Have You Talked to a Donkey Lately?

What is the weirdest story in the Bible? That was the question I was recently asked by a middle school student. I had to stop and think for a minute... after all, there are A LOT of weird stories in the Bible. There’s the story about the demonic pigs flying off a cliff (Mark 5:1-20); the one about a levitating severed hand graffiti-ing a wall (Daniel 5:1-31); the story of Lot’s wife turning into a giant salt-lick (Genesis 18:16-33); or the legendary Bear Attack of 846 B.C. (2 Kings 2:23-24). Despite the weirdness of all of those stories, there was one other story that stood out in my mind... the story of Balaam and his talking donkey.

Do you remember that story (if not, go read Numbers 22:21-39)? I remember first hearing that story as a little kid in Sunday School, and as an 8-year-old boy, a story about a talking donkey was absolutely hilarious (okay, even now it’s still pretty funny)! But the real meaning was probably lost on me. Rereading that passage as an adult, I realized I had missed something. See, Balaam was a prophet of God who spoke both blessings and curses. But he was also a sorcerer... which really angered God. “Now when Balaam saw it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times, but turned his face toward the desert” (Numbers 24:1).

I guess it’s easy to miss that part. I was probably so caught up in the talking donkey that I never stopped to think why Balak, king of Moab, enemy of Israel, would have summoned Balaam in the first place. Balak wanted Balaam to call down curses on God’s people, the Israelites. It took a donkey to crush Balaam’s foot, make a complete fool of him, and remind him of his loyalties (Numbers 22:25). “Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and she said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?’... Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing on the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown” (vv.28, 31).

That got me thinking, what are the “donkeys” in my life? What “donkey” is God using to get my attention? We sometimes, for whatever reason, don’t see the work of God around us. As Christians, we’re a lot like Balaam; we know where our allegiance lies, but we so often answer to the summoning of the enemy... sin. And because of that, our hearts are divided. But God, in His great love, is there to remind us whose side we’re on. Sometimes that reminder is unexpected (like Balaam’s talking donkey) and sometimes that reminder hurts (like Balaam’s crushed foot). But the beauty of grace lies in its unrelenting pursuit to bring us back to God, even when we go down the wrong path. So keep an ear out for the “donkeys” in your life, and listen closely for the message God has for you!