We’ve been going through the old testaments from the beginning and like most people that have attempted to read the Book from beginning to end, it gets very dull right about the third book - Leviticus. It was difficult going through hundreds of laws, statutes, and ceremonial practices that are mostly irrelevant to modern day Christianity. After Leviticus is Numbers and it’s pages after pages of numbers (that’s why it’s called Numbers!) and incessant grumblings by the Israelites in the desert. Reading about them is like hanging around SMIC folks ‘cus that’s what they do all the time, complain, complain, and complain. B-O-R-I-N-G!
Last night however, it was like pulling the lever to a winning jackpot! About ready to give up on the old testaments, we read the most bizarre story along the same caliber as our beloved fantasy world of Narnia - talking donkey! Embedded between pages of boring stuff and a bigger story plot, this tiny portion of the story might have been missed by many. Certainly, this entertaining story deserves a little more attention!! So here goes … (Numbers 22)
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, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and she 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 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.
What the freak was that?! “Have I been in the habit of doing this to you” and the only response was “No”?! Not to mention that donkeys aren’t in the habit of talking to their master!! There was absolutely NO reaction to the fact that Balaam’s donkey (or Balaam’s ass, in the words of King James) was TALKING to him. It was like, Balaam beat his ass, the ass asked him why, and he stopped, not because the ass was talking but because it was reasoning with him!
This bigger storyline according to the commentaries had something to do with God wanting to stop Balaam from putting a curse on the Israelites, but apparently, the talking ass has absolutely no significance since none of the commentaries mentioned anything regarding this bizarre event (the talking part). Gosh, when was the last time an ass, or for the matter, an animal talked since the serpent in the garden of Eden?! Even in “The Horse and His Boy” (Book 3 of Chronicles of Narnia), there was still a moment of shock when the boy realized his horse was talking to him. But here in the story?
Well! Doesn’t matter. This tiny sub-portion of the story holds absolutely no purpose or value except for our own entertainment. Talking ass… maybe it was his ASS talking! Something else that’s more entertaining than this, hee hee! Jason’s talking ass. It talks all the time, just not in English or Chinese.
Moving on to Deuteronomy.
2 responses so far ↓
1 jc // Jan 30, 2007 at 7:27 am
wasn’t the guy a sorceror or something like that? maybe he’d seen talking asses before?
2 Skip Canevit // Sep 10, 2007 at 9:26 pm
Great observation with Baalam’s talking donkey, I agree it is shocking he does not miss a beat (literally) but continues to beat his donkey even after the Lord opens the donkey’s mouth. I think sometimes we are so into ourselves and our contorted focus, until the “Angel of the Lord” appears in front of us, we don’t even see the Lord has already spoken to us.
It is also good to see your are plugging through some of the tougher parts of the Old Testament. Perhaps it would help if you looked at the books for what they were intended for (thus you would have something to balance the boredom). For Example, Leviticus is “The Priestly book of divine order” it shows a shadow of the priestly ministry of Christ if you look for it.
Take for example the artificats in the Holy of Holies, The Ark of the Covenant is a picture of the Promise of God and the Presence of Christ (this is why the manna was in it, the ten commandments and the budding rod of Aaron. The Ark itself was made of “Acacia” wood, it is very knotty, difficult to straighten and make smooth or form. It is covered with beaten pure gold. It is never allowed to sit on its stand, but the stand is on a rug which is on support cups. I know, I know, so what?
The manna was the bread which fed God’s people in the wilderness. Late Jesus said I am the Bread of Life (it was a picture of Jesus).
The Ten Commandments show God’s divine nature and our inability to live up to it, Jesus said the greatest commandments were to, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself” this shows how God’s law can only be fulfilled through the Love of Christ to us (Jn 3:16).
Then Aaron’s budding rod, this is a picture on how Christ who was dead, was later raised from the dead. (again another picture of Christ)
Then there is the Ark itself, the acacia wood show the humanity of Christ, the overlay of Gold show the diety of Christ and the setting of the Ark on standoffs which are also on a rug show that Christ is still holy…
There is more on the rest of the whole Ark, holy of holies, holy place and outer court…but let’s leave that for another time. Oh, BTW, when ever you see the words “The Angel of the Lord” it is by most Biblical Scholars considered a “Theophany” (i.e. the personafication of Christ in the Old Testament in his glorified, pre resurction state. Cheers, SC
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