A QUESTION FOR HARD-HEARTED HEARERS – Charles Spurgeon
A Question for Hard-Hearted Hearers
“Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen?” (Amos 6:12). These expressions are proverbs, likely taken from the familiar adages of the country, yet they are undeniably worthy of being used as proverbs. The wiser men become, the more concise and meaningful their sayings are, and thus the wisdom of the wise often condenses into proverbs. The language of the Prophets is sure to abound in such expressions. A proverb is often like a sword with two edges—or, if such a metaphor can be allowed, it has many edges. It can be turned in various directions, and its backstroke is as sharp as its direct cut, for every part of it carries force and point. A proverb often has multiple interpretations, and you cannot always tell the precise meaning of the one who uttered it without understanding the context.
I believe the context allows for at least two possible meanings. An ancient commentator suggests that there are seven interpretations of this text, each consistent with the context. I cannot deny this assertion. If it is accurate, it is merely one more example of the manifold wisdom found in the Word of God. Just like those intricately carved Chinese balls, where one ball is nested within another, many holy texts contain layers of meaning—sense within sense, teaching within teaching—each worthy of the Spirit of God.
The Foolish Pursuit of Happiness
The first interpretation I offer is this: The Prophet is rebuking ungodly men for pursuing happiness in places where it can never be found. These people sought to become rich, powerful, and influential through oppression. The Prophet declares, “You have turned judgment into gall and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock.” They had corrupted the seat of judgment, turning it into a place where justice was bought and sold, and transformed the Book of the Law into an instrument of fraud and deceit. Yet, the Prophet affirms, there is no real gain in this pursuit—no lasting profit, no true happiness. It is as foolish as trying to make horses run upon a rock or plow the sand with oxen. It is labor in vain.
And truly, dear hearers, if any of you seek contentment in this world, hoping to find heaven amid your business and family life without turning your gaze upward, you labor in vain! If you seek pleasure in sin, thinking that it will go well with you by despising the Law of God and breaking the natural laws governing your body, you will soon find that you have made a grave mistake! It is like looking for roses in the depths of the sea or searching for pearls on barren city streets! You will find what your soul longs for only in God. To seek happiness through evil deeds is like plowing a granite rock. To strive for true prosperity through dishonest means is as futile as tilling a sandy shore.
The Futility of Selfish Ambition and False Righteousness
Young man, you are killing yourself with ambition. If your goal were noble, we might not be so grieved, but your ambition is selfish. You seek only your own honor and material gain, and this is a poor pursuit for an immortal soul. And you, too, Sir, are wearing out your life with anxiety. Your mind and body are failing as you tirelessly work to amass riches, as though a man’s life consists in the abundance of his possessions! You are plowing a rock! Your greed will not bring joy or contentment, but will inevitably end in failure.
And you, too, who labor to weave a righteousness by your works apart from Christ, thinking that diligent outward ceremonies can accomplish the work of the Holy Spirit on your heart—you, too, are plowing barren sand! No harvest will repay your self-appointed toils. Merit cannot come from human hands any more than fruit can grow from an iron rod! The strength of fallen nature, even at its peak, can never rescue a soul from the storm of wrath that awaits the guilty. You may row tirelessly to bring your ship to shore, but it will be wrecked by the storm. Why, then, attempt the impossible, when faith, in an instant, can calm the sea and bring the ship safely to port?
God’s Patience with Hardened Hearts
So far, I believe I have accurately interpreted the text and have mentioned a very probable meaning. However, another interpretation also strikes me as equally fitting, and by God’s help, I will explore it further. It is this: God will not always send His prophets to warn people, nor will He always employ His ministers to call them to repentance. When it becomes clear that men’s hearts remain hardened and they will not repent, God will not always deal with them in mercy. “My Spirit shall not always strive with man.” There is a time for plowing, but when it becomes evident that the heart is willfully hardened, wisdom itself suggests to mercy that her efforts should cease. “Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen?” No, there is a limit to the efforts of kindness, and in time, the labor ceases—the rock remains a barren rock, forever unplowed.
I. Ministers Labor to Break Up Men’s Hearts
This is the first task of the wise preacher. The servant of Christ who teaches the Gospel, regardless of the title he carries, is a sower of seed. Though it may seem futile to sow seed on rocks, we are bound, as evangelists, to sow the seed everywhere. The rule from our Master is clear: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” In our Lord’s parable, some of the seed fell on the highway, where the birds devoured it, and some fell on rocky soil, where it sprouted but quickly perished because it lacked depth. It was not the sower’s duty to select the soil; he was simply to sow wherever he went, as his Master instructed him. Yet, he would not be blamed, but rather commended, if he threw double handfuls of seed on soil that was obviously rich and well-prepared.
However, when the sower becomes a farmer, he has additional duties. One of these is to break up the fallow ground so that it is no longer sown among thorns. We have often sown on hard ground and have been disappointed by the unyielding hearts of those we seek to reach. Much of our time is spent, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, trying to break up the hardened earth, making it receptive to the seed. We must lead people to feel their sin and repent of it. They must receive Christ, not just with the mind, but with the heart—for with the heart man believes unto righteousness. This requires emotion; we must cut deep into the heart with the plowshare of the Law.
