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21 So Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 Then God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the way to oppose him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside from the way and went into the field. And Balaam beat the donkey, to turn her back to the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a path among the vineyards, where there was a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey
saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself into the wall, and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall, and so he beat her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD went farther, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 So when the donkey saw the angel
of the LORD, she crouched down under Balaam. Then Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he beat his donkey with a staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made me look stupid; I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am not I your donkey, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours unto this day? Have I ever attempted to treat you this way?” And he said,
“No.” 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his sword drawn in his hand; so he bowed his head, and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you, because what you are doing is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me, and turned from me these three times. If she had not turned from me, I would have slain you, but saved her alive.” 34 And Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know
that you stood against me in the way. So now, if it is evil in your sight, I will go back home.” 35 But the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but you may only speak the word that I will speak to you.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.
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Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and set out with the princes of Moab. This must have been quite a scene to behold.
Accompanying Balaam were the dignitaries who had been sent to persuade Balaam to come and curse the
people of God. Each of them must have had their own servants and bodyguards. Balaam himself was accompanied by two of his own servants. I can imagine that those who happened to witness this entourage of Moab’s elite must have been duly impressed. Balaam was probably soaking all this up, basking in the glory of it all. After all, this whole caravan was on his account. He was the honored member of a very distinguished group.
What Balaam could not see was that by his choice to accompany this delegation, he had set himself in opposition to God. The words of verse 22 are chilling: “Then God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the way to oppose him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.”
Balaam had angered God.
More than this, by his actions, Balaam made God his adversary and he God’s adversary! The Hebrew word translated "adversary" is literally the word "satan."
What an amazing and terrifying thought! To deliberately and purposefully oppose the will of God is to make God your adversary. This truth is taught elsewhere:
(Hebrews 10:26-31).
He who would oppose the people of God and the will of God has made God his adversary.
As they make their way toward Moab, the Angel of the LORD stands in thepath of Balaam and his donkey.
The “Angel of the LORD” is a most fascinating person.
He appears with some frequency in the Old and New Testaments. There are different views as to who this is, but at the very least we can say that he is an angel who represents God, speaking and acting on His behalf. If Balak sent his most noble princes to entice Balaam to come to him, God sent His most awesome emissary to oppose his coming.
Here is an amazing thing. Balaam, does not see the Angel of the LORD, but his donkey does. A prophet was known as a “seer,” who spoke to men for God concerning the things he “saw” (see 1 Samuel 9:9, 11, 19). Balaam cannot “see” the Angel of the LORD, but the donkey can, and this donkey
then speaks to Balaam, rebuking him (2 Peter 2:16) for his sin. The donkey is a better “prophet” (or “seer”) than Balaam. Let no prophet ever attempt to take credit for what he sees and says, for God can do as much through a donkey.
Three times the donkey will see the Angel of the LORD and refuse to continue on the path in an attempt to spare Balaam from his sword. The first encounter comes where the path ran through an open field. The
donkey sees the Angel and turns aside, into the field. Balaam is furious with his donkey for turning off the road. He beats his donkey severely, virtually forcing her to get back onto the path. Some time later, Balaam and his mount pass through some vineyards. Just as Balaam’s donkey is making her way between two walls, she sees the Angel of the LORD once
again. In order to avoid the Angel, the donkey presses hard against one wall, crushing Balaam’s foot
between her body and the wall.
Greatly angered by her seemingly senseless behavior, Balaam beats his donkey once again. Going on farther, the Angel blocked the donkey’s path while she was confined to a very narrow place, and so all she could do was to lie down, refusing to go on. This really angers Balaam, who now employs his staff to beat his donkey.
What happens next seems absolutely incredible, and yet it did not appear to make much of an impression on Balaam. The donkey suddenly speaks to
her master. She asks Balaam what she has done wrong for him to beat her so severely these three times. Balaam hardly appears to notice the incredible fact that a donkey is speaking to him. In effect, Balaam’s answer to the donkey’s question is, “Because you made a jackass out of me. And so help me if I had a sword in my hand right now I would kill you.” This is my paraphrase, of course, but it is not far from the sense of the text. Balaam was angry with his donkey because she had made him look like a fool. The donkey’s actions seemedcompletely inexcusable, so long as one is unaware of the presence of the Angel of the LORD, with His sword poised to kill Balaam. Balaam’s actions were irrational and cruel to a donkey who could see the Angel, who was aware of the danger He presented, and who sought to spare her master’s life.
Balaam seems to be very concerned about status and prestige. Surely this is why Balak sent an even more prestigious delegation the second time.
There was probably plenty of pomp and circumstance as this entourage made its way back to Moab. We have seen these three incidents through the eyes of the donkey, and to some degree, through the eyes of Balaam. But what must this have looked like to one of the princes who was in the caravan, as they witnessed these events? Balaam, a man highly regarded for his
ability to influence or control the “gods,” cannot manage to make his donkey go where he wants. These princes watch as Balaam completely loses control of himself, cruelly beating his animal. This did not do his image any good, and it would seem that his image was very important to Balaam.
