We read in the book of Numbers, as the Israelites and Moabites are coming towards war, Balak the king of the Moabites send for Balaam, the gentile prophet to pronounce a curse on the Israelites. The act of calling a prophet to curse enemies was a frequent practice in the ancient near East. The prophets were under pressure to keep the powerful kings happy or risk losing their financial support and even lives (Jer.26:20-23, 1Kings 22).
On being summoned, Balaam; displays his independent judgment and firm belief in Yahweh. He initially declines the offer because God makes it known that, the ‘Israelites cannot be cursed because they are blessed’. The King however, mounts more pressure on Balaam by first- sending more officials; second – promising more honor and third- promising to do ‘whatever he says’.
This new offer provokes Balaam to seek God’s will again, who interestingly, this time grants permission. ‘That night God came to Balaam and said, “Since these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.”’ (Num.22:20). Balaam armed with God’s consent ‘to go’ saddles his donkey and sets out in his journey. This immediately invites God’s anger upon him. ‘But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him’ (Num.22:22).
However, the question is – when God himself gave the consent in v20, then “Why did God get angry with Balaam when he was going to King Balak”? Probably the answer lies in taking the Hebrew particle ‘ki’ as temporal, meaning- “while he was going” God became angry with him. It recalls the expression of God’s anger with persons in a rebellious state. This means that, perhaps Balaam may have personally embraced the idea that he might eventually pronounce a curse on Israel.
This would please the King who would, in turn grant him some good gifts. Such an intention on the part of the prophet made God angry, who immediately send ‘Angel of Yahweh’ as an adversary to test Balaam. In the incidents that follow, the portrayal of Balaam changes from a diviner who carefully discerns the direction of God’s leading, to a blind impatient prophet whose donkey has more sense. The struggle between Balaam and the Donkey proves that Balaam was so focused on his own wants, desires and problems that he could not see God’s presence and God’s will.
As a result of being so self-absorbed he displayed that he was a prophet with a limited vision, even ready to sell prophesy for personal benefit. Overcoming Self-obsession In the story, Balaam meant that he was more focused on his own intentions and not on God’s will to be a blessing for those in need. The prophets of the Bible emerged as an opposition to the military and the royalty. They were ones who critiqued the corrupted system, especially the injustice and power structure of their day, which were not in accordance with God’s desires and plan.
The Church is called to the prophetic ministry and each and every believer shares in this ministry. However, we ourselves are subject to vested interests, the urge for honor, vulnerability before persuasion and the lure of money. The starting point for prophetic ministry is negation of the self-obsession. Hearing the ‘Unheard’ Balaam probably believed that he had monopoly over God and that he would not be under God’s judgment. But in the passage, God was at least temporarily challenging the prophet through another agent.
The prophets are those who receive God’s vision and are the agents who interpret it. However, here the prophet Balaam is unable to see God’s angel, even though he is on his journey as the agent of God’s vision. The donkey, presumably the archetype of stupidity and stubbornness of that day, was more spiritually perceptive than the renowned prophet. Balaam was bought by the royalty, but he was brought back to the Lord, by the lowly, unrecognized and unintelligible voice of the donkey. In our society the voices from the margins are considered as lowly, unintelligible, illiterate and of no use.
However, it is in our engagement with the slave, the lowly, the marginalized and those considered insignificant that we realize our own limitations and mistakes. It is our engagement with the voices from the margins, which make us more human and receptive to see ‘God’s will’ for creation. Transforming Oneself Finally Balaam’s self-transformation enables him to do God’s will. In and through his conversation with his donkey, Balaam’s eyes are opened to a different perception of his reality and he realizes his mistake.
He immediately offers to go back even if it is displeasing to the powerful king. Every believer needs to be transformed in order to do God’s will and be an agent of blessing for others. Many of us tend to be seduced by the powerful, and become stumbling blocks for those coming out of bondage. God’s Word challenges us to self-transform and participate in transforming the world. If we do not change ourselves after being encountered by God’s Word, then we become agents of curse for others rather than agents of blessing.
Thus, Self-transformation is an inevitable component of prophetic ministry. In our context of economic exuberance and explosion of knowledge, each and every individual including us, are caught in the desire for personal glory and benefits, for their “very own” at the cost of the “other”. As such, the “margins” are the foundation on which the rich and the affluent try to establish their luxury and benefits. However, Our Lord Jesus Christ sets an example before us. He self-emptied himself to do His Father’s will. Moreover, in and through His life and ministry, He engaged with the voices from the margins. The Donkey lesson to Balaam challenges us to place our commitment in doing ‘God’s will’ in favor of all those who are displaced and pushed to the margins of human life.
Author: Mr. Joshua Das is a graduate of UTC, Bangalore and heads an NGO ‘Human Development Foundation’ working for the empowerment of gold miner’s family at KGF.
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