- And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.” Numbers 22:30 – First off, yes, it does say the donkey spoke. If you haven’t checked out this story before , read today’s chapter in full! It’s worth it! What can we learn from this verse though? So the donkey speaks and asks Balaam if ever in the past did it behave badly like this without cause. It asked Balaam to look back at all that experiences he had had with it to see if it had ever given off the this impression it was a careless, untrained donkey that needed striking to stay in order. The answer was no, it had never behaved that way before and Balaam should have taken that into consideration before immediately thinking the donkey was messing up. So when life gets uncomfortable and we find ourselves in struggles, do we immediately blame God and assume He’s mad or forgetful in our situation? Yet has He ever shown Himself in our past to be forgetful or one to let His anger rage on us? Maybe then there is something else going on here that we aren’t seeing, just like it was with the angel and the donkey. Take time then when life is suddenly filled with unexpected things to try and see what God is doing before assuming He’s just trying to hurt you. There’s always more going on than we see and God may use unexpected things to open our eyes to it. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1438
- Numbers 22 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” Numbers 22:20 – This is an odd chapter for sure, and beyond simply because there is a talking donkey within it. We have curses being asked for and a seemingly confusing set of directions given by God with punishments being given for no reason. What must be focused on in a passage like this is God’s words here in verse 20. “Only do what I tell you.” This was the source of Balaam’s troubles, for he didn’t do only what the Lord said to do. Yes he went when God said go, but he refused to stop when the Lord was clearly getting his attention with the angel to stop. Things that should have been red flags for someone who had conversations with the Lord before were taking place, but he kept pushing through. Many commentators take this as evidence that Balaam’s heart was for selfish gain and honor through doing what King Balak wanted, and that heart was one unpleasing to the Lord. What can we gather for us today from this unique story? The command given to Balaam is our command as well, only do what God tells us to do. Move, but when God begins to say stop, stop. Speak, but when God says be still, be still. While it may seem doable to keep going, that’s not what God has called you to do. Be willing to look for the red flags God will use to grab your attention, even if they are unusual red flags. We should seek to have a heart that only desires God’s path for our story, even if another path will provide more earthly gain. For the path of following the Lord may not earn you the same wealth and honor in this world, but following the Lord will result in people hearing the good news of Jesus and possibly placing their life in Jesus’ hands. Choose which is most important to you and follow that path. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2303
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