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Talking Donkeys

Words of Faith Final

Talking Donkeys

Words of Faith 7-13-2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2020

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Numbers 22

    [21] Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. [22] But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. [23] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road.

    [24] Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. [25] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against it. So he beat her again.

    [26] Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. [27] When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. [28] 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?"

 

          More than a few scholars have dismissed the story of the talking donkey as silliness or fairy tale.  There is really no reason to do so.  What separates this story from a fairy tale is that the Lord is involved. 

         We do not see here a storybook world of talking animals.  On the contrary, we find one instance in which the Lord, for His purposes, has chosen that a particular animal should speak.  A review of Job 40-41 reminds us that it is the Lord’s prerogative to do as He pleases.

          So, what is the point of this talking donkey?  Nothing here is happenstance.  There is great irony in the story.  Think about it.  Here we see the internationally known “seer,” Balaam, who is blind before the angel of the Lord.  But his proverbially dumb beast can see the spiritual reality of the living God on the path.  And Balaam, who was a specialist in animal divination, is blind to what his animal could see clearly! 

          The story absurdly ridicules the practice of paganism as the "stupid" animal sees the angel of the Lord and attempts to protect her rider from God's drawn sword.  The donkey does not “preach” or prophesy.  It simply replies in the way we might expect an abused animal to if it could talk.

          If the story did nothing more than bring a smile to us, it would have done well.  The Lord is not averse to humor; in fact, the Lord has a great sense of humor.  But there are several important points here to gather. 

           1) The Lord can use anything he pleases.  Don’t miss that. If the Lord should choose to speak through a donkey or any other type of animal, rock, or plant, it is completely His choice.  (If the Lord can speak through a donkey, he can speak through this preacher.) God is sovereign and will do as He pleases.

           2) Being “spiritual” does not mean someone is a follower of God.  Balaam was a very "spiritual" man, but he was drowning in the occult.  He was completely blind to God.  Here he is shown to be dumber than the dumbest beast and a little more stubborn.  Do not confuse “spiritual” talk for life in the Spirit of God.  The two are completely different.

           3)  The Lord will often use the simple to humble the proud.  In fact, the Lord has a tendency to make a scandalous and unexpected choice when choosing His mouthpiece.  Moses was a stutterer who humbled Pharaoh.  David was a small shepherd boy who humbled a great giant.  Gideon was from the smallest family of the smallest tribe, and his small band humbled the Midianites. 

         God does not choose the qualified, He qualifies those He chooses.  He does not call the equipped, He equips those He calls.

 

           Father God, keep me near to You.  Keep me trusting You and laughing with You.  I pray that if you see fit, that you would use me, even me, toward Your will and plan.  If You can use a donkey, then I pray that You can use me.  In Jesus’ name.

 

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2004, 2020

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)       

2820 Business Center Blvd.

Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.