Earlier this week in my personal devotional reading I was in 2 Peter and came to these verses talking about false teachers (2:14-16):

“They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse. They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Boer, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.”

In other words, Peter says there are people who claim to be living for God but actually are far from God, having wandered off the path and into a life of selfishness, greed, and desires. These people are not only living sinful lives but are causing others to sin through their actions. To illustrate, Peter then brings up Balaam and his talking donkey. Balaam was a prophet we read about in Numbers 22-24. A foreign king named Balak sees the Israelites as a threat and bribes Balaam with the promise of riches in return for a curse upon God’s people to help Balak defeat them in battle. Balaam gives in to temptation and takes the offer. On his way there, an angel tries to block his path with a sword drawn, but the angel can only be seen by his donkey. The donkey tries to go the other direction, and Balaam beats him. This happens two more times, until finally…

“Then the Lord gave the donkey the ability to speak. ‘What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times?’ it asked Balaam. ‘Because you have made me look like a fool!’ Balaam shouted. ‘If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!’ ‘But I am the same donkey you have ridden all your life,’ the donkey answered. ‘Have I ever done anything like this before?’ ‘No,’ Balaam admitted. Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him, then confessed to the angel of the Lord, ‘I have sinned.’” (Numbers 22:28-34)

This was a prophet of God who somehow let greed and selfish desire cause him to seek to curse God’s people. God uses a donkey to get his attention…ironic since Balaam was the one acting like a stubborn mule! What are the lessons for us? What’s our takeaway from this strange account?

• Be careful. So often we think that once we’re on the road with Christ, we’re good and He will keep us from any danger. The truth is danger is at every turn. There is temptation to go our own way instead of God’s way; temptation to take care of ourselves instead of others; temptation to compromise our faith in order to further our stature; temptation to say “yes” to the world and “no” to the call of Christ.
• Be listening. If God can use a donkey, he can use just about anything to get our attention. Be listening and aware of your surroundings, and if you sense you’re off the path, be willing to hear what’s being said to you, even if it comes from an unlikely source.
• Be repentant. In Balaam’s defense, once he saw the angel he repented of his sin. Then he went one step further and was obedient to God, pouring out blessing upon the people of Israel instead of cursing, forgoing the riches in order to do the right thing. The act of repentance is to first stop sinning, but it is more than that; it is also to turn around and start walking in the other direction.

In the words of my friend and author Omar Al-Riakbi, “Don’t be a Donkey’s Donkey!”