Look at this: three times Balaam beats his reliable donkey because he was too wrapped up in himself to see God’s road block in front of him. By the 3rd time he got his staff out he was going ballistic!!! Red-in-the-face and spitting mad!
Then, right there in the middle of Balaam’s donkey-beatin’ hissy fit, God opened the donkey’s mouth, and it started talking. I wish I could’ve been there for that one! The original "Mr. Ed".
The donkey demanded, “What on earth have I done to you to make you beat me these 3 times?” Notice that Balaam, supposedly one of the wisest of men, doesn’t seem at all surprised by this talking donkey. Instead, he proceeds to have a rational conversation with one of God’s most ignorant animals. When his counseling session was over, however, the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes to see what he’d been missing. Wonder who felt like a donkey then?
When God “opens our eyes”, and we see how far off course we’ve gotten, we’re faced with a crucial decision: turn back to God - or - defy him and go farther down the road to destruction.