Tag: talking donkey

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Torah

From soothsayer to Savior: Balaam’s prophetic foreshadowing of the Messiah (Numbers 22–24)

From soothsayer to Savior: Balaam's prophetic foreshadowing of the Messiah (Numbers 22-24). Adobe Firefly AI cartoon-like image of a donkey and two Ancient Near East men on a hill overlooking a large encampment below.

The story of Bilam (Balaam) and his donkey in the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9) reveals striking parallels to Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). In this study, we’ll see that like the donkey, the Messiah was a humble Servant who faithfully followed God’s instructions, even when it led to a dangerous path. Both Balaam and the Messiah were tasked with blessing or cursing, but the Messiah’s blessings ultimately proved more powerful. The donkey’s ability to perceive danger and change course foreshadows the Messiah’s wisdom and discernment. Just as the donkey’s eyes were opened to reveal the angel, the Messiah’s death and resurrection opened the eyes of many to see the truth. These symbolic connections invite deeper reflection on the Messiah’s role as a servant and prophet.

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Discussions Torah

How you can recognize the Antichrist (Numbers 22–24)

How to recognize the Antichrist (Numbers 22-24)

The prophet Bilam (Balaam), described in the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2–25:9), was a gentile prophet from the ancient country of Aram. We see that even though Bilam was a Gentile, he was a prophet of God.

God did not only send prophets to Israel. God, in His mercy, sent prophets to all the nations of the world.

Unfortunately, we meet with Bilam, not in his early years when God first called him to prophetic office, when his heart was open to God. Instead, we are meeting Bilam at the point when his evil inclination has overtaken the good in him. We follow along with him as his greed, corruption and vanity lead him to his downfall, which was so complete, that his story is given to us a template of how the Antichrist will one day function in the world, deceiving, if possible, the elect.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 22–24: Beware of self-loving, double-speaking prophets

A man stands atop of a high place in the Grand Canyon with arms outstretched in praise

It’s important to respect yourself as one who bears the image of God, but when does self-love cross over into conceit? And when that conceit is in the heart of a prophet that practices deceit, it’s a sobering warning. The lesson of Balaam told in Torah reading בָּלָק Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) and expanded upon in Micah 5:6–6:8 and Jude 3-16 is a warning and a contrast between a true prophet of God, namely Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus), and a false prophet.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 22:1-25:9: God sent emissaries to the Gentiles too

Cartoon of Balaam and the King of Moab by Jack Foster of MrBibleHead.blogspot.com via Creative Commons License.

The prophet Bilam (Balaam) is not an isolated individual, an anomaly in Scripture. He was not the first or last emissary to the Gentiles. God did not leave them without guidance. Bilam is a foreshadowing of the ministry of Saul of Tarsus, aka the apostle Paul, whose experience on the road to Damascus echoes the account in the Torah reading בָּלָק Balak of Bilam’s experience with a “recalcitrant” she-donkey.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

Luke 19:29-40, part 2: Donkeys in Scripture point to Messiah’s entry to Yerushalayim

Yeshua's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Photo via Creative Commons license from www.lumoproject.com

There is so much emphasis in Luke 19:29-40 about Yeshua’s riding into Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) on a donkey that had never carried a burden and about the proclamation, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.” That donkey’s first burden was a profound burden, and we see throughout Scripture a number of donkeys carrying important burdens that prophetically point toward that triumphal entry.

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Discussions Torah

Numbers 22: The unintended prophesy of Balaam, part 1

Skeptics like to poke fun at this story because of the talking donkey. Yet sometimes, our way is so set upon evil that a talking donkey doesn’t even phase us and give us pause to turn away from our direction.

Balaam wasn’t ignorant of the identity of the Creator God. He knew YHWH by name, and Balak, the king of Moab knew of Him too. If he knew that, then he knew that God had the power to make a donkey talk. Balaam didn’t fully understand the error of his way until one of the most powerful angels in God’s hosts, the Angel of the Lord, confronts him with a sword in his hand.