Balaam and his Donkey Numbers 22:21-34
Balaam heard the voice of God and was a well-known prophet in his day, and there are three main lessons we can learn from him and his donkey.
In the beginning of chapter 22, King Balak offered Balaam a diviner’s fee if he would curse Israel. At first, Balaam did the right thing when he told the king’s messengers that gold and silver could not cause him to say or do anything other than that God tells him to. Balaam wanted to be righteous by refusing to curse the Israelites. However, later he became a curse to them because he led God’s people to sin against God and his commandments.
Numbers 25, verses 1&3, “…the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite woman. Israel yoked themselves to the Boal of Peor (a false god). And we know it was Balaam who was instrumental in this from Revelation 2:14, “There are some among you who hold to the teachings of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin…”
The lesson here is Balaam, though he heard the voice of God, was easily swayed. It could have been that he wanted to be popular. He could have wanted to be seen in a higher position than he actually was in. It could have been that God’s way is hard, as it can be hard for all of us. God’s ideals and teachings are not just to be looked at and followed occasionally, or when it’s convenient. They are to be the goal every day and in every situation.
It can be easy to convince ourselves God didn’t mean them; God wasn’t talking about this. God says love your neighbor, but he didn’t mean them, they’re Muslim. God says never get tired of doing good, but he didn’t mean with them, they’re addicts. God says cloth yourselves in compassion and kindness, he didn’t mean them, they created their own problems. They had it coming. And once you convince yourself it’s ok to bend God’s word, it becomes easy for you to convince others to do the same. 1 John 3:18, “…let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.”
Another factor in Balaam’s actions was his love for money; 2 Peter 2:15, “They have left the straight way and wondered off to follow the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of wickedness.”
1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” Money itself is not evil. Wealth itself is not evil. But when you are like Balaam and your desire to build more wealth stops you from doing for others, when it interferes with your faith, your work for God and your Christian fellowship, then it becomes sin. Then it becomes a stumbling block between you and God. Balaam teaches us, never compromise truth and faith to get along with others or to fit in with the majority. Do not let money or popularity interfere with doing right by God.
The second lesson we see from Balaam is how God is faithful, and how he defends his people even when they turn against him.
This account goes on to tell us how King Balak wants Balaam to curse the Israelites. And in chapters 23 and 24, we see that even as Balaam tries, different words flow from his mouth. Numbers 23:9, “How can I curse those whom God has not cursed?” Numbers 2:21, “No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel.” Numbers 24:8, “God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox.” Numbers 24:17, “A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.”
Balak wanted Balaam to curse Israel, but God made him bless them instead. Israel complained about the food and water, about the journey through the desert, and against Moses, yet God would not allow them to be cursed. What powerful hope this demonstrates for us. We have accepted Christ. We are saved, glorified, sanctified, and forgiven. And we still go against God and sin. And still God doesn’t curse us. God does not remand us to Satan. God does not remove our salvation. Our great Christian hope and security is God is faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to him. God will always do what he says he will do. God has chosen us to be his people, he will protect us from the enemies of righteousness.
And now, the Balaam and his donkey story gives us this third lesson; God can use anything and anyone to accomplish his purpose.
God is immeasurably creative, I mean, he gave a donkey the ability to talk in order that Balaam would hear God speak. What is God using in your life to talk to you?
When God called me to this journey of ministry, I dragged my feet. Yes, there were times I would look for classes so I could learn more, but it wasn’t anything serious. Funny thing though, even when I wasn’t looking for it, a particular seminary kept popping up on my computer. In a sense, the donkey in my life was the internet.
God wanted me in ministry, and when God wants something, he will use any means to reach you. What is the donkey in your life?
In our story, the donkey stops three times, and each time Balaam gets angry at it. The donkey was God’s way of reaching Balaam. And since Balaam didn’t understand, he got angry. Sometimes we don’t understand our donkey either. And sometimes we do recognize our donkey, but we choose to ignore it.
I asked what is the donkey in your life. But now I ask, how many of you know what God is saying but choose to ignore it? Is God saying, I want you to work more for your church; I don’t have the time, I want to do something else. Is God saying, I want you to work with and help the migrants, or the incarcerated; I don’t want to do that, they probably don’t want me to help anyway. But be warned, if God is willing to give the power of speech to a donkey to reach Balaam, he will do whatever it takes to reach you and to break through your resistance.
And let’s not forget that the donkey stopped three times. Three, the biblical number of God. The Biblical number of completeness and divine perfection. The donkey stopping three times shows us that God has a complete and perfect plan and try as you may to avoid what God wants with you, when his time is perfect and his plan is laid out, he will get your attention.
This story of Balaam and his donkey teach us we must get our heart right with God. Don’t compromise what God teaches in order to gain money or popularity. Balaam and his donkey show us that when we accept Christ, God will never turn against us, even as we turn against him and still have sin in our lives. And this story of Balaam and his donkey demonstrate for us, when God wants your attention, and the time is right, he will use anything and anyone to get it.
So now I ask you, look around and see what the donkey is in your life.
God’s peace and love be with you always,
Amen.