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The Beginning of the End
In response, Balaam professed great, honorable principles and
integrity—no amount of gold and silver could persuade him to go
against the will of God, but he longed to go along with the king’s
request. Although God had already made His will known to him, he
urged the messengers to stay so that he could ask God again.
In the night, the Lord appeared to Balaam and said, “If the men
come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I
speak to you—that you shall do.” The Lord would permit Balaam to
follow his own will to a certain extent, because he was determined
to do it. He chose his own way and then tried to get the Lord to
approve it.
Thousands of people today are following a similar path. Their
duty is plainly set before them in the Bible or clearly indicated by
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circumstances and reason. But because these evidences are different
from what they want, they ignore the evidence and seem to go to
God to learn their duty. They pray long and earnestly for light, but
God will not be trifled with. He often permits such persons to follow
their own desires and suffer the result. “My people would not heed
My voice. ... So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to
walk in their own counsels” (
Psalm 81:11, 12
). One who clearly
sees a duty should not go to God with the prayer to be excused from
doing it.
A Donkey “Sees” More Than a Prophet
Annoyed at Balaam’s delay and expecting another refusal, the
messengers from Moab started out on their homeward journey with-
out talking to Balaam again. Every excuse for complying with
Balak’s request had now been removed, but Balaam was determined
to get the reward. Taking the donkey he usually rode, he started
out and pressed eagerly forward to catch up with the messengers,
impatient to gain the coveted reward.
But “the Angel of the Lord took His stand in the way as an
adversary against him.” Balaam did not see the divine messenger, but
the animal did and turned aside from the highway into a field. With
cruel blows, Balaam brought the beast back into the path. But again,
in a narrow place shut in by walls, the angel appeared. The donkey,
trying to avoid the frightening figure, crushed her master’s foot