Talking animals in the Bible

Today I came upon a familiar passage about a talking donkey once again and decided to drill a little deeper. I was reading Numbers 22. The background to this story is that Israel, after wandering in the dessert for almost 40 years, was beginning its conquest to take over the promise land. They began East of river Jordan by defeating the Canaanite king of Arad, Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan (Numbers 21). Here they encamped along river Jordan across from the city of Jericho, Balak king of Moab was naturally frightened. He decided to call on Balaam to put a curse on his enemies. Now Balaam must have been a famous spiritual guru around that region who perform divination for a fee (Numbers 22:7).

Now the first interesting thing I observed is that this non-Jewish, money making soothsayer/sorcerer, was actually communicating with the Jewish God (the Lord) quite regularly (verse 8). In fact he was normally quite obedient to God's command (verse 13). So when God said no, Balaam refused Balak's request to put a curse on God's people, despite the handsome reward and most certainly the treat that came with refusing the king's request. This story is another affirmation that God speaks to his creation in various ways (see Romans 1:18-20).

The second interesting and quite puzzling thing I observed is that when Balak offered a second request with a bigger reward (and likely a bigger threat for refusal) and when God told Balaam to agree to go, he was opposed by God's angel along the way. So did God want him to go or not? I think the talking donkey provided the answer! (I won't go into the question how I can believe that a donkey can talk. I think the answer is similar to believing in any miracle. The article "Talking Snakes, Donkeys, and Believing the Bible" gives a good treatment on that.)

The article "Balaam and the Donkey" showed me these interesting points:

• Balaam knew God and carried out his commands, but he was an evil man, driven by money rather than love of God.
• The angel threatened Balaam because Balaam was obeying God in his actions, but in his heart he was rebelling, thinking only of the bribe.
• The "oracles" of Balaam in Numbers correspond to the blessings God promised to Abraham: Israel will be as numerous as the dust of the earth; the Lord is with Israel; Israel will inherit the promised land; Israel will crush Moab, and from the Jews will come a Messiah.
• Numbers 31:16 reveals that Balaam enticed the Israelites to turn from God and worship idols.
• The fact that the angel asked Balaam the same question as the donkey indicates that the Lord was speaking through the donkey.

The third and perhaps the most interesting observation from Numbers 22 is why was Balaam not shocked when the donkey spoke to him? This article "Did Balaam's donkey really talk to him?" gave me something to reflect on:

"Why was Balaam not shocked into silence by the donkey speaking to him? Surely, it must have come as a surprise to him, and under normal circumstances, the obvious reaction would be for him to at least ask how she came to be speaking. The Bible doesn’t tell us why he didn’t find it odd to be addressed by a donkey, but we do know something about his state of mind. First, he was in rebellion against the Lord, going to Balak for his own purposes and not those of the Lord. Second, the donkey’s refusal to continue down the path enraged him so that he beat her out of anger because she had mocked him and made a fool of him. Anger has a way of curtailing rational thought, and perhaps he was so intent on exerting his dominance over the animal that he lost the ability to think clearly. It wasn’t until the angel opened Balaam’s eyes to see reality that he relented in his anger against the donkey, listened to the angel, and repented. Verse 38 tells us that Balaam went to Balak and told the king, “I must speak only what God puts in my mouth," which just goes to show that God can use anyone, even a donkey and a rebellious prophet, to do His will and speak His truth."

So what have I learned today? I probably see God's miracles every single day. The fact that I am in a "healing" business should give me plenty of examples of seeing God's miraculous work. It may not be animal talking or manna from the sky, but human body itself is a work of wonder (see Psalm 139:14 and a very nice book "Fearfully and Wonderfully Made" by Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand). How do I react to these wonders? When I hear God's voice, do I obey? Are my thoughts consistent with my actions? When I obey God am I doing it grudgingly or out of love for him?

Thank you Lord for the lesson I learned today, from a talking donkey!

The Lord watches over you

I have been memorizing Psalm 121. I have been impressed by the number of times the term "watches over" is used in this one Psalm.

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

The term "watch/watches/watched/watching over" appeared 43 times in the bible (NIV translation). It is used almost exclusively in the Old Testament in relationship to God watching over his people. It is used a couple of times as God being a "watchman", or that he has placed a "watch" over his people. In the New Testament, it is often used to exhort pastors and leaders of the church to watch over their "flocks".

A good way to understand the meaning of a bible term is to read a variety of translations. For example, in Genesis 28:15 (the context of this verse is God renewing his covenant with Jacob, the same covenant he made with Abraham and Isaac), using the Biblehub.com to get the parallel translations, I get a number of concepts closely tied with being "watched over":

• (NIV) I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.
• (NLT, NET) I will protect you...
• (ESV, NASB, KJB...most translations) I will keep you...

Another good way to drill a little deeper for a bible term is to use a bible dictionary. For example, the meaning of the term "watch over" in Psalm 1:6 is explained in Luminated.net:
"For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction."

