Israel is on the warpath. Sihon and Og have both tried (and failed), Edom has threatened their advance, and the Canaanites that live in the Negev have had their cities burned to ash.
With God at their back, there is virtually nothing anyone can do to stop Israel from taking Canaan. Except one thing…
Themselves.
Balak, the king of Moab, is a particularly savvy ruler. Numbers 22:2-4 identifies the same type of recognition that would later be present in Rahab—that Israel is numerous, they’ve conquered their enemies, and, unless they’re stopped, they’ll wipe out the Moabites “as the ox licks up the grass of the field.”
The problem is that every single military solution has failed. The Amorites descended from giants, men of renown, and were built different than anyone else around them. If they failed, the Edomites don’t stand a chance. Like the Gibeonites would in Joshua 8, if they’re going to survive, they need to get creative.
So Balak makes a logical choice. If the Israelites, a deeply religious people, can’t be defeated by an army, they have to be defeated by something else—religion.
He sends emissaries to “the River”—identified in other verses as Euphrates (Genesis 31:21; Exodus 23:31; Joshua 24:2)—where Balaam, son of Beor and a famous “seer” (or soothsayer or diviner), lives.
As Balaam hears the messengers talk, the threat in Balak’s eyes must’ve been readily apparent. Not only do the Moabites talk about a nation that “covers the surface of the land,” but he also sees that the group is mixed. The elders of Moab are sitting alongside the elders of Midian—a rare alliance that also demonstrates spiritual authority rather than political or military.
They’re also carrying a huge wad of cash, which I’m sure Balaam noticed as well.
It’s important at this stage to note what Balaam’s job actually is. As a diviner, he’s not someone who can change the future—rather, he’s someone who can (allegedly) see the future.
Strictly speaking, divination is a way to determine the will of God (or a god, little “g”) by means of omens or signs. Passages like Deuteronomy 18:10-12 and Leviticus 19:26 outlaw it because, in most cases, divination replaces God with something created, like blood or sticks. God wants people to go to Him, always.
Ironically, that’s exactly what Balaam does. He tells the Moabite and Midianite coalition that he needs to spend the night in communion with God. God speaks to him, tells him not to go, and Balaam obeys. For now, at least, Balaam is doing all the right things.
As the money increases and Balaam’s actual desires become more apparent though, that’s when the donkeys start talking to him.