Commentary - Deuteronomy 22:10

Bird's-eye view

In this peculiar little statute from the Mosaic case law, we are given a prohibition that seems, on the surface, to be concerned with nothing more than agricultural efficiency or perhaps animal husbandry. But as is always the case with God's Word, the specific and the earthy are shot through with the glorious and the theological. This law is not simply about how to plow a field. It is about the nature of God's created order, the principle of separation, and the folly of unholy alliances. It is a picture, a type, a shadow of a New Testament reality that the apostle Paul will later make explicit. God is a God of order, not of confusion, and His people are to reflect that reality in all they do, from the grandest acts of worship down to the yoking of their beasts of burden.

This verse is part of a larger section of Deuteronomy that provides various laws for the life of Israel in the promised land. These laws are not arbitrary; they are designed to make Israel a distinct people, a holy nation set apart for Yahweh. The prohibition against plowing with an ox and a donkey together fits squarely within this theme. It is a practical outworking of the principle of holiness, which is fundamentally about separation, about making distinctions that God Himself has made. In this one verse, we find a lesson on creation, worship, and our relationships, all pointing us to the fundamental distinction between those who are in Christ and those who are not.

Outline

Context In Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy is the "second giving" of the law. Moses is addressing a new generation of Israelites on the plains of Moab, just before they enter the promised land. The generation that came out of Egypt had perished in the wilderness because of their unbelief, and so this new generation must be reminded of the covenant their fathers made with God at Sinai. This is not simply a dry legal code; it is a covenant renewal document, pulsating with warnings, exhortations, and promises.

Chapter 22 contains a series of laws that regulate the daily life of the community. We find laws about returning lost property, helping a neighbor's fallen animal, and prohibitions against cross-dressing. These are followed by laws about building codes (a parapet on the roof), and then we come to a series of prohibitions against mixtures: planting two kinds of seed in a vineyard, plowing with an ox and a donkey, and wearing a garment of mixed wool and linen. This context is crucial. The command in verse 10 is not isolated; it is part of a pattern that teaches Israel that holiness requires them to honor the distinctions that God has embedded in the created order.

Key Issues

The Text

10 “You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together."

Here is the command, stated with the stark simplicity that is characteristic of God's law. It is direct, absolute, and leaves no room for negotiation. The verb is a command, a divine imperative. This is not agricultural advice from an ancient farmer's almanac; this is a word from the Creator of oxen and donkeys.

Now, we must begin where the text begins, and that is with the animals themselves. An ox and a donkey are not suited to work together. They have different natures, different strengths, different gaits, and different temperaments. The ox is a clean animal, a plodding, powerful beast suited for heavy, steady work. The donkey is an unclean animal, smaller, often stubborn, with a jerky, uneven pace. To yoke them together is to create a team that works against itself. The stronger ox would pull the weaker donkey off balance. The different strides would cause chafing and irritation from the yoke. The work would be inefficient, and it would be cruel to the animals. So at the most basic level, this is a law that reflects God's kindness to His creation. He is not a taskmaster who is indifferent to the suffering of beasts of burden. This law promotes both justice and mercy.

But the Mosaic law is a case law system. We are given specific cases from which we are to derive the general equity, the underlying principle of righteousness. And the principle here is that God forbids the mixing of things that He has separated by nature. It is an affront to the created order. The ox represents one kind of thing, and the donkey another. To force them into one common enterprise under one yoke is to create a partnership that is fundamentally at odds with itself. It is a confusion of categories.

This is the same principle we see in the surrounding verses. You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed. You shall not wear a garment of wool and linen mixed together. These are not arbitrary purity laws. They are tangible, daily reminders to Israel that they serve a God who makes distinctions. He distinguished light from darkness, land from sea, and Israel from the nations. Holiness, for them, meant living out these distinctions. They were to be a separate people, not blending in with the paganism of the Canaanites.

And this brings us to the apostle Paul, who, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, extracts the general equity from this very principle. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, he writes, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" Paul is not talking about farming. He is applying the principle of the ox and the donkey to the most important relationships in life: marriage, business partnerships, and close alliances. The believer, who is a new creation in Christ, is the ox, a clean animal set apart for God's work. The unbeliever, for all his fine qualities, remains in his natural state, an unclean animal in the biblical sense, not fit for the work of the kingdom.

To yoke them together in a common enterprise is to invite disaster. Their fundamental allegiances are different. Their worldviews are at odds. Their ultimate goals are diametrically opposed. One serves King Jesus; the other serves the prince of the power of the air. It is a recipe for frustration, compromise, and misery. It is an attempt to plow God's field with a team that is pulling in two different directions.

This does not mean we are to be isolationists. We are in the world but not of it. We are to be salt and light, which requires contact with unbelievers. But it is a prohibition against forming binding partnerships, yokes, that compromise our primary allegiance to Christ. The most obvious application is marriage, which is the most intimate of all yokes. But the principle extends to any partnership that would require a believer to compromise his walk with the Lord.

But the gospel takes us one step further. The ultimate unequal yoke was the one that Christ refused to wear. He was tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. He refused to be yoked to the devil's program. And the ultimate equal yoke is the one He offers to us. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30). We are not yoked to an unwilling partner, or to a law that condemns, but to Christ Himself. He is the powerful ox, and we are joined to Him. He pulls the weight. He sets the pace. And in being yoked to Him, we find not chafing and toil, but rest for our souls. This ancient law, then, was a signpost, pointing to the great disaster of the unequal yoke with the world, and the great salvation of the equal yoke with Christ.

Application

The first and most direct application of this text is for Christians to take seriously the apostolic prohibition against being unequally yoked. Young people considering marriage must understand that to marry an unbeliever is to directly disobey a clear biblical principle. It is to attempt to build a life on a foundation of confusion. Businessmen must consider who their partners are, and whether the partnership will force them to compromise their integrity. Churches must not form alliances with apostate denominations or organizations that have denied the gospel.

Secondly, we must learn to appreciate the wisdom of God in the details. Nothing in God's law is arbitrary or pointless. Even a command about farm animals is filled with theological richness. This should drive us to a greater love for all of Scripture, and a greater confidence that it is all profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.

Finally, we must flee from every unequal yoke and run to the yoke of Christ. The world offers many partnerships that promise success or happiness, but they are yokes of bondage. The only true freedom is found in being bound to Christ. His yoke is not a burden, but a blessing. It is the yoke of grace, the yoke of forgiveness, the yoke of sonship. In a world that is constantly trying to force us into unholy and unnatural alliances, our only safety and our only rest is to be found in being yoked together with our Savior.