Bible Lesson: Miracles Of The Old
Testament: Balaam's Donkey Speaks.
Occasion: God's Rebuke For Going
To Balak.
Location: Pethor.
Bible Text:
Numbers 22:1-34 NLT
1 Then the people of Israel traveled
to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across
from Jericho.
2 Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite
king, had seen everything the Israelites did to the Amorites.
3 And when the people of Moab saw
how many Israelites there were, they were terrified.
4 The king of Moab said to the
elders of Midian, “This mob will devour everything in sight, like
an ox devours grass in the field!” So Balak, king of Moab,
5 sent messengers to call Balaam
son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the
Euphrates River. His message said: “Look, a vast horde of people
has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are
threatening me.
6 Please come and curse these people
for me because they are too powerful for me. Then perhaps I will be
able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that
blessings fall on any people you bless, and curses fall on people you
curse.”
7 Balak’s messengers, who were
elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place
a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak’s
message to him.
8 “Stay here overnight,” Balaam
said. “In the morning I will tell you whatever the Lord directs me
to say.” So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.
9 That night God came to Balaam and
asked him, “Who are these men visiting you?”
10 Balaam said to God, “Balak son
of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message:
11 ‘Look, a vast horde of people
has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come
and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand
up to them and drive them from the land.’”
12 But God told Balaam, “Do not go
with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been
blessed!”
13 The next morning Balaam got up
and told Balak’s officials, “Go on home! The Lord will not let me
go with you.”
14 So the Moabite officials returned
to King Balak and reported, “Balaam refused to come with us.”
15 Then Balak tried again. This time
he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than
those he had sent the first time.
16 They went to Balaam and delivered
this message to him: “This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please
don’t let anything stop you from coming to help me.
17 I will pay you very well and do
whatever you tell me. Just come and curse these people for me!”
18 But Balaam responded to Balak’s
messengers, “Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with
silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will
of the Lord my God.
19 But stay here one more night, and
I will see if the Lord has anything else to say to me.”
20 That night God came to Balaam and
told him, “Since these men have come for you, get up and go with
them. But do only what I tell you to do.”
21 So the next morning Balaam got
up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.
22 But God was angry that Balaam was
going, so he sent The Angel Of The Lord to stand in the road to block
his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,
23 Balaam’s donkey saw The Angel Of The Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The
donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and
turned it back onto the road.
24 Then The Angel Of The Lord stood at
a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.
25 When the donkey saw The Angel Of The
Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against the
wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.
26 Then The Angel Of The Lord moved
farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey
to get by at all.
27 This time when the donkey saw the Angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the
animal again with his staff.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey the
ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves your
beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
29 “You have made me look like a
fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill
you!”
30 “But I am the same donkey you have
ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever done
anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s
eyes, and he saw The Angel Of The Lord standing in the roadway with a
drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on
the ground before him.
32 “Why did you beat your donkey
those three times?” The Angel Of The Lord demanded. “Look, I have
come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting Me.
33 Three times the donkey saw Me and
shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and
spared the donkey.”
34 Then Balaam confessed to The Angel Of The Lord, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were standing
in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are against my
going.”
Balak, Moabite King, was concerned when
he saw some two million Israelites, headed his way.
Fearing that they would literally would wipe
him and his people off the map, he tried to enlist the aid of a
prophet, who was able to both bless and curse, that prophet
was Balaam of Pethor.
Balaam was offered money to curse the
people, but he told the messengers of Balak, to wait while he sought
the Lord.
Balaam sought the Lord, regarding the
hoard of people and, “...God told Balaam, “Do not go with
them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!”
Verse 12.
Balak's
messengers returned with his refusal, but the king was not to take
the answer “no,” from the prophet.
Again
King Balak sent messengers, this time messengers of a more official
rank, besieging the prophet to reconsider, this Balaam did, again
asking the messengers to wait while he sought the Lord.
And
the Lord told Balaam ““Since these men have come for
you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do.”
21 So the next morning Balaam got
up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials.
Friends, when God
has told us “no,” we travel on dangerous ground, when we go
further and further on in our own selfish ambitions!
How well did the
Psalmist say...
Psalm 106:15 KJV
And He gave them their request; but
sent leanness into their soul.
Danger ahead, take
warning, ye who think selfish desires, may yet please God!
22 But God was angry that Balaam was
going, so he sent The Angel Of The Lord to stand in the road to block
his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,
Hebrews 10:31
KJV
It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God.
23 Balaam’s donkey saw The Angel Of The Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The
donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and
turned it back onto the road.
24 Then The Angel Of The Lord stood
at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls.
25 When the donkey saw The Angel Of The Lord, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam’s foot against
the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again.
26 Then The Angel Of The Lord moved
farther down the road and stood in a place too narrow for the donkey
to get by at all.
27 This time when the donkey saw the Angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat the
animal again with his staff.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey
the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves
your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
Your question: “May
God give animals the ability to speak?”
Well, as we can
already see, the obvious answer to that is, yes!
Genesis 18:14
KJV
Is any thing too hard for the
LORD?..." And of course
that answer is no.
But even more
startling is the revelation by the Lord Himself!
Luke 19:37-40 KJV
37 And when He was
come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole
multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a
loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38 Saying, Blessed
be The King that cometh in The Name Of The Lord: peace in heaven, and
glory in the highest.
39 And some of the
Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him, Master, rebuke thy
disciples.
40 And He answered
and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their
peace,
the stones would immediately cry out.
