Beginning of the End: How One Sin Opened the Door to Satan’s Control

 In the morning, Balaam sent the messengers away but did not tell them what the Lord had said. Angry that his visions of wealth and honor had been dispelled, he exclaimed, “Go back to your land, for the Lord has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

Balaam “loved the wages of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15). The sin of covetousness had destroyed his integrity, and through this one fault Satan gained complete control of him. The tempter constantly presents worldly gain and honor to lure people from the service of God. This is how many people are persuaded to leave the path of faithful honesty. One wrong step makes the next one easier, and they become more and more careless. They will do the most terrible things once they have given themselves to the control of greed and desire for power. Many tell themselves that they can set aside their honesty and faithfulness for a while and change their mind when they please. They are tangling themselves up in Satan’s trap, and usually they do not escape.

When the messengers told Balak of the prophet’s refusal, they gave no hint that God had forbidden him. Supposing that Balaam’s delay was to obtain a richer reward, the king sent a bigger group of princes who were more honorable than the first, with authority to accept any conditions Balaam might demand. Balak’s urgent message was, “Please, let nothing hinder you from coming to me; for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me; Therefore please come, curse this people for me.”

In response, Balaam professed great, honorable principles and integrity—no amount of gold and silver could persuade him to go against the will of God, but he longed to go along with the king’s request. Although God had already made His will known to him, he urged the messengers to stay so that he could ask God again.

In the night, the Lord appeared to Balaam and said, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” The Lord would permit Balaam to follow his own will to a certain extent, because he was determined to do it. He chose his own way and then tried to get the Lord to approve it.

Thousands of people today are following a similar path. Their duty is plainly set before them in the Bible or  clearly indicated by circumstances and reason. But because these evidences are different from what they want, they ignore the evidence and seem to go to God to learn their duty. They pray long and earnestly for light, but God will not be trifled with. He often permits such persons to follow their own desires and suffer the result. “My people would not heed My voice. ... So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels” (Psalm 81:11, 12). One who clearly sees a duty should not go to God with the prayer to be excused from doing it.