05/21/2026
Numbers 22:22-34 - “When the Donkey Started Preaching!”
There once was a man named The Bible Balaam who was riding along on his donkey, feeling pretty important. He had his bags packed, his plans ready, and he was probably thinking, “Look at me! I’m on a mission!”
But there was one problem.
God was not pleased with the trip.
So while Balaam was riding down the road, God sent an angel to stand in the middle of the path holding a sword. Now Balaam could not see the angel at all.
But the donkey could.
And that donkey said to itself, “Oh no. We are NOT going that way!”
The donkey quickly turned off the road and walked into a field.
Balaam got mad.
“Get back on the road!” he shouted while smacking the donkey.
The donkey probably thought, “Sir… I just saved your life.”
So they kept going.
A little farther down the road, the angel appeared again, standing in a narrow place between two walls. The donkey saw the angel and tried squeezing past, but Balaam’s foot got smashed against the wall.
“Owww!” Balaam yelled.
Then he hit the donkey again.
At this point the donkey had to be thinking, “You’re welcome… again.”
But the trip still was not over.
The angel showed up a third time in a place so narrow there was nowhere to turn. The donkey looked at the angel, looked at Balaam, and basically decided, “That’s it. I quit.”
The donkey just laid down right there in the road.
Balaam lost his temper completely and started beating the donkey with a stick.
And then something unbelievable happened.
God allowed the donkey to talk.
Yes. Talk.
The donkey looked at Balaam and said, “What have I done to you that you’ve hit me three times?”
Can you imagine Balaam arguing with his donkey like this was a normal Tuesday?
Balaam answered, “Because you made me look foolish! If I had a sword, I’d kill you!”
The donkey replied, “Have I ever acted like this before in all the years you’ve ridden me?”
Balaam stopped and said, “Well… no.”
Then God opened Balaam’s eyes.
Finally, Balaam saw the angel standing in the road with a sword ready. Suddenly everything made sense. The donkey was not being stubborn. The donkey had been protecting him the whole time.
Balaam bowed down quickly because he realized he had been so busy getting where he wanted to go that he failed to see God trying to stop him.
The Lesson
Sometimes God will use unexpected things to get our attention. Balaam ignored warning after warning until God had to use a donkey to speak sense to him.
And honestly… if God can use a donkey, He can use anybody!
