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Wednesday June 3 2026
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Joshua 13:22-The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them.
In Numbers 22, we are told of an interesting sequence of events in the life of a man named Balaam.
The Jewish people had been wandering in the wilderness for almost forty years as a consequence of their wickedness in refusing to obey God and following their attempt to kill Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb (Numbers 14). During their wandering, they had encroached upon the territory of the land of Moab under the reign of king Balak. This man was terribly afraid of the Jewish people, and he sent for a professional sorcerer to come and curse the people of Israel. His hope was that, with the power of witchcraft, he could drive the Jewish people out of his land (Numbers 22:1-16). The name f the sorcerer that Balak sought was Balaam.
When the king’s emissaries arrive to present their offer to Balaam, God’s message was simple:
Numbers 22:12-And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”
The messengers then leave, and return with the promise from Balak that he will “honor” Balaam greatly, and do whatever Balaam says for him to do (Numbers 22:17). Balaam again asks permission from God to go, and we read this:
Numbers 22:20-22-And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.
This all leads to a very important question:
Why would God grant permission for Balaam to go with the messengers, and then send an angel to kill him for doing exactly what He said to do?
The passage actually provides us with several clues that answer that question.
Let’s study.
Balak’s Offer To Balaam
The first thing to notice is that Balak offered to pay Balaam a large sum of money if he would come and curse Israel.
Numbers 22:17 (Brenton’s LXX)-For I will greatly honour thee, and will do for thee whatsoever thou shalt say; come then, curse me this people.
Numbers 22:17 (CEV)-I’ll pay you very well and do whatever you ask. Just come and place a curse on these people.”
Numbers 22:17 (ERV)-I will pay you very much, and I will do whatever you ask. Come and curse these people for me.”
The second offer from Balak to try and sway Balaam to curse Israel included a large sum of money. As we will see, this was a huge factor in why God sent the angel to hinder Balaam.
The Condition God Placed On Balaam
God placed a condition on Balaam going with the messengers. He told Balaam that he could go with the messengers “if the men come to call you.” However, we don’t see the messengers coming to call Balaam! Instead, he is already hastily saddling his donkey the next morning with no indication that the messengers had yet arrived. This demonstrates to us that Balaam was running towards the monetary reward that Balak offered. The Apologetics Press Defending The Faith Study Bible elaborates upon this importnat viewpoint.
“The question has been raised, if God gave Balaam permission to go to Balak, why would He then change His mind and become angry with Balaam “because he went” (vs. 22)—so much so that He sent His Angel to stand in the way of Balaam? Verse 33 even indicates that the Angel would have killed Balaam had it not been for his donkey, which could see the Angel, though Balaam could not. Is this a legitimate discepancy that has been raised against the Bible or the nature of God? Is God “wishy-washy” or untrustworthy? How can He be a fair and just God and yet be angry at Balaam in this instance, when he only did what God said he could do? The key to the answer lies in the two letter word—“ if.” It is easy to read through God’s statement to Balaam and miss the condition that He placed when He gave Balaam permission to go: “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them” (vs. 20). Balaam arose in the morning and went with the Midianites, but there is no indication that they came to get him as God stated. One might assume that Balaam’s request that Balak’s messengers stay with him that night meant that they would stay with him in his own tent or house. This would seemingly make God’s condition on Balaam going—“ If the men come to call you” (vs. 20)—trivial, as they would have already been with him in the tent. Their “calling him” in the morning would seem to be an inevitability, and therefore, the text would not need to directly state the fulfillment of the condition. However, the fact that the disclaimer is given is significant, as God does not waste words. Every word of God would be expected to be, and is, significant and noteworthy (Deuteronomy 8: 3; Matthew 5: 18; 12: 36). In truth, it is highly unlikely that the entourage was staying in the same tent with Balaam, considering that the text indicates there were “numerous” princes in the caravan (vs. 15), and most certainly, an envoy of many troops to protect the princes and servants to see to their needs. More likely, a large camp with several tents was set up. Thus, God intended for Balaam to wait for the princes to come to Balaam the next morning to inquire after God’s will—a humbling experience for them, to be sure. This would highlight to the messengers that God was the ultimate source of authority for blessings and curses, and would help alleviate the impression that