"God has many ways of goading us, but He does not use that where gentler means will avail...God does not come to blows with men till He has first tried words with them...But when words are of no avail, then the Lord in tender mercy adopts sharper means, and comes from words to blows and wounds - that He may come in all His power to heal." - The Biblical Illustrator
"If people wish to be happy, they should cheerfully submit to the authority of God. They should not rebel against His dealings. They should not complain against their Creator. They should not resist the claims of their consciences. By all this, they only injure themselves. No man can resist God or his own conscience and be happy." - Barnes' Notes
It's a lesson that all "intelligent men, in all countries and in all ages of the world," have come to learn. That lesson is - do not fight God! You cannot fight God and win! In fact, it is utter stupidity to try to fight Him and win! Rebellion against Him is a losing battle! You bring a double evil upon yourself when you strive against Him.
Proverbs 13:15 tells us - "...the way of transgressors is hard."
In other words, when you choose your own way before God's way, it becomes harsh, rough, rugged, and forbidding - like a desert or rocky place.
The Benson Commentary explained it in this way - "...they that take evil courses meet with great difficulties, and are forced to go backward and forward, and wind and turn every way, to bring about their ends, or save themselves perhaps from ruin."
Proverbs 15:10 adds to this -"Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way..."
Said another way - there is stern discipline for you when you "forsake the way" - abandon, leave, or wander off the right path - choosing to disobey the Lord and go your own stubborn way. You then become like the rebellious ox who is unaccustomed to the yoke and needs the "goad" in order to steer him in the right direction.
As the above quote from The Biblical Illustrator stated, God has many ways of "goading" you when you are not headed in the right direction. He starts out with gentler measures, but when words are of no avail, He then resorts to "sharper means."
However, those who cheerfully and willingly submit to God's authority...do not rebel against His dealings...do not complain against their Creator... nor resist the claims of their consciences are so far from feeling any "goads" at His hands.
Before going further, let's consider some questions.
Where did this idea of the "goad" come from?
What spiritual implications does it carry? Where is it found in the Bible?
In Acts 9, we find a man who was not headed in the direction that God wanted him to go. He was a man who - like the ox - was unaccustomed to the yoke and needed to be harnessed by the Lord Jesus. That man was none other than Saul (who became known as the Apostle Paul).
In his religious zeal, Saul was "shutting up" the saints in prison,"punishing them oft in every synagogue, and compelling them to blaspheme," "being exceedingly mad against them," "persecuting them even unto strange cities." (Acts 26:11)
It was time for Jesus to get out His "goad," and that He did!
Acts 9:1-5 says -
"And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?
And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the goads."
Please note Jesus' words to Saul - "It is hard for thee to kick against the goads."
"It is hard..."
What was "hard"?
"Saul, it is 'hard' - harsh, severe, painful, injurious, and useless - to resist Me. It is an absurd and evil thing and will be of fatal consequence to you. You will only end up injuring yourself."
To "kick against the goads" evidently was a proverbial expression expressing an attempt that brings nothing but pain. It was derived from the action of a stubborn and unyielding ox "kicking against the goads" - signifying the fruitlessness and absurdity of rebelling against lawful authority, and thus getting into greater difficulty by attempting to oppose the commands to duty.
To "kick against the goads" was a figure of speech borrowed from a custom of Eastern countries. It denoted an obstinate and refractory disposition and course of conduct. Again, it denoted resisting the authority of Him Who has a right to command, and opposing the leadings of Providence, to the injury of him who makes the resistance.
No other beast was driven by a "goad" but the ox because no other beast was not easily accustomed to the yoke as this creature.
Hence, the ox driver wielded this rough and cruel instrument - thought by the Oriental husbandman to be needful for the stubborn nature of the ox.
This "goad" was a long stick with a sharp piece of iron stuck into the end with which the ox was urged to go on, stand still, or change its course. If the animal was refractory, it would "kick against the goad," and in so doing, cause the sharp point to pierce or perforate its flesh.
In other words, the more it rebelled, the more it hurt. The more it resisted, the more it suffered. The harder it kicked, the deeper the "goad" drove into its flesh.
Saul was not headed in a direction that God wanted him to go. In order to steer him in the right way, Jesus used His "goad" on Saul. This "goad" was so effective that he immediately cried out - "Who art Thou, Lord?"
What about the "ox-goads" that God had to use on you in the past? Which ones did you "kick" against?
What was the result of your rebellion? Did the pain increase as you resisted God's will for your life?
You found yourself "kicking against the goads" when you violated the plain law of God...resisted His claims...pursued a course of vice and wickedness against what you knew to be right... refused to submit to the dealings of Providence ...opposed God and refused to submit to His authority...and persecuted and opposed His ministers because they reproved you.
But what about now?
Has God found it necessary to apply His "oxgoads" to your life?
Have you been "kicking against the goads" - meant to steer you in the right direction?
What about the sermons, teachings of God's Word, prophecies, timely words from the Lord, sufferings, difficulties, adversities, afflictions, godly counsel, holy confrontations, convictions of the Holy Spirit, financial reversals, business failures, disappointments, loss of property, etc. which have been God's "goads" - intending to direct or steer you in the right way?
Have you increased your suffering because you continue to "kick against the goads"?
Hebrews 12:25 says - "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused Him That spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him That speaketh from heaven."
The Sermon Bible Commentary said this in response - "It is possible for Christian people so to cherish wills and purposes which they know to be in diametrical and flagrant contradiction to the will and purpose of God, that obstinately they prefer to stick by their own desires, and, if it may be, to stifle the voice of God."
Remember the words of Jesus to Saul - "It is hard for thee to kick against the goads."
It behooves you to pray and ask the Lord to give you spiritual discernment to identify the "goads" that - if necessary - He may be using in your life at this time.
It also behooves you to pray for greater grace to not "kick against the goads" - meant to steer you to go on, stand still, or change your course.
Never forget - the more you rebel, the more you bring pain on yourself. The more you resist, the more you will suffer. The harder you "kick," the deeper the "goad" drives into your flesh. If the gentler means do not work, God will have no other choice than to resort to the sharper means.
Consider your ways!
You cannot fight God and win!
May God Bless His Word,
Connie
No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. (Isaiah 54:17)
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