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From Eternity Past
temptation and urged the messengers to tarry that night, declaring that
he could give no answer till he had asked counsel of the Lord. Balaam
knew that his curse could not harm Israel. But his pride was flattered
by the words, “He whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou
cursest is cursed.” The bribe of costly gifts excited his covetousness,
and while professing obedience to the will of God, he tried to comply
with the desires of Balak.
In the night the angel of God came to Balaam with the message,
“Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they
are blessed.”
How One Sin Opened the Door to Satan’s Control
In the morning, Balaam dismissed the messengers but did not tell
them what the Lord had said. Angry that his visions of gain had been
dispelled, he exclaimed, “Get you into your land: for the Lord refuseth
to give me leave to go with you.”
Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness.”
2 Peter 2:15
. The
sin of covetousness had made him a timeserver; through this one fault
Satan gained entire control of him. The tempter is ever presenting
worldly gain and honor to entice men from the service of God. Thus
many are induced to venture out of the path of strict integrity. One
wrong step makes the next easier, and they become more and more
presumptuous. They will do and dare most terrible things once they
have given themselves to the control of avarice and desire for power.
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Many flatter themselves that they can depart from strict integrity for a
time and change their course when they please. Such are entangling
themselves in the snare of Satan, and it is seldom that they escape.
When the messengers reported to Balak the prophet’s refusal, they
did not intimate that God had forbidden him. Supposing that Balaam’s
delay was to secure a richer reward, the king sent princes more in
number and more honorable than the first with authority to concede
to any terms Balaam might demand. Balak’s urgent message was,
“Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me: for I will
promote thee unto very great honor, and I will do whatsoever thou
sayest unto me: come, ... curse me this people.”
In response, Balaam professed great conscientiousness and
integrity—no amount of gold and silver could induce him to go con-