And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed, having the rewards of divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
Balak, king of Moab, is afraid of Israel camped on his border. He does not raise an army — he hires a prophet. The men who leave in this verse carry the fee in their hands, and the whole episode asks one question: can anything bought prevail against a people God has blessed?
Balak did not send for an army. He sent for a man in touch with unseen powers, and the fee in the messengers' hands gave the errand away.
Balak imagined that he could enlist the aid of Balaam, an agent of Satan, to overcome them. He did not realise that poor Israel could never have been delivered out of Egypt, or brought through their forty years in the wilderness, without their God. It is clear that Balak knew he was sending his princes to one who was in touch with the forces of evil, for they had "the rewards of divination in their hand".
The instinct is older than Moab. Trouble sends people searching everywhere but to God.
Ever since man was driven out of Eden, he has been restless. He is never more restless than when he is in trouble, or when he thinks he sees trouble approaching. He searches north, south, east, and west for help, or for a way of escape. So Balak took alarm when the people of Israel came close to his borders. He sent messengers to neighbouring kingdoms seeking alliances. He also sent messengers to Mesopotamia to bring the famous diviner Balaam. He would have done better to get down before God, who never turns aside the requests of those who feel their need of Him.
The verse calls the travellers "elders" — a title that was not Israel's alone.
In Numbers 22:7 we read of the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian, so the term was not confined to Israel. The word is saqen, which implies "aged man"; they were no doubt also men of repute.
The two peoples travelled together for a reason.
Balaam no doubt was a Midianite, and there was an intimate connection between the Moabites and the Midianites. At the first Balak consulted the elders of Midian, and the elders of both Moab and Midian went together to seek the aid of Balaam and his sorceries.
The ESV calls the payment "the fees for divination"; older wording says "rewards of divination". Balak had studied his man, and sent the fee ahead of his request.
Balak's messengers went to Mesopotamia "with the rewards of divination in their hands". Balak knew that the false prophet "loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Peter 2:15), so he sought to make sure of him by sending "cash in advance!" But the treacherous deceiver brought Jehovah's name into it. He lodged the messengers for the night, pretending to seek the mind of God.
Balaam did not refuse God outright. He kept consulting Him with his mind already made up.
If Balaam's heart had been right with God, he would have made very short work of Balak's message. A reply would not have cost him a moment's thought. But Balaam's heart was all wrong, and we see him in chapter 22 in the sad condition of a man pulled by conflicting feelings. His heart was bent on going, because it was bent on the silver and gold. Yet at the same time he still made some reference to God. It was an appearance of religion put on as a cloak to cover his greedy practices. He longed for the money, but he wanted to get hold of it in a religious way.
Every coin was wasted. The prophet himself would later admit it.
Balaam, who used enchantments, had to confess, "Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel." Balak sent the elders of Moab and Midian to him "with the rewards of divination in their hand". And when Balaam claimed to go and meet Jehovah, he went "to seek for enchantments" (Num. 24:1). No natural power could overcome the people of God. No power of Satan could prevail against them either.
Others have walked the same road since.
They have followed the way of Balaam. There is nothing original about their performances. They follow a well-beaten track first trodden by Balaam of infamous memory, who sold his prophetic gifts for money. He was not the first person to prophesy for money; that has always been a custom in religions that worship idols. But he appears to have been the first to offer to prophesy for money in the name of the Lord. With Balaam the supreme question was "Will it pay?"
- Fear hires. Balak's fear sent him searching abroad for help. He should have got down before God, who turns no one away.
- Fear pays. The fee in their hands shows Balak knew the kind of man he was hiring. He paid in advance.
- Fear allies. Moab and Midian were closely tied. Both sent their elders, respected older men, on one errand.
- Fear dresses up. Balaam wanted the silver, and wanted it in a religious way. He consulted God about a matter his heart had settled.
- Fear fails. No enchantment stands against Jacob. The money bought nothing. "Will it pay?" still marks the prophet who is for sale.
