Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

Deuteronomy 25:4

When you study the Law, you see an ox was not to be muzzled while working. Paul said this was not written for the ox, but for men. He said the reason for this law was called HOPE. A man ought not be so bound with profit in his mind that he muzzles his ox while plowing. When man is in a right spirit, he is generous even to beast. But this applies to us today. As we live by His Spirit, we should find ourselves generous as well, giving, and not working out of desperation, but from hope. If not, there is something bound in our hearts that Jesus would like removed so His Spirit can flow free. In the same way, all the Law of Moses points to the upright heart for God to dwell. You can’t follow it and get there, but just like the ox, you can see a picture of where how the Spirit wants to be, and, perhaps, follow.

Now, as New Covenant believers, we are not following the Law, but the Spirit of Grace.  But, mark the Words of Jesus regarding the Law of Moses.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19

In the Kingdom, we desire to have none of our own righteousness.  As Paul wrote,

More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Philippians 3:8-1-0

So, we see that we cannot simply learn the principle of the ox and attempt to live this Hope, any more than an unsaved Jew. Any self-effort is condemned, for it originates from the self, and has no power at attaining to godliness.  So, what more then do we have of the law?

Simply this.  The root cause of all sin, including the lack of hope, is unbelief.  It is in unbelief that a man plows without hope, simply because they are believing more and seeing more clearly the things of this world, rather than the Eternal things.

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul.

Psalm 19:7 (portion)

The law was perfect, but it was the Spirit of that Law, the Holy Spirit, which is the only power one has to live it by.  Life in the Spirit begins with the heart, and lends itself to the tongue to speak forth the Words of God.  “I believed therefore I spoke”, it is written.  Therefore, we must be people of the Word, both in the intake, and in the outpouring.  We must speak the Word, and be ready instant, in season and out.

The sin of unbelief is the power of man to lead the way.  He feels he can accomplish what only God can do.  Thus in religion man formed more law, yet never followed it.

It is the sin of unbelief that leads us to attempt to accomplish what only God can do.  Man is powerless to overcome evil, even as it is written, they are powerless to restrain sensual indulgence (Colossians 2:23).

The heart of faith and purity drinks from the river of the life of God (Psalm 46:4), from the might of His presence and His love, and, by that strength, carries out the heart of God understood in the quiet place.  Apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).

We must have our eyes renewed, day by day, to see the glory of the Lord revealed, still brighter and brighter, until the noon day (Proverbs 4:18).