The evening world., 1920-09-15
The Business Men
of the Bible
By Rev. Thomas B. Gregory
Copgnght. 1870. b. The Pros Publishins o..
THE New York Evening Wotldl.
No. 7-BGlGanl, the Promoter

NO. I-bGtGnnI, the PTOn1OteT
Balaam was q Midianite, and HIS
business seems to- have been that OF n
promoter 1oater of whatever kind
Of enterprises happened to come his
way.
His somewhat unenviable history 10
summed up in the laconlc statement,
'Balaam. the son of Beor. who loved
tho wages of unrighteousness"-a
history, truth forces US to admit. that
applies to many others as well as to
the crafty old Midianite.
Balaam makes his first appearance
TO us In connection with the Jewish
advance toward the trans-Jordanic
region. They have met and defeated
the desert tribes and are now threat
ening Moab, which lies in their way.
Owing to the great numbers OF the
Israelltes, and fearing that they would
lick UP the whole land as the OK lick
eth up the grass of the field" Balak
King Of Moab, sent for Balaam. He
had heard OF him as being mighty
divner. whose power to bless or to
curse was amazing, and he despatched
messengers for him to come and curse
the people OF Israel. The first batch
OF messengers failed to bring him. but
the second returned with him, ready
for business.
Balaam was a circumspect man. HIS
motto was LET everything be done
decently and in order" Therefore no
| did not go about his task in a rough
shod or slap dash fashion. He con-
suited his God as to whether he should
or should not curve the Israelites, and
was ordered not to curse them.
That seemed to settle the business
of his mission at once and for all, and
he told Balak that there was no use
in pressing the matter any further;
that he had to speak as God orderyd,
and the command had come not to
| curse Israel
But deep down in Balaam's soul a
great conflict was going on. A mag
| niflcent reward awaited him at the
| hands of Balak II he would do the
cursing, and that reward lured him
nightly. He did not want to disobey
his conscience, but was there any
possible way to'stretch his conscience
so II would cover the splendid fee
So he consulted God again, and
again the word came Don't curse
Israel" Downcast and miserable, he
| told Balak that 1t was all off, and the
King in great anger drove him from
his presence.
1t is as clear as day that the great
question with Balaam was not
whether he ought or ought not 70
curse Israel, but this rather: us
there any way. right or wrong. by
which / can curse those people good
| and hard-and by that means secure
the big reward that Balak has prom
| ised me?'
Balaam has been dead n long time,
| but we have all met up with his ltneal
| descendants. The woods are full of
| them.
The old fellow from the land Of
| Midian lacked moral vision. His
| righteousness, in so far as he may be
said to have had any righteousness
at all, was superficial, mechanical,
| insincere, q wooden righteousness
without any heart.
For did he not, after he had blessed
the Israelites at Gods command, sus-
| gest to the sMoabites a vile eXpedient
| by which the blessing might be neu-
| tralized!
Balaam was n promoter, and no
didn't care much what he promoted.
| Like the goats on Robinson CrusoeS
| island, he never looked up. Spiritually
| he was far inferior to the ass lie
rode, for the ass saw the anPel. while
| Balaam was as blind as a bat to the
radiant presence OF the celestial
messenger.