Cow Paths and Ruts of Righteousness

An actual cow path. Photo by TamaraJo. Edited using Instagram. Captured at Round Mountain Rock Hound Area in Arizona. Space shared with Lazy B Ranch

Agri-Bio-Linguistics

The Late Brad Scott, the founder of Wildbranch Ministries, discovered that God consistently uses agriculture, biology, and language concepts as symbolic teaching tools throughout the Bible. He titled this observation "Agri-BioLinguistics." Comparisons and illustrations based on agriculture, biological activities, and functions can add another dimension to understanding the larger picture intended for a particular biblical word. This method also adds a layer of stability and consistency to God's timeless truths in the Scriptures, considering that neither agriculture nor biology has changed much since the beginning of time. The following New Testament verse is an example Brad gives of a verse that summarizes all three elements of agriculture, biology, and language.

... man (biology) shall not live by bread (agriculture) alone; but man lives by every word (language) that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
— Deuteronomy 8:3

The comparison between the natural biological man's need for sustenance being satisfied with bread, a product of agriculture, and our spiritual lives needing to be sustained by the truths of God's Word is made.

In the Old Testament, agri-bio-linguistic revelations are often found when Hebrew words share the same root but have seemingly different meanings. There is usually a relationship between the two, with one illustrating the other. Comparatively, when two words are spelled the same in English, they are not conceptually connected. For example, the term "bat" can be something you hit a baseball with, or it can be a nocturnal flying rodent. Nothing about the flying rodent helps you understand what a baseball bat does or is.

Alternatively, the Hebrew words for "liver" (כבד) and "glory" (כבוד) demonstrate how this works in Biblical Hebrew. Both terms share the same three-letter root. Therefore, biologically speaking, a liver's qualities can describe glory in terms of its functions and characteristics. The liver's status as the heaviest and most vital organ in the human body, and its significant purpose, give us a more tangible concept of glory when we understand that glory comes with the attributes of something considered very weighty and significant. Weight in the ancient world was associated with value. Therefore, to glorify God would require us to ascribe weight and value and consider Him our necessity.

Cow Paths

Mr. Scott gives a specific example based on the following familiar portion of Scripture.

He leads me in the paths (cycles, tracks, courses, or ruts—"magal" מעגל) of righteousness for His name's sake.

— Psalm 23:3

The root word of "magal" מעגל, meaning "path" (cycles, tracks, courses, or ruts) used in the twenty-third Psalm, is "agal" עגל, which means calf. Notice that the spelling of the two words is the same, minus the first letter of "magal מעגל," which is a "mem מ."

"Mem מ" is often used as a prefix, adding the concept of being "conceived from." Therefore, the idea of a path is conceived from the biological habits of a calf or cow. This thought demonstrates that life isn't linear but cyclical. Instead, it follows specific repetitive patterns and paths, as shown by the cow path.

A young bull calf

The Cow Path Theory

What does a cow have to do with a track cycle or rut?

After some research, I discovered a theory called the "Cow Path Theory." It is used predominantly to describe getting stuck in a loop of the familiar—"stuck in a rut," as one might say. This phrase was coined based on actual cow behavior. A Texas farmer confirms this fact.

"Cows are creatures of habit and set in firm behavioral patterns. Where they walk, graze, and sleep, and is similar from year to year"

Cows will follow a familiar path that connects them with their most basic needs: food and water. Even if you try to get them to take a new, more accessible route, they prefer the familiar.

An actual cow path

Get Stuck in a Good Rut

We tend to view ruts and behavioral patterns negatively. However, this can also apply to cycles, courses, and tracks of righteousness that God wants to lead us in. Proverbs chapter two contrasts the two types of ruts, both positive and negative. This portion of Scripture also shows us how to enter the paths and channels of righteousness by seeking wisdom from God.

My son, if you

Receive my words,
And treasure my commands within you,
So that you incline your ear to wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding
Yes, if you cry out for discernment,
And lift up your voice for understanding,
If you seek her as silver,
And search for her as for hidden treasures;

Then you will understand the fear of the Lord,
And find the knowledge of God
For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding;

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;
He guards the paths of justice,
And preserves the way of His saints.

Then you will understand righteousness and justice,
Equity and every good path (ruts, cycles, and courses).

— Proverbs 2:1-9

This portion of Proverbs clearly shows, in highly repetitive language, how the righteous rut is made. (more on repetition later). It also shows the well-worn furrows of unrighteousness or darkness.

From the man who speaks perverse things,
From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness;
Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths (ruts, cycles, and courses);

— Proverbs 2:10-15

Leading domestic calves down the right path involves teaching them how to be guided.

Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God ...

— Psalm 143:10a

A Personal Experience

I live in a rural area where gravel roads are often prone to deep ruts, especially after they soften from rain or snow. The more traffic following a track, the deeper it becomes. This example illustrates what happens in our hearts and minds regarding habits and patterns, good or bad, in our thoughts and behaviors. Driving through ruts isn't a pleasant experience when the grooves seem to grab your tires and pull you into them. Still, the writer of Proverbs chapter two, used in the above section, assures us that once God's ways have cut their paths in our hearts, habitually, it will be pleasant to our souls and keep us in the right ways.

