Deuteronomy 32:27 Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this.

This morning I was doing a severe self-examination. I turned to Numbers and the telling tale of Balaam whom some have labeled the mercenary prophet. His reputation was one who could bless and curse. In that capacity and that capacity alone did King Balak seek to hire Balaam. Yet in all that Balaam did in Numbers 22 thru 25, Balaam did not curse Israel according to Balak’s wishes.

Balaam’s Character:

This may furnish us a clue to his character. It, indeed, remains “instructively composite.” A soothsayer who might have become a prophet of the Lord; a man who loved the wages of unrighteousness, and yet a man who in one supreme moment of his life surrendered himself to God’s holy Spirit; a person cumbered with superstition, covetousness and even wickedness, and yet capable of performing the highest service in the kingdom of God: such is the character of Balaam, the remarkable Old Testament type and, in a sense, the prototype of Judas Iscariot. (Quote from William Baur)

That is a pretty harsh comparison to say Balaam betrayed the Lord like Judas did. I found no link between Balaam’s actions and betrayal. He did not disobey God in his service to Balak. So why did the children of Israel kill Balaam with the sword? I could only find one line that hinted why.

Numbers 31:16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

They blamed Balaam for their own behavior. We cannot find personal accountability to the Lord in the behavior of others.