Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you 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.”
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. I so love and appreciate the reality of resting in Him.
In Biblical times, the economy of the world was largely agricultural, so the meaning of “yoke” was easy to comprehend. To plow a field, you would place a yoke on a cow, ox, or horse with a plow attached and drive the animal forward to break up the ground preparing a field for sowing.
Yeshua (Jesus) offers us a yoke, but not a heavy one. In fact, since He often referred to us as sheep, one might wonder if we were meant to carry a burden at all, since sheep are never used as plow animals. When have you ever seen sheep carrying anything … you don’t — they weren’t equipped to carry heavy burdens. In any case, the Lord promised us a light yoke, with rest for our souls. No doubt, it is the burden of sin that He intended to relieve us from, giving us true rest.
Taking up Yeshua’s yoke is equivalent to laying down a heavy burden, since His yoke offers rest, and He offers to carry our burden of sin. We often hear songs about laying our burdens down. Those words are a deep ministry to heavy-laden souls. If you are burdened today, take His yoke upon you … lay it at His feet … be relieved … enter His rest. Enjoy your Shabbat … Shabbat Shalom!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]An ancient story in Church history tells of the apostle John. He would constantly repeat the words, "Little children, love one another." And his disciples became weary of the phrase. Finally, in his old age, as John was being carried to their assembly, the disciples asked him, "Why do you always repeat these same words?" "Because friends," John replied, "it is the Lord's commandment -- and if only this one were fulfilled, it would be enough."
The apostle John quotes Isaiah 53:1, saying to whom has the z’roah [arm] of the Lord been revealed? It’s a question that God answers throughout the rest of Isaiah 53, describing in detail the life of Yeshua (Jesus) and the ultimate price He would pay for the sins of the world.
During World War II, a US marine was separated from his unit on a Pacific Island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades. Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves.
The great evangelist and teacher Charles Spurgeon had a plaque on his bedroom with the words written on it, "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."
The word for builder in Hebrew is “bo-neh”. It is also translated repairer. When our Messiah came 2000 years ago, He came to repair lives -- to do a complete restoration of all that is broken in this world.
J. Oswald Sanders, a Godly man and former director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship, once wrote about a position he desired. As he contemplated lobbying for the position, at one point, while walking through the city of Auckland, New Zealand, a verse of Scripture came to his mind, "Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not!"
This scripture makes an astounding promise -- God ALWAYS leads us to triumph or victory! But can we ALWAYS count on this amazing word to be true?