Numbers 22:26 - Forerunner Commentary

Numbers 22:26

24 Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.

25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.

26 Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

28 Then the Lord ^aopened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have¹ abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, ^afor now I would kill you!”

30 ^aSo the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever¹ disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.”

31 Then the Lord ^aopened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.

32 And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out¹ to stand against you, because your way is ^aperverse before Me.

33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, ^a“I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it¹ displeases You, I will turn back.”

35 Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, ^abut only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, ^ahe went out to meet him at the city of Moab, ^bwhich is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory.

Library

<< Numbers 22:25

Numbers 22:27 >>

Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Numbers 22:26:

Numbers 22:26-34

Notice, there was weakness. Balaam simply did not know the entire situation. He just acted carnally; that is all there was to it—the way he had been trained to think and go and do. He did not know that the Angel was blocking the way and making the donkey do what it did. What this teaches us is that sin does not always occur in a straightforward manner. We will see a little later where God, in a sense (He did not actually do this), but came close to making David sin. David did it on his own, but God was involved.

God was involved in this situation we just read, because the Angel was there and Balaam did not have any idea what was going on. He was being used to present a lesson for you and me about the way He judges. He took that into consideration. What this teaches us is that sin does not always occur in a straightforward manner, with everyone involved fully informed so as to be able to discern right and wrong.

Excerpted from Elements of Judgment (Part Three)

Essays

Time to Repent (Part Three)

<< Numbers 22:25

Numbers 22:27 >>