“So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" And Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you." And the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" And he said, "No." Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. And the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live." Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now, therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back." And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you." So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.”
Numbers 22:21-35 ESV
One of my favorite movies to watch with my kids is "Shrek." Partly because I identify as an ugly ogre but mostly because the talking donkey is hilarious. When my kids were small they could watch it over and over and it got to the point where I could hear a certain bit of dialog and I knew exactly where they would crack up laughing. But this isn't about that talking donkey.
One of the craziest examples of God speaking to one of us happens in Number 22:21-35. A prophet named Balaam is headed down to Moab because someone offered to pay him a large sum of money if he would come to curse the Israelite people. While he was traveling down to Moab, God gets in his way. Balaam, thinking about what he was going to say and concentrating on the road in front of him, didn't see the angel, but that donkey did. Three different times his donkey saves the distracted prophet from sure and certain death and what does Balaam do? He beats the poor animal for his trouble.
I can see it in my mind, Balaam was drawn back ready to kick that poor critter one more time when God decides enough is enough. He chooses to open the mouth of this beaten down creature and says to Balaam, "What have I done to you to make you beat me these three time?" And do you think Balaam falls off the critter in shock from him speaking to him like people? No way. Balaam answers his donkey that has now saved his life three times, "You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword you'd be dead!"
Ok, I am just going to say this right now, I have been around donkey's, mules, and horses in my life but if one of these animals spoke to me I think I would lose it. But the thing we need to see right here is that Balaam is so mad, so enraged, he can't even think straight. He took the donkey speaking to him as a normal everyday thing. If my dog Bua started to talk I can tell you the first thing I would do is Facebook Live his conversation then I would get us an agent and head to Vegas!
One of my favorite parts of this passage is the response from the donkey after Balaam threatens him with death. "Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?" What could Balaam say? What could you say? He sat there in silence with no response other than to say no. And if you have ever had to admit you're wrong to your spouse I can imagine it was a very low and mumbled "no."
It is only after all this that the Lord opened Balaam's eyes to see who He had sent to speak with him about what he was headed to do. It is a natural thing to get frustrated when you are headed somewhere and you can't seem to make it. Ever been on the interstate in Atlanta or Houston? Detours everywhere. And as people in a hurry, we hate detours. They are frustrating things for the busy person on a schedule. But it is the divine detours that get us where God wants us to go. The real star of this story isn't the talking donkey, it's God. A God that loves us enough to get in the way when we are headed down the wrong street. There are paths we don't want to go down but in the grand scheme of things we need to walk down them to prepare us for the next phase of our lives.
When I look back at my own life, I am grateful for the moments that God stepped in to detour me and send me back down the right path. I am grateful for the prayers He left unanswered because they weren't in my best interest for what He had planned for my life. What seems like an unanswered prayer means that God has a better answer. We just have to always remember that God has a better plan for our lives and believe it in faith and have the guts to walk down the roads He sends us down.
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