Worship of An Ox Ps. 106:20 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
When Aaron made the golden calf, Israel changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass. It is amazing that they would change the glory of God into the worship of an ox when you consider, first, the evidence they had of God’s glory and power. They had seen the miracles and heard Moses’ testimony of the burning bush. They had seen the plagues in Egypt. They had seen the miraculous escape across the Red Sea and the subsequent destruction of all their pursuers. They had seen the thunder and lightning on Sinai and heard the voice of the Lord speaking to them. They had seen the water gushing out of the rock and the manna from heaven. They had seen the miraculous victory over Amalek.
Second, they had heard directly from the Lord the commandment to not make a graven image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Yet, they made a graven image, and bowed down to the worship of an ox in total disobedience to God’s command.
The Lord knows the propensity of men to make gods out of men, animals and idols. Therefore, he specifically forbad the worship of these false gods. Despite his command, men have made and worshipped idols and they will continue to do so.
Now, considering that men turned to the worship of an ox, let’s take note of some things that are compared to an ox so that we will be careful not to worship them.
An ox typifies the devil; don’t worship him. The devil was the anointed cherub that covereth the throne [Ezek 28:14]. The appearance of a cherub resembles an ox [Ezek 1:10; Ezek 10:14]. Notice that the faces are the same in both appearances except for the ox in Ezek 1, which is the face of a cherub in Ezek 10. The devil desires worship [Lk 4:7-8] and has been and will be worshipped [Rev 9:20; 2 Thes 2:4, 9]. So, don’t worship the devil.
An ox typifies a ruler; don’t worship rulers or their images. In Dan 3 Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold for all his subjects to worship. He thought there was no God greater than he [Dan 3:15]. Yet, in Dan 4:25, 33 Nebuchadnezzar ate grass like an ox for 7 years. He was humbled because of his pride [Dan 4:30]. He learned his lesson [Dan 4:34-37]. And we should know, as well, not to worship rulers or the images of rulers. In Rev 13:12, 15, men will worship the beast and his image. This is the wrong thing to do. The beast gets thrown in the lake of fire along with his worshippers [Rev 14:9-11; Rev 19:20]. If a ruler wants you to worship him, forget it.
An ox typifies a preacher; don’t worship preachers. In 1 Tim 5:17-18 and 1 Cor 9:6-11, preachers are likened to oxen. As God forbad the worship of an ox, so he forbids the worship of a preacher. If you hold your preacher up on a pedestal, take him down. We are nothing more than oxen. No man should bow to a pope or a religious leader. Peter would not let Cornelius do this [Acts 10:25-26]. While as elder who labors in the word and doctrine is worthy of double honor, he is in no way worthy of worship. He shouldn’t expect it and you shouldn’t do it.
Conclusion: the devil, certain rulers and certain religious leaders desire to be worshipped. The antichrist, who will be all three of these, will demand worship. Just remember that they are nothing more than an ox and worshipping them would be like the worship of an ox. The only one worthy to receive worship is the Lord God [Lk 4:8]. He has exalted Jesus Christ and every knew will bow to him. Worship Jesus [Phil 2:9-11].