Day 151 (Eccle. 7 – Isaiah 3.)

“The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider”.(Isaiah 1: 3)

As one who travelled along with the Israelites from the very beginning of their history, I am not surprised that God found the donkey a greater animal than them.

Right from their desert experience, at every stage of their history, their propensity to disobey God was greater than to obey Him. God kept on giving them everything exactly as per His promise. And yet, their inclination was more to worship other gods than to worship the Lord.

Whatever blessings they were given, however harshly they were punished, they sinned against God again and again. Even oxen and donkeys will object to their being compared with this thankless lot.

Oxen and donkeys have different capabilities.An ox can recognise its master. But a donkey does not possess that ability. It can recognise only the crib in which its fodder is served. (As I am not closely associated with donkeys, what I say about it may lack authority. My inference is solely based on verse 3.)

But note, both these animals recognise either the giver (owner) or the given (fodder). But the Israelites- they neither recognise the giver nor the gift. Then why should we be surprised at all when God considers these mute animals greater than His own people?

And if we turn to ourselves, are we any better than the Israelites? We enjoy innumerable blessings of God every day. But we forget God more often than we remember Him. Then , in God’s assessment , we are also no better than the donkeys.

George Joseph Trivandrum