An Ox Knows its Master

 

The Familiar Faithfulness of My Pugs

I have two dogs. Pugs. Years ago, my wife and I took a "puppy finder" personality test. It was fun, we got to input details about and information about our lifestyle and what came out was a stunning indictment on myself. I learned I would like a small dog who did not like much exercise. Not surprisingly, it was a perfect fit.

Our current two pugs are delightful. Delightfully lazy, and in truth, not terribly bright. The perfect companions. Every morning, I have between one and two pugs resting on my lap while I pray and read the Bible. They get excited every time I come down the stairs and every time I return home from work. They know me.

They know me as the guy who is most likely to sit and read for more than an hour, providing them with a living bed upon which to exercise their superpower - sleeping. They know me and I know them.

The Ox and the Voice of Its Master

(Isaiah 1:3)

The book of Isaiah begins with a similar image. The image of an ox that does not know his master. As much as my pugs know me, the relationship between an ox and a farmer was a working relationship. It would be hours of training and working together. Learning to pull the plow and making one row after another - steady, straight lines.

The master constantly giving directions - the ox making it possible to prepare for the harvest that would provide the grain needed to sustain life for the family. Those are long days. Walking up and down. The Ox would learn the voice of its master.

A Comparison Israel Could Not Miss

The Lord makes this comparison that would be all too familiar to the nation of Israel. An agricultural society would recognize how close this bond is - many of Isaiah’s audience would own oxen and have trained them by hand.

It is not that God views Israel as a farm animal, but the comparison would stick. Even an ox knows the voice of its master...why did they not know their God?

The God Who Had Revealed Himself

(Genesis 12:1–3; Exodus 1–14; Deuteronomy 8; 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 119; Exodus 25–40; 1 Kings 8; Isaiah 1:2)

The Lord had made promises to their forefathers. The covenant promises of land, seed, and blessing made to Abraham. He had led them into Egypt as a family and led them out a nation.

He provided for them through the desert wandering. He brought them into the promised land, and He gave them peace so long as they lived in faithful obedience to Him. He gave them their great King David and made an unconditional covenant to him that his line would bring forth the Messiah.

He gave them His word so that they would know Him - His character and expectations. He gave them a priesthood so that they would be able to approach him. The Tabernacle and later the Temple so that he could relate to them in time and space. He sent them prophets to call them back when they strayed.

Yet somehow, they still treated the Lord as a stranger. Disobedient to His Law, unresponsive to his prophets, how could they not know Him?

The Tragic Familiarity for the Church

(John 10:14–27; Acts 20:28; Revelation 5:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; John 15:15; Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 10:17)

The disobedience of Israel is tragically familiar in the story of the Church. The sheep of the Lord's pasture are bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Assembled from every tribe tongue and nation, indwelt with His Holy Spirit, equipped with the completed word of God, and we are even called His friends. Yet how often could these words be true of the Church...do we heed His word? When Bibles in our homes collect dust, when most churches neglect the word, when the gospel is distorted and perverted for the purposes of the ignorant and the ill-actors alike who pose as pastors.

The Lord has made the way for us to know him - by faith alone in Christ alone. He has provided for us to hear him every day in His revealed word, the Bible. Might we be ever careful to listen to the voice of the Lord - the voice of love.