Balaam’s Ass
February 27, 2026
Numbers 22:22-24 (NKJV)
22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants [were] with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, [with] a wall on this side and a wall on that side.…
Today’s reading from Numbers includes the story of Balaam, his donkey and an angel. This was always a favorite Sunday School amongst us boys as it gave us an excuse to say “ass” in church! Anyway, this story illustrates several points about human nature. The first is that Balaam was so determined to go his own way and so angry with his donkey, that he didn’t even seem surprised that the donkey spoke. Now wouldn’t you think that would be the most remarkable thing in this story, but Balaam kept on beating the donkey and arguing with her and didn’t seem surprised that she spoke. Now that’s a lot of anger and self absorption that you don’t even notice a talking donkey! There once was a movie about a talking Army mule and a TV series about Mr. Ed, the talking horse, and the main subject was the fact that the animal could talk. But Balaam, even though he was a prophet, couldn’t see the obvious fact that his donkey was talking to him, and of course also couldn’t see the more important fact that an angel was about to cut his head off if he continued on his way! That’s a lot of self absorbed anger!
The other point is that God can use anyone. He sent an angel, and made the donkey speak, and eventually got his message through to Balaam that he was to reject the bribe to curse Israel and instead go bless them. If God can use a donkey, he can use anyone. So as they say, “don’t be a horse’s ass”, but listen to the Lord and his angels the first time and do what they say! As the prophet Samuel said, “to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Sam 15:22). It’s really not that complicated, as my mother used to say, “just do what you’re told”.
Now in the end, the story turns out ok for Balaam. He eventually heard the message and blessed Israel even though it earned the ire of King Balak. I suppose a talking donkey and a giant angel with a drawn sword would tend to get your attention! But far better for him if he had heard and obeyed the message in the first place. So don’t be like Balaam but listen to the Lord before he has to send a talking ass and an angel to block your way.
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