When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,

Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
To deliver you from the way of evil ...

— Proverbs 2:10-12

Ruts of the Mind and Heart

Like soft gravel, our brains are soft and plastic. Neuropathways (ruts, trenches, and courses) form through the repetition of thoughts, experiences, and behaviors. Sue Stebbins from Successivewaves.com gives us a complete explanation.

"The word 'neuroplasticity' is used to describe the pliability of our neuropathways. Neuropathways are formed through practice and repetition. For instance, if you play the piano, the movements that your fingers make to create certain notes become faster and more fluid with practice. This is because the repetitious movements of practice are forming grooves or pathways in the brain. Think of these pathways as streams of running water. The longer the water flows in a certain pattern, the more worn that groove or pathway becomes. This eventually causes the water to naturally follow through the grooves it has created in the soil. When you repeat certain thoughts and actions enough, the brain comes to expect them and creates grooves to move them along more smoothly. This is also known as muscle memory."

The Expanded Bible gives us an excellent translation of Psalm 65 that supports the above description.

You send rain to the plowed fields; you fill the rows with water [level its ridges]
You soften the ground with rain, and then you bless it with crops.
You crown the year with your goodness, your tracks/ruts drip with plenty.

— Psalm 65:10-11

God wants us to turn our hearts from the ruts and cycles of sin and defeat and establish us in new grooves, patterns, and cycles of righteousness and victory.

... be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God is.

— Romans 12:2

Luke refers to this in chapter three of his gospel concerning John the Baptist's call to repent. Repent means to turn around from an old path or way and go in a different direction. John the Baptist illustrates and compares this concept with the changes of a landscape as he quotes a passage from the book of Isaiah. As you read the following passage, think about the landscape of your mind being remodeled.

'Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make His paths straight
Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth.

— Isaiah 40:4

This resembles our circulatory system.

Hebrew Word Pictograph—Mem מ

The pictograph for the Hebrew word "magal מעגל meaning "path," "rut," or "cycle" agrees with these concepts and adds some more in-depth insights and details that illustrate the essential elements of God's leading us on "paths of righteousness."

The first letter of "magal מעגל" (path), "mem מ," is represented by an image of water or ocean waves and can convey the idea of depth. This icon fits the idea that God wants to deeply ingrain our hearts and minds with patterns and habits of righteousness.

Deep calls unto deep at the noise of Your waterfalls;
All Your waves and billows have gone over me.

— Psalm 42:7

Macrocosmically, the natural world exhibits this in Earth's most massive bodies of water. Oceans have paths in them that will illustrate what this looks like.

Matthew Maury, nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas," was considered the father of oceanography. He discovered "the paths of the seas" based on this exact phrase in Psalm chapter eight.

What is man that You are mindful of him ...
... You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands.
You have put all things under his feet ...
... The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas.
— Psalm 8:4-8

When he read this verse, he made it his mission to discover the paths of the ocean described in the Bible. Scientists found that wind circuits and cold and warm water currents affect how ships move across the sea. This revelation led to using these paths as natural highways for the shipping industry, and they are still used today.

Currents move in specific directions in the ocean and affect global weather patterns, just as currents of sin or righteousness can pull us in particular directions and influence our lives, events, and atmospheres. The wind causes surface currents to move in a spiral pattern, illustrating the Holy Spirit setting us in motion in cyclical patterns of righteousness.

... the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters
— Genesis 1:2

Ocean currents are known to powerfully pull whatever gets in their path, much like a rut on the road will. Shipping companies use and follow these paths to cut fuel costs.

Ocean tides show us the force and motion of the ocean.

"Mem מ"—Powerful Motion

"Mem מ," as it refers to this word, also visualizes something set in motion. Think of the regularity of tides or the momentum of moving water that can put a tsunami in unstoppable motion. God wants to set in motion unstoppable waves and patterns of righteousness.

The following Scriptural example shows us how sin can form ruts in us that lead us to death. The writer of James uses conception and birthing as metaphors for the lesson.

... each one is tempted when he is drawn away by (the rut of) his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
— James 1:14-15

Knowing and experiencing involve both physical and spiritual vision.

"Ayin ע"—Spiritual Vision

Ayin ע" is the second letter of the Hebrew word "magal " (מעגל) and is a picture of an eye communicating the concepts of perception, knowing, and experiencing.

In Genesis, we see the first recorded departure from the rut of righteousness to the trench of sin, which involves seeing, knowing, and experiencing.

... when the woman saw (see) that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise (know), she took of its fruit and ate (experienced).

— Genesis 3:6

Vision is valuable to the patterns and cycles of righteousness. The ability to see the goodness of God and His intentions is vital to the righteous path. It was for the joy set before Him that Jesus endured the cross (Heb 12).

Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint.

— Proverbs 29:18

Seeing with spiritual eyes is the key to living in patterns of righteousness as we look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, as our goal.

... let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
— Hebrews 12:1-2

Running a race requires staying on the designated path with an eye on the prize.

The value of sight in living the spiritual life (path) is described in an article by George Davis and Michael Clark titled "Spiritual Sight."

