Listen to Your Donkey!
April 3, 2024
Machelle McDowell
Who is your donkey? Have you ever received a warning or a word of caution from something or someone totally unexpected?
We find a very strange situation in Numbers 22. A donkey is used for a very important mission!
This donkey packed quite a kick! This was no he-ha situation! He was used as a vessel for God’s voice! Yep, you read that right!
The king of Moab, Barak wanted a curse placed on the Israelites and called for Balaam to do the dirty deed for a reward. Keep in mind Balaam is a wicked prophet and his heart was far from God, Balaam practiced divination and other magic arts.
Here is the surprising twist to the story: The Lord spoke to Balaam and told him he could go to Balak under one stipulation… that he would only speak what God told him to say….Balaam agreed. Ironically, Balaam appears to have a weird sense of loyalty to his profession. He prophesies truth but with a dishonest heart/motive. Balaam is all the while plotting on how to get that reward! He knows if he does not curse the people he will go home empty handed.
BUT, God knew his rebellious heart and it made God angry! Balaam had no intention of giving up on his reward Barak offered him…he later finds another way to claim it!
(Found in Numbers 25) Balaam saddles up his donkey and heads out to MOAB.
Now the story gets really strange!
God sends his angel with a drawn sword to stop Balaam from his journey. Why would God allow Balaam to go and then try to stop him? Was this an attempt from God to allow Balaam an opportunity to change his heart?
Balaam however could not see the angel standing on the road…..but his donkey could!
The donkey tries everything to get Balaam to stop! He even crushed Balaam’s foot against a wall before lying down on the path! Balaam is furious.
He beats the donkey three different times until at last the donkey opens his mouth and speaks, “Why are your beating me?” “Am I not your donkey you have ridden all of your life?”
Just a thought to ponder: Maybe God thought that Balaam would trust advice from his lifelong trusted traveling companion?” Possibly, there was no one any closer to Balaam than his donkey! Just a thought!
Oddly enough, it appears Balaam is not surprised by the talking donkey! He begins to carry on a conversation with him. God speaks through this donkey to try to reach Balaam to stop the journey.
God is known for using whatever measure he can to reach a person!
All of the sudden, God opens Balaam’s eyes and he sees the angel! The angel instructs him that he was only to speak what God tells him to speak. This did have some effect on Balaam, but not enough to heal his greedy heart. A matter of fact God’s Spirit came upon him to inspire his prophecy in Numbers 24:2.
So, Balaam experiences God’s voice, God’s presence, God’s Power and still remains hardened! This is a scary place to be in friends.
He realized God was in control of the situation. He told King Barak that he would go to the people but He would only say what God put in his mouth….(I can’t help but think Balaam was already plotting a way to get his reward another way as we witness just a few chapters later).
Barak tries multiple times to convince Balaam to go against God’s wishes and bring the curse on the people, But Balaam was not a false prophet, just a greedy one.
Keep in mind, Balaam does not have the power to curse the Isrealites but he knows that he can go about it in another direction that doesn’t directly implicate himself.
Barak is furious with Balaam but Balaam comes up with a plan to redeem himself. He advised the Moabites on how to lead the Israelites into idol worship that involved Baal of Peor and committing fornication with the Midianite women.
Balaam knew God would be furious about this and bring wrath upon the people. It cost the Israelites dearly, 24,000 men died by a plague God placed on them for their unfaithfulness. I guess you could say the deaths of those people were on his head!
Balaam could not curse the people directly but he apparently was responsible for their curse indirectly found in Numbers 25. His advise led them into idolatry and sexual immorality….two vices that still lead people astray today….He did not bring the original curse but was responsible for a later one!
There is literally nothing we can do to disqualify ourselves from being a candidate for whom God chooses to work through! But through human choice a person is free to choose to serve Satan. We have two choices in this world of who we will serve: God or Satan. Balaam had a choice.
Even though Balaam used religion for his own personal gain, God used him to bless the Israelites on the forefront and I believe God gave Balaam every opportunity to choose to use his gifting for the sake of the kingdom, but Balaam chose the world.
What a shame to be used as a tool from the enemy.
Have you listened to your donkey lately?