A favorite idiom of mine for sure this little saying, "Strong as an ox." I remember one of my first trips to Nicaragua I stood face to face with an oxen hooked to cart that sort of amazed me. This beast was huge. He was as a matter of fact a bit frightening for me as I was not used to walking near such a huge animal who was used to pull a cart. Was the beast strong? Well, this cart was heavily loaded and the beast just lumbered along down the road. I had great admiration for his strength.
Now strength is a great thing to have and the power of animal can be admired, but oxen still have some problems. Some of the issues with oxen are even mentioned in God's Word. Here are a few.
1. You have to feed the ox.
Deuteronomy 25:4 NASB Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain. ... "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain
2. The strength of the Ox is limited and they can fall.
Deuteronomy 22:4 NASB "You shall not see your countryman's donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.
3. The ox must be tended to or it will stray.
Deuteronomy 22:1 NASB "You shall not see your countryman's ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman.
4. Even the ox needs to rest.
Exodus 23:12 NASB "Six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you shall cease from labor so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave, as well as your stranger, may refresh themselves.
5. An ox just like a new Ford Truck can be something admired and coveted and be a source of temptation for your neighbor.
Exodus 20:17 NASB "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
So we see even to be as "Strong as an ox" is still not a perfect world and there are problems with the oxen. Oh and I forgot to mention this one. The ox does have some by product that cannot be ignored.
Proverbs 14:4 NLT Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.
We need the strength of the ox. We need the coo of the dove. We need the buzz of the bee to pollenate the plants. We need all of God's creatures to make this old world be what God has designed it to be. And we need man to glorify God. I think too many times men can think they need to be as strong as an ox but they end up being as stubborn as a donkey when it comes to their task of glorifying God.
No doubt the beast strength can be admired but to desire to be as strong as an ox instead of a man who glorifies the Living God is well let's just realize what it is being a dumb donkey.
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