The Red Light Donkey
Good morning. I have not talked with you since last month! Welcome to March 2022 đ Jeanette Stark here.
When you were a child did you ever play the game âRed Light, Green Lightâ?
It was a fun game. As children we would stand against the gym wall, or perhaps outside, the teacher or other adult would stand opposite us, at the finish line. When they would shout âgreen lightâ, we would run as fast as we could toward the finish line. When they shouted âred lightâ, we had to stop and stand perfectly still. If someone moved, they were sent back to start and had to begin again. Of course, the goal was to cross the finish line first.
There are variations. You can make the kids walk instead of run. Have them skip or crawl or here is a fun one, walk backwards. And if the adults are feeling very daring, they can mix it up a bit by making red light mean go and green light mean stop. Make it very confusing for the children đ
Red lights cause us to stop or, should cause us to stop. When I think of stories from the Bible on stopping, I cannot help but think of a certain donkey; Balaamâs donkey; a talking donkey.
The Israelites had to pass through, or very near, Moabite territory on their way to the Promised Land. They needed permission to pass through this area safely and to enter Canaan. The king however refused to their request. Instead, he called on Balaam, to put a curse on them. Apparently, Balaam's reputation would cause a king to consider paying him a large amount of money for his services.
You can read the story of Balaam in Numbers chapter 22, 23 and 24. I would encourage you to read it. In summary, the story goes like this:

The Israelites were camping along the Jordan across from Jericho. This was in the plains of Moab and the people there were terrified because there were so many Israelites. The Bible says Moab was âfilled with dread because of the Israelites.â
The king of Moab sent messengers to summon Balaam, asking Balaam to come and put a curse on the Israelites because they were too powerful.
Balaam invites the men to stay the night and told them he would seek Godâs advice. Well, God tells Balaam not to go with them. Verse 12: âDo not go with them. You must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed.â
The next morning Balaam tells the kingâs officials, the Lord told me not to go.
The officials return and tell the king of Moab that Balaam has refused to come. The king does not take ânoâ for an answer and sends back a bigger, more distinguished group of officials and they tell Balaam, the king has said do not let anything keep you from coming. He will reward you big-time and he will do whatever you say. Just come and put a curse on these people.
Verse 18 âBut Balaam answered them, âEven if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything great or small to go beyond the command of the Lord my God. Now spend the night here so that I can find out what else the Lord will tell me.â
That night God came to Balaam and said, âSince these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you.â
Now here is where it gets confusing for me, and I welcome any insight you may have on thisâŠin verse 20 God tells him to go, in verse 22 Got gets angry that he went. At any rate, here is where it gets good.
âBalaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went off with the noblemen from Moab. As he was going, though, Godâs anger flared. The angel of God stood in the road to block his way. Balaam was riding his donkey, accompanied by his two servants. When the donkey saw the angel blocking the road and brandishing a sword, she veered off the road into the ditch. Balaam beat the donkey and got her back on the road.
But as they were going through a vineyard, with a fence on either side, the donkey again saw Godâs angel blocking the way and veered into the fence, crushing Balaamâs foot against the fence. Balaam hit her again.
Godâs angel blocked the way yet againâa very narrow passage this time; there was no getting through on the right or left. Seeing the angel, Balaamâs donkey sat down under him. Balaam lost his temper; he beat the donkey with his stick.
Then God gave speech to the donkey. She said to Balaam: âWhat have I ever done to you that you have beat me these three times?â
Balaam said, âBecause youâve been playing games with me! If I had a sword I would have killed you by now.â
The donkey said to Balaam, âAm I not your trusty donkey on whom youâve ridden for years right up until now? Have I ever done anything like this to you before? Have I?â
He said, âNo.â
Then God helped Balaam see what was going on: He saw Godâs angel blocking the way, brandishing a sword. Balaam fell to the ground, his face in the dirt.
Godâs angel said to him: âWhy have you beaten your poor donkey these three times? I have come here to block your way because youâre getting way ahead of yourself. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If she hadnât, I would have killed you by this time, but not the donkey. I would have let her off.â
Balaam said to Godâs angel, âI have sinned. I had no idea you were standing in the road blocking my way. If you donât like what Iâm doing, Iâll head back.â
But Godâs angel said to Balaam, âGo ahead and go with them. But only say what I tell you to sayâabsolutely no other word.â
And so Balaam continued to go with Balakâs nobles.
When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him in the Moabite town that was on the banks of the Arnon, right on the boundary of his land.
Balak said to Balaam, âDidnât I send an urgent message for help? Why didnât you come when I called? Do you think I canât pay you enough?â
Balaam said to Balak, âWell, Iâm here now. But I canât tell you just anything. I can speak only words that God gives meâno others.â The Message Bible Numbers 22:21-38
Again, I would encourage you to read the whole story in Numbers chapter 22 through chapter 24. Not only does Balaam NOT curse the Israelites, he ends up giving them a blessing, three times!
There are many people who say you cannot believe the Bible; it is just a story book, nothing in it is true. However, more and more things are being found that support the Biblical writings, including the following.
âIn 1967 archaeologists digging up the remains of Deir Alla, an ancient Ammonite city on the east bank of the Jordan, found an inscription that mentioned Balaam, the son of Beor. The 16 lines of an incomplete inscription on a wall turned out to be part of one of Balaam's prophecies, in language similar to what is recorded in NumbersâŠThe restored text discovered in Deir Alla reads: "Inscription of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who was a seer of the gods. Lo, the gods came to him at night and spoke to him. According to these words, and they said to Balaam, son of Beor thus: 'There has appeared the last flame, a fire of chastisement has appeared!' And Balaam arose the next day and he could not eat and he wept intensely. And his people came to him and said to Balaam, son of Beor: 'Why do you fast and why do you weep?' And he said to them: 'Sit down! I shall show you how great is the calamity! And come, see the deeds of the gods! . . .' " These words are strikingly similar in detail to the biblical account. Apparently the memory of what happened to this seer remained in the memory of the Ammonites and was recorded in their version.â
âArchaeologist Andre Lemaire, who pieced together the incomplete script, wrote: ". . . The inscription from Deir Alla, dated to about the middle of the eighth century B.C. and written on the wall of what may have been some kind of religious teaching center, is very likely the earliest extant example of a prophetic text. The principal personage in the Deir Alla text is the seer Balaam, son of Beor, well known to us from the stories in Numbers" (Biblical Archaeology Review, September-October 1985, p. 39). (Source: bibleanswers.study)
Sometimes, just like Balaam, we do not see the angel in the road preventing us from moving forward. Sometimes, just like Balaam we lash out with anger that things are not going our way or moving as fast as we think they should. Letâs take a page from history and know that we do not always see what is best for us, but we should always take it to God in prayer.
Perhaps you are in the valley of decision right now. Pray that God will keep closed those doors He does not want you to walk through: Red Light. Ask Him to open wide those doors He wants you to walk through: Green Light. Ask God to make it clear. And then wait for His answer. It will always be the best answer for you.