NOTES for Num 22:1-41
It turns out that even a prophet can learn much from his own donkey! As a prophet, Balaam should have been especially attentive to the will of God revealed to him. At first God seems to permit Balaam to go with Balak’s messengers, but then the Angel blocks his path. How are we to understand this? If the prophet had always honestly sought God’s will, or simply looked ahead with spiritual eyes turned toward his God, he would not have exposed himself to such danger or been sarcastically compared with a donkey.