Balaam was surely giving: that he was all too eager to go with the men to do their bidding, to curse God’s people—whom God said in verse 12 were blessed. In light of 2 Peter 2: 15 and Jude 11, it is likely that Balaam’s greedy desire for profit from the Moabites would have certainly shown itself as eagerness to the envoy. Sadly, Balaam ignored God’s condition. His eagerness for gaining money, his desire to appease Balak, and perhaps his own interest in cursing the Israelites overpowered him. Instead of waiting for the men to call the next morning, he got up, saddled his donkey, and left with the princes. God did not unjustly threaten Balaam. God’s anger was aimed at Balaam’s presumptuous disregard for His stipulations, and His response was to send His Angel to confront him for his error and warn him of his impending doom. If he ignored God’s first stipulation, it would have been easy for him to ignore the second stipulation—to speak only what God told him to (vs. 20). While God’s disfavor with Balaam for ignoring His first stipulation was obviously significant, if Balaam attempted to curse the Israelites, it would have most certainly ended in his own death. The blessing Balaam bestowed on the Israelites would have been a humiliating experience for Balaam and a very dangerous course of action to take while standing before the king of the Moabites. Ironically, if Balaam had bridled his greediness (2 Peter 2: 15; Jude 11) and simply listened to God the first time he was asked to curse the Israelites and not gone to Balak (Numbers 22: 12), he would have saved himself the trip, embarrassment, and personal danger. Sadly, Revelation 2: 14 records that Balaam found another way to “curse” the Israelites through teaching Balak how to create stumbling blocks for them, but ultimately, it ended badly for Balaam. Numbers 31: 8 indicates that Balaam was killed with the sword by the Israelites.” (Apologetics Press, Defending The Faith Study Bible, 977-979 (Kindle Edition): Montgomery, AL: Apologetics Press, Inc.)
Notice the urgency and haste which Balaam is showing. His disregard of God’s condition to wait for the messengers indicate the motivations of his heart.
Saddling The Donkey
The text tells us that Balaam “saddled his donkey” (Numbers 22:21). Strange as it may sound, this was understood by the Jewish rabbis and other ancient sources as demonstrating a basis for God’s anger towards Balaam. They argue that his greed for the promised reward of Balak (as well as his hostility towards Israel) led Balaam to quickly saddle his donkey instead of having his own servant do it. For example, according to the Babylonian Talmud (1-5b), Balaam “saddled his own donkey because of his hatred toward Israel.” Other ancient writers (Josephus, Philo, etc.) make the same case between God’s anger towards Balaam due to his greed and hatred of Israel.
Balaam’s Way Was Perverse
Another factor here is seen in that the angel who interacted with Balaam displays a strong indicator of God’s anger towards him.
Numbers 23:32 (GW)-The Messenger of the LORD asked him, “Why have you hit your donkey three times like this? I’ve come here to stop you because the trip you’re taking is evil.
Numbers 23:32 (Amplified)-And the Angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you struck your donkey these three times? See, I came out to stand against and resist you, for your behavior is willfully obstinate and contrary before Me.
Numbers 23:32 (NLT)-Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the LORD demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me.
The entire disposition of Balaam is thus shown to be corrupted by greed. He was a man characterized by selfish ambition and worldly comfort and ease. Indeed, the New Testament confirms this for us:
2 Peter 2:15-16-They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
Jude 11-Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
Scripture is clear regarding the sinful motivations of Balaam.
Conclusion
God allowed Balaam to go with the messengers, IF they came and summoned him first. Failing to do this, God was angry with Balaam. However, His anger was not due to a mere breach of protocol on Balaam’s part. It demonstrated the wickedness and motivations of this man. Indeed, the fact that Balaam went without their first waiting for the messengers, along with his haste in saddling the donkey instead of having another do it, alongside the words of the angel, considering the ancient Jewish interpretation, and in light f the inspired words of the New Testament, make it abundantly clear why God was so angry with Balaam.
Here are some lessons that we can learn from this incident.
When God tells us “no,” it is for good reasons and we should accept and abide by His loving wisdom and judgment.
God can allow us to reject Him and His will in order to teach us (and others) importnat lessons that we (and they) may need to learn.
Greed and selfishness led Balaam to do horrible things: rejecting God and His Word, being willing to practice witchcraft and sorcery, and even going so far as trying to supernaturally curse an entire nation of people! May we be aware of the dangers of the “love of money” (1 Timothy 6:10).
Lord, help us to learn from the error of Balaam. Thank You for Your kindness and providence. Amen.