Deuteronomy 25:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Cyril. However, dear friends, did not the Mosaic Law refer to the holy disciples as oxen engaged in threshing? It is poignantly stated, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain” (Deuteronomy 25:4). The revered Paul, grasping this profound truth, writes: “Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Or does he not speak entirely for our sake? It is written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope, and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop” (1 Cor. 9:9-10). Therefore, the blessed disciples are likened to oxen in the same way that Christ, the first among them, is represented as the threshing ox. Furthermore, Christ embodies this image in another respect, for through Him comes the cleansing and the removal of superfluous actions—namely, the earthly pleasures and carnal wisdoms that, like straw, are fuel for the fire.

What is the significance of the phrase, ‘Let not the threshing ox be turned away’? The profound interpretation of this is vividly exemplified by the Apostle (1 Cor. 9:9-10). However, the initial understanding is also noble. It is inequitable to deny sustenance to the one who has labored over the land and painstakingly threshed the grain.