Paul
the apostle asked the church members in Corinth whether they thought
he said “these things as a man?”
as he referred to receiving wages for work. He added,
“Or says not the law the same also?”,
and in chapter nine and verse nine of
First Corinthians, Paul share how “the law”
says, “you
shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treads out the corn”
where we read:
For it
is written in the law of Moses, You shall not muzzle
the
mouth of the ox that treads out the corn. Does God take care for
oxen?
The verse begins, “For
it is written in the law of Moses, You shall not muzzle the mouth of
the ox that treads out the corn.”
Paul began
with the word, “For”
which means “even as, indeed, seeing then, no doubt, verily and
therefore” “it is written” or
“it is expressed in written characters on a tablet, parchment,
paper or other material” “in the
law” which
refers to “the rules producing a state approved of God”
“of Moses” whose
name means “drawing out” and was “the legislator of the Jewish
people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion”
“You shall not”
or “no certain one person is to” “muzzle”
which means “to close and keep in check” “the
mouth” or
“the orifice or opening of the face for eating” “of
the ox”
which refers to “an animal of the grazing species such as an oxen
or cow” “that treads out”
or “that threshes out” “the corn”
which means “the grain”. No one who used a cow or oxen was to
cover their mouths as they harvested fields of grain to keep the
animal from eating while they worked.
The
verse continues, “Does God take care
for oxen?”.
Paul added
the words, “Does God” or
“is not the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God
the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “take
care”
which means “concerned” “for
oxen”
which refers to “an animal of the grazing species such as an oxen
or cow”? Paul wanted to know if the church members in Corinth
believed that God, through this law, cared for and was concerned
about “cattle”.
When
we consider these words from Paul, we see his example of God caring
for the “ox”
to receive “wages” or remuneration for work in the grain field,
and if God cares so for the “ox”,
how much more does He care for the “minister” of the “gospel of
Jesus Christ”? Paul desires for the church members in Corinth to
understand the value of God's ministers, and even though Paul himself
did not receive from the Corinthians, the principle remains valid. We
should never allow those who “abuse” remunerations for being a
“minister” to keep us from knowing God's “law”
concerning His workers, and should we ever be a “minister” of the
gospel, let us let Paul's example of working for his support to be
the standard.
Next
time Paul tells the Corinthians, “he
that threshes in hope should be partaker of his hope”,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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