We’re going to try something a little different today. Last
week, I talked a lot about sheep. But I kind of want to stick with the animal
theme. So this week, we’re going to try and get into the mind of a donkey and
the time where God made an animal talk!
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Yes… That day… I remember that day well. There I was, sound
asleep, when suddenly Balaam bursts into the room. I squeezed my eyes shut and
turned away from the light that started pouring in. It was so early and so
bright! This was much earlier than
Balaam usually went out.
Then again, I’m not really sure you can say Balaam was the
kind of man who had a usual schedule. Some days we’d go on long journeys to far
away countries. Can’t say I liked those journeys much. Why, you ask? Can’t say
I liked the stuff he’d say or do whenever we went away.
It was much better at home. I’ve always been the kind of
donkey that would rather just keep to myself and not have anyone bother me.
There were times where we wouldn’t leave for weeks at a time. Those weeks were
the best! I could cozy up in the warm hay and sleep with only the sounds of
flies buzzing around my ears to distract me. Well, that or when Balaam got too
excited saying one of his curses.
Yes, you heard me right. Curses. That was Balaam’s business:
blessings and curses. Weird job if you ask me. People could hire Balaam to put
a blessing or a curse on someone they didn’t like. Of course, Balaam developed
a bit of a reputation over time, so he wouldn’t just work for anybody. Usually
they had to be kings or the like.
Between you and me, I never agreed with what Balaam did. But
I was just his donkey. It’s not like I could tell him I thought he was being a
fool. I just took him where he wanted to go. And all in all, Balaam didn’t
treat me half bad. The stable was warm, and he let me rest whenever I got tired
on those long journeys. Balaam was just… confused. He had this special gift
from God, but he wasted it by not listening to Him.
That is, of course, until the day he burst into my stable so
early in the morning! See, the King of Moab – Balak, I think his name was – he
had hired Balaam to curse the Israelites. The people of Israel had been
wandering around the desert for a number of years, and now they were getting
mighty close to the Moabite land. And the Moabites, they were scared the
Israelites might attack. There were just so many of them!
With the Moabites so scared and all, Balak thought it would
be best to get a little help. So he sent messengers to Balaam. I guess Balak
hoped that if Balaam cursed Israel, then this would help stop Israel from
conquering Moab.
Now like I said, I didn’t always agree with everything
Balaam did. But here, bless his heart, he wasn’t such a fool for once. When those
messengers came, Balaam told them straight out, “Go back to your own country.
The LORD won’t let me go with you” (Numbers 22:13, NIrV).
I couldn’t have been prouder of him that day. Listening to
God, not going around trying to curse people God had blessed. And I mean,
really, it’s not like Balaam’s curse would have any power against the God who
rules the entire universe! But still, I was glad Balaam didn’t do anything
foolish for a change.
Which is why my little old heart sunk when those messengers
came back a few days later. It seems Balak REALLY wanted Balaam’s help. Which
brings us to when Balaam saddled me up at the crack of dawn to go off and curse
the Israelites against God’s wishes.
We made a strange little group. Two Moabite messengers
riding on their prim and proper donkeys, all decked out in royal robes. Those
donkeys wouldn’t even talk to me. They made fun of me, saying all I was good
for was giving fleas a home. That made me pretty mad, and I had a few choice
insults ready to bray back to them. But I certainly didn’t expect that anything
I was thinking was bad enough that God would send one of His angels!
All of a sudden, this light brighter than anything I’d ever
seen burst out in front of me. I let out a loud groan and tried to turn around,
but Balaam just kept yelling at me to go forward. I couldn’t understand it. The
light was so overpowering – way brighter than that light from the sun this
morning! How in Pete’s name did Balaam keep looking ahead of him like nothing
had happened?
But I quickly realized I had a much bigger problem to worry
about! As my eyes slowly adjusted to the light, I saw the angel standing there
with a sword in his hand, and he looked ready for a fight. I was terrified! – I
thought he was mad at me for thinking those mean things about the other
donkeys! So I veered off the path as fast as I could.
