Balaam also sold his Lord. Both Judas and Balaam sold their souls for money even though they both claimed a relationship with their Lord. Read the following excerpts on the comparison from Patriarchs and Prophets, 451, 452:
“Balaam witnessed the success of his diabolical scheme. He saw the curse of God visited upon His people, and thousands falling under His judgments; but the divine justice that punished sin in Israel did not permit the tempters to escape. In the war of Israel against the Midianites, Balaam was slain. He had felt a presentiment that his own end was near when he exclaimed, ‘Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his’ (Numbers 23:10)! But he had not chosen to live the life of the righteous, and his destiny was fixed with the enemies of God.
“The fate of Balaam was similar to that of Judas, and their characters bear a marked resemblance to each other.
| Both these men tried to unite the service of God and mammon, and met with signal failure. | |
| Balaam acknowledged the true God, and professed to serve Him. | Judas believed in Jesus as the Messiah, and united with His followers. |
| Balaam hoped to make the service of Jehovah the steppingstone to the acquirement of riches and worldly honor; and failing in this he stumbled and fell and was broken. | Judas expected by his connection with Christ to secure wealth and promotion in that worldly kingdom which, as he believed, the Messiah was about to set up. The failure of his hopes drove him to apostasy and ruin. |
| Both Balaam and Judas had received great light and enjoyed special privileges, but a single cherished sin poisoned the entire character and caused their destruction. |
“It is a perilous thing to allow an unchristian trait to live in the heart. One cherished sin will, little by little, debase the character, bringing all its nobler powers into subjection to the evil desire. The removal of one safeguard from the conscience, the indulgence of one evil habit, one neglect of the high claims of duty, breaks down the defenses of the soul and opens the way for Satan to come in and lead us astray. The only safe course is to let our prayers go forth daily from a sincere heart, as did David, ‘Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not’ (Psalm 17:5).”