But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.
Summary: The story of Balaam’s donkey is an unusual reminder of things both seen and unseen.
Say what you will, I am convinced that God has a sense of humor. Why else would he think to make a donkey talk with a human voice?
In the Book of Numbers, chapter 22, we read the account of Balaam and his donkey. Balaam has been told by God not to go with the envoy sent by the king of Moab. Later, the king sends a second envoy, this time “more numerous and more distinguished than the first” (Numbers 22:15). In response, God tells Balaam, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you” (Numbers 22: 20).
It is the “do only what I tell you” part of the story that is important here. Balaam mounts his donkey (the fifteenth century BC version of a Cadillac) and heads for Moab and a lucrative commission.
The Bible does not explain what happens at this point, but something Balaam does makes God “very angry” (Numbers 22:22). If I had to guess, I would say that Balaam was thinking about how he could collect his divination fee. (I say this because Balaam actually did this later on. See Revelation 2:14.)
To stop something bad from happening, God’s angel stands in the way. Balaam, who was supposedly an expert at discerning God’s will, was so distracted by his scheming, could not see what was right in front of him.
Three times his donkey stopped to avoid the angel. All three times the donkey saved Balaam from death. Each time, Balaam rewarded his donkey by beating him for stopping. It is at this point that God gives voice to the donkey’s frustration with Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” (Numbers 22:28).
There used to be a commercial on television that included the tagline, “When so-and-so speaks, people listen.” Then they would show a picture of everyone stopping and listening. I imagine that if people could hear God speak directly, more of us would stop and listen! Usually, his calls are person-to-person, as in a dream. This time, however, God allowed the donkey to speak.
Only after being schooled by his own donkey does Balaam open his eyes. He sees God’s angel with his sword drawn. Finally, The Great Balaam, the seer-for-hire, can see the spiritual reality before him.
Oops.
He falls on his face and says, “I have sinned” (Numbers 22: 34). Duh.
Sometimes God has to go to great lengths to get our attention. Thinking back over my own life, I can see God doing the same thing. No, I have never owned a donkey, so God has not talked to me that way, but he did get me to look. I have looked up and seen the death staring at me once or twice.
Maybe that is the difference between a false teacher and one who is seeking God’s truth. The false teacher does not listen. God spoke to Balaam through a donkey, and Balaam still did not listen. It is not that God does not reach out to each of us. The difference between the saved and the unsaved is in how we respond.
Application: It is better to pay attention to God’s Word than to have God get our attention with the threat of death.
Food for Thought: How would you explain the “madness” that Balaam suffered from?
I believe it is spiritual insanity to openly rebel against God’s known will as revealed in His word and confirmed by the Spirit. Yet, all of us seem to get there on a regular basis. Today we have His completed word and the Spirit’s in dwelling to restrain us. Yet, sometimes I still manage to go mad. Thank You Jesus for the cross. Romans 7: 24 – 25.
Amen!
Thank you, Rich. Well said!
I went back and read everything I could find in the Bible on Balaam. He really does seem to flip-flop between “let me confer with God” and “I’m just gonna do what ever I want.” I have to wonder, did Balaam believe that he was walking earnestly with the Lord and that was his madness? That would almost be like someone who attends service on Sunday and earnestly prays for God’s will to be done in their life, yet walks a different path Monday-Saturday. Much worse, someone who hears the Word of God, ignores it, and still believes that they are walking with the Lord.
I’ve known people that get “hung up” on media celebrities. They learn everything they can about the celebrity, and talk about them as if they had a personal relationship with them. They get emotional about it, but in reality, they do not know them. That’s a bit mad to me. In a similar way, Balaam was following the narrative in his head, but was not earnestly getting to know God. Much worse, he was openly “cherry-picking” what he would follow and not follow. I think this was his madness.
I tell you what Jeff, these blogs are a real blessing to me. I find that they invoke a lot of thought and bring conviction to me.
Chris,
Balaam is an interesting study. I wrote another post on him when I went through James. You can see it here.
His heart was filled with love for money rather than love for God. He occupied a position of one representing God, however was looking out for himself. The fact that He could not see the messenger sent to him by God ( he did not see the angel sent by God 3 times ) shows his heart was not with God and all obedience was reluctantly given to God.
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Ron,
I like the reference to Matthew 6:24. You might say that is the “money quote.” 🙂
There is a fine line between respecting God and loving God. Balaam respected God but apparently loved himself and money much more.