The king of Moab, disheartened and distressed, exclaimed, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all." Yet a faint hope still lingered in his heart, and he determined to make another trial. He now conducted Balaam to Mount Peor, where was a temple devoted to the licentious worship of Baal, their god. Here the same number of altars were erected as before, and the same number of sacrifices were offered; but Balaam went not alone, as at other times, to learn God's will. He made no pretense of sorcery, but standing beside the altars, he looked abroad upon the tents of Israel. Again the Spirit of God rested upon him, and the divine message came from his lips: "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, And thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, As the trees of lignaloes which the Lord hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, And his King shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. . . . He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee." 450

Dybt grebet af disse åbenbaringer udbrød Bileam: "Thi mod Jakob hjælper ej galder, trolddom ikke mod Israel." Den store troldmand havde prøvet at bruge sin trolddomsmagt i overensstemmelse med moabitternes ønske, men med henblik på denne begivenhed skulle det siges om Israel: "Hvad har Gud gjort?" Så længe de stod under Guds beskyttelse, kunne intet folk og intet rige besejre dem, selv ikke ved hjælp af al Satans magt. Hele verden skulle falde i undren over den vidunderlige måde, hvorpå Gud arbejdede for sit folk: et menneske, som var besluttet på at gå syndens ærinde, stod så fuldstændigt under den guddommelige magts kontrol, at han i stedet for at forbande udtalte de rigeste og smukkeste løfter i et ophøjet og gribende poetisk sprog. Den omsorg, som Gud viste over for Israel på dette tidspunkt, skulle være et løfte om hans beskyttende omsorg for sine lydige, trofaste børn til alle tider. Når Satan tilskyndede onde mennesker til at bagtale, plage og udrydde Guds folk, ville de tænke på denne tildragelse, og deres mod og deres tro på Gud ville blive styrket.