Twice the prophet
was told to have nothing to do with any people who would want to
curse the people of God, twice the prophet went on further to see if
it was really so, motivated by his own selfish interests.
Woe, woe to those
who listen not to the voice of the Lord!
I Kings 19:11-13
KJV (The prophet Elijah runs from evil Jezebel, see verses 1-18)
11 And He said, Go forth, and stand
upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and
a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in
pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the
earthquake:
12 And after the earthquake a fire;
but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire
a still small voice.
13 And it was so, when Elijah heard
it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood
in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto
him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
Beware.
God need not raise
His voice, to enforce the truth of His intentions.
What has God told
you? And are you then in compliance to His will?
James 4:17 KJV
Therefore to him that knoweth to do
good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
28 Then the Lord gave the donkey
the ability to speak. “What have I done to you that deserves
your beating me three times?” it asked Balaam.
29 “You have made me look like a
fool!” Balaam shouted. “If I had a sword with me, I would kill
you!”
30 “But I am the same donkey you
have ridden all your life,” the donkey answered. “Have I ever
done anything like this before?” “No,” Balaam admitted.
31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s
eyes, and he saw The Angel Of The Lord standing in the roadway
with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face
down on the ground before him.
32 “Why did you beat your donkey
those three times?” The Angel Of The Lord demanded. “Look, I have
come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting Me.
33 Three times the donkey saw Me and
shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and
spared the donkey.”
Today, again, we
need to have our eyes opened, by the Lord of all creation.
Jeremiah 5:21-25
KJV
21 Hear now this, O foolish people,
and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have
ears, and hear not:
22 Fear ye not Me? saith the Lord:
will ye not tremble at My presence, which have placed the sand for
the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it:
and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not
prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23 But this people hath a revolting
and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
24 Neither say they in their heart,
Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former
and the latter, in His season: He reserveth unto us the appointed
weeks of the harvest.
25 Your iniquities have turned away
these things, and your sins have with holden good things from you.
Balaam's response:
34 Then Balaam confessed to The Angel Of The Lord, “I have sinned. I didn’t realize you were
standing in the road to block my way. I will return home if you are
against my going.”
Was this the end of
story? No, it was not.
To
read the ending of this story and what became of Balaam, go to the blog posting...
Prophecies
of Balaam, regarding the people of God:
Numbers
23:7-10;18-24 NLT
7 This was the message Balaam
delivered: “Balak summoned me to come from Aram; the king of Moab
brought me from the eastern hills. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse
Jacob for me! Come and announce Israel’s doom.’
8 But how can I curse those whom God
has not cursed? How can I condemn those whom the Lord has not
condemned?
9 I see them from the cliff tops; I
watch them from the hills. I see a people who live by themselves, set
apart from other nations.
10 Who can count Jacob’s
descendants, as numerous as dust? Who can count even a fourth of
Israel’s people? Let me die like the righteous; let my life end
like theirs.”
18 This was the message Balaam
delivered: “Rise up, Balak, and listen! Hear me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, so He does not
lie. He is not human, so He does not change His mind.
Has He ever spoken and failed to
act? Has He ever promised and not carried it through?
20 Listen, I received a command to
bless; God has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
21 No misfortune is in His plan for
Jacob; no trouble is in store for Israel.
For the Lord their God is with them;
He has been proclaimed their King.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;
for them He is as strong as a wild ox.
23 No curse can touch Jacob; no
magic has any power against Israel. For now it will be said of Jacob,
‘What wonders God has done for Israel!’
24 These people rise up like a
lioness, like a majestic lion rousing itself. They refuse to rest
until they have feasted on prey, drinking the blood of the
slaughtered!”
Numbers
24:3-9; 15-24 NLT
3 and this is the message he
delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message
of the man whose eyes see clearly,
4 the message of one who hears the
words of God, who sees a vision from The Almighty, who bows down with
eyes wide open:
5 How beautiful are your tents, O
Jacob; how lovely are your homes, O Israel!
6 They spread before me like palm
groves, like gardens by the riverside. They are like tall trees
planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will flow from their
buckets; their offspring have all they need. Their King will be
greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted.
8 God brought them out of Egypt; for
them he is as strong as a wild ox. He devours all the nations that
oppose Him, breaking their bones in pieces, shooting them with
arrows.
9 Like a lion, Israel crouches and
lies down; like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?
Blessed is everyone who blesses
you, O Israel, and cursed is everyone who curses you.”
15 This is the (final) message
Balaam delivered:
“This is the message of Balaam son
of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly,
16 the message of one who hears the
words of God, who has knowledge from The Most High, who sees a vision
from The Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:
17 I see Him, but not here and now.
I perceive Him, but far in the distant future. A Star will rise from
Jacob; a Scepter will emerge from Israel. It will crush the foreheads
of Moab’s people, cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
18 Edom will be taken over, and
Seir, its enemy, will be conquered, while Israel marches on in
triumph.
19 A Ruler will rise in Jacob who
will destroy the survivors of Ir.”
20 Then Balaam looked over toward
the people of Amalek and delivered this message: “Amalek was the
greatest of nations, but its destiny is destruction!”
21 Then he looked over toward the
Kenites and delivered this message: “Your home is secure; your nest
is set in the rocks.
22 But the Kenites will be destroyed
when Assyria takes you captive.”
23 Balaam concluded his messages by
saying: “Alas, who can survive
unless God has willed it?
24 Ships will come from the coasts
of Cyprus; they will oppress Assyria and afflict Eber, but they, too,
will be utterly destroyed.”
II Peter 2:14-17 KJV
14 "...an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