But it gets even more incredible. The princes watch as Balaam strikes his donkey repeatedly in the open field, forcing her back onto the path. Then they look on as the donkey suddenly draws away, pressing hard against the wall, with Balaam’s foot catching the worst of it.
Once again, they watch Balaam beat his animal. And then they look on as the donkey lays down beneath Balaam, so that he must jump off and beat the animal until she gets to her feet. And just when it would appear that things could not get worse, they watch in disbelief as Balaam and his donkey carry on a conversation. Can you imagine their astonishment if
Balaam had turned to these princes and said something like this: “Men, I’ve just had a little talk with my donkey here, and we’ve decided that it would be best for us not to continue on with you.”
It is very doubtful that those who looked on saw the Angel of the LORD.
The princes who accompanied Balaam (not to forget his two servants) must have gaped, wide-eyed, when they saw Balaam fall prostrate to the ground. What in the
world was this man doing? Had he completely lost his mind? To theonlooker, it would have seemed so.
Balaam tells his donkey that if he had a sword in his hand, he would killher that very moment. How foolish his words seem to us, since we know that there was One present who did have a sword, and who was ready to use it that very moment on Balaam. The donkey’s response to Balaam is most interesting:
And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am not I your donkey, upon which you have ridden ever since I was yours unto this day? Have I ever attempted to treat you this way?”
(Numbers 22:30).
Of all the things I would have said to Balaam if I were his donkey, this is not even on my list. Why does the donkey speak as she does? Actually, her words make a lot of sense. Balaam was a man who was supposed to be “in touch” with the spiritual forces. He was a man who was consulted for guidance regarding the future. Very often, then as now, the diviner would
predict the future based upon the arrangement or relationships of physical elements (e.g., the pattern of tea leaves in a cup, or of the physical organs of an animal prepared for sacrifice). It shouldn’t have
taken a rocket scientist to discern that there was some kind of significance to the three-fold refusal of the donkey to stay on the path. There was a lesson
to be learned here, but Balaam completely missed it.
If I may attempt to paraphrase the words of a donkey, I believe her words were meant to be understood something like this: “Stop and think about this for a moment, master. How long have I been your beast of burden? A long time, right? And have I ever acted in thisfashion before?
You know that I have not. And if I have not acted this way before, through all the years you have ridden me, doesn’t this suggest to you that something out of the ordinary is going on here? Don’t you think that there may be a message for you in all of this? If I turned off the path three times for what
appeared to be no reason at all, doesn’t this cause you to wonder if you are on the right path or not?”
It is only now that Balaam’s eyes are opened so that he is able to actually see the Angel of the LORD, standing in the way, with His sword drawn. Instantly, Balaam is on his face, prostrate before the Angel of the LORD.
The Angel then asks Balaam essentially the same question, “What reason did you have for beating your donkey these three times?” The Angel does not wait for Balaam to respond. Instead the Angel explains, “I came out here to oppose you, because what you are doing is perverse. The donkey is a better ‘seer’ than you. She saw me and turned back these three times.
This was to save you from certain death. Had she continued on, I would have killed you and let her live. You were about to kill her for saving your life. She is a far better prophet than you.”
Think of it.
If Balaam’s words to the donkey could kill, that donkey would have beendead. In effect, Balaam was cursing his donkey.
Balaam cursed the donkey:
1. yet she was the only reason Balaam had not been killed by the
Angel of the LORD.
2. Balaam was cursing his one and only source of blessing.
3. Balaam cursed and would have killed the instrument of his
deliverance.
4. Is the connection between this incident and what Balaam is
seeking to do to Israel not clear? God had promised to bless Israel and
also to make Israel a source of blessing to all who treated His people
with favor. Balaam was seeking to turn God’s blessing into a curse, and
by so doing, he was bringing a curse upon himself.
Balaam can think of no excuse that will adequately explain or justify his actions. He admits his sin, though some think he has not owned up to it in full measure. His only excuse is that he did not realize it was God who opposed him on his journey. He offers to go back home if it is evil in the Angel’s sight. Did Balaam say if it was displeasing to the Angel?
How could it be otherwise? How could he not see this?
Instead of ordering Balaam to go back home, the Angel instructed him to go on with the men, but he must only speak that which God gave him to say. And so, once again, Balaam is on his way to Balak, but his mission will produce the opposite of what the Moabites want, and nothing like what Balaam hopes
for. If Balaam has learned but one lesson, it is this: one who speaks for God must do so precisely, just as God has spoken—no additions or omissions, no
embellishments or watering down of the truth.
It is never more dangerous or foolish than to be for what God is against, and against what God is for. Balaam was seeking to curse those whom God had blessed.
That made Balaam against those whom God was for. In so doing, Balaam found God to be his adversary. How much better it is for us to have God as our Advocate! As the Apostle Paul puts it, “What then shall we say
about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
Those who would have God as their Adversary are those who must some daybow before Him as Lord of all: (Philippians 2:5-11).
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