Numbers 22:20-21

Now God was angry because he went when He had specifically told Balaam, "Don't go!—unless they come to you and ask you." And there is nothing here in God's word that says they did. Rather it says that Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and off he went.

God gave conditional permission. But the condition was: ONLY if he was asked again. He was not asked again, but he went anyway. Balaam was one of those people who if you give him an inch, he would take a mile. If he was not specifically told, "you shall not go," then he thought that meant he could go ahead and go.

In like manner, there are those who think, "Well, because the Bible does not say 'Thus saith the Lord,' it is OK!" So we see a lot of things in the character of Balaam that are very similar to what people today possess because they are not listening to God.

God was very specific with Balaam, but all he heard was, "Go ahead!" He didn't hear the part about "If."

Numbers 22:20-21

"Aha! God gave me permission! Great! I can go! Load the gold!" he thought.

How Balaam replies to the embassy of Balak is one of the main themes of this whole account. "I cannot go beyond the Word of the Lord my God to do less or more." And then in verse 20, God tells him very specifically, "Only the word which I speak to you, that you shall do."