“For the Scripture says, ‘You
shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,’ and ‘The laborer is
worthy of his wages.”—I Timothy 5:18
Oxen are a representation of the
gospel ministers in our lives who help us understanding the meaning of God’s
Word. A leather muzzle or wire device
can be placed over an animal’s snout which prevents it from biting or
eating. According to Unger’s Bible
Dictionary, oxen were used in the Far East to thresh the grain by the oxen
trampling upon it. The command was not
to muzzle the ox when threshing, “You
shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). This was not intended to apply merely to the
ox employed in threshing, but to be understood in the general sense in which
the Apostle Paul used it 1 Timothy 5:18—that
a laborer was not to be deprived of his wages.
Scripture further address the issue
of wages. Under the law a Jewish laborer
was to be paid his wages on the day that he earned it, and he was not to be
cheated or robbed by withholding the wages until another day. “Each day you shall give him his wages, and
not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest
he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you” (Deuteronomy 24:15). “You
shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him.
The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until
morning” (Leviticus 19:13). Jesus addressed the issue of wages for
those of His disciples that He sent out. He said,
“And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give,
for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not go from house to house” (Luke
10:7).
The Apostle Paul reminded the
Corinthian believers that those who preach the gospel would get their substance
from the gospel. “Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should
live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14). Furthermore, he made it clear that a minister
of the gospel is to be provided for, “Who
ever goes to war at his own expense? Who
plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Or who tends a flock and does not drink of
the milk of the flock? Do I say these
things as a mere man? Or does not the law say the same also? For it is written
in the Law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the
grain,’ Is it oxen God is concerned about?” (1 Corinthians 9:7-9).
We are given clear instructions on
how to support the ministers in our lives.
I remember the first time that I heard any teaching alone this
line. It seemed impossible to my way of
thinking that someone would be an itinerant minister and live off of the support
of offerings given to them. All of my
teaching had been to bring all of the tithes and offerings into
the church. Later, as I began to study
what the scripture said on this subject I began to see God’s plan of blessing,
for the minister receiving and for the one doing the giving. With great joy, we sowed into the itinerant
minister, Rev. Sam Carr, who had driven from Shreveport, Louisiana to Ulysses,
Kansas to help us understand the meaning of God’s Word. This was the beginning or understanding what
the Apostle Paul meant when he said, “Now
you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed
from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but
you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my
necessities. Not that I seek the gift,
but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. Indeed, I have all and
abound, I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you,
a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God. And my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever
and ever. Amen” (Philippians 4:15-20).
We release the Oxen in our lives to
help us understanding the meaning of God’s Word when we give financially and
other ways into their ministries. Together,
as a body, we are expanding the Kingdom of God by releasing the Oxen to do the
work of the ministry.
Prayer—Father
I repent for withholding my support from the ministers that are helping me to
understand the meaning of Your Word.
Thank You for helping me to understand that my involvement in ministry
is vital to expanding the Kingdom of God and reaching the lost, in Jesus Name.
Amen.
