Until I visited the Kingdom of Jordan in the Fall of 2007, I must admit I had a negative image about donkeys.  I thought them stubborn and mulish, with a surly personality like a camel.  When I visited the city of Petra, though, and got the chance to ride a donkey in the magnificent ruins of that former capital of the Nabatean Arabs, I realized that I had viewed donkeys far too harshly.  Far from being surly and unpleasant animals, they posed happily for the camera in their “donkey parking lot”, were friendly and outgoing animals, and had an intuitive understanding of the personality of their riders much like horses.  I was pleasantly surprised, added donkeys to the list of animals I greatly enjoyed, and gained a whole new appreciation of their role in scripture.

Donkeys are a surprisingly important animal in scripture.  Though far less mysterious, than, say, unicorns [1], and far less fearsome in scripture (and with far less demonic overtones) than the behemoth (hippo) and leviathan (crocodile), donkeys have some important supporting roles in the Bible.  In particular, three striking passages in the Bible refer to the humble and friendly donkey, and all do so in a remarkably positive light.  Let us therefore examine these biblical donkey tales today.

Ungrateful Balaam Saved By Loyal Donkey

The first starring role for a donkey comes in Numbers 22:20-35.  In these verses we find that the unfairly maligned donkey saved the life of an ungrateful and wicked prophet, temporarily at least, from his deserved death.  Let us examine this passage of scripture, and then reveal what it says about the character of the donkey as an animal, as well as the character of the false prophet who rode the donkey.

In Numbers 22:20-21, we read the opening of the donkey tale.  Balaam has been tempted by a large payment by the Moabite king Balak to curse the people of Israel, and has received a specific revelation from God not to curse them, but rather to bless them.  Nontheless, Balaam seems less than convinced about following God’s command and more than a little interested in being bribed to curse Israel:  “And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only do the word which I speak to you–that you shall do.”  So Balam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.”

So far we do not see anything remarkable.  Balaam, even by the low standard of false prophets, seems particularly unobservant.  God visited Balaam numerous times, giving him warning after warning to only say that which God himself spoke to him, and not his own words.  It is a difficult thing for a false prophet to limit their revelation to what God says, as they always want to add their own spin, and speak that which God does not authorize, especially when there is material gain involved.  False prophets are not that difficult to corrupt through bribery, and thus are keen players, as Balaam was, in international diplomacy, knowing what his clients want to hear but also seeking to keep the connection open with the true knowledge from God.

In Numbers 22:22-27, we read about a donkey’s devotion to an unworthy master and a false prophet’s abuse of an innocent (and loyal) animal:  “Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as an adversary against him.  And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.  Now the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field.  So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road.  Then the Angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side.  And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again.  Then the Angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or the left.  And when the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

A reliable test of someone’s character is the way they treat their inferiors, and here Balaam’s character shows itself to be very poor.  Three times Balaam struck an innocent and loyal donkey who was seeking to save his life from the sword of the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ, also known as the Word and the Angel of the Lord.  God, who can discern the hearts and the minds of mankind, was aware that Balaam was not fully obedient to His divine commands, and therefore He showed Himself to be an enemy of the false prophet.  Had Balaam been as spiritually sensitive as his intuitive donkey, he would not have sought so eagerly the summons of the heathen Moabite king, but then he would not have been a despicable false prophet either.  And yet he had the nerve to beat a loyal donkey looking out for his best interests when he was too greedy and foolish to look after his own survival from the threat of divine judgment.

In Numbers 22:28-35 we see the eyes of the false prophet opened to the gravity of the situation and the loyalty of his abused donkey:  “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?”  And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me.  I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”  So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day?  Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”  And he said, “No.”  Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face.  And the Angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times?  Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me.  The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times.  If she had not turned aside from Me, I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”  And Balaam said to the Angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me.  Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”  Then the Angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only speak the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.”  So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.”