A farmer who is too tenderhearted to tear up and harrow the land will never see a harvest! This is the failure of certain divines—they avoid any teaching that might hurt feelings. They do not possess a sharp plowshare, nor are they likely to have a stack of grain in their barn. They fish without hooks and fire without bullets, all out of respect for the feelings of others. This kind of “love” is real cruelty to men’s souls. It is like a surgeon refusing to operate on a patient to avoid causing pain, even though the patient will die without the surgery. It is a terrible tenderness that allows men to sink into hell rather than distress their consciences. Is this the spirit of Christ? Did He hide the sinner’s peril? Did He doubt the unquenchable fire and the undying worm? Did He lull souls into slumber with flattering words? No! With honest love, He warned men of the wrath to come and called them to repent or perish!
Let the servant of the Lord Jesus follow his Master in this task, plowing deeply with a sharp plowshare that will not be hindered by the hardest clods. We must train ourselves to do this, even though it may be contrary to our feelings and difficult for us to do. If we truly love the souls of men, let us prove it through honest speech, which costs us pain, and earnest warning, which grieves us to utter more than it does others to hear. This is essential to men’s welfare and cannot be omitted. The hard heart must be broken, or it will refuse the Savior, whose glory lies in binding up the broken-hearted.
II. Ministers Sometimes Labor in Vain
The text also suggests that sometimes ministers labor in vain. “Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen?” There are some hearts—some of you here tonight—that are very hard soil. When the plowman plows, he quickly discerns what he is working with. A minister, too, can feel whether his efforts are yielding fruit. He may use the same words in one place and feel joy and hope in his preaching, while in another place, despite his best efforts, his work seems fruitless. The plow jumps out of the furrow, and bits of the blade break off.
Even though the people may listen attentively, they remain unmoved. They do not seem capable of feeling anything. The preacher, seeing this, may be on the verge of tears, overwhelmed by the realization that his words are having no impact. But despite his distress, he cannot change their hearts. He does his best, but his efforts appear wasted, and his pleas go unheeded. This is an experience all laborers for Christ know, whether in a Sunday school class, a cottage meeting, or any other gathering where they have preached the Gospel. Many ministers have thought, “I am plowing a rock.”
A Question for Hard-Hearted Hearers
These people have been preached to, taught, instructed, admonished, expostulated with, and advised. Shall this unrewarded labor be continually performed? We have given them a fair trial. What do Reason and Prudence say? Shall we continue until we are worn out by this fruitless work? We ask men of business, those who plow their own fields—do they recommend perseverance when failure is certain? Shall horses run upon the rock? Shall one plow there with oxen? Surely, not forever! I believe we all agree that labor in vain cannot go on indefinitely, especially when we consider the plight of the plowman. He is not much, and he doesn’t need to be overly considered. Yet, his Master will remember him.
The Weariness of Unsuccessful Labor
Look how weary the plowman becomes when the work discourages him. He goes to his Master, saying, “Who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Why have You sent me,” he asks, “to a people that have ears but hear not? They sit as Your people sit and they hear as Your people hear—and then they go their way and forget every word that is spoken—and they obey not the voice of the Lord by His servant.”
The preacher becomes disappointed. It is always hard when it appears there is no progress, even after doing your utmost. Nobody likes working with no return, with no results! I recall visiting a military prison where I saw soldiers carrying shot from one end of a yard to the other. The warden remarked that some time ago, the prisoners were made to pile the shot in a pyramid at one end of the yard, only to take it back to the other end. Though they knew they would move it again, the activity gave them some amusement, and the work did not seem as bothersome.
But in time, the prisoners were forced to carry the shot back and forth, with no purpose other than to exhaust them. How often we, too, have felt like those prisoners, carrying the Gospel and bringing it back again without seeing any result! With many of you, our labor has been all wasted, all in vain!
The Plight of the Preacher
Now, will God continue to keep His servants in such futile work? If they were His prisoners in a military prison, it would be natural that He would. But they are not prisoners—they are His sons, and He loves them. Will He keep them engaged in such exhausting labor? Must they continue doing work that discourages and disappoints them? No one, no matter who they are, likes being assigned work that seems to be a waste of time and effort. It seems almost ridiculous and might lead to them being ridiculed by their peers for attempting the impossible.
Shall it, then, always be our lot to labor with hard-hearted men and women? Will the great Farmer command His plowmen to waste their lives for nothing? Must His preachers continue casting pearls before swine? Shall they continue speaking to deaf ears? Must they always plead with stones and prophesy to those who are less sensitive than the animals of the field?
God’s Patience and the Preacher’s Burden
If the consecrated workers are so commanded by their Lord, they will persevere in their painful task. But their Master is considerate of them, and I ask you to consider whether it is reasonable to expect a zealous heart to remain occupied with the salvation of those who never respond to its anxiety. Shall the horses always plow upon the rock? Shall the oxen always labor there?
