A Talking Donkey?

    

     Have you heard the story of the talking donkey in the Bible?  You might have a slight inclination that you’ve heard about a story in the Bible with a talking donkey, but you cannot put your finger on the point of the story.  This is where I stood a few days ago.  References to the story of Balaam are found in both the Old and New Testament.  Depending on where you first encounter ‘The Way of Balaam’ or ‘Balaam’s Error’ may influence your understanding.  When you look at each account, comprehension of this story becomes more apparent.  With a humble heart, allow me to share what I’ve learned about this story from a personal application point of view. 

     My first encounter with this story came from reading in 2 Peter 2:15 (ESV), “Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray; They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing.”  From this perspective, you might read into the story, that greed was involved, but when you first encounter the story from an Old Testament perspective (Numbers), it may be more challenging to uncover the revelation of wrongdoing.    

     As I came across this story from an Old Testament perspective, my Bible reading plan cut the story into two pieces.  First, I read Numbers 21–23, and the next day studied Numbers 24-26.  The original parts of this story come between the 22nd and 24th chapters of Numbers.  Even though I thought this was a ridiculous way to read this story, I plan to tell you the story in two parts as well, but hopefully with more clarity than I encountered in my first reading. 

     In my first reading and part-way through my second, I found myself scratching my head in wonder what I was to get from this story.  I think I even spoke aloud say, “a little Holy Spirit guidance would be helpful!”  I probably needed more than a little guidance to tell you the truth.  I read the passage two more times.  I really didn’t get it.  The part that confused me the most was God said, ‘no,’ then He said ‘yes,’ and then when Balaam followed through on the ‘yes,’ God got angry.  God is humoring me now, as I try to concentrate on writing this article, my dog is trying her best to talk to me.  Doesn’t that bother you when you’re trying to accomplish something meaningful, and your dog or your cat will annoy the living daylights out of you.  Now I think I’m probably in the right frame of mind to talk about Balaam’s donkey!

     A half-told story is often hard to understand.  Do you remember Paul Harvey’s famous line, “Now Here’s the Rest of the Story?”  Let’s hope that this explanation becomes as fascinating as the stories he used to tell.   This story has three main characters:  Balaam, Balaam’s talking Donkey (who we will call ‘Gabby’—some of you will recognize the humor in that!), and Balak.

     First, there is Balaam.  He is a prophet from Mesopotamia.  He lives near the region of Harran, the location where Abraham’s story begins.  He is possibly a distant cousin to Abraham.  We do not learn much about the background of Balaam from the story told in Numbers, but Deuteronomy 23:4 fills in the blank, ‘Where was he from?’  Balaam’s reputation proceeds him, as the king of Moab seeks out his services, knowing that what he ‘blesses or curses’ comes to fruition.  Balaam is a prophet to the one true God of the Israelites, but it is easy to get swayed into thinking that Balaam is not a man of God by his later actions.  Often, we would call such a person a false prophet, but in this case, I think ‘fallen’ might be a better adjective.

     Gabby, the talking donkey, shows us the path to truth.  We learn that she has been Balaam’s faithful companion and transportation system his entire life.  More about Gabby later.

     Next, there is Balak.  Balak is the King of Moab.  If you recall the story of Lot, Abraham’s nephew, you find that the Moabites are also distant cousins to Abraham as well.  After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s daughters are living with their Dad in a cave.  They have a false illusion that their Dad is ‘the-last-man-standing.’ In other words, they see his seed as the only seed available to produce offspring.  It is a rather icky-story, but upon close examination, Lot appears innocent to his daughter’s plan to produce sons from their father.  Imagine the confusion as these boys could call their Dad, ‘Daddy, grandpa, or Uncle Lot.  These boys create two nations, the Moabites and the Amorites.  Both of these nations are wandering sheepherders and living in the territory adjacent to the land that God has promised the Israelites.  They sit just above Edom, the offspring of Esau.  Do you remember Jacob’s brother, who lost his birthright over a bowl of red stew?

     The reputation of the Israelite’s proceeded them.  Most have heard of how God had freed them from the land of Egypt and how they had conquered territories, and how they were more numerous than the dust in the desert.  Recent news swirled around the camps of the Moabites, as they had heard the fate of many of their neighbors, Amalekites, Canaanites, and Amorites.  They, too, were aware that the Edomites had not allowed them to pass through their land.  The Israelites teetered on the boundaries of their countries, somewhere in the neighborhood of 600,000 men who were accompanied by women, children, and animals.  Balak could not ignore how easily his territory could be trampled by more than two million scuffling feet, not to mention what might happen to their water supply, their crops, and their people.  That is how Balak concluded that he needed help.  He needed a well-known ‘sorcerer’ to cast a spell that would curse these people before harm came to themselves.  Balak had no relationship with God; we learn that he practices worship to gods in high places (Baal).  Balak doesn’t understand that Balaam’s powers did not come from divination.  His only understanding is that money can buy what he desires.  He sends men with money to hire Balaam. 

