Proverbs 14:4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
5 A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
6 A scorner seeketh wisdom, and findeth it not: but knowledge is easy unto him that understandeth.
A farmer that does not have an ox to work his fields for him, will not get much of a harvest. Years ago we knew a man who could not stand up straight. We got to know him and he said it was because when he was a young person, his family could not afford a horse to pull the plow and so he pulled the plow. Now in his old age he walked completely bent over. He would stop where there was a pole and pull himself up and rest for a while and as soon as he let go of that pole, his body just automatically bent over. It was sad to watch him.
Today we do not use oxen, but we use tractors. A farmer would not be a farmer today without a tractor. If a man had no debt, he could farm with horses if he could find small enough equipment for the horses to pull.
The point of our text has to do with spiritual matters. The apostle Paul stated the Old Testament law of not muzzling the ox that treads out the grain. He used that illustration to speak of the need to look after the faithful shepherds who preach and teach the Word of God.
We know that Canada has a great shortage of faithful shepherds. There are people living in parts of this country that cannot find a good church. So many pastors have given up on faithfulness, and they are defying the God they claim to know.
I received a report from a missionary who was reporting on the successes in his work. He had a picture of clowns and talked about the face painting he had as outreach to the children in his area. He talked of the large number of children that came out. That man should leave the field and find something else to do. What a shame to enlist clowns and face painting, to lure children in and then try to give them the pure, unadulterated Gospel. That is an impossibility.
Children and adults love to be entertained. Put on a puppet show or use other worldly methods and the people will come. When they leave, what do they remember? You cannot teach them of the holiness of God. You cannot teach them of the fact that Jesus Christ was hated by most of the people. The children will wonder why Jesus would be hated if He did such “fun” things with children?
In our text the contrast is that where there is a strong ox, there will be much increase. A faithful preacher will help people to be grounded in the truth. The apostle Paul was directed by God to command saints to be strong and to stand and withstand the devil’s attacks. You cannot do that when you are always feeding pablum to the hearers.
In verse 5 we are reminded that a faithful witness will not lie. Again, a faithful preacher is not going to get behind the pulpit and lie to the people. He loves the Lord and he knows that sound doctrine is not popular today. Yet it is sound doctrine that we need. The faithful witness would rather be despised by men than to lie about the Lord that saved him.
By contrast, the false witnesses (pastors) lie all the time. They are like the politicians. They try to figure out what the people will accept and then they talk about that. They try to keep it light so that the people will feel good about their sin. They do not want to stir the pot.
Years ago I was being interviewed for the position of pastor in a church. We were homeschooling our children and one of the men in the meeting wanted to know why. He believed we needed our children in the public school to be a witness. I explained why we homeschooled and he said we needed to be careful not to stir the pot. He wanted his church to be well received in the community and he felt my positions would not allow that to be the case. He obviously did not read his Bible. Jesus warned that the world would hate those who truly know Him and serve Him. He reminds us that the world hated Him first. We should not be surprised if the world hates us. The shameful thing today is that the world dominates in most churches and they are nothing more than social clubs. They cannot help with the things that really matter.
The scorner wants wisdom, but he cannot find it because he is a scorner. The scorner is a boaster. He is an arrogant man. He knows it all. He is not going to let anyone tell him what the Bible says. He has his own corrupt doctrines and that is good enough for him.
Knowledge is easy for the person who understands. Understanding is for those who fear the LORD. That is what is needed. We need to know the Lord and we need to submit to Him.
Pastor Bartel