OLD TESTAMENT 21
herself. “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all
your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating
you this way?” Balaam admits she is right; it is the first
time his faithful donkey has been disobedient.
Then God makes the angel visible,
and Balaam bows down, filled with
awe and fear. “I have come out as an ad-
versary because your way is perverse
before me,” says the angel, speaking for
God. “The donkey saw me, and turned
away from me these three times. If it
had not turned away from me, surely
just now I would have killed you and let it live.”
Penitent, Balaam turns to make the journey home
when the angel redirects him: First, he must go to Balak
to deliver God’s message. Appearing in the court, Balaam
is confronted by the king, who is angry
the prophet has not come more quickly.
“I have come now to you!” Balaam
responds, then blesses the Hebrews
instead of cursing them. Balaam has
learned his lesson from the donkey.
“The word God puts in my mouth, that
is what I must speak,” he says. ▪AN ANGEL IN THE PATH
The Angel in the Wayby Julius
Schnorr von Carolsfeld (c. 1860).
Balaam’s donkey moved to
protect her master. The hoofed
guardian’s sacrifice saved not
only Balaam but also the word of
God that he had to speak.