     Divination is forbidden for those who follow the God of creation.  When we encounter Balaam, we should see him, not as one who practices divination, but a Prophet, who wants to earn a profit.  When the men arrive at Balaam’s door, they wish to give him insight into their needs.  They describe the swarm of people coming out of Egypt, but there is no indication that Balaam knows that some of these men are long-lost cousins.  He convinces the men to spend the night so that he can talk to God and ask Him what he is supposed to do.  When one reads how God responds to Balaam, “Do not go with them.  You must not put a curse on those people because they are blessed” (Numbers 22:12), is there any confusion in the text to what God has commanded?  I don’t know, maybe the Hebrew text has a little more gray area, but our English translation casts no doubt.  So, Balaam sends the men away. 

     Balak seems to be without options; he didn’t have another ‘source of sorcery’ up his sleeve.  Balak didn’t know the God of creation.  Balak believed that every man had his price.  He sent even more noblemen to convince Balaam to act on his behalf.  Although it appears that Balaam cannot be bought when he says, “Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the commands of the LORD my God” (Numbers 22:18).  We know from this proclamation that Balaam knew the God he served; however, we can see him waiver just a bit when he suggests a second conversation with God.  Balaam is inferring to these noble men that there is a chance that God will change His mind.  He may have even thought, possibly, God will allow this Prophet to profit!

     One might think that Balaam is still faithfully seeking God’s Will.  Here we see God grant permission to ‘go,’ but we cannot know the heart of the man who conferred with God a second time, only an inference to his desire to pursue the same subject a second time.  Why would God say, ‘go,’ and then become angry when Balaam complies?  Considering God’s anger, one might begin to recognize that there is more to the story than meets the eye.  God’s ‘go’ was more of an ‘alright then, follow your own desire and let’s see where that takes you.’  God would not stand in the way of the man rushing to saddle his own donkey for his ‘Disneyland’ experience. 

     God’s anger shows that He was disappointed in Balaam’s decision.  God was willing to give his donkey more insight along the path than the man who rode on her back.  It is interesting to consider that God used an animal known for its stubborn nature to have more wisdom than his owner.  Gabby veers off the path and goes into a field when she sees an angel bearing a sword on their way.  Balaam strikes her and moves her back on the track.  A little further down the road, the angel reappears, and this time Gabby cowers and pushes up next to a wall to avoid harm.  This pinches Balaam’s foot against the wall.  In his anger, he strikes her again.  When she can no longer turn to the right or the left, she decides to lay down and refuses to move.  Balaam beats her with a stick.  That is when God opens her mouth.

     Balaam doesn’t recognize the obstacles that have been placed on his path.  From his perspective, the only thing he can understand is the humiliation he feels as his donkey becomes stubborn.  Let’s pause just a moment to consider that obstacles can be protection rather than merely an annoyance.  In his frustration, Balaam transfers his aggravation to his animal, misreading her intentions.  She is concerned for their welfare.  Have you ever been the victim of abuse when doing the right thing, but having someone else perceive it to be wrong?  Balaam has not yet become privy to the same information held by his donkey.

     Considering this is not a Shrek movie with a speaking donkey and dancing gingerbread men, I couldn’t help feeling baffled by the fact that Balaam doesn’t seem confused, nor amused by his donkey who speaks in tongues.  Instead, he threatens her.  Couldn’t this talking mule become his ‘golden goose?’  I would be shouting, “Did you hear that?” “She speaks, my donkey speaks!”  Balaam has set his mind on what he wants and won’t let even a talking donkey get in his way until God opens his eyes.  The donkey not only asks a question, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”  She also reasons with him, “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?” 

     If a donkey reasoned with me, I might have been quicker to jump from her back with a few choice words.  We see in the story that God quickly tells Balaam that his donkey saved his life.  God also tells him that he is on a ‘reckless path.’  That is where we know what stirred God’s anger.  When Balaam acquired a new understanding, he confessed his sin and conferred with God on which direction he was to travel.  God wasn’t finished yet with the lesson, so he moved him on down the path of Balaam’s heart.   This story illustrates that man can easily be swayed into thinking that he has received God’s blessing when in truth, God is teaching him to look beyond his own desires.  We need to have a good handle on the motivation behind what we are seeking.  In my own life, it often takes hindsight to see that what motivates me isn’t as clear as I would like to believe.  There is more to this story, we have not yet seen 'the Way of Balaam', nor 'Balaam's Error,'  so stay tuned. 

Question:

1.  Are you seeking anything that God has clearly said ‘no,’ but you continually persist in believing you need to ask God a second or third time because maybe He will change His mind?  What is the motivation for this request?

2.  Have you encountered annoying obstacles on your path that may contain a warning rather than just an inconvenience? 

3.  How would you respond to a talking donkey?  (Okay, let’s hope that doesn’t happen!)