When Balak heard of all the victories the children of Israel secured through the mighty power of God of Israel, he was afraid and resorted to trickery. If Balak heard about the victories the children of Israel secured over many nations, especially the immediate victory over Amorites they had secured just before approaching his own land of Moab, where he was king, there is absolutely no way for Balaam to be ignorant of what was happening to children of Israel. Balaam knew who the children of Israel are, and he was also reluctant to go in the beginning. That marked his knowledge about the children of Israel. In spite of that he pleaded with God second time to know if he could go with the men of Balak in order to curse the children of Israel. First time when Balaam approached God he sought the will of God to find out as to whether his plans to go to the land of Moab, were in the will of God. God plainly told him not to go. That was the end of it, and he should not have asked God again second time to find out his will as if God changed his will and covenant with Abraham. It was an error on the part of Balaam.
Numbers Chapters 22-24 give the description of Balaam’s error and God’s dealing with him. It starts with King of Moab, Balak, the son of Zippor, realizing the triumphs the children of Israel had in the past, especially their victory of Amorites just before they pitched their camp in the plains of Moab near Jordan and Jericho. Moabites were the descendants of Lot and they were sore afraid of Israelites camping in the proximities of their places. They realized the strength of the children of Israel through the everlasting and almighty God and rightly thought that they would capture the land of Moab and, therefore, they cried unto the elders of Midian about the oncoming threat from Israel. Their comparison of the strength of the children of Israel was likened to Ox licking up the whole grass of the field when it is hungry.
Balak knew that the generation of Israel as a whole constitutes a single nation, whom he called as ‘THERE IS” a people, who would come out of Egypt. He knew that God blessed them and they were gradually covering the whole face of the earth; and they were conquering nation by nation in steps. He also knew that he would not be able to win over them if he fought with them all alone in man’s strength because Israel as a nation was under the care of almighty God. He then makes out a plan that if he could make God curse the children of Israel they will be left alone with man’s strength and he as a man can overcome the strength of man. Under the care of almighty God, the children of Israel were protected just as the children of hen protected under its wings.
The wisdom and the heavenly power that was with the children of Israel prevail over their enemies. It was not man’s strength or wisdom of any of the children of Israel that was prevailing over their enemies. Right from the time Moses stood very firm before Pharaoh and demanded to ‘let the children of Israel go’ in to the wilderness to worship God, the strength and courage of God were seen very clearly. It was not man’s strength that prevailed over Pharaoh but it was the direct intervention of the almighty God, who killed Pharaoh’s first born and
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