Can a donkey see an Angel?
Can a prophet see an Angel?
The answer is in the book of Numbers 22.
Here is the story of Balak, king of Moab, in Jordan, asking the prophet (not Jewish) to curse the people of Israel.
Why is king Balak asking the prophet to do so?
“…because they are too powerful for me. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land.“ (22:6)
Does this sound familiar in our current days?
Balak is afraid of the people of Israel , and wants Balak to curse them.
Balaam the prophet, does not do it immediately, as the king requested. He invites the elders of
Moab and Midian,”Spend the night, and I will report back to you with the answer the LORD gives me.” (22:8)
“God came to Balaam and asked, ‘Who are these men with you?’” (22:9)
“But God said to Balaam, ‘Do not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.’” (22:12)
This statement is eternal. God promised this to our Father Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2-3)
So the prophet Balaam tells the delegation of elders , the officials of king Balak, “Go back to your own country, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.“ (22:13)
But king Balak did not give up and kept sending dignitaries with goodies and good offers to make the prophet very rich: “because I will reward you handsomely and do whatever you say.” Sounds like a very GOOD DEAL. “…Come and put a curse on these people for me.” (22:17)
“But Balaam answered them, ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the LORD my God.
Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the LORD will tell me.’” (22:18-19)
My question: Did God change His Mind? He had already spoken to the prophet very clearly, DO NOT GO WITH THEM! He said. But then He said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.” (22:20) (I believe God was testing the prophet’s motives)
“But God was very angry when he went…” (22:22)
Why was God’s anger aroused? I believe because the Lord saw what was in the prophet heart—he was deceived.
He was led astray by a profitable business deal that had been offered to him. He felt that he could not let such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by. He allowed deception to guide him.
We as human beings, we see, with our physical, natural eyes, but the Lord sees what is in the man’s heart; “PEOPLE LOOK AT THE OUTWARD APPEARANCE, BUT THE LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART”. (1 Samuel 16:7)
This is how God chose David to be a King.
“When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road.
Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides.
When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again.
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.
When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.” (Numbers 22:23-27)
3 times the donkey saw the Angel of God, and the prophet Balaam did not; and he even struck the donkey with his staff.
“Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?’
Balaam answered the donkey, ‘You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.’” (22:28-29)
The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and it spoke to him—in human language; and Balaam responded. Can you imagine this?
And the great prophet Balaam still could not see the Angel of the Lord standing in front of him with a sword.
Balaam wished he could kill it with a sword!
“The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” (22:30) It had more common sense than the prophet.
“Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn.” (22:31) God had to open Balaam eyes—the prophet had a veil in his eyes.
“The angel of the LORD asked him, ‘Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.’” (22:32) the Angel of the Lord said why did you hit your donkey 3 times? You are the one who followed the wrong path.
“The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” (22:33) The donkey saw me and you didn’t. I should kill you and let the donkey live.
THE PROPHET BALAAM HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER BY A BIG DECEPTION!
It is written:
“There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud… unholy, without love…” (2 Timothy 3:1-3)
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars…” and “there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.” (Matthew 24:6-7)
“False messiahs and false prophets will appear… to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24)
The message for today is REPENT; BEHOLD THE ANGEL OF THE LORD IS STANDING WITH A SWORD.
This was the prophet Balaam’s response “I have sinned. I did not see you.”
Do we need the donkey to speak to us? To wake us up?
The promises of God to the people of Israel are irrevocable.
Be careful of “good deals“ that will bring destruction and ruin.
God has a plan—“ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED.” (Romans 11:26)