Balaam could not curse the Israelites because God had blessed them and would not allow the curse.
Les Feldick teaches that King Balak knew he could not defeat Israel militarily because they were too many, so he hired Balaam to curse them. But Balaam couldn't curse them because God wouldn't let him. Even from high mountains in Moab, Balaam could not see the end of Israel's enormous camp—revealing a people of several million—yet the real barrier was God's blessing on Israel.
Numbers 22:12 — God explicitly forbids Balaam from cursing Israel because they are blessed.
Numbers 23:20 — Balaam confesses that he received a command to bless and cannot reverse it.
In the biblical account, Moab's fear of Israel is described vividly. The Moabites said, 'Now shall this company lick up all that are around about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field' (Numbers 22:4), and they told Balaam that a people had 'come out from Egypt' and 'cover the face of the earth' (Numbers 22:5). Balak took Balaam to the top of Pisgah, but even from that height he could not see the end of the children of Israel (Numbers 23:13-14). The decisive Scriptural reason is Numbers 22:12: God said to Balaam, 'Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.' Later Balaam himself declared, 'Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it' (Numbers 23:20). The curse was impossible because the blessing was already fixed by God.
Les Feldick emphasizes that Balak, king of Moab, knew he could not defeat Israel militarily because there were 'too many.' He therefore brought in Balaam, a false prophet, to curse Israel. Les states plainly that Balaam 'couldn't curse them because God wouldn't let him.' Les also highlights Balaam's character: he was a false prophet motivated by money, and he kept trying to find a way to please Balak. When the curse failed, Balaam devised another satanically inspired plan—he told the Moabites to put their prettiest girls where Israel's young men could be seduced. This succeeded in breaking Israel's separated character, and God let judgment fall, resulting in the death of 23,000 Jews.
Les points out that Israel was a vast multitude. At the time of the Exodus, Israel could field six hundred-some thousand men of war, and by Balaam's day the camp had grown even larger. Balak's own messengers described Israel as covering the face of the earth. From the top of Mount Pisgah, Balaam still could not see the end of them. Balak knew that defeating Israel militarily was impossible, so he turned to Balaam to curse them.
Les explains that Balaam was a false prophet who was 'after money.' Instead of simply refusing Balak, he kept trying to carry out the curse. When God would not let him curse Israel, Balaam gave satanically inspired advice: use Moabite women to seduce Israel's young men. The plan worked, and Israel lost their separated character. God's judgment then fell, and 23,000 Jews were put to death.
Les warns that false teachers follow 'the error of Balaam.' They rationalize from the human side, sound good, and run greedily after money. For Balaam, the motivation was money—'What's in it for old Balaam?'—and it is the same with false teachers today. This is not just a historical account; it serves as a warning to recognize teachers who are motivated by gain rather than by God's truth.
Israel's Unseen Multitude
Les shows that even from Mount Pisgah, Balaam could not see the end of Israel's encampment, emphasizing the vast size that made Balak afraid.
God Would Not Let Him
Les directly states that Balaam could not curse Israel because God wouldn't let him, and then explains Balaam's alternative plan of seduction.
Israel Covered the Face of the Earth
Les reads how Moab described Israel as a people that 'cover the face of the earth,' supporting the picture of an overwhelming multitude.
Balaam's Money Motivation
Les identifies Balaam as a false prophet motivated by money, which explains why he kept trying to curse Israel even after God refused.
Why God Commanded Israel to Destroy Entire Nations — Deuteronomy 7
And what have I told you over the years? One of the crucial words in Scripture. It's just one of the crucial words in Scripture. It just shows the flip side, see? And now, but it shall come to pass. And again, it's conditional. But if they will not hearken, if you will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God to observe, to do all His commandments, and so on and so forth.
Israel’s Title Deed: Understanding God's Covenant in Genesis 15
We usually know it as Baal. And unless you can understand, maybe let's just look at one for example. I mean, this is just absolutely unbelievable that Israel, this covenant people, with all the miracle working of God as a fabric of their lifestyle, and yet they come to this place. It's Jeremiah chapter 44, I think it is.
Why Israel Rejected God as King — 1 Samuel 8 Explained
Now, just exactly as God promised, as we studied it two or three weeks ago, what kind of an effect did the Canaanite people have upon the children of Israel? Took them right into idolatry. Now, that's something that's hard to comprehend, how a nation of people, such as Israel, who had all of the manifestation, the miracle-working power of their Jehovah God in their midst, and yet they would Well, …
Israel’s Title Deed: Understanding God's Covenant in Genesis 15
But ere they crossed the River Jordan, God gave explicit instructions to the nation of Israel, don't leave a single Canaanite alive. Unfair? Unjust? No. Because they've had 400 years to clean up their act. But instead of cleaning up their act, they degenerated down, down, down, until finally God, in justice, could tell Israel, don't spare a one.
Numbers 22:12: And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.
This is the direct Scriptural answer: God's blessing on Israel made Balaam's curse impossible.
Numbers 22:4-5: And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And he sent messengers therefore unto Balaam the son of Beor to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt, they cover the face of the earth.
These verses show the Moabite perception of Israel's size and the reason Balak sought Balaam's curse.
Numbers 23:13-14: And Balak said unto him, Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them: thou shalt see but the utmost of them, and shalt not see them all: and curse me them from thence. And he brought him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bullock and a ram on every altar.
This passage records Balak's attempt to get a curse by showing Balaam a different view of Israel.
Numbers 23:20: Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it.
Balaam's own confession explains why his curse could not take effect—God had already blessed Israel.
No. Balaam could not curse Israel because God had blessed them. Les Feldick states that Balaam 'couldn't curse them because God wouldn't let him.' Even Balak's efforts to change the location didn't help.
No. Les Feldick indicates Balaam was not anywhere near a valid prophet. He was a false prophet motivated by money, which is why he continued trying to find a way to accommodate Balak.
Since he could not curse Israel, Balaam suggested that the Moabites use their prettiest women to seduce Israel's young men. This caused Israel to lose their separated character, and God judged them—23,000 Jews were put to death.
Watch the Teaching: The Way of Balaam — The Bible's Warning About False Teachers