This chapter introduces us to a man named Balaam. He is a priest of God that doesn't listen to what God says. Balaam saddles up his donkey and rides off to go meet the men of Balak. God only told him to go if the men came to get him. The Bible tells us that God was angry at Balaam's disobedience. So God used the most unique tool to get Balaam's attention: his donkey.
God sent an angel in the donkey's path that only she could see. Picture it with me for a moment:
It was early in the morning; everyone's grumpy in the morning, right? Balaam is riding the donkey that's probably going slow anyway. His two servants are there, too. And all of the sudden the donkey turns off the path and walks straight into a field. "Wait, what? What is this stupid animal doing?" Balaam is beating the donkey to get her to go back, so she does. "Good girl," he grumbles. Later, they're crossing through a vineyard with a wall on one side. The donkey rams Balaam's foot into the wall. "Ah!" He screams...and beats the donkey again. The donkey's ears go back; she's about had it, but she keeps going. They go through a narrow place perhaps between two rocks; and she falls on the ground! Balaam goes rolling off and smashes into the rock. He grabs his staff, "That's it! I've had it with this stupid animal. This is the third time. Three strikes, you're out!" He smacks the donkey again. The donkey's ears go back, she turns and looks at Balaam, and then...she speaks: "What did I ever do to you that you should hit me three times?"
Well, Balaam's mouth dropped wide open. He stared wide-eyed at the donkey. Did those words really just-?
Wait, no. That's not what Balaam did. Numbers 22:29 says, "And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee."
Balaam just talked back to a donkey. He is arguing with a donkey. Now, anyone in his right mind would know that donkeys do not talk. Maybe he'd just had a little too much alone time with the donkey, but the servants were there, too; so, I don't really think that he was crazy, I do believe that he was angry.
Anger causes us to lose our judgment. Have you ever been in a situation where you were so angry that you said something you regret? Probably so. I have. It's easy to see how ridiculous this situation is. Balaam talking to a donkey. Angry at an animal. One that we would probably think is stupid. And there he stands arguing with it.
Does the donkey scream at him? I don't think so. Verse 30 continues the conversation. I think she had a soft answer (Proverbs 15:1). Then, the Lord opens Balaam's eyes, and he meets God's angel that was standing in the way every time.
Anger is a God-given emotion. We know that God gets angry; He gets angry at sin. But wrong anger clouds our judgment. Next time you are angry, take a step back and just think about the situation. God gave us the ability to reason, to be discerning. Look for the "donkeys" in your life. Ask the Lord to help you be discerning in controlling your anger.
Psalm 37:8 - Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.
No comments:
Post a Comment