Articles
Have You Ever Wanted To Be A Donkey? (Part 2)
For many of us the donkey is thought of in negative ways. But there are also positive ways
in which the donkey was used. The donkey has often been used for transportation. In the ancient
Middle Eastern world, leaders rode horses if they rode to war, but donkeys if they came in peace.
The Bible mentions Solomon riding a donkey on the day he was recognized as the new king of
Israel (1 Kings 1:33). Other instances of leaders riding donkeys are Judges 5:10; 10:4; 12:14;
and 2 Samuel 16:2. We also learn from Matthew 21 that Jesus rode on the colt of a donkey when
He entered into Jerusalem.
The Bible records an interesting encounter of a man riding a donkey. We see a calm faithful
animal that saves his master’s life even when Balaam didn’t see the danger. It started off as a
normal day, “But Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the Moabite
officials. But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the road to
oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. When the
donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned
off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road” (Numbers 22:21-23). Three
times the donkey does what is right, saving Balaam’s life. “Then the Lord opened Balaam’s
eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed
low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your donkey
these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before
me. The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I
would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it” (Numbers 22:31-34). Even
though the donkey received a beating each time, he continued to do the right thing. I will never
be a donkey, but maybe I can still learn lessons from one. ~Brad Tolbert
