John Calvin Commentary Numbers 22:12

"And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people; for they are blessed." — Numbers 22:12 (ASV)

You shall not go with them. If there were any room for doubt, God peremptorily removes it and confirms the prohibition, because it was unlawful to curse those whom He had blessed. For prophets are permitted to be nothing more than witnesses, ambassadors (internuntii), or heralds of the grace God freely chooses to bestow at His own pleasure on whomever He wills.

Moreover, God is said to bless those whom He has embraced with His favor, and to whom He demonstrably shows Himself to be favorable when He displays His liberality toward them. Regarding this blessing, He willed that the prophets should be His ministers in such a way that the power would still remain entirely in His own hands. If, therefore, they usurp for themselves the prerogative of blessing without His commission, their act is not merely frivolous and ineffective, but even blasphemous.

Justly, then, does Ezekiel convict of falsehood and deception those false prophets who, by their flatteries, encourage the souls that were doomed to die, while they slay by their terrors and threats those to whom God had promised life (Ezekiel 13:2, 22). From this we gather how futile it is for hypocrites, as they usually do, to purchase pardon from men in order to propitiate God. We also learn that we need not be afraid of those degenerate ministers,¹⁴⁷ who desire to domineer tyrannically by virtue of their office, even though they launch their denunciations against the innocent.

It is plain, however, that Balaam’s obedience to God’s command does not come from the heart. His words, indeed, might deceive the simple with their appearance of humility: 'I will not go, because God forbids it.' But there is no doubt that, driven by ambition and avarice to gratify them, he indicates he would be willing to undertake the journey unless forbidden by God.

If his heart had been sincere, the honest reply he should have given was obvious: namely, that it was futile to send for him or anyone else so that Balak might resist the inviolable decree of God. If he had thus heartily and unequivocally given glory to God, another delegation would not have been sent to him. But by his hesitant excuse, he seemed to inflame the desire of the foolish king in order to sell his curse at a higher price. For we know that this is the usual way with impostors: they obtain higher pay for themselves in proportion to the difficulty of the matter.

Still, if we compare the mercenary prophets of the Pope with Balaam, his servile and enforced submission will deserve considerable praise when compared to their detestable and indomitable folly. For they, in defiance of God, do not hesitate to burst forth in impious curses. The truth, which they oppose, is conspicuous. That terrible judgment, which God denounces through the mouth of Isaiah, rings in their ears: Woe unto them that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, (Isaiah 5:20). Nevertheless, they persist and, in their brutal madness, vomit forth their blasphemies not only to the destruction of the Church but, if it were possible, to the extinction of all religion.

¹⁴⁷ “Les ministres masques;” the masked ministers. — Fr..