Remember What You Truly Enjoy

“And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Ho 10:11-12 AV)

Beasts can teach us much.  The beast is born wild.  It must be trained to do that for which it was created.  The oxen do not naturally accept the yoke.  But put feed in front of it, and it will gladly pull the plow.  The picture here is of the oxen who would pull equipment that would harvest the corn.  However, it must first tread it down.  In doing so, the oxen could then eat of the corn that was laid to field while the second pass harvested the corn.  This is why muzzling the oxen was forbidden under Old Testament law.  There was fruit for one’s labor.  The oxen had to be taught that service comes with perks.  Accepting a burden comes with provision.  One taught, the beast enjoys its labor.

I love dogs.  They are wonderful animals.  They can communicate to their owners by way of obedience.  They can pick up on the owner’s disposition.  When leash training, the dog will naturally pull against it.  However, over time, he learns to heel.  He learns to sit at the side of the owner when the owner stands.  He learn to return when called.  He learns direction when retrieving.  When asked to go for a walk or a hunt, the dog becomes extremely excited because he gets to do what he is trained to do.

Sometimes, God’s created beasts have more sense than the saints of God!  We are trained in the word of God to walk by its precepts.  These precepts have with them promises of blessings associated with complying.  Our lives are richer, safer, and more fulfilling.  Jesus came that we might have life more abundantly.  Yet, we unlike the beasts, seek to go back to our carnal nature and forget that all along, we really did enjoy life better when walking in obedience to the word of God.  We need to be reminded from time to time of what we really do truly enjoy.  Once trained, we really do enjoy serving the LORD!  We really do!