Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. ¹⁸For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward. ¹⁹Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

1 Timothy 5:17-19

Deuteronomy 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.

The term ‘elder’ in the Bible ^(KJV) is always a reference to elder in age. It is the elders of an assembly who are instructed and commissioned to feed the flock.

1 Peter 5:1-3 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: ²Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; ³Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Acts 20:17-28 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church. …. ²⁸Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

The elders in this sense would be the senior citizens of the Church. Those that have raise families and worked in the world knowing the trials and temptations of those they are instructed to feed.

1 Corinthians 9:9-10 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? 10Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

Elders overseeing the Church is not an office or a paid position: “not for filthy lucre”. They deserve to be honor and respected, especially those that have labor in the word and doctrine.

Leviticus 19:32 Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

This something we have neglected to do and teach our children for some time. The elders should be first in line,first to be seated, and treated with the upmost respect.

Those elders who take the mantel of missionary and/or evangelist to the lost (not just hopping from one Church to another) should come out from and be supported by a local Chruch. Support should come from other Churches along their travels. As with the oversight of the Chruch, missionaries should be elders. It is not calling men with families to the mission field.

1 Timothy 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

A man’s first ministry is to establish a stable home and provide for his family. If it is felt that God has called to the mission field, it is to prepare for when the family responsibilities are over. An elder who has labored in word and doction is much more experienced and stable in the faith and fit for the work. I realize this flies in the face of contemporary thinking.

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