Unfortunately, I've gotten behind. I usually have a post ready so that when I write one today, it is actually going to post tomorrow. But I've gotten behind. I wasn't feeling well last week so I didn't spend enough time with God, I guess. I don't have thoughts to write down. You can probably tell that from the last several posts. I am sorry about that. Truly I am. It is a pity when I don't take the time to think my thoughts of God through to how does it apply to me, or how should I use this thought, or why do I have this thought.
Today the passage the I wrote down (I only wrote one today) is Matthew 11:29. I didn't write the entire passage that most people quote "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I only wrote the second line:Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
In many verses in the Bible, yoke was used to signify burden, duty, responsibility, and even slavery. (Exodus 6:6 says Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them.) So I think that Jesus is suggesting that we work at whatever our burden, duty, responsibility is under the same yoke as Jesus, learning from Him as we work together.
When I looked up the word yoke to find where it is used in the Bible I found another passage that is interesting, especially in the context of Jesus telling us to take His yoke and learn from Him. The other passage is Deuteronomy 22:10. It says "Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together." Does this mean that we need to be careful who we work with, who we are yoked with, who we share our burden with, who we learn from? Picture the yoke with a donkey under one and an ox under the other. Working together would be difficult, even painful.
If you look at the other passage about Jesus being gentle and humble in heart, we understand how being yoked with Jesus would make any job, any duty, and any burden rest for our souls. I know when I do a job well, I feel a calmness and peace of accomplishment - is that rest? I'm sure it is more restful than fighting against someone of different goals. This does not mean that others are wrong. It means that sometimes people work well together because they have similar goals and other times, there is more thrashing than efficiency when the goals differ. Find ways to work with people who are similar to you rather than people who are different - I mean in the way they think, what they think is important, what the real goal is.
Then learn from them. When yoked with a person who is wiser about a particular subject, you gain knowledge. I learn. I want to be yoked continually with Jesus, learning from Him, letting Him carry the responsibility of leading the way. Following is so much easier and more restful. I just wish I knew how to do that all the time.
Jesus, I want to be yoked to You in all ways possible. I want to learn from You, from Your gentleness and humility. I want to let You lead all the time. Help me to do that and when I try to take the lead, please make the yoke difficult and tiring so that I come back to Your lead, to Your yoke. Thank you for teaching me. Your teaching is perfect and restful. Amen.
Today the passage the I wrote down (I only wrote one today) is Matthew 11:29. I didn't write the entire passage that most people quote "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." I only wrote the second line:Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Jesus says to take the yoke and learn. He asks us to do the work (why else would we put on a yoke?) and learn from Him while doing that work. A yoke is used to harness two animals together so they work together instead of against each other. They work more efficiently. A yoke is for doing work, not play. They didn't hook animals together with a yoke when they wanted them to play in the field, or eat their oats, or nurse their young. The yoked them together when it was time to work, and work together. A yoke is not for one animal. It is for two animals, so that two animals work together. Christians should work and work together.
In many verses in the Bible, yoke was used to signify burden, duty, responsibility, and even slavery. (Exodus 6:6 says Therefore, say to the Israelites: 'I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them.) So I think that Jesus is suggesting that we work at whatever our burden, duty, responsibility is under the same yoke as Jesus, learning from Him as we work together.
When I looked up the word yoke to find where it is used in the Bible I found another passage that is interesting, especially in the context of Jesus telling us to take His yoke and learn from Him. The other passage is Deuteronomy 22:10. It says "Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together." Does this mean that we need to be careful who we work with, who we are yoked with, who we share our burden with, who we learn from? Picture the yoke with a donkey under one and an ox under the other. Working together would be difficult, even painful.
If you look at the other passage about Jesus being gentle and humble in heart, we understand how being yoked with Jesus would make any job, any duty, and any burden rest for our souls. I know when I do a job well, I feel a calmness and peace of accomplishment - is that rest? I'm sure it is more restful than fighting against someone of different goals. This does not mean that others are wrong. It means that sometimes people work well together because they have similar goals and other times, there is more thrashing than efficiency when the goals differ. Find ways to work with people who are similar to you rather than people who are different - I mean in the way they think, what they think is important, what the real goal is.
Then learn from them. When yoked with a person who is wiser about a particular subject, you gain knowledge. I learn. I want to be yoked continually with Jesus, learning from Him, letting Him carry the responsibility of leading the way. Following is so much easier and more restful. I just wish I knew how to do that all the time.
Jesus, I want to be yoked to You in all ways possible. I want to learn from You, from Your gentleness and humility. I want to let You lead all the time. Help me to do that and when I try to take the lead, please make the yoke difficult and tiring so that I come back to Your lead, to Your yoke. Thank you for teaching me. Your teaching is perfect and restful. Amen.
This is a delayed comment because I did read this the day you posted it. I especially like your reflections about yokes...sharing burdens with others as well as Jesus. Thanks for sharing! Jane U.
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