THE HEIFER ON THE ROAD

“For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer.”
— Hosea 4:16

“And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught…”
— Hosea 10:11

I was out doing some pastoral visitation earlier this week when, on a narrow country road, my way was suddenly blocked by this young lady!

She was a young heifer who had obviously escaped from where she ought to have been. Perhaps the grass had looked greener on the other side of the fence. Whatever had tempted her, she had broken away from the security of the field and found herself standing in the middle of the road.

When I approached, she regarded me rather suspiciously. There was a pawing of the ground and a look in the eye which suggested she was not altogether pleased by my arrival!

I waited.

She bolted up the road, stopped again, and planted herself directly in front of the car. She seemed determined that, whatever else happened, I was not getting past.

Eventually she found a gap in the hedge, disappeared through it, and I was able to continue on my way.

As I drove on, I thought of the words of Hosea: “Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer.”

What an expressive picture!

The animal had left the place where she belonged. Perhaps something beyond the hedge had appeared more attractive. The grass looked greener. Yet in escaping from the security of the field, she had actually wandered into a place of danger.

That is exactly what backsliding does.

We imagine that our own way will bring greater freedom. Something beyond the boundaries God has established looks attractive. We wander from the Lord, neglect His Word, resist His will, and pursue what seems right in our own eyes. Yet the further we wander from God, the more danger we bring upon ourselves.

There was another feature about my roadside friend. She was stubborn.

She was in the wrong place, but she seemed quite determined to remain there! When she should have moved, she stood her ground.

That also lies behind Hosea’s picture. The “backsliding heifer” is not merely an animal which has wandered; the idea is of an animal which draws back and resists. Israel was resisting the Lord who was seeking to lead them.

How easily we can do the same.

God speaks through His Word. He warns us. He corrects us. He providentially places obstacles in our path. Sometimes He uses the loving counsel of others. Yet we can stubbornly resist Him and insist upon having our own way.

But Hosea gives us another picture of a heifer:

“Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught.”

There is the contrast. Instead of the stubborn animal resisting direction, there is the animal that has been taught — accustomed to the hand of its master and fulfilling the purpose for which it was intended.

There is a lesson there for us.

The truly happy Christian is not the person who is always fighting against the will of God, but the one who has learned to yield to Him.

Surrender to God.

Yield to His Word.
Yield to His will.
Yield to His wisdom.
Yield to His way.

The grass may sometimes appear greener on the other side of the hedge, but there is no safer or happier place than where God would have us to be.

A young heifer on a country road preached me a simple sermon:

Don’t wander from where God would have you to be — and when He directs you, don’t stubbornly resist His hand.