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)
Remember the context in which we are speaking. The Ox and Ass know in this self-same sense. But Israel, the covenanted, blessed, and protected people of God, possessors and protectors of the revelation of God, do not! The point here is that of contrast, not of information. The emphasis is not so much on information, as on their willful failure to see what was patently obvious. Their culpability in the face of this rebellious refusal to submit to God and know Him is what is at issue here. Many of the language versions of this passage add the word ‘me’ here to accommodate differences between the two languages. But it must be clear that the emphasis here is on the failure, deliberately, to acknowledge God and submit to Him as God and to yield to Him the honor and obedience that is rightly due Him. All of this in the face of all that God had done for and through the nation.
In summary, all of this, God attributes to their ignorance and inconsideration, Their dullness of hearing and stupidity of Israel, all of it. God is their owner and proprietor. He made us, and his we are more than our cattle are ours; he has provided well for us; providence is our Master’s crib; yet many that are called the people of God do not know and will not consider this, but ask, "What is the Almighty that we should serve him? He is not our owner; and what profit shall we have if we pray unto him? He has no crib for us to feed at.’’ He had complained (v. 2) of the obstinacy of their wills; They have rebelled against me.
Here He defines its cause: “Therefore they have rebelled because they do not know, they do not consider.’’ We must remember that the understanding of the unredeemed is darkened, and therefore the whole soul is alienated from the life of God, (Eph. 4:18. "Israel does not know), though their land is a land of light and knowledge; in Judah is God known, yet, because they do not live up to what they know, it is in effect as if they did not know.(and that is an important difference!) They know; but their knowledge does them no good, because they do not consider what they know; they do not apply it to their case, nor their minds to it.’’
Matthew Henry notes a couple important things:
- Even among those that profess themselves God’s people, that have the advantages and lie under the engagements of his people, there are many that are very careless in the affairs of their souls.
- Inconsideration of what we do know is as great an enemy to us in religion as ignorance of what we should know.
- Therefore men revolt from God, and rebel against him, because they do not know and consider their obligations to God in duty, gratitude, and interest.
“My People” is a parallel term for Israel in the OT. The phrase “my people” is used 228 times in the OT and always refers to Israel in the sense of being God’s family. It appears 7 times in the NT and is always clearly either a direct reference to Israel or an allusion to or quote of an OT passage. The single exception is Revelation 18:4 where the great angel speaks from heaven and calls “My people” to come out of the great whore, mystery Babylon.
The word translates a fairly specific Hebrew word that speaks of family or kin, i.e., clan relatives on the father’s side. When used in the subjunctive it refers to the group of a tribe (Lev 21:4)[1] In English “people” is a very general word that is generic in its meaning. That is not the case in Hebrew. This word specifically addresses blood kin from the father’s side. The more general term from which it springs has a far more inclusive range of meanings.[2]
It can refer to a nation, people, i.e., a very large kinship group, regarded as related biologically as well as language and other cultural common features (Ex 1:9) though not necessarily related closely by blood, i.e. a member of immediate family. It is also used to speak of a group, i.e., a number of people assembled together as a bunch, with no particular focus on the kinship relationships (Ge 19:4). In 1 Sam. 11:11 it speaks of an army, i.e., a group of men as a unit. Samuel also used the term to refer to a follower, i.e., one who is in close association or agreement to a leader (2Sa 15:12). In its’ most general sense it speaks of a life, i.e., a person who is alive (2Sa 18:8) or even an animal or creature, i.e., a class of the animal kingdom (Pr 30:25, 26). In certain contexts it be used to speak of everyone, formally, all the people, i.e., the totality of a group, with a focus on the individuals in the group (Ex 19:16).
At times it also speaks of a class or group of people that are related by other than normal family or tribe relationships. Samuel speaks of the humble, formally, people of humbleness, i.e., those who lack or discard improper pride and haughtiness (2Sa 22:28); Isaiah will later speak of the exalted, formally, people of exaltation, i.e., persons of high status or prominences (Isa 24:4).
In the singular it is sued to speak of a leader, or one who is formally a head of the people, i.e., one who is a prominent person to rule or govern (Job 12:24). It can even speak of a multitude, formally, largeness of people, i.e., a very large number of persons, with a focus of having common national ties or even simple human ties (Pr 14:28).
Here we see the reference as specifically speaking of the close blood ties of the immediate family. Though Israel was not, literally, “blood kin” to God, they were His family, His people. The appeal here is a deeper and less tangible one than the previous appeals to knowledge, conscience, et. al. This evokes a deep response and a visceral one.
But all of that leads us to this – Isaiah is talking to the people of God and we, as NT believers must grapple with that. How could this be? How could God’s people have gone so badly wrong when the Bible clearly and distinctly tells us that that a good tree bears fruit? Well, we don’t have time for a full dissertation, but we are left with a couple things that help:
- Those professing salvation are not really “believers” until their lives demonstrate it. The “sign” of salvation is a changed life, not the profession of belief.
- We need to remember in the OT God was dealing with an elect nation in many passages and not just with individuals. Observe to whom the passage in view was addressed. It makes a differnce.
- Remember that salvation was never been a works proposition – God didn’t change horses in the middle of the stream – Sola Gratia/Fide has always been the means of men coming to God.
- Christ was always the focus of the plan of God – the Law was never meant to redeem or to provide any acceptable form of access to God’s presence. It was always only a covering until Christ came.
“Do not consider” - Hebrew, Do not “understand.” The root means to give proper attention to, to consider or to be cunning, to know, to look or search well, to mark or perceive. It can mean to think and hence to gain understanding.[3] Many interpret this as speaking of stupidity, but that is not really the sense. The idea here is that they have not given the truth of God’s presence and actions in their lives the proper thought or weight and have arrived at wrong conclusions as a result.
[1] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 6638). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[2] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (electronic ed.) (DBLH 6639, #12). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[3] Strong, J. (1997, c1996). The new Strong's dictionary of Hebrew and Greek words (H995). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
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