Divine Detours

Scripture Focus: Numbers 22:20–30

Balaam’s journey in Numbers 22 begins simply enough. He saddles his donkey and sets out with the princes of Moab, apparently convinced that he is moving in the right direction. What he cannot see is that the angel of the Lord is standing directly in the road with a drawn sword.

The donkey sees him.

Balaam does not.

So the donkey turns into a field. Balaam, assuming she is merely being difficult, strikes her and forces her back onto the path. Farther along, the angel stands between two vineyard walls. The donkey presses against one wall trying to avoid him and crushes Balaam’s foot in the process. Balaam strikes her again. Finally, the angel blocks a place so narrow that there is nowhere left to turn. The donkey simply lies down beneath him.

By now Balaam is furious. He reaches for his staff and strikes her a third time. Then God opens the donkey’s mouth, and she asks him why he has beaten her.

What makes the scene almost comical is that Balaam answers her. He doesn’t appear the least bit ruffled that his donkey has suddenly begun speaking to him. He quickly launches into an argument with her as though this is an every day occurence.

The humor fades, though, when we realize what was truly happening. Balaam thought the donkey was delaying him, embarrassing him, and standing in the way of his plans. In reality, she was the only thing keeping him from walking directly into destruction.

How often do we become angry with the very interruption God is using to protect us? We push harder, complain louder, and sometimes blame the nearest available person, all because the road isn’t opening the way we expected.

Balaam’s problem was that his heart had become so committed to its own direction that he could no longer recognize mercy when it blocked his path. The donkey had less knowledge than Balaam, but she had more discernment in that moment because she responded to what God placed before her.

We can know Scripture, speak religious language, and still become remarkably difficult to redirect when we have already decided what we want.

Before I complain about the “donkeys” in my life—the interruptions, delays, closed doors, inconveniences, and unexpected detours—perhaps I should first ask whether they are actually acts of God’s mercy. Because He loves us enough to place one squarely in our path.

If this Fireside Chat warmed your spirit and sparked fresh resolve to live what you believe, fan that flame with Scripture—“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). Pull a little closer to the Light, and carry it into the week ahead.

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