When God Spoke Through An Ass Joshua 13:22, Num 22:21-35
How would you feel if an animal spoke to you? The story is told of a man who bought a beautiful, exotic, tropical parrot from a local pet store. The pet store owner said that the parrot could talk and after demonstrating a few sentences the customer was impressed so he bought him and took him home. Except the only time the parrot would speak, he would only use abusive language with his new owner. The owner said, “Bird, if I ever hear you talk like that again, I’m going to lock you in the freezer!.” This threat still had no effect, so the owner backed up his threat and locked the parrot in the deep freeze for about an hour. When the bird was nearly frozen, the owner went back to the freezer, removed the vulgar bird, and said, “Have you learned your lesson?” The parrot was shivering so bad he could barely speak, but asked, “Yes I promise I won’t say any more bad words, but I have a question?” The parrot asked, “I would like to know one thing, what did the turkey say?”
Animals don’t usually speak, except of course in fantasyland. But there are some exceptions to this. One is associated with the man who is mentioned in our text in Joshua. Today we are going to learn about one that did, only it wasn’t fantasy it was real. And it wasn’t a bird that spoke, it was a donkey. And it wasn’t the animal who was speaking profanities, it was its owner. We usually think of donkeys as dumb, stupid, or just down right stubborn. Turns out that this donkey’s IQ was way higher than her owner.
Now here in our text, in Joshua 13:22, we read about the demise of the talking-donkey’s owner, Balaam. This is what happens to a man who sets himself up against God and his people, and what happens to a man whose vision is impaired against the things of God. And eventually God caught up with him through Joshua and is killed. But to read about what happened we go back to our Scripture text in Numbers 22. Speaking of bad words, I don’t mean to sound crass or cute, but the title of my message today is when “God Spoke Through an Ass.” It’s a King James Version word for a species of animal that we don’t use much in our vocabulary anymore, because of the obvious connotation. But its not even the same word that we use as a vulgar epithet. And that is too bad, because, its also a more accurate description than the word that we use today. Turn to Numbers 22:21-35.
I. The Real “Ass” of the Story. (Read vs. 21) But there is no doubt who the real ass is in this story. Now Balaam is an interesting character. He is characterized as the son of Beor, the grandson of an Edomite king. Balaam is what we call a “seer”, a pagan prophet for profit, hired out by Balak, the king of the Moabites. He was a very influential sorcerer who, although aware of the true God, made his services available on a freelance basis. The Moabites know that Israel is coming through their land and is going to one day conquer it. So the king hires Balaam to curse Israel as they passed by. What’s strange is that at first Balaam appears to us as very godly, and very noble. In vs. 18 he even says, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord my God to do less or more.” Here in this verse, Balaam is speaking as though he were a follower of the God of the Hebrews! He even says he has a word from God come to him that night telling him not to curse Israel, but speak only what He tells him to.” Yet he goes on and does what God tells him not to do. Now I find this is very interesting. But it goes on more than you would think. They give the pretense that they are following God and affirming His love, when in fact they are really worshipping at the altar of public morality and worldly-mindedness. In fact we are told in 2 Peter 2:15-16 about those who “have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. 16But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. These are the ones who are more concerned about their popularity and their paycheck than they are about the God who called them to speak. Speaking of leaving the “straight” way, Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker, Myers Park Baptist Church presented his chairman of deacons, a female, and a lesbian before us pleading with us that we should accept them and seat them at the NC Baptist State Convention. Overwhelmingly, we voted not seat them- not because we did not love them, but because we loved God more.
Sometimes people misinterpret our strong stand for God as being unloving. As your pastor you need to know that while I love you, and I know you love me, there will be times, because I am bound to preach the Word of God to you, that you are not going to like me very much. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. Just know that when I do, its because I love you too much to tell you what you want to hear. Sometimes it tears me up! Repentance, and obedience, not affirmation, is the right response we give to a God who saves us from hell.
