Numbers 22: Who's In Charge?

Numbers 22 presents a couple of riddles.  Why did God become angry at Balaam in verse 22 when He had given him permission to go in verse 20?  Is it even possible that donkeys can talk?  And why isn't Balaam more surprised when his beast of burden strikes up a conversation with him in verse 28?

The common theme running through this section (Numbers 22-24) is, I believe, God's sovereignty.  God is in charge.  This goes for not only Israel, but for the whole world and even enemy-occupied territory.  Neither Balak the king nor Balaam the prophet nor anyone else can supersede what God is doing.  What God opens, no one can shut.  What God shuts, no one can open.

King Balak of Moab has a problem.  He sees the overwhelming masses of the Israelites camped on his border and he is filled with dread at the thought of losing his nation to them.  Subscribing to the deeper reality of the spiritual world, he summons a prophet named Balaam who, he believes, can curse the people of Israel so that his forces might be able to defeat them.

When the delegation from Balak arrives, Balaam does what a prophet is supposed to do - he asks them to wait while he checks with the Lord (vs. 8).  In the middle of the night, God tells Balaam to send the men away - the people in question are blessed by God and Balaam will not be cursing them.  Balaam complies with God's revelation and sends the men home to Balak empty-handed.

Assuming that Balaam is simply negotiating and playing hardball, Balak sends a second delegation, empowered to reward the prophet richly if he will comply and come with them.  At first, Balaam answers this second group correctly - he can do nothing outside of the scope of what the Lord permits (vs. 18).  Yet he then makes his first mistake.  Balaam tells them to wait overnight while he "double-checks" with the Lord to see if maybe His mind has changed on the matter.

It seems pretty clear that Balaam would like to indulge these men from Balak and be rewarded handsomely for his services of divination.  God does not change His mind, but He does permit Balaam to return with the delegation, provided that he remembers Who is really calling the shots (vs. 20).  Balaam is eager to get going, saddling up his donkey that very morning and riding off in earnest to Balak, perhaps gleefully anticipating the royalties which will be flowing his way.

Has Balaam forgotten Who's in charge?  God sends an "angel-gram" with a drawn sword to take care of this wayward prophet before he serves the enemy.  But fortunately Balaam has a faithful donkey who does not want to see his master slain.  Three times the donkey goes to great lengths to avoid the avenging angel, each time incurring the wrath of Balaam who repeatedly strikes the animal.

Then God does a marvelous thing - in His sovereignty.  He opens the beast's mouth so that it is able to talk in human speech!  Balaam, perhaps so caught up in the moment that he doesn't even realize the absurdity of what's going on, converses with the donkey before his eyes are opened and he sees the angel and understands the precariousness of his situation.

A talking donkey!  While it may sound preposterous to our modern ears, the Bible credits this miracle to the Lord who "opened the mouth of the donkey" (vs. 28) just as much as He "opened the eyes of Balaam" (vs. 31).  Is such a thing impossible for God?  Is anything?  Remember the message we hear several times in scripture: "With God, all things are possible!"  God is expertly pulling the strings behind the scenes because He has something He wants to teach Balaam - and, by extension, us.

Balaam apparently learned his lesson.  When he finally arrives before Balak, he says, "I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything?  The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say" (vs. 38).  The truth of Balaam's words will be borne out to Balak in the chapters to come!