Balaam and his donkey

Balaam was a soothsayer, we would say a fortune teller. He was riding his donkey to see a king who requested his talents. The donkey tried to turn aside because an angel was blocking the path. But Balaam prevented him and disciplined him. Again the donkey tried to turn aside but again the same results. However on the third attempt, the donkey just sat down and talked to Balaam.

Well, we all know that donkeys don’t talk so how did this donkey talk?

1. The donkey really did talk but it was God making him talk.

2. The donkey was an angel in the form of a donkey and it was the angel that talked.

3. The angel in the path was a ventriloquist.

3. The donkey didn’t really talk but Balaam thought he was talking.

4. The whole incident was really a vision that God gave to Balaam.

So, what do you think took place?

Personally I think it doesn’t matter. What really matters is that God does speak to us. We don’t worship idols that are made by the hands of man and never talk nor move. (I will grant you that the animators at Disney have come a long way at making their robots both look and talk realistically but they are still controlled by the man that writes the program.)

The God who speaks uses many methods to communicate with us. Whether it is through the Bible, the pastor, an angel, a friend but most likely not through a donkey. We just need to listen.