The Hebrew word used in this verse is "Yada". It can mean "to know (NAS95, ESV, KJV..), to guard (NET) or to watch over (NIV, HCSB and many others)". (AMP - amplified) translates it this way:
"For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God's will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought)."
But (The Message) and (BBE) is different:
(MESSAGE) GOD charts the road you take. The road they take is Skid Row.
(BBE) Because the Lord sees the way of the upright, but the end of the sinner is destruction.

To summarize, this is what I have learned from being "watched over" by the Lord - the Maker of heaven and earth:

• This is God's promise and he will see to it until it is accomplished.
• God knows me. He knows all my needs. He will chart the course that is best for me.
• He will keep me and will never leave me or forsake me.
• He will protect and guard me against my enemies.
• He who watches over me will neither slumber nor sleep! He is with me all the way and at all times!

The best love story on Valentine's Day

"About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”)."(Matthews 27:46)

I read today the crucifixion event according to Matthews. Mark's gospel recorded a slightly different word - “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (Mark 15:34) but is translated into the same message in English. (lavistachurchofchrist.org gave a very clear explanation of why there is a difference between the two writers and why Jesus' cry may have been a fulfillment of a prophecy in Psalms 22:1).

So this is the best love story of all time:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16). This love comes with a very big price. Not only does God the Father have to give up His one and only Son, the Son Himself experienced not only the physical pain of the crucifixion, but the emotional pain of being forsaken by His loving Father.

A month before my father's death, he wrote me a portion of the famous scripture chapter on love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a:
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

He wrote it on a traditional Chinese calligraphy scroll. I was not home at the time. His health was failing rapidly. According to my brother he made many drafts, only two of which did not contain errors. I received a copy (see photo) and my younger brother received the other copy. He wrote it to encourage us in our faith journey. To my knowledge he never made an open profession to become a Christian but I'd like to think that these words he wrote had touched him deeply.

So on this Valentine's day, what have I learned to love the way Jesus loves the world? Philippians 2:1-8 reminded me (and I will commit it to memory):
"Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross! "

Now learn this lesson from the fig tree

Matthew 24 is not an easy scripture passage to understand. It concerns the destruction of the Jerusalem temple and the signs of the end times. Despite Jesus' unambiguous statement "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." (verse 36), there have been ongoing speculations of when Jesus will return, especially when wars and natural disasters strike. What then should be our attitude while we wait for this unexpected event? Jesus told us to learn from the fig tree:
"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." (verses 32- 35)

It is important to know that this sermon was one of the last sermons Jesus gave to his disciples. Jesus had been telling his disciples that his earthly mission was to suffer at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders and that he would eventually be killed and raised to life on the third day (Matthews 16:21). In response to his disciples' praise of the magnificent temple in Jerusalem (verse 1, Mark 13:1, and Luke 21:5), Jesus therefore reminded them (and predicted) that this earthly monument would soon be completely destroyed (verse 2).

D.A. Carson wrote:
"This must have been shocking to the disciples. They thought the Messiah was going to save Jerusalem and the temple, not allow both to be destroyed. As Jesus spoke of these things, the disciples must have thought about the end of gentile rulership and the glory of Israel, both which are prophesied so many times in the Hebrew Scriptures. They knew these events would occur at "the time of the end" (Daniel 8:17; 11:35, 40; 12:4, 9). It was at this time that the Messiah would appear or "come" to usher in the kingdom of God. This meant Israel would arise to national greatness as the spearhead of that kingdom."

So a little later when they were sitting on the Mount of Olives, over-looking Jerusalem and its temple buildings, his disciples asked Jesus (there were essentially three questions in verse 3):

1. When will these temple buildings be destroyed?
2. What will be the sign of Jesus' coming?
3. What will be the sign of the end of the age?

Jesus' answers to these questions:

1. Jerusalem and its temple will be destroyed in their generation (verse 34). Indeed Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70 just as Jesus predicted.
2. The disciples were wrong to associate Jesus' coming with his "coming out" as the Messiah. Indeed Jesus will come again (his second coming) and "the sign" will be associated with his second coming, and not with the destruction of the temple.
3. The end of the age is not associated with the destruction of Jerusalem but it is some time in the future. No one knows when it will be, not even Jesus (verse 36).

D.A. Carson wrote:
"Rather than answering the disciples' questions on their terms, Jesus used the occasion to teach them three important things. One, he taught them that the scenario they were asking about was much more complicated than their simplistic notions. Two, they could not know when Jesus would "come," or as we would say, "return." Three, they should worry about or "watch" their relationship with God and not worry about "watching" world or local events."

This chapter is still very difficult to understand with its allusion to events that are certainly unfamiliar with us in modern times. But it is clear to me that (1) Jesus predicted the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the second temple (not the one King Solomon built); (2) His messiahship, i.e. he saved us from our sins by dying on the cross; his kingdom is not an earthly kingdom; (3) He is coming again to reign - accompanied by a new heaven and a new earth. I look forward to his coming. I enjoy now his spiritual presence and relationship while I watch and wait for the great day! I don't think there is a fig tree around where I live but I will look at any tree in the spring time to remind myself as certainly as leaves will come forth in the summer, Jesus is coming soon!