Talking Animals
Cyndi and I were walking around our community the other night, and the neighbor’s dog came running toward us. I was not sure whether it would be friendly or sink those sharp teeth into us. As he came near, I began to speak to him. “Hey boy, how are you doing?” He answered me, “Mr. Doug, I’ve been doing very well. How about yourself?” I told him I was doing well. He then asked, “Why are you out after dark?” I replied that we were just looking at the Christmas decorations and going to the mail box. At this he said, “I’d better be going.” And he ran to his house across the street from us.
Let me begin by saying the dog was friendly and did not bite either one of us. Let me continue by saying that the conversation between the dog and myself was one sided. I talked, but he never answered me a word.
What would you do if you had an animal answer you, speaking with a human voice, so that you could understand? God’s Word tells us this even happened. The Israelites have settled in Moab. They are a massive people after leaving Egypt. Moab’s king, Balak, called upon a man named Balaam to come and put a curse on God’s people. Balak pointed out to Balaam. “... For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” Numbers 22:6 (NASB)
Balaam told the men who came to spend the night that he would talk to the Lord. The Lord did not want him to go. They returned home, and Balak was upset that he did not come. Other men were sent. This time he went and told them that he would only be able to do what the Lord allowed him to do.
God did not want him to go, but he got on his donkey and began to ride. On the way the “angel of the Lord” stood in his way with his sword drawn. The donkey saw the angel, but Balaam did not. Therefore, he turned into a field. Balaam struck him. As they went, the angel stood in a narrow path with walls on either side. The donkey stopped and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. He struck her again. The third time the angel was in a place where the donkey could not turn either direction, so she laid down. Balaam was angry and struck the donkey again.
It was at this point that the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and said, “What have I done to you that you have struck me three times?” Balaam then had a conversation with the donkey. Read Numbers 22 for the rest of the conversation.
If the donkey had not seen the angel and did what she did, Balaam would have been put to death. God got Balaam’s attention, and he cursed Moab instead of Israel, three times.
It is important that we follow God’s will and not our own. If we do not, it could be fatal to us. Stay in the Word, be doers of it.