READ: Numbers 22:1-22
“But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers.“ – 1 Samuel 12:15
The Lord had made it clear to Balaam that He did not want him to have anything to do with Balak the king of Moab. However, Balaam really wanted to have some of the money that Balak had offered. He pressed the Lord into allowing him to speak to the king.
In the end, the Lord said he should go. The Lord even gave him advice on how to speak to them. Modern Christians would have taken this to mean it was the will of God. This passage is there to warn us that God will seem to allow us to do our own thing when He knows that we are filled with rebellion.
And God said to Balaam, “Do not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed.”
And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise up and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you shall you do.”
So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the leaders of Moab. But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him.
Numbers 22:12, 20-22 NASB)