The Israelites are wandering around in the desert after their exodus from Egypt. There are a lot of folks! They covered the land for miles around. Their next-door neighbors, Moab and Midian, were afraid of them because of their number. They decided to do something to calm their fears.
Enter Balaam. Balaam is the local seer, or prophet. You might think of him as a sort of psychic. He had a good reputation: whomever he blessed was blessed and whomever he cursed was cursed. So, Balak, the king of Moab, decided to try and buy a favorable "reading" from Balaam.
Balak was ready to pay a handsome price to get Balaam to pronounce a curse on the Israelites so that the way would be paved for Balak to defeat them and drive them away. Balak sent mid-level officials to Balaam with his proposal.
As it turns out, Balaam didn't just make up stuff or make pronouncements according to the highest bidder; he consulted God. God told Balaam not to go along with Balak's plan, and Balaam sent word back. Balak figured Balaam just wanted more money, so he sent high-level officials with a follow-up proposal. This time, Balaam figured he'd have to tell Balak the bad news personally.
A funny thing happened on the way to Moab. God's messenger, commonly referred to as angels, stood in Balaam's way to stop him, but Balaam couldn't see the angel. His donkey, however, DID see the angel, and veered off the road. Balaam, not understanding what was going on, beat the donkey to steer him back to the road. A second time, the angel stood in the way. Balaam couldn't see, but the donkey could and leaned against a wall, mashing Balaam's foot. Another beating. Finally, the angel positioned himself in a place that could not be circumvented. Yet again, Balaam couldn't see, but the donkey could and just flopped down on the road.
After another beating, the donkey had had enough! He spoke: "What have I done to you that you've beaten me these three times?" Curiously, Balaam didn't seem surprised that his donkey had just talked. Well, they had a discussion wherein the donkey explained about the angel - did I mention that the angel held a sword and seemed prepared to destroy Balaam? Balaam apologized to the angel, but not to the donkey - go figure.
Anyway, when was the last time you were going down the wrong road and God put obstacles in your way that you didn't recognize as coming from God? When has an inconvenient and frustrating detour saved your life? Could God be speaking to you in unconventional ways, but you haven't figured it out yet?
Pray for God to open your eyes and ears to see and hear Him clearly.
Until next time...
Be Blessed
Pastor Mark
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