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From Eternity Past
Balaam knew not that God was obstructing his path. The man became
exasperated, and beating the ass unmercifully, forced it to proceed.
Again, “in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either
to the right hand or to the left,” the angel appeared, and the poor
beast, trembling with terror, fell to the earth under its rider. Balaam’s
rage was unbounded, and with his staff he smote the animal more
cruelly than before. God now opened its mouth, and by “the dumb ass
speaking with man’s voice” He “forbade the madness of the prophet.”
2 Peter 2:16
. “What have I done unto thee,” it said, “that thou hast
smitten me these three times?”
Furious, Balaam answered the beast as he would have addressed
an intelligent being: “Because thou hast mocked me, I would there
were a sword in mine hand, for now would I kill thee.”
The eyes of Balaam were now opened, and he beheld the angel of
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God standing with drawn sword ready to slay him. In terror “he bowed
down his head, and fell flat on his face.” The angel said, “Behold, I
went out to withstand thee, because thy way is perverse before me:
and the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she
had turned from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her
alive.”
Balaam owed his life to the poor animal he had treated so cruelly.
The man who claimed to be a prophet of the Lord was so blinded by
covetousness and ambition that he could not discern the angel of God
visible to his beast. “The god of this world hath blinded the minds
of them which believe not.”
2 Corinthians 4:4
. How many rush on in
forbidden paths, transgressing the divine law, and cannot discern that
God and His angels are against them! Like Balaam they are angry at
those who would prevent their ruin.
“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender
mercies of the wicked are cruel.”
Proverbs 12:10
. Few realize as they
should the sinfulness of abusing animals or leaving them to suffer from
neglect. The animals were created to serve man, but he has no right to
cause them pain by harsh treatment.
He who will abuse animals because he has them in his power is
both a coward and a tyrant. Many do not realize that their cruelty will
ever be known, because the poor dumb animals cannot reveal it. But
could the eyes of these men be opened, they would see an angel of
God standing as a witness to testify against them in the courts above.