Reaction

 How could you possibly know what was in Balaam’s heart? Now you’re just guessing. It’s just a supposition; it’s like saying that anyone with aberrant sexual appetites who befriends children of a certain age is trying to groom them. There’s a difference between a guess and an educated guess. The way you reach a conclusion based on an educated guess is you take all the information available to you, collate it, then determine what the likeliest scenario is likely to be.

So what information do we have available to us? First, Jude’s assertion that there are those who run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, which presupposes that he did likewise, then we have Balaam’s own reaction upon receiving tacit permission to go with the men who had come to spirit him away.

Balaam didn’t ask the Lord for confirmation, ask if He was sure, fleece God, repeat his question or anything of the like. Once God said he could rise and go with them, he rose, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. There was no foot-dragging, no awe shucks, I need to pack, or can we leave after lunch because I have to feed my lama, he got up and went.

Someone’s reaction to a situation, predicament, word from the Lord, or prophecy betrays their heart's desire more assuredly than any words that may flow from their lips. If every time God requires sacrificial action on our part, we drag our feet and find an excuse to delay or not do it altogether, but whenever the opportunity to flirt with the world arises, we’re akin to a live-action road runner cartoon in the speed with which we run after it, our reaction is betraying our true heart.

Balaam did not delay in going with the princes of Moab because it was what he wanted to do all along; he was just afraid to do it as long as God was against it. He should have known God was still against him going, but his attention was focused on the things Balak would be willing to part with to get his favor. Promises of great gifts from a king are nothing to scoff at, but they pale to the promises of great gifts from the King.

It’s worth remaining obedient and forfeiting the promises of kings in order to receive the promises of the King. Balaam had not learned that particular lesson, and now it was about to draw him into a conversation with a donkey.

Before we go further, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that certain events in the Bible, including the talking donkey, are the exception rather than the rule. Throughout the whole Bible, there is only one talking animal, namely Balaam’s donkey, so when I hear sister Florence insist that she has conversations with every one of her seventeen cats and that they all talk back - and that’s perfectly biblical because Balaam spoke to his donkey - I have to throw a flag on the play.

It happened once under extraordinary circumstances. Having an angel of the Lord blocking your path and opening your mouth so that you might speak to a misguided prophet is very different from your cat alerting you verbally that your milk might be going bad or that she prefers Fancy Feast over Sheba.

Numbers 22:22-25, “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. 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. 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. And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.”

It’s a sad day when a donkey has a better insight into the supernatural than a prophet of the Lord. Yet, here we are, with the donkey turning aside upon seeing the angel of the Lord with his sword drawn and Balaam getting so angry as to strike his donkey and turn her back onto the road.

The donkey would have none of it, for while Balaam reasoned his way into rebellion and ran greedily after profit, the donkey’s choice remained binary. Either she tried to barrel through an angel with a drawn sword, or she disobeyed her master, even going so far as risking his wrath.

If Balaam was indifferent about whether he should go to see Balak, why the visceral reaction to his donkey turning aside and going into the field? Why jump straight to striking it until it turned back onto the road?

All along the way, there are hints and moments where Balaam’s character seeps through, and his true heart becomes visible. At one point, he may have been a true and faithful servant who obeyed the Lord in all things but had become a man who would beat his donkey because it tried to turn aside from running into an angel.

Godly character comes through whether you’re riding a bus, riding a donkey, or flying from one continent to another. Godly character is not exclusive to when you are in church, trying to keep up with sister Doris and her organ playing, but something that defines you every day of your life, whether someone is watching or not.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.