Balaam stumbled badly where once he stood strongly. In this account, one of three indictments against him in the New Testament, we are told plainly that he loved the “wages of unrighteousness”. This was not always so. The actual biblical context (Numbers 22.1-20) speaks of his eager purity regarding money, even to the extent of refusing a palace full of silver and gold (22.18). One wonders where and when he slipped from his high standard. It is a powerful warning for all of us. Flee from the love of money! —N. Craig Funston