Bilaam was no simple person. He had a level of prophecy that in some way exceeded even that of Moshe Rabeinu. (The Torah tells us that there was never a Jewish prophet whose level rivaled Moshe, but a goy -- that is, Bilaam -- had that level of prophecy.) Chazal tell us (Rashi on Bamidbar 22:5) that HaShem infused Bilaam with such an exalted level of prophecy in order to ensure that the goyim could never, ever complain that if they had had prophets like Klal Yisrael did, they would have also been good. Umm.... really? If the goyim would even think to complain that they were not afforded the same opportunities for inspiration that Klal Yisrael had, that they didn't have a Moshe Rabeinu, then HaShem can reply, "Well, you had Bilaam." That is going to work? Moshe, the most humble of all men. Moshe, who wouldn't even use a donkey that belonged to the community to bring his own family back. Bilaam, who was (ahem) "married" to his donkey. Bilaam, who demanded an ...
This is a paraphrase of the pasuk in t'hillim 84:7 -- "mei'chayil el chayil" -- which means "from strength to strength". In this case, it is my thoughts and ideas to those who are strong enough to be interested :)