Balaam And His Unforgettable Ride! Series

(Based on a message preached Sunday evening, March 2, 2025 at New Hope Baptist Church near Fulton, MO; this is not an exact transcription.)

Introduction: The story of Balaam and his donkey (I choose to use the word “donkey” or “beast” simply to avoid being accused of using vulgar terms) is one of the most unusual in the Bible. People have used donkeys for thousands of years, per a quick “Wikipedia” check, mostly for riding or hauling.

For Balaam, this was a ride which I doubt he ever forgot!

1 What Balaam’s donkey saw

Text: Numbers 22:22-28, KJV: 22 And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way. 24 But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself unto the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her again. 26 And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the ass saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam: and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.

We saw last week that Balaam had first refused a request by Balak, king of Moab, to come and curse “a certain people (Israel)”, but Balak’s messengers never mentioned the name “Israel” to Balaam. Then, Balak sent more princes, all of whom were more honorable; to make a second, maybe even sweeter deal for Balaam. He, just like the first time, said, “Let me see what God says about this and I’ll reply in the morning”. So far, so good.

God indicated to Balaam that it was okay to go with the men, but if, and only if, they contacted him first (Numbers 22 has the whole story). For whatever reason, Balaam got ready to go before anybody said anything and God was very displeased with this.

Isn’t that a classic definition of sin, to do what God expressly said not to do?

So now, Balaam is on his way, heading to Moab along with the princes/messengers from the king. Now, I can’t say for sure just what Balaam was thinking, or if he was thinking, as he was riding the donkey from Pethor, his hometown, to Moab. I doubt, though, he was anyway near ready for what was about to happen!

Remember that God was very angry that Balaam had ignored the command, and as a result rebelled against God. We don’t know when or how far from Balaam’s hometown these events happened, but we can rest assured they did. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2), and for some to say these incidents are myths, fables, or anything less than plain historical narrative are playing fast and loose with the sacred text. If God says it happened, it happened.

All right. According to verse 22, Balaam was riding the donkey and two servants (of his, implied) were along with him. I have to confess that I have no idea how fast a donkey can walk, but probably not very fast, if two men can keep up while still walking. A lot of information, as in real-world or experiential knowledge, is far higher than my pay grade or knowledge!

And it’s while he’s riding the donkey that we read about the first out of the ordinary experience. Again, based on my limited knowledge, donkeys tend to follow a straight ahead path, only turning when the rider (somehow) indicates that it’s time to go either left or right. People with experience riding horses say it’s easy to make them turn, just pull the reins until the horse goes in the rider’s chosen direction. Anyway, the donkey seems to be walking along the straight path until she saw something very much out of the ordinary.

This donkey saw something Balaam didn’t see—the Angel of the LORD!

Not once, not twice, but three times. Balaam didn’t see the Angel once, until later.

So what did the donkey see? The first time, she saw the Angel of the LORD standing “in the way”, which I take to mean the road, trail, or pathway this group was traveling. And not only did the donkey see the Angel Himself, but she noticed He had a sword drawn in His hand. I remember reading or hearing, somewhere, that if one’s sword was kept in the sheath, this meant peace but if the sword was drawn, this was either a warning or an act of punishment. No matter what it was, the donkey knew that something bad was going to happen unless she made a move.