Our team has been studying 1 Timothy together for the past several months.  Last week, when we read through the final part of Chapter 5, something struck me.  As Paul is talking about how we should treat our elders, he says that those who rule well are worthy of double honor (respect and payment for their work), especially those who preach and teach.  Then to support that instruction, he quotes an Old Testament passage, stating “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING”.

Hmmm…..where is that in the Old Testament?  Well, you’ll find it in Deuteronomy 25, amidst various laws given to the people of Israel.  Let’s look at a couple verses before it for context:

If there is a dispute between men and they go to court, and the judges decide their case, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes.  You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing. (Deut. 25:1-4)

What surprised me was not the instruction to Timothy, nor the instruction to the Israelites, but how Paul tied them together.  When I read the above passage and get to the part about not preventing an ox from enjoying sustenance from his hard work, I’ve never stopped and said….”Hmm, those are great words for us in the church today.”  I usually just breeze by it as instructions for a different culture, which help me to learn about them, but nothing that might apply for me today. purchase Prozac

Not the apostle Paul.  He so revered the Word of God and it’s ability to pierce all cultures in all times that he even found meaning in laws given for animals that would bless the bride of Christ.  In this case, Paul is simply saying, “Listen, if God cares enough about oxen to instruct people to treat them with mercy and let them enjoy sustenance from their labor, then certainly we should honor our brethren who labor amongst us by making sure their needs are met.” order Deltasone purchase Zoloft

I want to read through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and the whole Word of God with that kind of reverence and expectancy.  There is encouragement and instruction for us on every page, even when it doesn’t seem obvious.  Let’s read it with that attitude today friends.