As Jeremiah continued his
lament over Jerusalem and Judah and their defeated conditions, he
wrote of his hope in the LORD'S mercies, compassions, and spoke of
his portion being of the LORD. He also wrote that it is good for a
man to wait for and seek the LORD, and that as he should quietly put
his hope in the LORD. In chapter three and verse twenty-seven
Jeremiah speaks of bearing a “yoke” where we read:
The
verse begins, “It is good for a
man...” This is the third time
that Jeremiah employed the word “good” in the last few verses. We
can almost hear the resolve in his words as he declared “The
Lord is good unto them that wait for him...”,
“It is good that a man should both hope and quietly
wait...”, and now “It
is good for a man...” once
again. The idea behind the word “good”
is “pleasant, agreeable, rich , appropriate and valuable”, so as
he declares these words we obtain a sense that he is reaching for the
better thing in the midst of his troubles.
The verse goes on to say,
“...that he bear the yoke in his youth.” This
time Jeremiah speaks of “the yoke”
or “a curved piece of wood fastened to a pole or beam and laid upon
the neck of beasts for drawing”. The idea is that affliction is
better to be born in one's youth as it promotes humility. Perhaps as
Jeremiah watched the young men being carried away as captives to
Babylon he saw them as bearing yokes, and he knew what affect this
would have upon their lives - humility. Nonetheless he recognized the
“good” that was
for the man who would “bear” or
“carry, take or lift” “his yoke in his youth”.
Do
we feel that we have a “yoke”
upon us right now? Are their afflictions and troubles within our
lives that are weighing us down, impeding our progress, and
disturbing our spirit? If so, we should keep in mind the “humility”
that is produced within us as we walk through them. When we discover
that our sufficiency in none other than the LORD, and we have nothing
to boast about within ourselves, then we have not born our yoke in
vain. As we ponder these things, let us keep in mind what Jesus said
in the gospel of Matthew in chapter eleven and verses twenty-eight
through thirty:
Come
unto me, all you that labor and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light.
May we
evermore “bear the yoke” of the Lord Jesus and be humbled
before Him all the days of our lives.
Next
time we see the manner in which a man should bear his yoke, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore
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