Mr. Ed
Numbers 22: Then God gave speech to the donkey.
There’s no other story in the entire Bible like this one. Balaam is a backslidden prophet of God who’s on his way to put a curse on God’s people. His donkey is stubborn and is misbehaving. As Balaam angrily beats the poor animal, God gives the donkey the power of speech. This incident has caught the imagination of countless readers. The movie industry did a series of “Francis the talking mule” stories in the 1950’s. Later on, TV brought us the story of a talking horse, “Mr. Ed.” Then, Don Francisco brought the story to everyone’s attention in his song, “Balaam.” The punch line in Francisco’s song reminds me that when God uses me to deliver his message that I shouldn’t become conceited. After all, he could have used a donkey instead. I know this, God is God and he can do whatever he wants. If it serves his purposes to make an animal speak his words the Lord certainly has the ability and the authority to do so. And if he commissions me to speak his message I know it isn’t because I’m such an intelligent, articulate person that I stand out in the crowd. The Lord calls and uses people for his own purposes. Still, for man or donkey, it’s an honor to be so called!
Take Away: If God can use a donkey to deliver his message we know he can use us.