And he said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, according as Jehovah shall speak unto me. And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
Balak's messengers have arrived with payment in hand. They want a famous prophet to curse Israel, and Balaam answers with the name of the LORD on his lips. Is that reverence, or a cover for a heart already sold?
Balaam's words place him on God's side. He speaks as if he takes no step without hearing from the LORD.
But Balaam claimed to be a servant of the LORD. He said to Balak's messengers, "Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me." This false claim made Balaam's position even more serious, as it does with every false servant of the Lord. It is a very serious matter to pretend to be the servant of God while really being an instrument of Satan.
His real trade lay elsewhere. The language of this verse is the wrapping around it.
He sought for Balaam, who had a great reputation as a man who wielded "enchantments." This we see if we turn to Numbers 24:1. If we glance at verses 8 and 18 of Numbers 22, we discover that this man managed to cover his enchantments, which were of course of the devil, with the appearance of reverencing Jehovah as his God. Balak hoped to bring a curse on the people of God by enlisting the help of this professed prophet of God, who was really a servant of Satan.
Balaam promised a night of waiting on God. But payment had already arrived.
Balak knew that the false prophet loved the wages of unrighteousness (2 Peter 2:15), so he made sure of him by sending cash in advance. But the treacherous deceiver brought the LORD's name into the matter, and lodged the messengers for the night while pretending to seek the mind of God. The business in hand was hugely important, for he was asked to ruin a whole nation. Did he then spend the night in prayer to God? Nothing was further from Balaam's thoughts. He just went to bed. God was watching every move with the deepest interest, and He came to Balaam with the challenge, "Who are these men with you?"
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He was reaching for the source he normally used, not for the LORD he named.
He could use the Lord's name like this, even though he had no intention of seeking the Lord's guidance. He wanted an answer from the occult power he was used to. Chapter 24:1 tells us this: he was looking for enchantments as a sorcerer.
Inviting the men to stay was itself a decision.
"Lodge here tonight," said Balaam to the men who brought the reward of divination in their hand. Giving a bed to men who came to curse the people of the Lord showed the wicked leaning of his heart. Only God's direct action holds him back.
Israel was camped on the plains of Moab, with no idea that Balak was arranging its destruction.
The people of the LORD were now in great danger. They had been ungrateful and disobedient all through their journey in the wilderness. They did not know about the danger, so they did not pray to God. But the LORD Himself took the matter up, and that reminds us of His unchanging favour. He loved the people, in spite of all that they were, and He would not let the enemy harm them.
Balaam's talk of consulting the LORD did not fool God.
Balaam talks about consulting the LORD in his hypocritical way. This has always been so. Those who have least to do with God often talk about Him most lightly… Balaam was not alarmed, because he was used to an evil spirit. For all he knew, the power that came to him was the same familiar spirit as always. God caught the crafty man in his own net.
The same move comes again when a second group of messengers arrives. Balaam asks for another night, though God had already spoken.
The LORD had already stated His mind. There was nothing left to consult Him about. But Balaam was set on going, and he knew enough of God not to want open conflict with Him… Let us take care never to come before God with our minds already made up. It is a serious insult to God's majesty!
Writers turn this into a warning for ordinary decisions, not just for prophets.
Sometimes we seek God's will about how to act in a situation where His only will is that we should not be there at all. If our conscience were truly awake, its first effect would be to make us leave. Our own will put us there, and still we would like the comfort of God guiding us in a path we chose ourselves.
- Words — "As the LORD speaks to me" claims to be God's servant. Commentators call it a false claim from a man whose trade was enchantments.
- Night — Balaam spent the night set aside for seeking God in bed. God came to him; he never went to God.
- Guests — giving Balak's men a bed showed where his heart leaned. Only God held him back.
- Guard — Israel knew nothing of the danger and never prayed about it. God took the case up Himself, out of unchanging love.
- Warning — asking God about a road you have already chosen is not guidance. It is self-will. One more night becomes the habit of a man set on going.