God did this on purpose....to laugh at skeptics?
Balaam, the Angel and the Ass; Woodcut from the Nuremberg Chronicle (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And the LORD opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?” ( Numbers 22:28 ) This tale of a donkey talking has been the object of great ridicule by skeptics. That it is not an allegory or fable, however, but a real historical event was confirmed in the New Testament by the apostle Peter ( 2 Peter 2:15-16 ). There is no naturalistic explanation for it, of course, but to insist that the event was impossible is simply to deny the power of God . Such miracles of creation are very rare, however, and there must always be a good reason when God intervenes in the laws which normally govern His creation. One reason in this case, obviously, was to rebuke the prophet Balaam, who was resisting God’s will simply for monetary gain. Balaam’s voice itself would soon also have to be constrained and controlled by God to