This passage is remarkable for a variety of reasons.  For one, while God had to open the mouth of the donkey to allow her to speak, God had to open the eyes of the false prophet Balaam to see Himself standing against the false prophet, aware of the perversity within his heart.  Balaam, despite not being surprised that his donkey can speak and call him into account for his animal cruelty, has the gall to falsely accuse his loyal donkey of abusing him, and wishing he had a sword to slay her, while the donkey has saved the life of her abusive master from the sword of God Himself.  Balaam ought to have been aware that he pronounced judgment against himself by making a false accusation against one that he was abusing, but abusers do tend to project their own abusive behavior so that they can falsely accuse others of that which they are guilty of.  Even after God reveals Himself as the Angel of the Lord, Balaam does not repent to his donkey for the abuse, even after receiving an explicit warning that God would have slain Balaam and let the donkey live had she not saved his unworthy life.  We also notice that God explicitly tells Balaam both at the beginning and end of this passage that he was only to speak the words that the Word commanded him to speak.

Nonetheless, we learn a great deal in this passage about both false prophets and loyal donkeys.  For one, we see a donkey who despite abuse looks out for the best interests of his master.  It is a curious tendency for animals to be far more loyal to their masters than mankind is to its Master, namely God.  As we examine the second “donkey tale,” we may speculate that part of the reason why a donkey was prophesied to be the transportation of the Messiah into Jerusalem was because of the loyalty and sensitivity of the donkey.  Without having felt that trust and warmth and loyalty for one’s self, it is difficult to fully appreciate just how amazing and special donkeys are.

Lowly And Riding On A Donkey

In Zechariah 9:9 we have an interesting prophecy that was fulfilled shortly before the crucifixion of Christ:  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!  Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!  Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.”

Despite the fact that donkeys are not glorious animals, not considered noble and kingly, Jesus Christ Himself saw fit to prophecy that it would be a donkey colt that would be his ride into Jerusalem to announce the opening of the way to salvation through His sacrifice.  There are many animals that might have been considered more suitable mounts for the King of King and Lord of Lords.  Perhaps an Indian elephant would have done the trick, or the surly camel, or the noble horse.  But no, the donkey was chosen.  Perhaps there was something in the character of the donkey itself that made it a suitable symbol of the sort of Kingdom that Jesus Christ is setting up.

After all, donkeys are disrespected (for far too long by me), and people like Balaam would beat a donkey in the way they would never mistrust a noble steed, despite the fact that a donkey is orders of magnitude more friendly than the nasty camel and equally more reliable than the elephant.  A donkey truly is a representative of the sort of people that Jesus Christ has called–those whom the world disrespects, but those whose spiritual sensitivity, loyalty to God, humility, decency and generosity of spirit (with the help of God) is a model for the whole world to follow.

By combining the accounts of Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:28-40, and John 12:12-19, we get the following picture:  “Now when they drew near Jerusalem, and came to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her, on which no one has ever sat.  Loose them and bring them to Me.  And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them, ‘ and immediately he will send them.”  All this was done that it might be fulfilled by the prophet, saying:  “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, lowly, and sitting on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”  So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them.  So they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street, and they loosed it.  But some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing, loosing the colt?”  And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded, “The Lord has need of him.”  So they let them go.  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their close on them, and set Him on them.  And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the palm trees and spread them on the road.  Then the multitudes who went out before and those who followed cried out, saying:  “Hosanna to the Son of David!  ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’  Hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”  And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?”  So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”  His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.  Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.  For this reason the people also met Him, because they heard that He had done this sign.  The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing.  Look, the world has gone after Him!”

It is worthwhile to compare this account with the account of Balaam’s loyal donkey.  For one, Jesus’ disciples said exactly what Jesus (the Word) had told them to say, unlike Balaam.  For another, Balaam rode a donkey he had ridden for years, and beat it cruelly for saving his life.  Jesus Christ rode a donkey colt that had never been ridden to His crucifixion and death that He might open the way to eternal life for many.  Balaam went seeking to thwart the will of God and perform his own will, while Jesus Christ went according to the will of His Father in heaven, and not according to His own will.  And yet both went, famously, on donkeys.

Conclusion

We can see from these passages that donkeys play a positive role in the Bible, in ways that a lot of people would be surprised to ponder, and yet in ways that those who have ridden donkeys might be able to understand.  A donkey saved the life of a false prophet from the sword of the Angel of the Lord, and another donkey brought that same being, over 1400 years later, to the city of his arrest, trial, and crucifixion during the Passover season.  Let us therefore reflect upon the humble donkey with a new or renewed appreciation for this loyal and trustworthy animal.

[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/unicorns-in-the-bible/