This morning I preached on Isaiah 10, a passage of warning and consolation for God's people. I was particularly struck with God's promise to His people in Isaiah 10:27: "It shall come to pass in that day that his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil." The king of Judah and his people looked to Assyria and not to God to deliver them, and in doing so dictated their own means of correction. God would use the Assyrian nation as a rod in His hand to discipline His children, for those whom God loves He corrects. Though chastening would involve pain and difficulty, ultimately God would redeem and deliver His people from those who oppressed them.
God had set His people free, yet they chose a life of bondage through rebellion from God. They made for themselves a yoke of iron (Deut. 28:48), yet the Almighty God of grace promised to remove and break their yoke. The passage explains the burden and yoke would be taken away and destroyed "because of the anointing oil." The Law commanded the Jews to anoint the tabernacle, vessels, and the priests with oil to sanctify, to consecrate all for God's ordained purposes. It signified cleansing, a separation from the ordinary world and unto God for His service. Because God had sanctified the nation of Israel unto Himself, in due time He would remove and destroy their yoke. For those who are born again and anointed with the Holy Spirit, this scripture provides great comfort for us. He have been justified and sanctified through faith in Christ. There is no burden too heavy to be cast upon Christ, and no yoke too great for God to remove and break forever.
Like the children of Israel, sometimes we choose burdens and yokes for ourselves through rebellion and idolatry. It can take a season of suffering before we realise the folly of our sinful choices. In reaping the bitter fruit of fleshly living we grow weary and long for a reprieve. Our motive can be one more of escape than seeking refuge in God! We can come to the point of giving our cares, addiction, depression, and worries to God - only to find they have a grip on us we cannot shake no matter what we do. Perhaps we also carry a sense of entitlement, thinking we have done all that is necessary to remove the cursed yoke which holds us fast. We have repented, refused to harbour any affection for the rebellion we once longed for, and frankly hate the thing. But the powerful grip holds us fast and we wonder: what must we still do? The truth is, we cannot lift or break yokes. Only Jesus Christ can do that! Our call is to repent, trust God and His promises, and humbly rely upon God to remove and break the yoke once and for all. It is not a call to passivity, but to recognise our desperate need to seek God, praise Him despite the pain, and trust He is working all for His good, redemptive purposes. As Corrie Ten Boom said, "It is not try but trust; it is not do but done."
Take heart burdened soul! As in Bunyan's Pilgrim, when we bow our knees and hearts before the cross of Christ our burden falls from our shoulders. The knots are too tight for our fingers to loose, and the cords too strong for the knife of the efforts of the flesh to slice through. Repentance, praise, worship, and simple trust in God turns our eyes towards Jesus as Saviour and Deliverer. When our hearts are brought to a place of willingness to happily bear a yoke as long as God wants for His purposes, we find a freedom and joy the natural man through effort cannot know. It is willingness to take Christ's yoke upon us which shatters all other yokes. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Come to Jesus and choose to find rest in Him alone. Simple trust causes a man to receive of God's grace no amount of struggle can earn.
God had set His people free, yet they chose a life of bondage through rebellion from God. They made for themselves a yoke of iron (Deut. 28:48), yet the Almighty God of grace promised to remove and break their yoke. The passage explains the burden and yoke would be taken away and destroyed "because of the anointing oil." The Law commanded the Jews to anoint the tabernacle, vessels, and the priests with oil to sanctify, to consecrate all for God's ordained purposes. It signified cleansing, a separation from the ordinary world and unto God for His service. Because God had sanctified the nation of Israel unto Himself, in due time He would remove and destroy their yoke. For those who are born again and anointed with the Holy Spirit, this scripture provides great comfort for us. He have been justified and sanctified through faith in Christ. There is no burden too heavy to be cast upon Christ, and no yoke too great for God to remove and break forever.
Like the children of Israel, sometimes we choose burdens and yokes for ourselves through rebellion and idolatry. It can take a season of suffering before we realise the folly of our sinful choices. In reaping the bitter fruit of fleshly living we grow weary and long for a reprieve. Our motive can be one more of escape than seeking refuge in God! We can come to the point of giving our cares, addiction, depression, and worries to God - only to find they have a grip on us we cannot shake no matter what we do. Perhaps we also carry a sense of entitlement, thinking we have done all that is necessary to remove the cursed yoke which holds us fast. We have repented, refused to harbour any affection for the rebellion we once longed for, and frankly hate the thing. But the powerful grip holds us fast and we wonder: what must we still do? The truth is, we cannot lift or break yokes. Only Jesus Christ can do that! Our call is to repent, trust God and His promises, and humbly rely upon God to remove and break the yoke once and for all. It is not a call to passivity, but to recognise our desperate need to seek God, praise Him despite the pain, and trust He is working all for His good, redemptive purposes. As Corrie Ten Boom said, "It is not try but trust; it is not do but done."
Take heart burdened soul! As in Bunyan's Pilgrim, when we bow our knees and hearts before the cross of Christ our burden falls from our shoulders. The knots are too tight for our fingers to loose, and the cords too strong for the knife of the efforts of the flesh to slice through. Repentance, praise, worship, and simple trust in God turns our eyes towards Jesus as Saviour and Deliverer. When our hearts are brought to a place of willingness to happily bear a yoke as long as God wants for His purposes, we find a freedom and joy the natural man through effort cannot know. It is willingness to take Christ's yoke upon us which shatters all other yokes. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 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. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Come to Jesus and choose to find rest in Him alone. Simple trust causes a man to receive of God's grace no amount of struggle can earn.
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