The story of Balaam and his donkey. A hilarious story… but definitely a strange one.
But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he struck her again. Then the angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.
(Numbers 22:22-35 ESV)
The basics of this story is that Balaam is a non-Israelite prophet who has been hired by King Balak of Moab to curse the Israelites. While on his way, his donkey acts strangely and refuses to go where he tells her to. But she’s not being a “stubborn” donkey. Rather, she saw the angel of the LORD standing in front of her, with a drawn sword and was avoiding him for the sake of Balaam. The angel of the LORD corners them, and she decides to just bow down and not go forward anymore. Balaam is furious and strikes her. At this point, God opens the mouth of the donkey…
Wait… What?
Yup. God did what you just read. God enables the donkey to speak up so that Balaam would understand her. She tells Balaam that she’s not being difficult, but that rather she is trying to save his life because of the angel with the sword. And then Balaam’s eyes are opened and he sees what the angel of the LORD was going to do. He bows down in worship and is told to ONLY say what the LORD commands. And he does. Instead of cursing the Israelites, he blesses them.
But do you want to know what’s really really really strange about this story? First, Balaam’s story doesn’t end here. It actually ends in Numbers 31.
Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
(Numbers 31:16 ESV)
Balaam didn’t end his relationship with King Balak by blessing Israel and then moving on. Balaam goes behind God’s back (as if there was such a thing) and gives King Balak this advice: Since Israel can’t be blessed, send your women over to seduce the armies of Israel and make the idolaters. The God of Israel will be angry with them and they will be destroyed from the inside out. You can read about this story in Numbers 25. (The sad part is that it works.)
But a couple of things to notice here about Balaam. First, he dies because of his disobedience to God. There is no such thing as “getting” away with something. Second, God’s mercy is absolutely incredible. Although he was going to kill Balaam, he allowed Balaam’s donkey to save his life. Thirdly, God’s presence in our lives is more obvious to animals than they are to us! If it were not for God’s mercy and grace, we would be blind to his presence. We should be ever grateful that our eyes have been opened to the existence of God and his glorious grace. Fourthly, the messenger isn’t nearly as important as the message. God can use ANYONE to make a point because the point being made is by God himself. Lastly, the phrase “angel of the LORD” in the OT refers to Jesus himself. The theological term is called “theophanies”, when Jesus himself appears in the Old Testament. And look how he appears! With a sword, ready to kill Balaam. A far cry from the Jesus that we make fun of in our culture: really calm, unemotional, kinda creepy, and never raising his voice. But that’s not the real Jesus. From Genesis to Revelation, Jesus is a warrior and given authority for justice, and yet, he would willingly give his life for us on the cross. And the same mercy that was given to Balaam on the donkey, is the mercy that is afforded to us on the cross. The cross of Jesus Christ absorbed the wrath of God and rescued us from the penalty of our sin.
And that, is a story worth sharing.
Credits go to:
http://www.wewillelevate.com/2012/02/07/donkay-numbers-2222-35/
