THEOSISEphraem the Syrian
Stating that God prevented Balaam from cursing the Israelites does not imply that the people would have been affected had Balaam chosen to curse them; rather, it illustrates that the adversary is powerless against the faithful.
Numbers 22:13Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers
And he rose in the morning and said to the princes: Go into your country, because the Lord hath forbid me to come with you.
וַיָּ֤קָם בִּלְעָם֙ בַּבֹּ֔קֶר וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אֶל־שָׂרֵ֣י בָלָ֔ק לְכ֖וּ אֶֽל־אַרְצְכֶ֑ם כִּ֚י מֵאֵ֣ן יְהוָ֔ה לְתִתִּ֖י לַהֲלֹ֥ךְ עִמָּכֶֽם׃
The Church Fathers on this verse
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
Ambrose of Milan
How is it that Balaam claims the Lord prohibited him from using divination to curse the Israelites, yet he proceeded, only to be confronted by an angel of the Lord who commanded him to halt and prevented the donkey he was riding from moving forward? At the same moment, the Lord instructed Balaam to go, but only to deliver the words that would be placed in his mouth. How could a soothsayer, with no place in Israel, receive a message from God, who reveals the future? If he prophesied on behalf of God, where did his divine insight originate?
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Yet, it should not astonish us that the Lord would place a message in the mouth of a diviner; after all, we read in the Gospel that such a revelation was also given to the high priest, a persecutor of Christ, proclaiming that it was necessary for one man to die for the people. Here, it is not a prophetic gift, but rather a declaration of truth, spoken even by adversaries, demonstrating that the evil of the ungodly can be exposed by their own seers. This is why Abraham, a Chaldean, was called to faith—to silence the Chaldean superstitions. Thus, it is not the merit of the practitioner of divination that matters, but the prophecy of the One who calls, the grace of God that imparts revelation. Balaam faced condemnation, not for a mere utterance, but for his deceitful intentions. God seeks a pure vessel, untainted by sin and impurity. It is evident that Balaam was tested rather than rewarded, as he was filled with treachery and malice.
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Passages read together with this verse.