Yesterday, we left the strange prophet Balaam returning to his home after blessing the Israelites instead of cursing them as Balak, king of Moab, had asked:

Then Balaam rose and went back to his place. And Balak also went his way. (Numbers 24.25, ESV)

So we’re done with Balaam… Not so fast. The next chapter introduces a new way for Moab to get the best of Israel:

While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate the sacrificial meal and bowed down before these gods. So Israel yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor. And the LORD’s anger burned against them. (Numbers 25.1 – 3, NIV)

It’s an ugly chapter. A lot of Israelites die for their disobedience, and it ends with God judging the Midianites, who were cooperating with the Moabites to seduce the Israelites:

And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor…” (Numbers 25.16 – 18, ESV)

The striking of the Midianites occurs in Numbers 31, and guess who one of the victims is?

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”…And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male…And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. (Numbers 31.1 – 8, ESV)

And why did they kill Balaam? Because it was his advice that brought about the disaster of Numbers 25.

Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD. (Numbers 31.15 – 16, ESV)

So when we think of a nation being cursed, it doesn’t have to be some dramatic supernatural event. The curse can come just as easily by bad decisions and actions. For example, some of us may be inclined to think that if America doesn’t stop its headlong rush into sexual deviance, we’ll be cursed (See Romans 1.18 – 32). On the contrary, I believe that America’s behaviors are the curse.

Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. (2 Peter 2.15, 16, ESV)

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness…? (2 Peter 3.10, 11, ESV)