The Truth About Yokes
Jesus invites all to come unto Him, in Matthew 11:
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
While the first verse is comforting, it is difficult for the natural part of us when we read “take my yoke upon you.” For, deep inside, we want to be free. We do not want to be yoked, because then we are not in control.
This week, the Spirit taught me, that the choice we made to come to earth and receive a body, was a yoke. The burden and cares of this world weigh us down, and it is indeed a lone and dreary world. The fact that we live on this planet, means we are yoked.
The yoke we wear has a place for Christ to help with your burden. But we must accept His invitation. If we do not accept that invitation, we may think that bow remains unused, but it is never left alone. If we refuse Jesus, there will come another to help pull, and that is bound to be the arm of flesh. We are specifically counseled to not rely on any other man, but to come to Jesus, who is mighty to save.
During this time of tribulation, it has never been more important to be guided by the Son. There is upheaval and distress throughout the world, and listening to the voice of any one man, bodes ill in this age of deceit. I have been pondering the invitation from God, to the people of Moses. He wanted them to come up to the mount, to hear Him speak in three days. On the third day, the Israelites saw the mountain with thunder and lightening, and they trembled and were afraid to approach. They were quite satisfied with Moses being on the other side of their individual yokes.
Such a thing will not qualify us, or save us in the last days. For, there is a type and shadow in the account of Obadiah and Elijah which is a warning for us. In 1stKings 18, we learn that Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, is on a reign of terror, in which she is slaughtering the Prophets. Obadiah wanted to preserve as many as he could, and he hid them in two caves. 50 Prophets were in each. There they stayed, and Obadiah took care of them.
It was a startling realization that the Prophets on the earth today are hiding in caves. Nearly every voice that should be raised, in defense of the freedom to not be vaccinated, is quieted and in hiding, because of fear of anti-Christian leaders. It seems a hopeless situation, when the Church leaders cease to lead, but leave us to fend for ourselves. But, there is hope in the rest of the parallel events to unfold.
It wasn’t long before God brought forth Elijah, in order to save His people. Elijah challenged the 450 Priests of Baal to a contest:
1 Kings 18 ESV
21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lordis God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal's prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lordcame, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs[a] of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lordfell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
Elijah was the miracle that God brought forth, to save His people. Do we know of a similar End Times person that is to come forth? Isaiah taught extensively about the Lord’s Servant that is to come forth in the time prior to the Lord’s return. This Davidic Servant is a type and shadow of the ancient Elijah. He does great miracles, and leads the people out of captivity. Yet, he is not going to be on the other end of our yoke. It is necessary for the Lord’s people to turn to Christ, and be guided by His Spirit in order to survive the last days. Only then, will we be able to recognize the Lord’s Servant.
I invite you to shake off your reluctance to have a yoke with someone, and accept the Lord’s invitation, for it will be a great blessing, and only He has power to lead us home.