Beware of the donkey’s in your life, it could be you Jackass
S-numbers 22 NIV
Balaam’s Donkey
21 Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”“No,” he said. 31 Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. 32 The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.” 34 Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.” 35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only what I tell you.” So Balaam went with Balak’s officials.
O - My observation is to acknowledge just how absurd but real this situation is with Balaam and his Donkey. Many a times I have read this and thought what a fool Balaam was, and just thought of the movie “Shrek” where Donkey helps Shrek achieve his life’s mission. There is a reason though God wanted to make sure we see and understand the symbolism and truth in this circumstance. Here you have a prophet, Balaam who God is speaking directly to and telling him what to do, yet he still disobeys him and get up to go do what he thinks is right, but was wrong in that God had given him clear direction. So God reveals to his donkey that His angel is about to kill Balaam and Balaam still doesn’t get it, then he has the donkey speak to Balaam and he still doesn’t get it. It is only when God open Balaam’s eyes to what is going on all around him that Balaam realizes how foolish he has been.
A - This story is so me. I am so excited to have found God in my life, to be loved and led by Jesus, but somehow I still find new and exciting ways to get out in front of Him and His plans for my life. When I do, He is patient to wait for me to figure it out. Sometime he allows circumstances to reveal my lost ness, sometimes other people, and even through the movies I watch , and the strangers I meet. The question I have to answer for myself is why do I stray from what God has told me to do, and to believe. The answer lies in my old nature, and not my new. It is like I have a old favorite sweater that is full of blood, sweat, tears, dirt and bacteria from my past. One day I realize God has given me a gift of a new sweater, it is warm, cozy, comfortable and allows me a new level of freedom of movement. After wearing this new sweater for a couple of months, I begin to long for the old sweater. It is familiar and used to be comfortable so I take off the new and put on the old. Despite the smell, and now uncomfortable feeling it gives me after I put it on, I convince myself I wore this once and there is no reason I shouldn’t were it again. God has made all things new for us, but we have to choose to follow Him and leave the past behind us.
P - Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today’s lesson, may it be sealed to my heart. Lord I confess I have reached back to who I used to be and put on the old stanky sweater recently and i confess I need to put the past behind me and move on. I pray Lord you would help me forget the past, and live for the future you have in store for me.
No comments:
Post a Comment