Numbers 22:1-41 KJV
1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.
3 And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.
4 And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.
5 He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt: behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:
6 Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land: for I wot that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.
7 And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
8 And he said unto them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak unto me: and the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.
9 And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee?
10 And Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent unto me, saying,
11 Behold, there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.
12 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
13 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said unto the princes of Balak, Get you into your land: for the LORD refuseth to give me leave to go with you.
14 And the princes of Moab rose up, and they went unto Balak, and said, Balaam refuseth to come with us.
15 And Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honourable than they.
16 And they came to Balaam, and said to him, Thus saith Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray thee, hinder thee from coming unto me:
17 For I will promote thee unto very great honour, and I will do whatsoever thou sayest unto me: come therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people.
18 And Balaam answered and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more.
19 Now therefore, I pray you, tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will say unto me more.
20 And God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.
21 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.
22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him.
23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24 But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side.
25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again.
26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.
27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28 And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29 And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30 And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And he said, Nay.
31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32 And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
33 And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
34 And Balaam said unto the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.
35 And the angel of the LORD said unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak. So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
36 And when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him unto a city of Moab, which is in the border of Arnon, which is in the utmost coast.
37 And Balak said unto Balaam, Did I not earnestly send unto thee to call thee? wherefore camest thou not unto me? am I not able indeed to promote thee to honour?
38 And Balaam said unto Balak, Lo, I am come unto thee: have I now any power at all to say any thing? the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak.
39 And Balaam went with Balak, and they came unto Kirjathhuzoth.
40 And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam, and to the princes that were with him.
41 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Balak took Balaam, and brought him up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people.

If I was to tell a modern story in regards to this tale it might go like this. A man of God name Balaam, who would not go against the Lord, but desired money and profit, would sometimes entangle himself with the devil. Yet was it always about money. For Balaam i believe he sought wealth though he knew the Lord. Where did he come from the tribe of Midian, perhaps from the tribe of Abraham's ancestors who knew God, but idolatry was among them. Through out scripture we see idolators that were in fear of God and honor God despite the idol worship. Balaam may not of been idolator, but he worked with these people that came in search of him to curse the people of God/Israel. Prehaps he was intrigued by the invitation to come see the princes of Moab. He is the type of minister you really do not want in pulpit because he not afraid to dabble into the occult world or go into it, to see what harm he truly is being ask to do for money. What makes Balaam a false prophet, is not his willingness to obey the Lord, or speak the word of the Lord, but his seeking out of the devil request.

When we accept Christ as Savior we can not seek the devil's resquest or work for the devil. We only need to seek God. Balaam knew God's power and knew he was God over everything, but he still sought another. This time when he went to find out about this job the devil wanted done, Angel of the Lord prevented him from going, even causing Balaam to beat his faithful ass/donkey. Angel of the Lord that stood in his path told him to make sure he obey the Lord and to speak only the words of the Lord, which he did. For those he was called to curse was children of the Lord and not children of the devil. Balaam went and obey the Lord, speaking as the Lord told him to speak.

God's people can not go into the lion den without God's angel's encompassing them. Was it God's will for Balaam to be the one to go, probably, because otherwise Balaam would of been at the mercy of them devils and not at the mercy of God. His desire in going in conflict was not the desire of God. If your a child of God you can not walk in the conflict of the enemy against the will of God without God's intervening when it concerning his will for his people.

Hard lesson to learn and one hard to witness. There are believers that go into the lion's den everyday, but hopefully they put on the armour of God and not the attire of the devil. Samson attire of playing the harlot in life style to his call of a Nazarite got him entrapped by the Philistines. Samson being the harlot he was soon learned after loosing his hair the value of being a child of God has his hair grew back and he was then able to destroy the Philistines of that village that imprisoned and mocked not only him, but his God. If you walk the wrong path, God not forgotten you, but when it time for battle you will be ready to not only bow to God, but do his will. You can be like David and take down Goliathe, or be like Daniel and be in the lion's den with aid from the angels that encamp around you that shut the mouths of the lions in the den. Was David always a man after God's own heart, we all like to think so, but there were times David found himself in trouble because of sin in his own life. Yet in general David desire was to obey God. Balaam not so sure, but he knew there was no power like God's power.

A nazarite was one that was called to obey the Lord, to do the will God in his life until the day the task God called him to was through. Samson was called as a baby and grew into a man who would go and drink in the bars of the enemy, sleeping with the enemies women. However he never cut his hair. Nazarite call was not cut one's hair until the task was done. It was a call of God on Samson's life and sign of that call. However Samson also had one more reason not to cut it. It contained the power in which his strength came from to enable him to fight the enemy. When it was cut he would become weak. When Samson strength power was discovered, then the men of the Philistine village cut his hair and tied him with ropes and lead him to imprisonment.

We must guard our strength that comes form the Lord, we must guard our well being when it comes to places we go and the things we do. Balaam may have just gone out of curiousity, but he was going for the wrong reason to go. He was not going to wage a battle against the enemy but the battle he was asked to lead was against God's people. For even the curses he declared were known to have power even among the devils. His blessing were known to be true because he obeyed the Lord.

What might the devil try and ensnare you with. What will the devil try and tempt you with. As a child of God resist the devil and he will flee. The enemy wants to entrap, ensnare and deceive you. Even causing you harm, to your well being. Stay away from those type of people, unless you are entrapped by the will of God like Daniel, who was in exile at the time of the lion den, and he stood up and said he would only worship his God. Look at your situation are you in place you need to seek the enemy, party with the enemy, and rise up with the enemy, then you need to ask yourself are you going to be like Daniel or Samson. Pray that you will be like Daniel in obedience to God, and that God's angels will encamp around you to shut the lions mouths, and if like Samson repent and rise up when God return your strength to do his will.

Dear Heavenly Father let us examine our purpose of our daily situation, are we in your will, or we seeking the will of the devil. Aid your people this morning in turning from the devil and doing only God's will despite our human desire to fulfill our own needs. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: 2 Peter 2:14-16 KJV
14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.

1 Peter 5:8-11 KJV
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
11 To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 1:14 KJV
14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Psalm 34:7-8 KJV
7 The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.