A Talking Donkey!

A Talking Donkey!

Balak, the king of Moab, had a problem. The Israelites were being led into the promised land by God and were commanded by God to destroy all of the current residents of that land. They had just finished their task of wiping out the Amorites and the Moabites were next in line Balak knew that the only way to avoid being slaughtered by the Israelites was to move but Balak had heard of the a diviner named Balaam and requested his help. Balaam told the initial messengers that he would answer in the morning. That night God came to Balaam in a dream and instructed the hopeful prophet not to go with Balak's messengers because the people they wanted Balaam to curse were blessed by God. So Balaam told Balak's messengers to go home. The king of the Moabites sent more messengers to Balaam promising him a great reward if he would just come and curse the Israelites. The promise of great riches enticed Balaam so he prayed to God once again .God had already told Balaam not to go. So God was angry and told Balaam to go. When morning came, Balaam left. God had decided to kill Balaam for his disobedience. Balaam was riding his donkey. The LORD's angels stood in the road to stop him. When the donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back. Then the angel stood in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. When the donkey saw that, it walked so close to the wall that Balaam's foot got hurt. He beat the donkey again. The angel moved once more and stood in a way that there was no room for the donkey to go around. So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper and hit the donkey. The LORD commanded the donkey to speak, and it spoke, "What have I done to you that made you beat me 3 times?" Balaam answered. "If I had a sword, I'd kill you here!" The donkey said, "You've ridden me many times. Have I ever done anything like this before?". The LORD let Balaam see the angel holding a sword, and Balaam bowed down. The angel said, " I was the one who blocked your way, as you are going to Moab. If your donkey had not stopped those 3 times, I would have killed you and let the donkey live."Balaam replied” If you don't think I should go, I'll return home right now." "It's all right for you to go," the LORD's angel answered. "But you must say only what I tell you." So Balaam went on to Moab. Overjoyed with his arrival king Balak took him on the mountain peak where they could look down on the camp of Israel.-"Now curse them for me!" He said. "I'm sorry, Balak, but I can't ! You see , I don't have the power to say anything, except those Words that God puts in my mouth! Then Balaam opened his mouth and greatly blessed Israel instead. Balaam even gave some wonderful prophecies that Jesus would rise out of Israel! "

Lesson To be Learnt:

We face obstacles in our path that we might not understand. It may seem to us that God is not leading us in the best direction. Paths that seem best or most prosperous may be closed. But like Balaam, we cannot see what lies ahead of us. But God has an omniscient viewpoint. He knows what lies ahead and desires the best for us. We need to trust God and allow Him to take the lead. This is a very hard task to accomplish because we all think we know what is best and want to be in control of our lives. But the more we give our lives to Christ to direct, the greater peace and less stress we will feel.

Num 22:35

(CEV)  "It's all right for you to go," the LORD's angel answered. "But you must say only what I tell you." So Balaam went on with Balak's officials.

(Hindi) यहोवा के दूत ने बिलाम से कहा, इन पुरूषोंके संग तू चला जा? परन्तु केवल वही बात कहना जो मैं तुझ से कहूंगा। तब बिलाम बालाक के हाकिमोंके संग चला गया।

(Kan) ಆದರೆ ಕರ್ತನ ದೂತನು ಬಿಳಾಮನಿಗೆ--ಈ ಮನುಷ್ಯರ ಸಂಗಡ ಹೋಗು; ಹೋದರೂ ನಾನು ನಿನಗೆ ಹೇಳುವದನ್ನೇ ಹೇಳಬೇಕು ಅಂದನು. ಹಾಗೆಯೇ ಬಿಳಾಮನು ಬಾಲಾಕನ ಪ್ರಭುಗಳ ಸಂಗಡ ಹೋದನು.

(Mal) യഹോവയുടെ ദൂതന്‍ ബിലെയാമിനോടുഇവരോടുകൂടെ പോക; എങ്കിലും ഞാന്‍ നിന്നോടു കല്പിക്കുന്ന വചനം മാത്രമേ പറയാവു എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു; ബിലെയാം ബാലാക്കിന്റെ പ്രഭുക്കന്മാരോടുകൂടെ പോകയും ചെയ്തു.

(Tamil OV)  கர்த்தருடைய தூதனானவர் பிலேயாமை நோக்கி: அந்த மனிதரோடே கூடப்போ; நான் உன்னோடே சொல்லும் வார்த்தையை மாத்திரம் நீ சொல்லக்கடவாய் என்றார்; அப்படியே பிலேயாம் பாலாகின் பிரபுக்களோடே கூடப் போனான்.

(Telugu)  యెహోవా దూతనీవు ఆ మనుష్యులతో కూడ వెళ్లుము. అయితే నేను నీతో చెప్పు మాటయేకాని మరేమియు పలుకకూడదని బిలాముతో చెప్పెను. అప్పుడు బిలాము బాలాకు అధికారులతో కూడ వెళ్లెను.

Watch it live