1 Tim. 5:17-18 - Take Care of Your Leaders

17 Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching.
18 For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and, "The worker deserves his pay."

Vs. 17: - “Elders who provide effective leadership must be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching.”

"effective leadership" - Paul doubles back to his instructions pertaining to leaders - see the discussion of 1 Tim. 3. The leader of a church should be supported, paid by the church. See: Matt 10:10; Luk 10:7; 1 Cor 9:14

"Work hard" - Teaching and preaching. The elders are the key leaders of the local body. Not only are they to be familiar with the members, their needs, failures, and successes, but also to provide the instructions necessary to grow in the faith.
Teaching and preaching - how information we need is transferred to us. Dr. Howard Hendrix once said, "You haven't taught, until the concept is caught." Those who guide their flocks best are those who enable us to visualize and apply the scripture to our lives.

There are people who will say that we don't need preachers and teachers. After all. We have the Holy Spirit. He's been given to us to teach us what we need to know. (See: John 14:16, 26) It is also true that God has given spiritual gifts - see 1 Cor. 12:8, 28. Some have the gift of wisdom - being able to see the spiritual importance of scripture or prophecy (also a gift). Some have been given the gift of knowledge - being able to apply the spiritual information practically. Some are evangelists. Some are healers, or administrators, and some are teachers.

Vs. 18: - “For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain," and, "The worker deserves his pay."”

“Do not muzzle an ox...“ - From Deut. 25:4. This is a command to the Israelites, in the midst of a couple of chapters of various laws about community living. I do not know if the Jews had any cattle or grain when in Egyptian captivity. We know for sure they didn’t have some of this while wandering through the wilderness for 40 years. There must have been some sheep or other type cattle to be used for offerings and sacrifices. They were fed manna and quail - bread and meat. In those wandering years, the adults that escaped from Egypt died. Perhaps the knowledge of how to raise, harvest and process grain was lost when the adults died.
Try to imagine how the grain would be separated from the stalks of wheat. My minds sees an ox connected to a post, and the ox walks in a circle with harvest grain laying on the ground. The tromping hooves broke up the heads of grain and the stalks. The resulting wheat would then be winnowed, leaving just he kernels of grain. If the ox is going to be worked all day long, it would be cruel to prevent the animal from getting an occasional ‘snack’ - after all, the animal earned it, saving the humans from such labor! By the way: Wikipedia has a really good explanation of indoor and outdoor threshing. (See: threshing floors.)

"worker deserves his pay" - God has always provided for those who serve Him as priest - or as teacher, preacher, and evangelist. The Levites were supported by the tithes the people brought to the tabernacle or temple. (See: Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:15; 25:4) Our pastors and elders are supported by our tithes and gifts. It has been this way since the beginning of the church in Jerusalem. See: Acts 4:33-37.

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