Specifically in this case "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads the grain" (Deut. 25:4)
It's an odd sort of law that seems out of place in it's immediate context. It also seems fairly straightforward as far as obedience. Just don't muzzle an ox while it's treading out the grain. Having restrained yourself from muzzling the ox, you have done your duty in following the law.
Paul has a startling couple of interpretations that could not have been reached without the quickening of the Holy Spirit.
1 Timothy 5:17 Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”
- I note that Paul takes the the Elder to be an 'ox' for the purpose of the law (as well as a worker)
- I also note that 'honor' seems synonymous with 'cash money' (Mark 7:11)
1 Corintians 9:3 This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: 4 Have we no right to food and to drink? 5 Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6 Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?
8 Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.
- I note that Paul here includes apostles under the the 'ox clause'. I would add that teachers fall under this as well on the basis of Galatians 6:6
- Incredibly, Paul calls into question whether God was actually concerned about the oxen in the first place, and asserts that the entire point of the law is on behalf of workers in the harvest, especially the spiritual harvest!
Therefore, the most important interpretation of "How to follow this Law" is provided by the Scripture itself.
The Ox = The Elder, Apostle, or other laborer of the gospel.
Treading the grain = His work in service to the gospel (preaching and teaching)
Muzzling = Restraining the laborer from partaking in the material goods belonging to those who are being taught and preached to.
I have no qualms with a christian man using an unmuzzled ox to tread his grain. He is clearly some variant of Amish and I wish him well. But if he leads that unmuzzled oxen around while insisting that his elders sustain themselves with physical labor and refuses to share his grain with those who labor in the word for him; it is my understanding that he has missed the entire point of the law. He has no righteousness in this act. An unregenerate man could do as much.
That is what I crave from the law. Not the face value stuff, or should I say not JUST the face value stuff? I want to know what the teaching of the Holy Spirit is through each law. A clarinet without the breath being blown through it and handled with discernment is just an awkward and inefficient club. How does each law help me demonstrate love for my neighbor, or my God?
It's an odd sort of law that seems out of place in it's immediate context. It also seems fairly straightforward as far as obedience. Just don't muzzle an ox while it's treading out the grain. Having restrained yourself from muzzling the ox, you have done your duty in following the law.
Paul has a startling couple of interpretations that could not have been reached without the quickening of the Holy Spirit.
1 Timothy 5:17 Elders who lead effectively are worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”
- I note that Paul takes the the Elder to be an 'ox' for the purpose of the law (as well as a worker)
- I also note that 'honor' seems synonymous with 'cash money' (Mark 7:11)
1 Corintians 9:3 This is my defense to those who scrutinize me: 4 Have we no right to food and to drink? 5 Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? 6 Or are Barnabas and I the only apostles who must work for a living? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not drink of its milk?
8 Do I say this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? 10 Isn’t He actually speaking on our behalf? Indeed, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they should also expect to share in the harvest.
- I note that Paul here includes apostles under the the 'ox clause'. I would add that teachers fall under this as well on the basis of Galatians 6:6
- Incredibly, Paul calls into question whether God was actually concerned about the oxen in the first place, and asserts that the entire point of the law is on behalf of workers in the harvest, especially the spiritual harvest!
Therefore, the most important interpretation of "How to follow this Law" is provided by the Scripture itself.
The Ox = The Elder, Apostle, or other laborer of the gospel.
Treading the grain = His work in service to the gospel (preaching and teaching)
Muzzling = Restraining the laborer from partaking in the material goods belonging to those who are being taught and preached to.
I have no qualms with a christian man using an unmuzzled ox to tread his grain. He is clearly some variant of Amish and I wish him well. But if he leads that unmuzzled oxen around while insisting that his elders sustain themselves with physical labor and refuses to share his grain with those who labor in the word for him; it is my understanding that he has missed the entire point of the law. He has no righteousness in this act. An unregenerate man could do as much.
That is what I crave from the law. Not the face value stuff, or should I say not JUST the face value stuff? I want to know what the teaching of the Holy Spirit is through each law. A clarinet without the breath being blown through it and handled with discernment is just an awkward and inefficient club. How does each law help me demonstrate love for my neighbor, or my God?
