It is not difficult to understand why the Moabites would feel threatened by the approaching Israelites. What a sight it must have been to look out and see an innumerable host of Israelites camped nearby, and heading your way! They were aware of how the Israelites had prevailed over those that opposed them along the way. In particular, Balak, the king of Moab, had heard of Israel’s victory over the Amorites. We are told that the Moabites were “scared to death.”

“So the Moabites said to the elders of Midian, “Now this mass of people will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field.” Now Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of the Moabites at this time. And he sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river in his native land, to call him, saying, “Look, a nation has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are settling next to me. So now, please come and curse this nation for me, for they are too powerful for me. Perhaps I will prevail so that we may conquer them, and drive them out of the land. For I know that whomever, you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.” (Num. 22:4-6)

One might reason that because the Israelites had slain all the Amorites, this is what they were going to do to the Moabites, as well. This might explain why the Moabites are so fearful about the coming of the Israelites. And yet, to be fearful of the approach of the Israelites as life-threatening, the Moabites would have to be ignorant of the special privileges God had established for them as the descendants of Lot. If the Moabites actually feared that they were going to be slaughtered by the Israelites, we would expect them to say as much. But as we look more closely at verses 4-6, this does not appear to be what the Moabites feared.

From the Moabites’ own words, we would have to conclude that their fears were economic. They do not mention war, nor slaughter, but speak of the Israelites coming near to them and settling down alongside them. They are concerned that the Israelites will consume all the natural resources of the land, leaving less for themselves: “Now this mass of people will lick up everything around us, as the bull devours the grass of the field” (verse 4). Israel was to be a source of blessing to the world, and certainly to the Moabites. And yet the Moabites feared the presence of the Israelites, so much so that they were willing to hire a man like Balaam to put a curse on them. Their aim was to somehow weaken this great nation by cursing them, so that they would be able to defeat them and “drive them out of the land.”

To accomplish this, the Moabites formed an alliance with the Midianites, thinking, perhaps, that there would be strength in numbers (or perhaps merely wanting to spread out the cost of hiring a high-priced “consultant” like Balaam). The Moabites and the Midianites conspired together to recruit a man who had connections with the spiritual underworld, and who could therefore arrange to have a curse put on the Israelites. No doubt diviners were plentiful in those days, but there seemed to be one man who was “tops in his field.” His name was Balaam, and he was from Pethor, a city located along the Euphrates River:

• Prophet (Dr.) Abiara is General Evangelist, CAC Worldwide
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