Friday, May 24, 2024
Num 22:21-33
21
And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the
princes of Moab.
22
And God's anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in
the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding upon his ass, and his
two servants were with him.
23
And the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn
in his hand: and the ass turned aside out of the way, and went
into the field: and Balaam smote the ass, to turn her into the way.
24
But the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall being on
this side, and a wall on that side.
25
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she thrust herself unto the
wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall: and he smote her
again.
26
And the angel of the Lord went further,
and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand
or to the left.
27
And when the ass saw the angel of the Lord, she fell down under Balaam:
and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he smote the ass with a staff.
28
And the Lord opened the mouth of
the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto
thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?
29
And Balaam said unto the ass, Because thou hast mocked me: I would there were a
sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.
30
And the ass said unto Balaam, Am not I thine ass, upon which thou hast ridden
ever since I was thine unto this day? was I ever wont to do so unto thee? And
he said, Nay.
31
Then the Lord opened the eyes
of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord
standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand: and he bowed
down his head, and fell flat on his face.
32
And the angel of the Lord said unto him,
Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, I went out to
withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
33
And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned
from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive.
There
is something inside all of us, I think, that would like to see an angel. We
would love to have confirmation that they exist because their
existence would confirm every other truth of Scripture. Perhaps that is the
reason they keep themselves either invisible or disguised. God wants us to
believe by faith.
In
our story today, Balaam was being recruited by the
enemy to curse Israel. They offered him status and money. Balaam tried
to find a way to accommodate them while remaining associated with
the God of Israel. It was not possible. While on his way to the enemy, an angel
stood in his way. Balaam didn’t see the angel but his simple animal upon which
he rode did. So, what should we do if we see an angel standing in our way?
The
ass stopped! Stopping is always a good idea. Standing
still makes it possible to either gain insight or to curtail error.
We can focus on whatever the angel has to say to us.
The
ass changed direction! Balaam’s beast understood that
a change was needed. Sometimes we are so focused on what we want to do and
where we want to go that we fail to realize that we are on the wrong path. God
loves us enough to turn us aside. When we change direction, it may harm or
frustrate others. Balaam’s foot was smashed against the wall, but he still did
not see the angel. All he saw was an unwanted change in direction and he
reacted to that with violence.
The
ass fell down! We may ultimately need to resign our duties
if we are being driven by one who does not see! It is better to do that than to
keep walking in a wrong direction. Those who do not see may react to us with
hostility.
Finally,
the ass spoke! The most amazing thing is that Balaam did not
seem to find this strange. Instead, he carried on a conversation as if it were
the most natural thing. Because of the testimony of his ass, Balaam also saw
and heard the angel, and we learn why he could not see. Verse 32
says: “because thy way is perverse before me.”
Angels
are ministering spirits sent to help us along our way. Most often
they are invisible while they rearrange circumstances and sometimes, they are
disguised as non-heavenly beings.
Heb 1:14
14
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall
be heirs of salvation?
Heb 13:2
2
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares.
Dear
Lord, let me carefully observe the strangers and helpers you send to me today
because I may be entertaining angels. AMEN
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