Then, think again—there is the Master to be considered. The Lord—will He always be resisted and provoked yet continue to have patience? Many of you have had eternal life offered to you simply by believing in Jesus Christ—and yet you have refused to believe. My Lord might have said to me, “Go home. You’ve done your duty with them. Never set Christ before them again—I will not allow My Son to be insulted.”
If you offer a beggar a shilling and he refuses it, you cheerfully put it back in your pocket and walk away. You do not stand there begging him to accept it. But behold, our God in mercy has been pleading with sinners to come to Him, imploring them to accept His Son! In His condescension, He has come down like a salesman, crying, “Ho, everyone that thirsts, come to the waters, and he that has no money, come buy wine and milk, without money and without price.”
In another place, He says, “All day long have I stretched out My hands to a disobedient and gainsaying generation.” If the Lord of Mercy has been rejected, and the Lord of Love despised by those of you who reverence Him, does not some indignation mingle with your pity? While you love sinners and desire their salvation, do you not feel that there must be an end to such insulting behavior and infinite patience?
God’s Warning to the Hard-Hearted
You cannot always plead with those who refuse to be persuaded, for he who rejects you also rejects Him who sent you! I urge those with hard hearts to think about this matter. If you do not respect the plowman, at least give regard to his Master. Moreover, there are so many others who need the Gospel and would receive it if they had it, that it seems wise to stop wasting effort on those who refuse it.
What did our Lord say? He said that if the mighty works done in Bethsaida and Chorazin had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, those cities would have repented. What is even more astounding is that He said that if He had worked the same miracles in Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes! So, does it not make sense to give the Word of God to those who will receive it and leave the despisers to perish in their own willfulness?
A Call to Reach the Willing
Does not Reason suggest that we should send this medicine for the sick to those who will value it, rather than continue offering it to those who refuse it? There are thousands of people ready and eager to hear the Gospel. Look how they crowd wherever the preacher goes, eager to listen. But if those who hear the message daily will not accept it, “in God’s name,” the preacher may say, “Let me go somewhere else where there is fertile soil to be plowed.”
“Shall horses run upon the rock? Will one plow there with oxen?” Must I continue working where nothing comes of it? Does not reason say, let the Word of God go to China, India, or to the ends of the earth where people will receive it, for those who have it preached in their streets despise it?
I shall not drag out this argument any longer, but I ask again—would any of you persist in a hopeless task? Have you ever tried to make a fretful child happy again? You’ve spoken kind words, perhaps even given sharp ones, but when the child refuses to come around, you think to yourself, “Let them sulk until it’s out of their system.”
The Limits of Patience
And if the Lord has sent His servants to speak kind, gracious, tender things, and men still refuse to hear, do you wonder if He might say, “Let them alone. They are joined to their idols. Let them alone.” There is a limit to human patience, and we soon reach it. Likewise, there is a limit to God’s patience—though it takes longer to outrun. At last, He may say, “It is enough. My Spirit shall no longer strive with them. I will leave them be.”
The Need for Alteration
If the Lord does this, can anyone blame Him? Is this not the path of Wisdom? Does not Prudence herself dictate this course? If you ask any thoughtful person, they will say, “Yes, yes, it cannot always be that the oxen should plow the rock.”
There must be an alteration, and it must come quickly. Can the situation be changed? Can the oxen be taken off the rock? Yes, it can be done, and likely it will happen soon for some of the hard hearts before me. There are three ways this can occur.
First, the person can be removed. The unprofitable hearer may no longer hear the Gospel from his most trusted minister. The preacher who has little impact on that person may be moved elsewhere, and that person will no longer hear words that could stir their conscience. They may go to a lonely place or a foreign land where no one will continue to persuade them, and they may eventually sleep themselves into Hell.
The Hardening of the Heart
Another way is to remove the plowman. He has done his work as best as he could, but now, it is time for him to go home. His work is done, and he is weary. Let him go home and hear his Master say, “Well done.” His plow is broken, and the ground cannot be broken anymore. He has done his best.
Finally, the Lord may remove the hard soil altogether. He may say, “That piece of rock shall trouble the plowman no more,” and take it away in death. I pray to God that this does not happen to any of you—that you do not die in your sins, for once you die, no prayers or efforts can reach you. The name of Jesus is the only means of salvation, and if you reject Him now, He will become your terror.
Conclusion
I pray you do not destroy your own souls by remaining obstinate against Almighty Love. The Lord may make you willing in the day of His power, for if not, as surely as you live, if you face your offended God with no Christ to mediate, it will go hard with you.
The Lord calls you to repent. The door to salvation is open, but you must take that step. There is no backdoor to Heaven, and without Christ, you will face eternal separation from Him.
May God, in His mercy, grant that you receive the Seed of His Word, break your hardened heart, and accept the salvation freely offered to you today.
Amen.