“God speaks through Balaam’s Ass” (part 1)

The book of Numbers lands as the 4th book in the Hebrew canon, right after Leviticus. While Leviticus is most known for its detailed and often comical requirements for ceremonial purity, Numbers is best known for nothing. Nothing, that is, until the fascinating narraitive of the prophet Balaam and his stubborn, talking donkey. This is provocative tale of spiritual blindness, donkey abuse, and repentence. A close examination of this text will reveal several truths that will aid us in the quest for the porpoise-driven life.
The Angel and Balaam Numbers 22
22But God was angry because he was going, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 23When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back into the way. 24Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed herself to the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall, so he struck her again. 26The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right hand or the left. 27When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and struck the donkey with his stick. 28And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" 29Then Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I would have killed you by now." 30The donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, "No." 31Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw )the angel of the LORD standing in the way with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. 32The angel of the LORD said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was (V)contrary to me. 33"But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live." 34Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is displeasing to you, I will turn back."

This story is important theologically for a number of reasons besides being a forerunner of the popular CBS sitcom, “Mr. Ed” (1961). Let us elucidate some of its sublime truths.

1. The wrong path can lead to blindness.
Balaam is not the only Biblical character to experience vision problems on the road. The pre-apostle Saul was on the way to Damascus to take out a few Christians when he was “blinded by the light” (Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, 1977). His trip down the wrong road led to a bout with temporary blindness, an epic conversion experience and a name change to “Paul” or “the apostle formerly known as Saul.” Balaam too is on the wrong road and is clearly headed somewhere that God didn’t want him to go. Would that I had a bowl of GrapeNuts for every wrong road I’ve gotten on, whether it be the blind following of map quest, or the entrance ramp to a bad marital highway. Balaam is in a similar sedan, without his spiritual GPS.
Several attempts were made to stop Balaam’s journey and send him another way. The primary divine tactic was one used often in Scripture, the sending of an angel. We find countless angels in the sacred writings of many religions and they play a prominent role in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. In this case the angel is placed smack in the middle of the Balaam’s road. Sometimes divine warnings come like flashing blue lights on the interstate. Others appear right in the median of our “highway to hell”(AC/DC, 1978). More often though, we’re so used to driving the road leading to nowhere that our minds are numbed to the green and brown markers lining the access roads. We all have taken many a turn that puts us on a road that is clearly nowhere near the ultimate desired destination. Much like Bruce Springsteen in “Hungry Heart” (1983), “we take a wrong turn and we just keep going.” Once on this Balaam road of destruction, we find it more and more difficult to see the truth. Balaam’s angel was right in front of him. Unfortunately, Balaam’s pre-occupation with his own agenda blinded him to the appearance of the angel standing on the double-yellow line of his cart path. The warning sign was there, he just couldn’t see it.. Fortunately, unbeknownced to Balaam, God had sent along a seeing eye donkey.