Balaam got up the next morning with the Moabites to do what he had been hired to do. This is what aroused the anger of God, not just because he went, but for the reason he went. He caved into the pressure of the Moabites the way we are often tempted to cave into the pressure of culture today. The angel of the Lord was sent in verse 22 to stand in his way, possibly even to kill him in order to prevent Balaam from cursing Israel. But Balaam’s mind is made up. The only thing he can think of is how lucrative this little venture is going to be. But don’t let this surprise you, friends. Judas sold out Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. But there are some who will sell Him out for a whole lot less than that. Another name for an ass is a fool, and what a fool Balaam is for doing this. This is because
II. The Real Ass of the Story Had no Real Vision of God. V.23- What is even more amazing is that here is Balaam, name, incidentally, means “seer of the gods,” who just couldn’t see what a common beast of burden can see. This donkey under Balaam could see the angel of the Lord standing there on the path up ahead- with a drawn sword in the angel’s hand. She wasn’t going to keep going and risk getting killed! She is no fool! Instead she turned away. Now they saw that animals are much more sensitive to their surroundings than we people are. Animals seem more in tune to their creator- possibly because they have no sin. They also say that donkeys are very stubborn- I don’t believe that. Donkeys have more common sense- They won’t allow themselves to be pushed beyond their limits, they won’t let themselves be lead by people they don’t trust. Balaam couldn’t see what his donkey could see, but this should not surprise us either. I have met so many people who should know better, who can no more see or understand what God is doing around them than the man in the moon. We decry the unbeliever who is living in spiritual darkness, but sometimes they can see things more plainly than we who are supposed to be people of God. What does it say in Proverbs 29:18? It says "Where there is no vision, the people perish; but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. "- Where there is no vision, we die. This vision is clearly talking about the things of God, namely, the Word of God, and when you and I allow ourselves to be directed by the Word of God and led by the Spirit of God, then we are going to be happy people because we know where we are going. We are not only going to heaven, but we also go through the course of this life with full knowledge and understand of the purpose for which God placed us on this planet. But when we live unto ourselves or focused on what we want, like Balaam was, then we are headed for destruction and we are headed straight for Hell. Paul spoke to Agrippa of visions in Acts 26:19: "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision." It is the "heavenly vision," seeing things God wants us to see. Seeing the son of God on the cross who died for us that we would be saved. For the donkey her vision of the things God wanted her to see was 20/20! I can’t say the same for the jackass who was riding her. He was riding on the way to hell and he didn’t even know it.
Many have asked me, “Preacher, where is hell, is it down?” Back in 2003 we visited the Kilauea Volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii. To me it was fascinating to stand there and see these red-hot, smoking chasms. There were barricades all around them and the guides kept cautioning people. We watched this lava keep boiling up out of the earth. The guide said, "That’s 800 degrees Fahrenheit down there! If one of you were to fall in this pool of molten lava, we would never so much as find the wrist watch from your arm or the buttons from your clothing. You would be vaporized immediately." I stood there watching this boiling out of the bowels of the earth and I thought on all the teaching of the Bible about Hell, the home of the unsaved, separated from God, eternally tormented. The ones who fall into a pool of hot molten lava are the lucky ones. Hell is forever, it is the place where Jesus described in Luke 13:28 as weeping and gnashing of teeth, its horrors are as indescribable as eternal. People don’t like for us preachers to talk about hell, but like this talking animal, it is also in the Bible. Where is Hell? I can’t say if it is up or down, but I can tell you that hell is at the end of a godless life as well as for those who try to use God and the Bible for their own purposes. God apparently loved Balaam enough to try to warn him.
III. This “Ass” Continued on Despite Warnings to the Contrary. (v.25) Balaam’s donkey fell against a stone wall and caught his foot between it. I’m sure it hurt, but not as bad as what Balaam was about to experience if he had kept going forward. This is when the miracle happened. Partly out of pain and partly out of irritation, Balaam started beating her. She laid down in the middle of the road so Balaam started beating her again. That was when she spoke up and said, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Now that is some magnificent donkey, because she not only spoke, but she could count, too!” Stranger still was the fact that Balaam answered back, apparently unfazed at what or who was speaking to him until the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes. (Read vv. 30-34).
Balaam seems to repent of his sin. In fact we read through the next two chapters how Balaam continued on with a very fruitful ministry of prophecy for the Lord. Balaam went on and spoke some amazing things, like 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie. Nor the son of man that He should repent.” Balaam stood up to Balak who pleaded with him not to preach in the name of the Lord, and said “Did I not tell you All that the Lord speaks, that I must do?” It made Balak so angry that the king struck Balaam in the face for defying him by preaching in the name of the Lord. This is when Balaam started preaching against Moab who later to fell under the sword of Israel. After reading this we think, “Well now, Balaam wasn’t such a bad guy after all. Why then did God kill him?” Indeed Balaam died while being caught in the cross-fire between Israel and the Midianites, like so many today who are caught in the crossfire between God and public opinion. But on over in Revelation 2:14 we have the post-script of the story. Jesus says But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. (Rev. 2:14) Appearances are very deceiving, friends.
True, Balaam had spoken some things of God, but in his heart he had never left the gods of this world. If he had been sincere in his repentance, he would have left Balaks feather-bedded palace and come over to serve under Moses and Joshua. That is the difference between true repentance and false repentance. If there is something that God has revealed to you is wrong, then real repentance doesn’t find a way to keep doing the sin, repentance stops doing it.
