Balaam and his error

King Balaak of Moab felt insecure, so he recruited the service of a prophet named Balam to come and curse Israel for him. He believed that when Balaam curses Israel, he will be able to defeat them. But Balaam could not.

 God was with Israel, so how can you curse what God has blessed? How shall one denounce whom the LORD has not denounced? (Num 23:8).

He went on to tell king Balaak that 'there's no sorcery and divination against the house of Jacob that can stand' (Num 23:23). 

3 times king Balaak tried to get Balaam to curse Israel, 3 times he received the same answer from him. Balaam spoke as he was inspired by God to speak.

Where Balaam missed it

But here's something you may not know: 

It was Balaam that told the king Balaak how to penetrate Israel and bring them down. How? He taught him how to make Israel sin against God through idolatry and sexual immorality (Rev 2:14).

As a matter of fact, the very next chapter after Balaam's last prophecy, it was recorded that the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab and they worshipped their idols (Num 25: 1-3).

Balaam knew that if Balaak would defeat Israel and make them vulnerable, he would need to take them out of God's protection by making them sin against God.

Balaak heeded. So the Moabite women went into their midst, seduced the Israelite men and led them into sexual immorality and idolatry (Numbers 31:16).

God's wrath came upon Israel and many of them (24,000 people) suffered for it (Num 25:9). They died in a plague. 

This was Balaam's sin. His greed did get to him (2 Pet 2:15, Jude 1:11). Balaam was later killed by the Israelites in Joshua 13:22.

Balaam was guilty of sabotaging the Israelites by teaching king Balaak of Moab how to put a stumbling block in their way by leading them into the sin of sexual immorality and idolatry. 

*This is what living in disobedience does - we make ourselves vulnerable because we have stepped out of God's territory and His protection, and the devil at this point can attack and defeat us.

He said in Isaiah 59: 1-2, "The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore."