Balaam and the Talking Donkey Book of Numbers Chapter 22
The story of Balaam and his Donkey is one of the strangest in the Bible...not necessarily strange like Revelations (seriously bad locusts, etc.)...but, pretty strange, in it's own right...a talking donkey! This is another one of those stories in the Bible that we don't hear discussed very much. The story of Balaam and the Talking Donkey has it all...mystery, intrigue, humor...all rolled up in an opportunity to better understand how important it is to not second guess God.
Our story begins with a guy named Balak...Balak was just one of the many two-bit “Kings” of the day who ruled over various areas of the Middle East...in this case, it was Moab...some were pretty benevolent...many pretty brutal and, generally in both cases, pretty greedy. But like the two-bit “kings” of our day, they mostly just wanted to keep their power...stay in office...at least until the next two-bit King with a bigger army comes by takes all their stuff, and either sends them packing, or does them in by whatever means was the trendy way of doing such things in those days.
Now Balak had heard of the Israelites, and now they were really close by...camped along the Jordan River by virtue of having just put a serious beat down on the Amorites next door. Being your typical spineless politician, and seeking any way to stay in power, he sends for our main human character, a guy named Balaam who, in the early part of the 20th century would have been called a “flim-flam man”...the kind of guy who really should be working at a carnival somewhere...the kind of guy that likes the spotlight...the kind of guy that people might describe as “thinking he's somebody...”.
Balaam made his living by working both sides of the street...never too proud to work a deal to his advantage...Balak, being the type of guy that he was, hatches a sure fire way to deal with what he describes as being a “horde”capable of being able to “...lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field”....his can't miss plan is to hire Balaam to come and put a curse on Israel!
Clearly Balak was willing to think outside the box. So he sends some of his lackeys to go and fetch Balaam and tells his boys to tell Balaam “A people has
come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”
Balak's phrasing was, of course, intended to play to Balaam's likely considerable ego, to do his bidding. He was willing to pay plenty for the job also, willing to try anything to keep his power...oh, yeah, and he sends the money for the job with his boys...a fee for “divination”...so Balaam tells the lackeys to spend the night and he will let them know in the morning what the Lord has to say on the matter...during the night God came to Balaam and asked who are these guys...He, of course, knows who they are because He's, you know...God! Balaam tells God who they are and exactly what Balak had told his“elders” to say to Balaam...in retrospect, Balaam would probably have done a lot better to say something like...”you're God...you know better than I do who these men are...but as many of us do, he actually thought God needed Balaam's input.
God keeps it simple...He tells Balaam “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” Pretty easy to understand, right?...not necessarily...The next morning Balaam tells the guys to go home “for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” So they go home to Balak and tell him “Balaam refused to come with us”...did Balak let it go at that? Of course not......remember he wants to keep both his job...and his head...probably still thinking about that bad result that the Amorites got when they tangled with the Israelites...
In frustration, Balak sends another set of flunkies to see Balaam a better set...Balak has, of course, sweetened the pot...the new and improved guys tell Balaam that Balak is willing to give Balaam pretty much whatever he wants to come on down and do his thing to the Israelites. Balaam tells the new bunch that as much as he would like to take the king for everything he's got, he must politely decline. He makes a huge mistake, however, when he invites the boys to stay the night and he'll check back with the Lord in case the Creator of the Universe and all therein would like to maybe reconsider His previous “Do not go with them” statement...maybe it was just a suggestion...so that night God tells Balaam...“Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”
Our story begins with a guy named Balak...Balak was just one of the many two-bit “Kings” of the day who ruled over various areas of the Middle East...in this case, it was Moab...some were pretty benevolent...many pretty brutal and, generally in both cases, pretty greedy. But like the two-bit “kings” of our day, they mostly just wanted to keep their power...stay in office...at least until the next two-bit King with a bigger army comes by takes all their stuff, and either sends them packing, or does them in by whatever means was the trendy way of doing such things in those days.
Now Balak had heard of the Israelites, and now they were really close by...camped along the Jordan River by virtue of having just put a serious beat down on the Amorites next door. Being your typical spineless politician, and seeking any way to stay in power, he sends for our main human character, a guy named Balaam who, in the early part of the 20th century would have been called a “flim-flam man”...the kind of guy who really should be working at a carnival somewhere...the kind of guy that likes the spotlight...the kind of guy that people might describe as “thinking he's somebody...”.
Balaam made his living by working both sides of the street...never too proud to work a deal to his advantage...Balak, being the type of guy that he was, hatches a sure fire way to deal with what he describes as being a “horde”capable of being able to “...lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field”....his can't miss plan is to hire Balaam to come and put a curse on Israel!
Clearly Balak was willing to think outside the box. So he sends some of his lackeys to go and fetch Balaam and tells his boys to tell Balaam “A people has
come out of Egypt; they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. 6 Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed.”
Balak's phrasing was, of course, intended to play to Balaam's likely considerable ego, to do his bidding. He was willing to pay plenty for the job also, willing to try anything to keep his power...oh, yeah, and he sends the money for the job with his boys...a fee for “divination”...so Balaam tells the lackeys to spend the night and he will let them know in the morning what the Lord has to say on the matter...during the night God came to Balaam and asked who are these guys...He, of course, knows who they are because He's, you know...God! Balaam tells God who they are and exactly what Balak had told his“elders” to say to Balaam...in retrospect, Balaam would probably have done a lot better to say something like...”you're God...you know better than I do who these men are...but as many of us do, he actually thought God needed Balaam's input.
God keeps it simple...He tells Balaam “Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.” Pretty easy to understand, right?...not necessarily...The next morning Balaam tells the guys to go home “for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” So they go home to Balak and tell him “Balaam refused to come with us”...did Balak let it go at that? Of course not......remember he wants to keep both his job...and his head...probably still thinking about that bad result that the Amorites got when they tangled with the Israelites...
In frustration, Balak sends another set of flunkies to see Balaam a better set...Balak has, of course, sweetened the pot...the new and improved guys tell Balaam that Balak is willing to give Balaam pretty much whatever he wants to come on down and do his thing to the Israelites. Balaam tells the new bunch that as much as he would like to take the king for everything he's got, he must politely decline. He makes a huge mistake, however, when he invites the boys to stay the night and he'll check back with the Lord in case the Creator of the Universe and all therein would like to maybe reconsider His previous “Do not go with them” statement...maybe it was just a suggestion...so that night God tells Balaam...“Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”
Balaam and the Talking Donkey
I'll bet you were all out there wondering...”what about the talking donkey...?” Glad you asked... So the next morning, Balaam got up to go with the new and improved lackeys to go and see Balak. Bad news, however,...”But God was very angry when he went...” Now, I must admit it took the Lord revealing to me why He was so angry with Balaam before I understood His anger...on the surface it seems that Balaam is doing God's will when he goes with Balak's boys that morning.
It can be easy to miss...Balaam was prideful...I am prideful...periodically we both seem to think that God needs (or wants) our help in making His decisions...He doesn't...no help needed...mine, or yours...what did God say? He said “do not go with them.”...what did Balaam do..? He told them he would talk to God one more time and then get back with them as to whether God had changed His
mind...bad strategy...the result...God sends one of those seriously lethal angels of the Lord to take this up with Balaam...
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.(good thing PETA wasn't around back then)
24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the
LORD, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.
Sometimes the animals should be in charge...
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.
Here's where it starts to get really weird...
28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam,“What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
Did any of you find this at least a little peculiar...?Balaam answered the donkey”! His donkey spoke to him and he answered it...! I'm sorry...but that's just such a strange story...a great testimony to God's boundless creativity...And then they continue their conversation.
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said.
“No”...that's it...? That's all Balaam has for the donkey? “No”?...if that's all Balaam can come up with, then he is a better man than I...in, fact, i'll bet you are like me and probably would not have handled your first conversation with a donkey...even a donkey you have known for years like ole Balaam had known this one...i'm pretty sure that this would have freaked me out...but as they say on tv...”but, wait, there's more...”
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would
certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
hmmm...man dead...donkey lives...”I have come here to oppose you”...I can tell you that when an Angel of the Lord says I am here to “oppose”
you...your time is up...and had Balaam's donkey not intervened, this Angel of the Lord would have, most assuredly, completed his task.
34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” 35 The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
After this, things don't really get any better for Balaam...he goes back and meets Balak who is mad not only because Balaam took so long, but really unhappy when Balaam (with very good cause) tells him that he won't be placing a curse on Israel after all...not only that, but Balaam ends up Blessing Israel...not once, or twice, but three times!
I'll bet you were all out there wondering...”what about the talking donkey...?” Glad you asked... So the next morning, Balaam got up to go with the new and improved lackeys to go and see Balak. Bad news, however,...”But God was very angry when he went...” Now, I must admit it took the Lord revealing to me why He was so angry with Balaam before I understood His anger...on the surface it seems that Balaam is doing God's will when he goes with Balak's boys that morning.
It can be easy to miss...Balaam was prideful...I am prideful...periodically we both seem to think that God needs (or wants) our help in making His decisions...He doesn't...no help needed...mine, or yours...what did God say? He said “do not go with them.”...what did Balaam do..? He told them he would talk to God one more time and then get back with them as to whether God had changed His
mind...bad strategy...the result...God sends one of those seriously lethal angels of the Lord to take this up with Balaam...
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.(good thing PETA wasn't around back then)
24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the
LORD, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.
Sometimes the animals should be in charge...
27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.
Here's where it starts to get really weird...
28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam,“What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
Did any of you find this at least a little peculiar...?Balaam answered the donkey”! His donkey spoke to him and he answered it...! I'm sorry...but that's just such a strange story...a great testimony to God's boundless creativity...And then they continue their conversation.
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said.
“No”...that's it...? That's all Balaam has for the donkey? “No”?...if that's all Balaam can come up with, then he is a better man than I...in, fact, i'll bet you are like me and probably would not have handled your first conversation with a donkey...even a donkey you have known for years like ole Balaam had known this one...i'm pretty sure that this would have freaked me out...but as they say on tv...”but, wait, there's more...”
31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the LORD asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would
certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”
hmmm...man dead...donkey lives...”I have come here to oppose you”...I can tell you that when an Angel of the Lord says I am here to “oppose”
you...your time is up...and had Balaam's donkey not intervened, this Angel of the Lord would have, most assuredly, completed his task.
34 Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” 35 The angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
After this, things don't really get any better for Balaam...he goes back and meets Balak who is mad not only because Balaam took so long, but really unhappy when Balaam (with very good cause) tells him that he won't be placing a curse on Israel after all...not only that, but Balaam ends up Blessing Israel...not once, or twice, but three times!
In Conclusion
That's pretty much the story of Balaam and the Talking Donkey...So, what's the moral of our story of this Flim-Flam man, the Donkey and the Angel of the
Lord...? Here are some things to consider from the story...
1. Balaam was greatly blessed with a gift and used it to his own purposes rather than God's good purposes...Balaam was in the world, and of the world. In taking his gift and using it for personal gain he misused what God intended.
Do you have a gift, or gifts, that the Lord has Blessed you with that you are either misusing, or under using? Everyone has been given special gifts by God
to be used for His good purposes. (1 Corinthians 12) It is a sin to waste your gifts and we are all judged by whether we do God's will or not.
2. Balaam wasted his relationship with God. God blessed Balaam with direct communication...the Lord would come to Balaam and tell him exactly what he
wanted him to do...Balaam seems to take these nocturnal visits by the Creator of the universe as more of a suggestion than a directive.
Do you ever ignore God's call on your life? Maybe it's done in a subtle fashion, or a much more obvious way...in any case, God' expects us to be in His perfect will...to become more like Him. When you don't do His will don't expect Him to do you any favors...God the Father wants a relationship with Him...He wants to talk to you...He wants to comfort you...He wants to take care of you and to help you through every hard time in your life...but also like any good Father he wants to hear from His children often...and, not just when those children need something...like some kind of Spirit ATM machine.
He definitely wants to hear from us when we are in trouble, but He also wants to hear from us when things are going well...thank Him for your heart beating each and every time that it does...thank Him that you have a home to live in and food to eat...thank Him when you don't know how you will pay your car note because that means you have a car...and, yes, thank Him when He calls one of your family members home...after all, it was Him that brought that person into your life in the first place. He didn't have to do that for you...
God's unlimited Love and Grace is evident when God alerts Balaam to his imminent danger by allowing the donkey to explain how he had saved Balaam's life by avoiding the Angel. He didn't have to do that...He could have let His righteous judgement on how Balaam was living and using God's gifts to to no good purpose end Balaam's life...in, fact, had this not occurred, we cannot rule out Balaam actually putting a curse on Israel...if the money was right...
Balaam probably just thought that he had this cool ability to make some bucks by using this power for financial gain, and that it was no big deal...believe me...it's a big deal to God...a big enough deal that could have cost Balaam his life. God rightly judged Balaam, but because of His incredible mercy He
spared him...Balaam was like a lot of us, he spoke well of God, but when it really came down to it, he put his trust in the world and all it's lies...
Don't be deceived...put your trust in God, He knows what He is doing and He only wants what is best for us...but, make no mistake...He is a Rightgeous Judge who will judge the world and only those who put their trust in Jesus, repent of their sins and be born again with Jesus as their Savior will be saved.
Finally...don't second guess God...He always means what He says...He gave us a Standard and He will judge us by it...that Standard is called the Ten Commandments and they are the Law to which we will be held...thinking that you are a “good person” won't get you by...we're not good...Jesus says only the Father is good...Think you are a good person? Let's take a little test based on God's Law to see if you are a good person by God's Standard...the Ten Commandments.
Lord...? Here are some things to consider from the story...
1. Balaam was greatly blessed with a gift and used it to his own purposes rather than God's good purposes...Balaam was in the world, and of the world. In taking his gift and using it for personal gain he misused what God intended.
Do you have a gift, or gifts, that the Lord has Blessed you with that you are either misusing, or under using? Everyone has been given special gifts by God
to be used for His good purposes. (1 Corinthians 12) It is a sin to waste your gifts and we are all judged by whether we do God's will or not.
2. Balaam wasted his relationship with God. God blessed Balaam with direct communication...the Lord would come to Balaam and tell him exactly what he
wanted him to do...Balaam seems to take these nocturnal visits by the Creator of the universe as more of a suggestion than a directive.
Do you ever ignore God's call on your life? Maybe it's done in a subtle fashion, or a much more obvious way...in any case, God' expects us to be in His perfect will...to become more like Him. When you don't do His will don't expect Him to do you any favors...God the Father wants a relationship with Him...He wants to talk to you...He wants to comfort you...He wants to take care of you and to help you through every hard time in your life...but also like any good Father he wants to hear from His children often...and, not just when those children need something...like some kind of Spirit ATM machine.
He definitely wants to hear from us when we are in trouble, but He also wants to hear from us when things are going well...thank Him for your heart beating each and every time that it does...thank Him that you have a home to live in and food to eat...thank Him when you don't know how you will pay your car note because that means you have a car...and, yes, thank Him when He calls one of your family members home...after all, it was Him that brought that person into your life in the first place. He didn't have to do that for you...
God's unlimited Love and Grace is evident when God alerts Balaam to his imminent danger by allowing the donkey to explain how he had saved Balaam's life by avoiding the Angel. He didn't have to do that...He could have let His righteous judgement on how Balaam was living and using God's gifts to to no good purpose end Balaam's life...in, fact, had this not occurred, we cannot rule out Balaam actually putting a curse on Israel...if the money was right...
Balaam probably just thought that he had this cool ability to make some bucks by using this power for financial gain, and that it was no big deal...believe me...it's a big deal to God...a big enough deal that could have cost Balaam his life. God rightly judged Balaam, but because of His incredible mercy He
spared him...Balaam was like a lot of us, he spoke well of God, but when it really came down to it, he put his trust in the world and all it's lies...
Don't be deceived...put your trust in God, He knows what He is doing and He only wants what is best for us...but, make no mistake...He is a Rightgeous Judge who will judge the world and only those who put their trust in Jesus, repent of their sins and be born again with Jesus as their Savior will be saved.
Finally...don't second guess God...He always means what He says...He gave us a Standard and He will judge us by it...that Standard is called the Ten Commandments and they are the Law to which we will be held...thinking that you are a “good person” won't get you by...we're not good...Jesus says only the Father is good...Think you are a good person? Let's take a little test based on God's Law to see if you are a good person by God's Standard...the Ten Commandments.