The Significance of Donkeys
Insight into the
heart of the Master
What is a Donkey?
What is a Donkey?
• An animal used by farmers and herders for practical means.
• Either tame or wild.
• Wild donkeys are fighters and can be used to protect livestock
but little else.
• Tame donkeys serve to bear burdens, plow fields, and assist
with other manual tasks.
The History of Donkeys
Genesis 12:16
“And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he gave him
sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants,
female donkeys, and camels.”
The History of Donkeys
• chamor – refers to the reddish coloring of the animal’s coat.
Also a name for the Canaanites!
• ‘athown – from the same root as the word for patience and
docility – servant.
•
pereh – in the sense of running wild; the onager, a breed of
wild donkey.
The History of Donkeys
Genesis 16:12
“And he will be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against
everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell
over against all his kinsmen.”
Donkeys as a Symbol
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Humility
Lowliness
Not as pretty as horses
Stupid
Stubborn
Donkeys as a Symbol
• Ridden by kings (2 Samuel 16:2)
– Wealth
– Power
• Peace (Psalm 122:6)
• Dignity
Donkeys as a Metaphor
Exodus 13:12-15
“You shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb. All
the firstborn of your animals that are males shall be the Lord’s.
Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, or if
you will not redeem it you shall break its neck. Every firstborn of
man among your sons you shall redeem.
Donkeys as a Metaphor
“And when in time to come your son asks, ‘What does this
mean?’ you shall say to him, ‘By a strong hand the Lord brought
us out of Egypt, from the house of slavery. For when Pharaoh
stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord killed all the firstborn of
man and the firstborn of animals. Therefore I sacrifice to the
Lord all males that first open the womb, but all the firstborn of
my sons I redeem.’”
Donkeys as a Metaphor
• Pharaoh was proved to be stiff-necked, thus incurring the
wrath of God.
• He refused not only the Israelites’ redemption, but also his
own.
• Despite God’s amazing miracles, he insisted on turning his
back until finally, God broke his neck.
• Pharaoh died because he refused redemption.
Donkeys as a Metaphor
Deuteronomy 10:16
“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart and be no
longer stubborn.”
Donkeys as a Metaphor
Jeremiah 7:25-26
“From the day that your fathers came out of Egypt to this day, I
have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day
after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but
stiffened their neck.”
Donkeys as a Metaphor
Exodus 34:20
“You shall redeem with a lamb the first offspring from a donkey;
and if you do not redeems it, then you shall break its neck. You
all redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None shall appear
before me empty-handed.”
Redemption of the Firstborn
• The firstborn male of any creature belonged to the Lord
alone.
• For all animals besides humans and donkeys, this meant
putting that firstborn animal to death as a sacrifice to the Lord
– the firstfruits.
Redemption of the Firstborn
• The master had a choice whether or not to redeem his
firstborn donkey.
• Either he paid the redemption price – one lamb – or he broke
the donkey’s neck.
• If not redeemed, the donkey had to die, but not as a sacrifice.
The neck had to be broken.
Redemption of the Firstborn
• Extenuating circumstances applied to humans and donkeys.
• God wanted all human children to live, and so provided a
different way: redemption.
• Each firstborn son had to be redeemed.
• The redemption price varied from family to family and was
dependent on their income and what they could afford.
• God made redemption possible for everyone.
Redemption of the Firstborn
• “None shall come to me empty-handed.”
• God provides the sacrifice required for right-standing with
him.
• He does not require us to figure out a way ourselves.
• Our hands are empty. But the Father gave us Jesus so that we
could come to him with the necessary sacrifice.
The Firstborn
• Faith is not inherited.
• Redemption is a choice God leaves to each of us.
• Relationship is a choice God leaves to each of us.
The Firstborn
Hebrews 12:23
“But you have come … to the assembly of the firstborn who are
enrolled in heaven.”
Abraham’s Donkey
Genesis 22:5
“Abraham said to his young men, ‘Stay here with the donkey, and
I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return
to you.’”
Tamed Donkeys Bear Burdens
Romans 15:1
“Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those
without strength and not just please ourselves.”
Tamed Donkeys Bear Burdens
Galatians 6:2
“Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of
Christ.”
David and Saul
• Saul came from a family of donkey herders:
– Wealthy, privileged, affluent.
– Worked to capture, break, tame, and sell donkeys.
• David was a shepherd by trade:
– Middle class, youngest son, humble.
– Tended, cared for, protected sheep.
Balaam’s Talking Donkey
Numbers 22
• Balaam, a man whose spiritual gift is not submitted to the
Spirit goes against God’s will and agrees to curse Israel.
• He is stopped along the way by his donkey, who continues to
turn off of the road.
• Not seeing what she sees he beats her, and she talks, asking
him why.
• It is then he sees the angel of the Lord.
Wild and Tame
• In our flesh, we fight and maintain only our own interests,
ignoring everything and everyone.
• I am my own focus, my eyes turned inward to myself.
• In survival mode all the time.
• Filled with rage.
• Unavailable for anything.
See: Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 8:5-11
Wild and Tame
• In the Spirit, we are submitted the New Creation.
• Love, kindness, gentleness, steadfastness, peace, joy,
forbearance.
• Focus is on Jesus.
• He is our Master and protector.
• Available to serve him and to care for others.
See: Galatians 5:16-17; Romans 8:5-11
Lion, Donkey, Man of God
1 Kings 13
• A man of God is sent to confront Jeroboam, king of Israel.
• Jeroboam tries to arrest him, but Jeroboam’s arm shrivels up,
and he freaks out, begging the man of God to fix it.
• Invites the man for dinner; the man declines because God told
him not to eat or drink or return the same way he came.
• He is intercepted by an old prophet, who tells him “God said”
he could eat and drink with the prophet.
Lion, Donkey, Man of God
• The man goes, eats, drinks, and then the Spirit of the Lord
comes over the prophet and says he won’t die at home.
• The man of God is then killed by a lion – not mauled or eaten.
• The donkey is left untouched.
• Passersby see the dead body with the lion and the donkey.
• The lion stays until the old prophet comes to bury the body in
his own grave.
Lion, Donkey, Man of God
• The lion is a type of the Lord.
– Lion of Judah.
• The donkey is a type of the tame donkey.
– Left unharmed.
– Carries the dead body away (bears the burden of the prophet).
• The man of God is a type of the wild donkey.
– Despite his experience and knowledge of the Living God, he turned
away to follow his own desires.
– Similar to Israel and how as a nation they constantly turned away from
the God that had taken such great pains to prove himself faithful.
– The man of God was an ambassador of the Lord.
Lion, Donkey, Man of God
• The man of God knew who God was – he had extensive
experience doing His work, just by the mission he was on.
• He had been redeemed and tamed.
• But he still chose his own will over that of the Lord.
Lion, Donkey, Man of God
• This story is a warning: do NOT return to where God took you
from.
• If we have been redeemed, tamed, and set apart for his will,
we must not give ourselves over to the world!
• God has appointed us as ambassadors, to live as Jesus did,
carrying out the will of the Father.
Why the New Metaphor?
• Sheep: shows us how stupid and pathetic we are.
• Highlights the goodness and faithfulness of our Shepherd.
• Fails to depict what God really desires from us: relationship.
Why the New Metaphor?
• Donkeys show us a picture of how we can function with Jesus
as our Master.
• Redeemed, tamed, serving, and bearing each other’s burdens,
we are blessed with intimate relationships with the One we
carry as well as those we carry Him to.
• Each donkey has a specific purpose in the work the Master is
doing.
The End