“The donkey said to Balaam, “‘Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”’ “‘No,”’ he said.”
~ Numbers 22:30
Hi James and Ellen,
Do you think that an animal can talk? Do you wish that animals talked? What do you think that an animal would say if the animal could talk? Have you ever seen a donkey? Your grandmaa and grandpaa saw lots of donkeys when they lived in Bolivia. About five months after your grandmaa and grandpaa arrived in Bolivia, there was a natural disaster in an area between Santa Cruz and the Brazilian boarder. Steady rain had fallen in that area for days. After days of steady rain had fallen in that area, it began to rain really hard. Rivers of water began to pour over the edges of the high, steep cliffs that overlook an area between a town called Portón and another town called Chochís. After the rain finally stopped falling in the Portón and Chochís areas, word got back to Santa Cruz that the days and days of steady and hard rains had caused catastrophic destruction in the Portón and Chochís areas – that there were people who had been killed and houses that had been completely destroyed by the flooding waters. Your grandpaa along with two other guys – Brandon Pillar and Todd Eckles, were asked to head to Portón and to Chochís with bags of clothes and money to give to the guys and gals who are members of the Christ-follower churches in Portón and Chochís who had lost their single room, mud brick houses and all their possessions to the flooding that was caused by all the rain that had fallen for days. The water from all the rain gushing over the high, steep cliffs overlooking Portón and Chochís carved out five deep and wide ravines – leaving railroad tracks hanging in midair.
Who or what would you say caused or allowed all the rain to fall in January of 1979 in the Portón and Chochís areas? Who or what would you say allowed people to be killed by the rushing, grinding water that was pouring over the high cliffs overlooking Portón and Chochís – which moved rocks bigger than cars and which gashed open the earth in five places between Portón and Chochís? Ask your dad and/or ma to tell you Who is allowing catastrophic events to take place on the planet that you are living on right now. Your grandpaa, Brandon and Todd had to walk the twelve kilometers from Portón to Chochís where they spent a couple of days before they walked back to Portón where they had to wait for a train to take them back to Santa Cruz – which was where your grandpaa lived. Your grandpaa really enjoyed Chochís. Your grandpaa thinks that there are as many donkeys or burros in Chochís as there are people who are living in Chochís. Months later after your grandpaa’s first trip to Chochís, James Davids – who was the Bolivian South American Mission (SAM) Field Director for SAM’s field missionary team in Bolivia, asked your grandpaa – as a minor ministry allocation, to travel by train to Chochís every six weeks or so. During the minor allocation trips that your grandpaa made to Chochís, your grandpaa got to know how noisy and crazy burros are.
Do you think that God can make a donkey speak? If God made a donkey speak to your grandpaa during one of his minor allocation trips to Chochís, the donkey would have really freaked out your grandpaa. Numbers 22 is about a donkey who talked. The Israelite people group’s guys, gals and kids – God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids, about 3400 years ago were very close to entering into the land that God had promised them that they would always have one day to live in as their very own land if . . . God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids were staging – or getting ready, to cross through the Jordon River into the land that God had promised them that they would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . probably going on three million of God’s special chosen guys, gals and kids were camped in Moab’s land area. This made the Moabite king – Balak, feel very uneasy. Balak decided to ask Midianite elders for help by having them do something against God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids even though the Israelite people group’s guys were not planning to do anything against the Moabite guys, gals and kids. A suggestion was made to Balak that he contact Balaam. Balaam was a diviner or soothsayer. The thought was that Balaam would put a curse against the Israelite people group’s guys so that the Israelite people group’s guys would not attack the Moabite people group’s guys. Balaam knew Who God was but . . . God knew Balaam’s heart. God knew Balaam lived for himself and not for Him. After God told Balaam that it was okay for him to go and talk with Balak, God had a sword drawn angel of the Lord stop the donkey that Balaam was riding. Balaam could not see the angel of the Lord standing right in the middle of the road but Balaam’s donkey sure could. The angel of the Lord three times caused Balaam’s donkey to stop. Each time that the donkey had to stop, Balaam got more furious at his donkey. Balaam finally told his donkey that if he had his sword ready that he would . . . to his donkey. The donkey by this time had already talked to Balaam once. After Balaam threatened to kill his donkey, the donkey told Balaam in verse 30, “The donkey said to Balaam, “‘Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”’ “‘No,”’ he said.” God opened Balaam’s eyes right after this so that Balaam could also see the angel of the Lord standing right in the middle of the road with his sword drawn. From a talking donkey to water pouring over the tops of high, steep cliffs killing people and destroying houses are ways that God demonstrates to guys and gals His ability to do anything at any time with whatever. Balaam’s talking donkey was something supernatural that God did to get Balaam’s attention – and to get to his heart. What happened in the Portón and Chochís areas was another way that God . . . how has God been demonstrating His ways to you? Your grandpaa believes that God is talking all the time with guys, gals and kids who have opened their ears to hear Him.
Numbers 22 (220)