The Talking Donkey
The Biblical account of Balaam and his donkey focuses on greed, misdirection, anger, forgiveness, surrender, deliverance…the list goes on.
But what I am really caught up on right now is how my reaction towards a talking donkey would have been much more different than what happened with Balaam! The Bible states that after the donkey asked a question, Balaam answered and proceeded to carry on a conversation with a talking animal. I personally would have screamed like a tiny girl and ran for the hills!
Read the account in Numbers 22:21-39 and see if you can work out what the message of the story is.
Editor's Note: Balaam is a complex character. The prophet Micah (Micah 6:5) writing at a later time, looks back at the above incident and records how Balaam prevented King Balak from doing evil. On the other hand, Balaam is portrayed negatively in Deuteronomy 23:3-6. Balaam’s life certainly ended in disobedience. He was killed in battle after somehow being involved in advising people who turn away from the Lord (Numbers 25; 31:8-16). Nevertheless, in the above story he seems to learn a lesson and do what the Lord commands.
But what I am really caught up on right now is how my reaction towards a talking donkey would have been much more different than what happened with Balaam! The Bible states that after the donkey asked a question, Balaam answered and proceeded to carry on a conversation with a talking animal. I personally would have screamed like a tiny girl and ran for the hills!
Read the account in Numbers 22:21-39 and see if you can work out what the message of the story is.
Editor's Note: Balaam is a complex character. The prophet Micah (Micah 6:5) writing at a later time, looks back at the above incident and records how Balaam prevented King Balak from doing evil. On the other hand, Balaam is portrayed negatively in Deuteronomy 23:3-6. Balaam’s life certainly ended in disobedience. He was killed in battle after somehow being involved in advising people who turn away from the Lord (Numbers 25; 31:8-16). Nevertheless, in the above story he seems to learn a lesson and do what the Lord commands.
Story and Illustration by Jason Harrison - reproduced by kind permission: https://www.drawforgod.com/ - info@grace-lines.net