"The eye is the chief channel of information for man. Of all the five senses, sight is the most highly valued. Sight is the key to knowledge. What you cannot conceptualize, you cannot understand. Both in the natural life and in the spiritual life, seeing precedes knowledge."

Knowledge precedes doing and living. If you can't see it, you won't know it, and you won't do it.

Jesus scolded His disciples for their inability to "see" the spiritual application of His warning to beware of the hypocritical path of ritualized self-perceived righteousness that puffed up the Pharisees. Bread puffed up from leaven illustrates how sin and pride puff up in appearance but contain no real substance.

Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet.

perceive or
understand?

Is your heart still hardened? Having

eyes, do you not see?

And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember?

— Mark 8:17-18

Experiencing, knowing, and seeing His goodness are essential elements in being entrenched in His ways. The eye illustrates this concept.

Camel Rolling in the Sand

"Gimel ג"—Repetition

"Gimel ג," the third letter of the Hebrew word for path, is a picture of a camel and conveys the image of journeying, walking, circling, or rolling, all characteristics of a camel. These actions of a camel illustrate the concept of repetition in our study of the word for "path." Camels are known for rolling in the sand to cool off and relax. Interestingly, they have specific places they frequent, indicating an established pattern. Mechanically speaking, walking in and of itself is a movement pattern using rotary (rolling or revolving) motion. Walking is about the way we live.

Blessed are the undefiled in the way,
Who walk in the law of the Lord!

— Psalm 119:1

For children, repetition is essential in training them in the ways of a household. Getting a little one into the family's ruts, habits, and living patterns can be frustrating. But it is sticking with it and understanding that doing something repeatedly until it becomes part of their pattern, course, and cycle is necessary to learn and form good habits. And so it is with us all. I get frustrated with myself at times, and how many times it takes me to learn specific lessons. But this revelation shows me that God is continually leading me in the rut of righteousness through the repetition of trying over and over again as I diligently seek Him.

Uphold my steps in Your paths (ruts, cycles, and courses)
That my footsteps may not slip.

— Psalm 17:5

Gimel ג, the third letter of the Hebrew Aleph-Bet, also represents the Holy Spirit. This letter's position may indicate that the journey of walking and living in the ruts of righteousness is a work of the Holy Spirit. Walking this way is in cooperation and in concert with our receiving His Words, treasuring His commands, inclining our ears, applying our hearts, crying out for discernment, lifting up our voice for understanding, seeking, and searching, according to the preacher in Proverbs 2:6-9.

... Your Spirit is good.

Lead me in the land of uprightness.

— Psalm 143:10b

Lamed ל

"Lamed ל," the final letter of this study, is illustrated by a shepherd's staff or ox goad depicting the idea of leading, instruction, and teaching. Psalm 23:1 depicts the Lord as our "Shepherd" who satisfies and leads us beside still waters and into paths (ruts, cycles, and patterns) of righteousness.

The ruts of sin and self-led lives are never satisfying or calm. Instead, they are insatiable and tumultuous, as Peter described them, as sinners whose lives were built on personal profit rather than the glory and love of God.

... they cannot cease from sin ... They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.

— 2 Peter 2:14

Correction and discipline are included in this concept of the letter "lamed," pictured by the shepherd's staff. These essential elements help form the grooves of righteousness that keep us on the right path.

Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way,
And he who hates correction will die.

— Proverbs 15:10

What Happens When We Get Off Track

One Sunday after church, my husband and I noticed a Saddle Club competition at our local fairgrounds. We decided to stop in and watch for a while. One of the challenges was that the horse had to weave through six poles and back under its rider's direction. The idea was to keep a serpentine pattern and do it as quickly as possible without knocking over the poles. I noticed a couple of times that the horse would lose the pattern on the way back. Then the rider would back the horse to the spot of the mistake and complete the course correctly.

This type of correction is a great life lesson for us all as we follow God's path. When we lose the pattern, we are often tempted to keep going and forget about it, but if we want to develop good habits, we need to go back to the point of our misstep and do it correctly again.

Concluding Thoughts

Psalm 23:3 shows that God's leading us in paths (ruts, courses, patterns, and cycles) of righteousness for His name's sake is a positive and rewarding path. A cow's behavior illustrates following a familiar path that leads to what it understands as positive rewards. "Positive" seems like such an inadequate word to describe the incredible reward we receive for submitting to the Lord's directives in following and being familiar with His ways and paths.

The Hebrew Word pictographs, taken together, illustrated that God wishes to re-landscape our lives by creating new paths, patterns, and habits that draw us into waves and cycles of His goodness and victory through vision (goals), repetition, and discipline.

Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

— Psalm 1:1-3

A final quote from the movie "The End of the Spear":

"We acted badly, badly until they brought us God’s carvings. Now we walk His trail.”
— Mincaye, a Waodani tribal elder whose tribe, before knowing Christ, speared and killed the missionaries who came to save them through the preaching of the Gospel.

Sources

1http://awildernessvoice.com/SpiritualSight.html

2http://www.tenouk.com/learningretentionrate.html

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Agri-Bio-Linguistics