Bovinity Divinity (sacred cow)
Jane Denniston
March 15, 2026
Add to Favourites
Listen to this daily worship
1 Samuel 16: 1-13 (NIV-UK)
1 The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.’
2 But Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.’
The Lord said, ‘Take a heifer with you and say, “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.” 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.’
4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, ‘Do you come in peace?’
5 Samuel replied, ‘Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.’ Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.’
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, ‘The Lord has not chosen this one either.’ 9 Jesse then made Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, ‘Nor has the Lord chosen this one.’ 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ 11 So he asked Jesse, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’
‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse answered. ‘He is tending the sheep.’
Samuel said, ‘Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.’
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; this is the one.’
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
Ben and Jerry's used to produce a flavour of ice cream called Bovinity Divinity. It was three flavours of chocolate ice cream and chocolate chips – dark, milk, and white chocolate – with all the chips shaped like little cows. It was absolutely my favourite ice cream. Bovinity Divinity, very roughly, translates to ‘sacred cow’ and applies quite well to this passage! Samuel's heifer was both the reason and the means whereby David was identified as the king of Israel.
Although we no longer sacrifice animals in this way, throughout the Bible sacrifice is seen as the route to blessing. There have been times in my life when I have felt that God has been calling me to give something up which I have been very reluctant to do. Always I have found that, having struggled and wrestled (which of course is what Lent is all about) the result was blessing.
My challenge today, and the one I leave with you, is what are your sacred cows? What are you hanging on to that it would be better to give up?
What is coming between us and God? What sacrifice is God asking us to make that he might bless us? What role might our sacrifice have in creating or maintaining peace, in our community, in our church, in our home? And, how might our sacrifice further the mission of God?
Prayer:
Loving heavenly Father,
help us to realise and understand
that you never ask us to sacrifice anything
without something better prepared to replace it.
Show us today
the things that we are hanging on to inappropriately.
Show us the things in our life which are coming between us and you.
Help us to have the courage to sacrifice our sacred cows
and benefit from the blessing you have prepared for us.
Give us the courage to be the example of sacrifice
that displays the reality of Jesus in our lives, Amen
Login to comment.