows how people work contrary to God and obstruct His work when they bring their own interests and plans into it instead of serving as consecrated instruments. The repeated moves illustrate repeated human efforts to move a steadfast servant of God from his decision, and Balak's failure proves that human applause and the fear of man are alike powerless to shake one who is sustained by divine power.
Numbers 22:21 belongs to the account of Balaam's decision to go with Balak's messengers, the princes of Moab, recording that he rose in the morning, saddled his animal, and went with them. He got up and hurried to overtake them even though they did not call him that morning.
God had first forbidden Balaam to go, then allowed him to go only if the men came to call him. The messengers were annoyed at his delay and expected another refusal, so he could easily have excused himself and stayed, but he treated the absence of a second refusal as leave to go. Balaam knew he should refuse them, but greed, covetousness and selfishness and the prospect and love of honor and gain led him to accept their gifts and go, leaving God out of his heart and plans. He tried to comply with Balak while still professing obedience to God, seeking to please both God and man with a double mind, and his turning of conditional permission into an excuse to follow his own inclination was presumptuous folly driven by a covetousness that would have gratified itself if it dared. His going kindled the anger of the Lord, so that God sent His angel to stand in the way to slay him.
His going led into Balak conducting him from one point to another in the vain hope of inducing him to change the blessing of Israel into a curse. As an example, his going with Moab's princes shows how people work contrary to God and obstruct His work when they bring their own interests and plans into it instead of serving as consecrated instruments. The repeated moves illustrate repeated human efforts to move a steadfast servant of God from his decision, and Balak's failure proves that human applause and the fear of man are alike powerless to shake one who is sustained by divine power.