If we look in Numbers 22:20-36 we will see Balaam a wise seer who speaks the word of God as it comes to him. He hears the Lord speak and tells you God’s words. He had been sent for by Balak and those with him to put a curse on Isreal so they wouldn’t take over the land he was in and destroy his little kingdom. Balaam told Balak repeatedly, God will not curse them. Balak would not listen though. He thought maybe if I had Balaam right here in front of me, he would have to go ahead and curse them. Balak then sent some of his men to have Balaam come to him.
When we get to the passage starting in verse 20, God speaks to Balaam and tells him if the men come and ask you to go with them to Balak, go with them. The men had already asked him to go, and as Balaam was willing to go with them and had permission from God, he went. God was angry with Balaam for going and Balak for asking him to come, but Balaam went anyway. God sent an angel to stand in the way of the Donkey, and it gave the angel a wide berth. It even left the road and went into a field to get away from the angel. Then the angel stood in a place where the road was walled on both sides and the donkey crushed Balaam’s foot trying to give the angel as much room as possible. Each time the donkey tried to get away from the angel, Balaam got angry because he couldn’t see the angel and he beat the donkey for disobeying.
Finally, the angel stood in a spot in the road that was too narrow for the donkey to get around him, and the donkey just stopped and would go no farther. Balaam was very angry and began to beat the donkey with a stick. God then began talking through the donkey. The donkey[or ass] says to Balaam, ‘What have I done to you,Why have you beat me these three times?’. The ass continued, ‘ Am I not your ass, that you have ridden for a long time? Have I ever acted this way with you?, No.’ Balaam then spoke back to the ass saying, “ If I had a sword or a spear in my hand I would kill you.” Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes and he was suddenly able to see the angel, who had a sword drawn in his right hand, and he heard the angel speak, “ I was to block your way and kill you if you tried to pass, but these three times, the donkey saw me and shied away. If she had not turned away, I would have Killed you.”
If we ever find ourselves arguing with someone that will not see the our opinion of the truth, no matter what we say, we should just stop. God may have placed them in our way to help us see ourselves and the real truth. Or they could be teaching us something we need to learn, about being humble and forgiveness. Not that they need to be forgiven because they are wrong, but we might need to be forgiven for the pride of thinking we are not wrong. We should see them as being a teaching tool that God is using to teach us the right way to act.
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