A Donkey, an Angel and Physics

I never took physics in school, but I wish I had. I took biology and chemistry, and did not enjoy either one. But the only of these three branches of science taught at my school that I would have had interest in, the study of physical properties, energy and interactions, I never even considered. If I had, I would likely have known before today that it is the Pauli Exclusion Principle which claims that two objects cannot occupy the same place at the same time.

Nevertheless, it is that principle, which we all know intuitively, that filled my thoughts as I was reading Numbers 22. In this chapter, God’s people, Israel, were still in the wilderness, waiting their time for God to lead them into Canaan, the land flowing with milk and honey which He had promised them. They were camped, all 600,000 plus of them, near a country called Moab. The king of Moab, a man named Balak, was very afraid of Israel even though he had no reason to be – they had not shown any aggression. Balak decided that the best way to stop Israel was for a curse to be put upon them, and the best man for that job, as everybody knew, was Balaam, a man gifted with the gift of prophecy. But, though he “knew” God, he was also diviner (someone who uses special powers to predict future events), so not exactly a “man of” God.

Balaam also happened to be very proud of his reputation, and put a hefty price on his services. Balak, the king, knew this and aimed to remove any objection by Balaam over the fee, offering much more than what would have been his going rate. What Balak could not have anticipated, and therefore not able to eliminate that as a  hurdle in advance, was that Balaam would consult with God before he gave an answer to the messengers the king sent to him with the enormous offer. Balaam told the messengers to “spend the night here, and I will bring word back to you as the Lord may speak to me.” (Num. 22:8).

God did speak to Balaam that night. He told Balaam that he was not to go with them, he was not to curse them (Israel), and that they (Israel) were blessed. So, Balaam told the messengers the next morning that God would not let him go.

See what happened here? Balaam’s reply to the messengers left so much on the table, like the increased offer that came when the king sent the messengers back a second time. Balaam did not tell the messengers that not only would God not LET him go, but He told him NOT to go, NOT to curse the people, and that the people were blessed. That message may have ended Balak’s pursuit of him and would have certainly been a better representation of the message that God gave Balaam.

The second attempt by the Moabite king ended differently. He sent his messengers back to Balaam with an increased offer, basically a blank check. This time, Balaam gave what would be a very righteous response, had he meant it, saying that no matter what the king offered he could not do anything against God’s command. Remember, though, that God had already given Balaam His command, so he truly did have an answer to give them. Instead, though, he tells them again to spend the night while he waited for God to speak to him. Now, I would not have been surprised to read next, and maybe even expected, that God rained down fire and hail from heaven, devouring Balaam and the messengers, and even reaching all the way to Balak. But that’s not what God did. When Balaam retired to be alone with Him, God told him that he MAY go with them, but that he may only speak the words the God will give him.

That God changed His mind here is a possible problem for some, because that would mean that He gave a wrong answer the first time, or that He is wishy-washy. But, God did not change His mind, He just changed His response. God does not owe us an explanation of His ways, and sometimes does not tell us, but we do know that His reasons are perfect. And, we can easily see in the way the rest of the story plays out that this change of plans ends up being an incredible opportunity for the people of God to receive blessing. (Spoiler: when Balak takes Balaam up to the highest point above the people of Israel to curse them, out from Balaam comes the Word of God, a full blessing upon Israel and a dire prophecy of Balak’s doom to come.)

Even though God had allowed him to go, He was angry with Balaam that he had pushed a second time, disregarding the first answer. He still did not want Balaam to go, allowing him only on the condition that he speak God’s words, but would have been more pleased if Balaam were to turn back. (It is better to obey later than not at all.) In fact, He sent an angel to stand in his way.

However, Balaam did not see the angel. His donkey saw the angel, in fact saw it three times. And, each time the donkey saw the angel it ended up saving Balaam’s life, first by turning into a field, next by pushing up against a wall and finally by lying down. Each time, however, Balaam struck his donkey to get him to move. That’s when God acted -  

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 all the way to the ground. (Num. 22:31)

Why couldn’t Balaam see the angel? That’s the question that struck me, and led me to the Pauli Exclusion Principle. He couldn’t see the angel because he was blinded by his own greed and self-worship. His vision of those were crystal clear, because we can see those things upon which we focus. Where our focus is upon our own lusts, we have a futile hope, and endurance to try over and over again, to attain it.

More dangerous is what we do not see when we are focused upon ourselves. God stands between us and danger. When we do not see Him there we miss that protection. This blindness leads men into a full conviction that they can, themselves, affect their cause and end.

“Your hand is lifted up, yet they do not see it.” (Is. 26:11)

If we feel or sense that we do not, or cannot, see God, we should focus our vision even more diligently on what we can see, so that we would then know what it is we must erase from our sight. Truth and lie cannot occupy in the same vision at the same time. Don’t you see?