What You Can Learn From A Donkey
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 15:16English Standard Version (ESV)
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Bible Story (about 30 minutes for story and activities)Day One
Balak Summons Balaam1 Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’” 18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
Balaam's Donkey and the Angel22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, on the border formed by the Arnon, at the extremity of the border. 37 And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” 38 Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” 39 Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 And Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent for Balaam and for the princes who were with him.
41 And in the morning Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal, and from there he saw a fraction of the people.
You can read Numbers 23 & 24 for the complete story.
Children’s story of the Balaam‘s donkey and the angel: (15 minutes for telling story & asking questions; 15 minutes for written activities & games) God’s people, the Israelites, lived in Egypt for about 400 years. During that time they multiplied greatly--that means that they had lots of kids who grew up and had more kids. When the time came for the Israelites to leave Egypt, God sent Moses to show them the way. It took them a long time because they had to walk the whole way. During that time they had some battles with other people but because God was with them, they won a lot of the battles.
Balak was the king of a country called Moab and Balak and the people of Moab were afraid of the Israelites since they had heard about some of these battles that the Israelites had won. Now, Balak sent a message to Balaam because he had heard that Balaam was sort of a magician. Balaam could bless someone and good things would happen to them or he could curse them and bad things would happen. This was how Balaam mad a living because he got paid for doing this for people.
King Balak wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites so that bad things would happen to them and the people of Moab wouldn’t be afraid of them. King Balak sent some of his princes to Balaam to give him some money so would do this for him.
Balaam told the princes that he would pray to God and see if he should do this. God told him no. God said, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” (Num. 22:12) So the next day Balaam told the princes that he could not do this for them. Well, King Balak sent even more princes and offered Balaam even more money to curse the Israelites. Finally, Balaam agreed to do it.
Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey and took off to Moab. When he did this, it made God really mad at Balaam. God sent an angel to stand in the way and stop Balaam. Balaam couldn’t see the angel but his donkey sure did. The angel was standing in the road with his sword drawn. Donkeys are pretty smart and she didn’t want to try to go against an angel so she turned off the road and went into a field. What do you think Balaam did? (give kids a chance to answer) He took out his whip and whipped the poor donkey! Balaam got her to go back to the road.
This time the angel was standing in a narrow path with grape vines/vineyards and a wall on each side. The donkey pushed against the wall to try to stay away from the angel. When she did, Balaam’s foot was smashed against the wall. Wow! This made Balaam really mad this time so do you know what he did?(time to answer) That’s right. He whipped the poor donkey again.
The third time the angel of the Lord found a narrow place, where there was no way to go either left or right. Since she had no where to go to get away from the angel, the donkey just lay down on the road right under Balaam. This was the third time now. How mad do you think Balaam was now? Yes, he was furious! He took a big walking stick/staff that he carried with him and started beating the donkey with it.
Then something Balaam never expected happened. Can you guess what that could have been? (give kids time to guess) God let the donkey open her mouth and start talking to Balaam! She said, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these 3 times?” (vs. 28) Now, I think I might have passed out if a real live donkey started talking to me but Balaam didn’t. He told her, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” (vs. 29)
The donkey asked him, “Haven’t I been your donkey that you’ve ridden on for many years? Have I ever treated you like this before?” (paraphrased vs. 30) Balaam looked at her and said no.
Then God opened Balaam’s eyes and he saw the angel standing in the way with his sword drawn. The angel spoke to Balaam and asked him, “Why have you been beating your poor donkey? I have come to stop you because what you are doing is wrong/bad/evil. The donkey saw me and turned aside three times to save you. If she had not, I surely would have killed you and let her live.” (paraphrased vs. 32-33)
Balaam told the angel of the Lord, “I am so sorry that I sinned. I didn’t know you were standing in the road. If it is bad/evil for me to go to Moab, then I will turn around and go home.” (paraphrased vs. 34)
The angel said, “No, don’t go home. Go to King Balak but only say what I tell you to say.” (paraphrased vs. 35)
So Balaam went to the King but would not curse the Israelites. He would only say what God wanted him to say and not what King Balak asked him to say.
How many of you have seen donkeys and other animals talking in cartoons? Have you ever seen a real animal talk? Have you ever seen a cat or a dog talk? Real animals can’t talk but this donkey was a real, live animal, not a cartoon. Why do you think it was able to talk?
When God works in our lives, we can do amazing things. It’s important to be ready to listen to God speaking to you, even when He uses something you’re not expecting to give you His message.
Comprehension questionsLet’s see what you remember from the story.
1. Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and they had to have some battles? Who won the battles? (the Israelites)
2. Why did they win? (God was on their side, they were following God)
3. Why were the people of Moab afraid of the Israelites? (they had heard of the battles the Israelites won)
4. What did Balaam do to make money? (blessed or cursed people for others) Do you think this was a good way to make money? Why or why not?
5. What did King Balak want Balaam to do for him? (curse the Israelites)
6. Why did Balaam say no the first time? (God told him not to because the Israelites were blessed)
7. Why did he say yes later? (he was greedy)
8. How many times did the donkey stop? (3)
9. Why did she stop? (she saw the angel standing in the way)
10. What did Balaam do to the donkey when she didn’t go where he wanted her too? (beat her)
11. What did the donkey finally do that surprised Balaam? (talked to him)
12. Why did Balaam say he had beaten the donkey? (she had made a fool of him)
13. How do you think Balaam felt when he saw the angel?(no wrong answer, maybe foolish, afraid, bad)
14. What would the angel have done to Balaam if the donkey had not turned away? (killed Balaam)
15. What did Balaam tell the angel? (I’m sorry.)
Do you know another word that means I’m sorry? (repent)
Spend a few minutes talking about repenting and how Jesus can save us from our sins.
Distribute worksheets/fun sheets for the children to do word search, maze or other games.
Play Bible concentration.
I will put the Day Two story and activities on my blog as soon as I have time.
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