பிலேயாம்/ Why did Prophet Balaam Fall? பிலேயாம் தீர்க்கதரிசி ஏன் வீழ்ந்தான்? .

Who Was Balaam in the Bible?
The Bible tells us that Balaam was the son of Beor (Numbers 22:5), living in Pethor near the Euphrates River. Balaam was highly regarded by the Moabites and Midianites as a soothsayer (Joshua 13:22) and prophet (Numbers 24:2-9) who could bless or curse with his words. His brother, Bela, was a king of Edom.

Although Balaam lived among idolaters, he professed great knowledge of God. So, when the Israelites encroached on the plains of Moab, the king of the Moabites, Balak, summoned Balaam. He feared the Israelites would attack, and he wanted Balaam to put a curse on them.

Balaam is known as a powerful diviner, so Balak asks him:

“A people has come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed”(Numbers 22:5-6).

Where Does Balaam Appear in the Bible?
You can read the portion of Balaam’s story that involves his donkey, in context, in Numbers 22. The saga, and Balaam’s ultimate demise, is recorded in the chapters that follow. But here in Numbers 22:12-20 we read that God tells Balaam not to put a curse on the Israelites because they are blessed.

Because of this, Balaam tells Balak’s officials that the Lord will not allow him to go with them. So Balak sweetens the offer, tempting Balaam with, “Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. Come and put a curse on these people for me” (Numbers 22:16-17).

Then Balaam, in what I believe is the revealing moment, goes back to God. He sees Balaam’s heart. It’s possible that God knew Balaam wanted the prize money more than God.What the Bible says about Balaam
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Balaam son of Beor is definitely an oddball among the prophets. He is not an Israelite but apparently a Syrian who lived in Pethor, a town situated near the Euphrates just south of Carchemish (Numbers 22:5). His prophecies result from an attempt to curse Israel in exchange for the money and honor of a frightened king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor (verses 2-7). To make matters worse, unlike any other prophet, he leads the Israelites into sin and brings a curse upon them, succeeding in getting 24,000 of them killed.

Since that time, his name has been a watchword denoting evil and avaricious character. As early as Deuteronomy 23:4-5, he is shown as an enemy of God and Israel and degraded as a hired mercenary. Joshua positively notes his death at the hand of Israelites (Joshua 13:22), and he also repeats Balaam's overthrow by God in a list of His victories for Israel (Joshua 24:9-10). Nehemiah and Micah recall him to the people of their days as an evil man whom God defeated (Nehemiah 13:2; Micah 6:5).

The New Testament mentions Balaam three times, all negatively. Both Peter and Jude describe him as the personification of greed in using religion for personal gain (II Peter 2:15; Jude 11). Revelation 2:14 credits him with "the doctrine of Balaam," which is inducing others to sin, specifically to idolatry and sexual immorality.

Certainly, Balaam was no paragon of virtue. Yet, as unrighteous as he was, his prophecies remain in God's Word—and they are true!

To understand Balaam's prophecies properly, we must delve into his background and the situation at the time. Balaam himself, biblical historians believe, descended from a line of diviners whose reputation for cursing had spread over the whole region. Balak's delegation to Balaam had to travel about 400 miles to petition the soothsayer at his home (Numbers 22:5).

Scholars surmise soothsaying to be Balaam's "family business" from his wide reputation as well as the meaning of his and his father's names. Balaam means "devourer of the people" or simply "devourer" or "destroyer," a fitting name for someone whose livelihood depends on cursing various people(s). His father's name, Beor, means "burning," another allusion to destruction.

Further, the Bible never calls him a "prophet" or "seer" as it does true prophets of God, but it names him a "soothsayer" (Joshua 13:22; see Isaiah 3:2, where "diviner" is antithetical to "prophet"). It is widely supposed that Balaam was a bārû, a Mesopotamian priest-diviner, who used various dreams, omens, and auguries as part of his trade.