Balak - Israel is Blessed

What was the greatness that Bilaam lost when he came to try to curse the Jewish people? If, in the end, he blessed them, why was Bilaam considered so wicked? What was the ingratitude that both he and Balak had to the forefathers of the Jewish people? How did he and Balak unintentionally bring curses upon themselves? Why was it that he could not curse the Jewish people? Where do we see that the Jewish people are intrinsically loved and blessed by Hashem, no matter what they have done wrong?