And the Angel of Jehovah said to him, Wherefore hast thou smitten thine ass these three times? behold, it was I who came forth to withstand thee, for the way [thou walkest in] is for ruin before me.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times; had she not turned from me, I had now certainly slain thee, and saved her alive.
Balaam, a prophet hired to curse Israel, is riding toward Moab, and three times he has beaten his donkey for swerving off the road. Now God opens his eyes: the animal he wanted to kill was the only thing keeping him alive.
The figure in the road is no ordinary messenger. One commentator names Him, and quotes what He said to Balaam:
A heavenly being stood in the way with a drawn sword in His hand. Scripture calls Him "the angel of the LORD." This was no mere servant. It is the same messenger who appeared to the wife of Manoah in Judges 13 and who said His name was "Wonderful." Both to her and to Balaam He spoke with divine authority. To Balaam He said: "I have come out to oppose you, because your way is perverse before Me… Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you." The speaker was none other than He whom we know as the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Angel called Balaam's way perverse. What Balaam was riding to do explains God's anger:
So we picture the prophet setting out from Mesopotamia for Moab, with Balak's silver and gold filling his soul's vision. He had no pity at all for the devastation and sorrow he was going to try to bring on a people who had done nothing to him. He did it all for his reward. The people of Israel had done him no wrong, yet he was willing to blast a whole nation — men, women, and children. Nothing more horrible could well be imagined. No wonder we read that "God's anger was kindled because he went" (Num. 22:22).
Balaam was rushing toward that sword and could not see it. One writer shows where such blindness ends:
The blind unbeliever rushes onto the sword of the Lord and is destroyed. The believer is preserved despite himself. But when his eyes are opened, he finds that the Lord has been standing against him. We may take warning even from a wicked Balaam. Satan often turns the tendencies of our own hearts into a thick veil. Then we fail to see the Lord's mind.
Three times the donkey saw what the prophet could not. One writer explains why God let Balaam ride on at all, and what the animal exposed:
God intended him to go, so that he might pronounce a blessing on His people instead of a curse. Morally, for Balaam himself, going was the most wicked act. Yet God brings out all His purposes through it. He is nothing more than a rod in God's hand. He goes, and the Lord meets him by an angel. He rebukes man's ways and man's wisdom by putting more sense into the mouth of a dumb animal than a man has. Though man has a mind, he uses it against God, which an animal cannot do. Man, in one sense, is more blind than Satan, because Satan believes and trembles. God could reveal Himself to an animal's eye as well as to a man's, whenever He pleased.
Every blocked step was a kindness. The Angel explains why only after the donkey has saved Balaam's life:
God then let the prophet know why all these obstacles stood in his way. He heard it in the fullest possible way, from the angel of the LORD Himself. How gracious of God, to make a man who was hurrying on to destruction stop and think, if anything could rouse him! But no, he was committed to wicked ways. Lawlessness must run its miserable course to an end no less miserable.
Balaam's reply in the next verse admits sin and offers to turn back — but the wording gives him away:
Realising that the powers of evil and his own cunning were no match for God, the wilful Balaam offers to return, confessing that he has sinned. But his heart's desire has not changed. He does not say he will go back because he has sinned. He says, "if it is evil in Your sight, I will turn back." Why does he say "if"? Was it not obvious that his going displeased God? Yet there was still the lingering desire in his heart to go on and get the reward he coveted.
- The Sword. An armed Angel stood in the road. Fereday identifies Him as the Lord Jesus Himself. The charge was against Balaam's heart, not his route: his way was perverse.
- The Greed. He was travelling for silver and gold. He was willing to ruin a whole nation that had never wronged him. That is what kindled God's anger.
- The Donkey. God gave sight to the animal and withheld it from the prophet — a rebuke to human wisdom. Balaam himself was only a rod in God's hand: God meant him to bless Israel, not curse them.
- The Mercy. Three blocked steps were three rescues. God stopped a man hurrying to destruction and made him think. Grace came disguised as an obstacle.
- The Waste. Balaam said "I have sinned," then added "if it is evil in Your sight." That is a confession with an escape clause. He rode on for his fee.