In Numbers 22, the Moabites are terrified by the coming Israelites. In fear, they call upon Balaam who is a well known prophet they want to hire to curse the Israelites so they are able to conquer them. God tells Balaam directly exactly what His will is. God tells him not to go and not to curse them because they are blessed people. Balaam clearly knows God's power and authority and tells Balak's officials he cannot go because God said so. King Balak hears the report and counters with an offer of even more money. Balaam knows God's will very clearly but starts to bend at the thought of even more dollar signs. He's seeing green instead of God. When we entertain temptation, it only comes in even stronger which leads us into sin. God has to then go around Balaam's human will but God's will always comes forth - this time through a talking donkey! God sends The Angel of the Lord to stop the donkey. The donkey can see The Angel but Balaam cannot. His donkey has more spiritual perspective than he does. The donkey speaks and what's funny to me is he doesn't stop and question why or how the donkey is speaking. He instead asks him why he caused him to look like a fool. His pride gets in the way. The donkey asks him if he has ever done anything like this before and Balaam is finally then humbled when he realizes the answer is a hard "no". When a faithful friend tries to stop us from anything, we should pay attention. God may be trying to stop you from something you can't quite see from the inside view. Balaam then sees The Angel and repents. The only response to Jesus should always be immediate repentance. He then receives God's instruction as to how to move forward from here. His instruction is to only speak the message that God puts in his mouth. Our words and character should always reflect God's and only God's in all we do and say.
