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Numbers 22:20-30

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20 That night God came to Balaam and said, "If these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."
21 When Balaam got up in the morning, he saddled his donkey and left with the Moabite princes.
22 God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the LORD stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants.
23 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road.
24 Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the LORD stood there.
25 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the LORD, it moved over and pinned Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.
26 Then the Messenger of the LORD moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.
27 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam. Balaam became so angry he hit the donkey with his stick.
28 Then the LORD made the donkey speak, and it asked Balaam, "What have I done to make you hit me three times?"
29 Balaam answered, "You've made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I'd kill you right now."
30 The donkey said to Balaam, "I'm your own donkey. You've always ridden me. Have I ever done this to you before?" "No," he answered.
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Numbers 22:20-30 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 22

The children of Israel being come into the plains of Moab, put the king of Moab into a panic, who expressed his fears to the elders of Midian, Nu 22:1-4 and sent for Balaam the soothsayer to curse the people of Israel, but he, upon consulting the Lord refused to come, Nu 22:5-14, on which the king of Moab sent to him a second time, making large promises of preferment to him, and who at this time got leave from the Lord to go with the messengers, Nu 22:15-21, but was met with in the way by an angel of the Lord, who would have slain him had it not been for his ass, of which a very wonderful revelation is given, Nu 22:22-35, and the chapter is closed with the interview between Balak king of Moab and Balaam, and an account of what passed between them, and what was done by them, Nu 22:36-41.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
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