Balaam didn’t like that very much. It seems I was the only
one who could see this angel cause the other donkeys kept right on walking
without even squinting! Balaam started hitting me to turn around and keep
heading towards the Israelites, but there was no way I was going back to where
that angel was! You should have seen the size of that sword!
I took a quick glance back to see if the angel was following
us, and then nearly fell over my own hooves! This only made Balaam angrier, but
I couldn’t help it… The angel was gone! It didn’t make any sense – the angel
had been right there! I started to panic, wondering if he was sneaking up on
me, when suddenly that angelic light exploded in front of me again!
This happened a few times, and I’m pretty sure I crushed
Balaam’s foot against a wall at one point, but I didn’t care. All I knew was
that I needed to get myself and Balaam away from that angel! But Balaam didn’t
get it; he just thought I was disobeying him. So he just kept on hitting me and
trying to make me go forward, which only led us closer and closer to the angel!
Finally, when we were about 10 feet away from the angel, I
lost it. I threw him off my back, stomped my front hooves on the ground, and
brayed at the top of my donkey lungs, “What have I done to you? Why did you hit
me these three times?”
And Balaam was so mad, that he yelled right back, “You have
made me look foolish! I wish I had a sword in my hand. If I did, I’d kill you
right now.”
“I’m your own donkey!” I screamed. “I’m the one you have
always ridden. Haven’t you been riding me to this very day? Have I ever made
you look foolish before?” To which Balaam just shook his head no.
And that’s when both Balaam and I realized what was
happening. Balaam took a step back. His eyes widened. I snorted in surprise. We
were TALKING to each other!
But then I realized Balaam wasn’t even looking at me
anymore. He was staring over my shoulder at the angelic light. He could finally
see it! He could see the angel on the road, sword in hand and ready to fight! And
Balaam, terrified out of his mind, fell down on the ground and bowed to the
angel.
Now from what I’ve heard, angels usually say something like
“Don’t be afraid” at this point. But this one didn’t. Instead, all he said was:
“Why have you hit your donkey three times? I have come here to oppose you. What
you are doing is foolish. The donkey saw me. It turned away from me three
times. Suppose it had not turned away. Then I would certainly have killed you
by now. But I would have spared the donkey” (Numbers 22:32-33).
Now I’ll admit, I was kind of relieved that the angel wasn’t
actually mad at me for all those nasty things I had thought about the other
donkeys. But then I realized what the angel had just said. The angel would have
killed Balaam for not listening. And he’d called Balaam a fool. What was that
all about?
I’ve thought a lot about that conversation over the years.
And I know I’m only a donkey, but I think I might have an answer. See, God had
already told Balaam once not to go on this trip. The Israelites were under His
blessing and were not to be cursed. But when those messengers came back, Balaam
decided not to listen to God. Maybe he wanted the money Balak offered, maybe he
thought God had changed His mind. I don’t know, but when Balaam asked God again
if he could go, it’s like God gave him a choice. It’s like God was saying to
Balaam, “I’ve already told you not to go. You know what’s right. But it’s your
choice.”
So why was Balaam a fool? Well, I’d say it’s because he
ignored what was right. The angel called him a fool because It’s foolish not to listen to God. Other
ways of doing things might look safer, smarter, or more fun, but just like
Balaam couldn’t see the angel right in front of him, we can’t always see what
dangers are waiting for us down the road when we choose to not listen to God.
Now I’m proud to say that even though Balaam still went with
the messengers of Moab after this, he didn’t curse Israel! In fact, God
actually ended up blessing Israel further through Balaam. And all of this
happened because Balaam chose to listen to God in the end.
I hope you’ll remember that. Remember that God’s ways are
always best, but He won’t force us to follow Him. He wants us to want to listen to Him! He wants us to be
wise by listening to what He asks. So when you’re faced with a tough choice on
whether to listen to God or not, remember foolish Balaam and make the wise
choice instead!
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That's it for February! Next week, we'll be jumping back into the New Testament to hear another one of Jesus' parables. Hope to see you then!
~Brentagious
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