![]() He beats the terrified animal who is already as low as he can get.Īt this point, Scripture tells us the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and the donkey asks “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Outraged Balaam cries, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand I would kill you right now” ( Numbers 20:29). And how does Balaam behave? You guessed it. The donkey is so frightened, it lays down, with Balaam still riding him. Finally, on the third account, the angel stands where “there is no room to turn, either to the right or the left” ( Numbers 20:26). Again.Balaam exacts his frustration by beating the poor donkey. The second time, the angel stands in a narrow path with walls on both sides. ![]() And in an unsettling reveal of Balaam’s true nature, Balaam beats the frightened donkey back onto the path. The first time, it causes the donkey to swerve away. But Balaam, intent on his assignment, doesn’t notice the angel. To end Balaam’s willfulness, God sends an angel to block the path. We don’t know why God was “angry when he went” (Number 20:22) but we can imagine God knows Balaam’s ways. What Did Balaam Do?īalaam rode his donkey along with the Moabites to go curse the Israelites. It’s possible that God knew Balaam wanted the prize money more than God.īut God allows him to go, giving Balaam a second chance, but warning him to “do only what I tell you” ( Numbers 2:20). Then Balaam, in what I believe is the revealing moment, goes back to God. Come and put a curse on these people for me” ( Numbers 22:16-17). So Balak sweetens the offer, tempting Balaam with, “Do not let anything keep you from coming to me, because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say. But here in Numbers 22:12-20 we read that God tells Balaam not to put a curse on the Israelites because they are blessed.īecause of this, Balaam tells Balak’s officials that the Lord will not allow him to go with them. The saga, and Balaam’s ultimate demise, is recorded in the chapters that follow. You can read the portion of Balaam’s story that involves his donkey, in context, in Numbers 22. For I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed”( Numbers 22:5-6). Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. Now come and put a curse on these people, because they are too powerful for me. “A people has come out of Egypt they cover the face of the land and have settled next to me. He feared the Israelites would attack, and he wanted Balaam to put a curse on them.īalaam is known as a powerful diviner, so Balak asks him: So, when the Israelites encroached on the plains of Moab, the king of the Moabites, Balak, summoned Balaam. ![]() His brother, Bela, was a king of Edom.Īlthough Balaam lived among idolaters, he professed great knowledge of God. Balaam was highly regarded by the Moabites and Midianites as a soothsayer ( Joshua 13:22) and prophet ( Numbers 24:2-9) who could bless or curse with his words. The Bible tells us that Balaam was the son of Beor ( Numbers 22:5), living in Pethor near the Euphrates River.
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