Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Thursday June 4 2026
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Joshua 13:22-The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them.
Again:
Revelation 2:14-But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.
Numbers 22 records for us a fascinating account regarding Balaam and his donkey.
Numbers 22:22-34-Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!” 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.” 34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”
The Bible here tells us about an account where Balaam’s donkey spoke to him. Unbelievers through the ages have mocked this story. What are we to make of this event?
First, it is important to realize that nothing in this passage suggests that this is a fable or a fairy tale. Indeed, other Scriptures make it clear that this story was understood to be a historical event, and it is always treated as such (cf. 2 Peter 2:15-16). Some have argued that Balaam himself did not exist. However, not only do we have the proven factuality of the Word of God that attests to Balaam’s existence, we also have the formidable testimony of archaeology which speaks to the same truth.
Though critical scholars have long dismissed Balaam and his talking donkey as sheer fiction, this view began to shift after 1967 when a crumbled plaster ter Aramaic text was discovered within the rubble of an ancient building in Deir ‘Alla (Jordan). The c. 800 BC inscription is contained within 119 fragments written with 50 lines of text in faded red and black ink. It is written in red ink for emphasis, and reads, Warnings [Sayings] from the Book of Balaam the son of Beor. He was a seer of the gods [line la; see lines, 2-4; see similarly Numbers 22:5; Josephus 24:9]. Balaam’s reputation as a prophet is consistent with the biblical account that has Balak the king calling upon Balaam to pronounce curses on the Israelites (Numbers 22:6). Though the building in which the text was found was most likely destroyed in the great earthquake around the time Uzziah reigned as king (Isaiah 6:1), the plaster text appears much older due to the extremely worn and faded color condition of the ink, and it is believed that it was part of an already circulating text. It appears that people in Deir ‘Alla admired Balaam, who later became a sort of icon to the inhabitants of the area. The time required for such reverence to grow adds support to a much earlier dating of the original text, thus placing it closer to the time of the Exodus. Moreover, the building in which the text was found is located less than 30 miles from the area Balaam is said to have engaged Israel prior to their crossing the Jordan River, in the plains of Moab (Numbers 22-24). The find has posed a problem for Exodus skeptics and revisionists since the text apparently ently places a historical Balaam in the same geographical area as the Israelites during the Exodus and Conquest.” (Joseph M. Holden & Norman Geisler, The Popular Handbook of Archaeology and the Bible: Discoveries That Confirm the Reliability of Scripture, 2638-2649 (Kindle Edition): Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers)
The account of Balaam and the donkey is rooted in historical fact.
Second, consider the way that the Bible paints these events as miraculous. It is true that some believe that animals may have one time spoken with human speech, especially before the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Certainly, Adam and Eve’s conversation with a serpent did not seem strange to them, perhaps because they may have been used to animals with the capability of communication at that time (Genesis 2-3). Regardless, by Balaam’s time, such events would be considered miraculous. The Apostle Peter emphasizes this:
2 Peter 2:16-but he was rebuked for his iniquity: a dumb donkey speaking with a man’s voice restrained the madness of the prophet.
Notice that Peter says the donkey was “dumb” (NKJV) or “otherwise without speech” (BSB). Indeed, “a donkey cannot talk, of course” (ERV), since she is “speechless” (ESV) and “normally can’t talk” (GW, ISV). All of these different translations of the Bible are highlighting for us the fact that what happened with Balaam’s donkey was a miraculous event, something out of the ordinary and contrary to the laws of nature in our fallen realm, even at that time.
When considered from the viewpoint of the God Who created the unvierse, why is it so out of the realm of possibility that He couldn’t allow a donkey to speak in this way at that time?
Third, the irony of this situation should not escape uss!
Balaam was a well-known sorcerer and soothsayer, a prognosticator of great renown. However, his greed and hatred of truth led him to become so shortsighted that his donkey was more aware of the spiritual realm than he himself was! Thus this animal stands forever as a testament against the wickedness of the human heart which so easily and so effectively blinds and ensnares unrepentant mankind from understanding God’s Word. It is, indeed, a sad reality that quite often a donkey may have more sense than supposedly “enlightened” sons of Adam who think it wise to so easily reject and ridicule the one true God and His holy Scriptures.
Fourth, we are also taught here about the fact that the Bible opposes human cruelty to animals. Observe that the angel testifies that he would have readily killed Balaam and allowed the donkey to live. His anger for Balaam’s mistreatment of this innocent animal (who had essentially saved his own life) is palpable.
It is a testament to the moral power of this story that it can awaken the reader’s sympathy for a donkey. It would not be surprising if there have been people who treated their animals better after reading this story. Everyone who owns animals should imagine what their animals would say if they could speak. Those who mock this story miss its moral profundity regarding human treatment of animals. The angel’s first concern was not Balaam’s journey to Balak; it was Balaam’s mistreatment of the donkey—proof that human maltreatment of animals is an important part of the Balaam story. It is another example of the Torah’s concern with humane treatment of animals. The Fourth of the Ten Commandments commands humans to give their animals a day of rest (Shabbat—Exodus 20: 10); another Torah law prohibits yoking animals of different sizes to the same plow (Deuteronomy 22: 10); another prohibits muzzling an animal while it works in the field (Deuteronomy 25: 4). And one of the few universally binding laws of the Torah is the prohibition in Genesis (9: 4) against eating “flesh with its life-blood in it,” understood to mean among other things, not eating the limb of living animal. (Dennis Prager, The Rational Bible: Numbers: God and Man in the Wilderness, 428 (Kindle Edition): New York, NY: Regnery Faith)
Indeed, the account of Balaam and his donkey teach us many profound lessons.
Lord, thank You for teaching us through the study of Your Word. Amen.