Yoke – Yeshua quotes Jeremiah 6:16
Jeremiah 6:16
HEB: בָ֔הּ וּמִצְא֥וּ מַרְגּ֖וֹעַ לְנַפְשְׁכֶ֑ם וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ
NAS: in it; And you will find rest for your souls.
KJV: therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
INT: is and walk will find rest your souls said
in this famous passage.
In Matt 11:29 Jesus bids his hearers to take his yoke upon them: “and you will find rest [anapausin] for your souls.”
and ye shall find rest unto your souls;
referring to (Jeremiah 6:16 ) and which shows the rest he speaks of in the preceding verse, to be not a physical, but a spiritual one; and which is to be enjoyed in, though not for the observance of Messiah’s commands; whose ways are ways of pleasantness, and all whose paths are peace.
The saying refers to the Hebrew, where the Lord speaks through his prophet: walk in (the good way), and find rest (nirgw`) for your souls; and not to the Septuagint, which renders the passage: and you will find purification [hagnismon] for your souls.
mar·gō·w·a‘ — 1 Occurrence מַרְגּ֖וֹעַ
This context should help us understand the key words rest and yoke, in the passage in Jeremiah, there is no mention of a yoke. So why look for a Tanakh context to Yeshua’s choice of the word ‘ol /yoke?
The beliefs and cultural philosophy of the listeners will supply the answer
When we think of the yoke of Jesus/Yeshua, Most of us probably think about the law of love first, but what is that? Are we of the opinion that this yoke is how to live a morally upright life, with acts of grace and good behavior. Due to cultural differences, it is probably not likely that those listening at that time would have had any of these thoughts; simply because to them the connection between Jeremiah and a yoke only meant one thing, Torah.
In Jeremiah, it is God/YHVH who speaks first. He says,
Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths; where the good way is, and walk in it.
What are the ancient paths?
What is the good way?
God/YHVH can only mean His instructions found in His Torah.
After we have found the ancient paths and walked in them, then
you will find rest for your souls.
Although the Lord warned Jeremiah that the people would not listen to his words; neither remember their covenant with God nor return to the old ways of righteousness, this weeping prophet was faithful to his calling..
“Thus says the LORD”, he declared, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths… where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls”. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
The covenant God made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob was for the benefit of the nation. The Law of Moses and God’s promises to David were given to direct the nation towards the road of righteousness and the path to peace, where they would find rest for their soul. However, they preferred the pagan practices of the surrounding nations and refused to return to the Mosaic Law, which was fundamental to right living.
God’s word is sovereign and the ancient paths, were tried and tested. They secured God’s blessings for His people and promised rest for their soul – while disobedience dictated devastation, destruction and deportation from their promised land. But the people would not walk in God’s ways and their deliberate disobedience caused Him to marvel at His rebellious people.
Although it is easy to find fault with Judah’s rebellious ways and be critical of their attitude, we should be prepared to learn from their failure and consider our ways to see if we obeying the instructions that we have received and are waking in spirit and truth.. we also need to examine if we have chosen to walk in His righteous way and fulfill His instructions to the Ecclesia.
Have we walked in the ‘old ways’, that stand on the word of truth and lead us in the way of righteousness, or have we bought into a watered-down doctrine and a compromised faith through adopting worldly philosophies or engaging in fleshly behavior. Have we dishonored our Lord through unbelief or disobedience?
We are not called to walk the same ancient path to which Israel was called, because we have a renewed covenant built on better fulfilled, promises. However, we are required to be faithful to our calling; to walk in spirit and truth as outlined in the word of God – to grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and to mature in the faith that we have been taught.
May we take our responsibility as blood-bought children of God seriously and die to self; live for Jesus/Yeshua and be prepared to say:
Thy will be done in my life – not mine.
But what of the yoke?
For interest purposes:
The Mishnah and the Midrashim call it the
Shema kabbalath ‘ol malkhuth shamayim,
taking on oneself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The above quote is included because in those days, every Jew who said the Shema 3x daily would have known what yoke Yeshua/Jesus spoke about. It was the same yoke God/YHVH gave His people, the same yoke God/YHVH encouraged His people to renew in the prophecy of Jeremiah, the same yoke that governed the life of Yeshua/Jesus.
The difference, and it is a very big one, is that Jesus/Yeshua calls this
HIS yoke.
No one except God/YHVH ever made that claim but this man is claiming that God/YHVH’s yoke is the same as His yoke. Even Messiah agreed there never has been nor ever will be any greater instruction for life than Torah; so what did He mean?
The listeners understood and we must too that this was not a new commandment.; it was a prophetic call that echoed Jeremiah whose message was the same for the same nation at a different time of rebellion.
Come back to the ancient paths.
Walk in the ancient ways.
Take the yoke of the Kingdom of the Heavens upon yourself.
When we follow Jesus/Yeshua in learned obedience and all who do will discover that His burden brings rest/ true shalom…
My peace I give to you…
When Jesus/Yeshua invites us to take His yoke, He is not offering unrestrained liberty. He is offering spiritual constraint; constraint that instructs us in a way of life delivered from the opposite of shalom/peace which is rooted in RA/dis-ease and everything contrary such as fear, anxiety and confusion. The Greek word zygos has another meaning that heightens His invitation. Zygos also means scales. (Balance and judgment again and links to previous posts.)
The word is found in Revelation 6:5 and Leviticus 26:26. The horseman of judgment comes with scales in his hand. He will weigh the deeds of men.
What standard are they weighed by? The rabbis and Jesus/Yeshua tell us that the standard for these scales is the yoke of the law (Torah), a wordplay in Greek!
Is it possible that the translator of Jesus/Yeshua’s words in Matthew’s Greek translation had this wordplay in mind?
When we read,
Take my yoke upon you,
do we also see,
Take my scales upon you?
Do we make the connection between yoke and law?
It would be hard to read the Greek translation of Yeshua’s Hebrew without doing so.
We read the verse with the same Greek mindset/eyes of Plato and Aristotle and miss the meaning and connection to Jeremiah. We suppose Jesus/ Yeshua is offering assistance, forgiveness and restoration, without obligation, at least to others, and we want rest, not duty.
Because of this mindset we convert zygos into something akin to removing all my burdens because we want our kind of peace, which is often freedom from everyone else.
Zygos as scales is not able to provide such false freedom because all of Torah is about obligation, both to God and to others, because The Law is a way of living in the world system, among those who inhabit the same time and place.
For us to take on Jesus/Yeshua’s zygos, we take on the standard which the third horseman brings.
There can be no rest without scales just as without chains there is no peace.
It seems that the Hebrew concept of a yoke is almost always negative and on the surface, and it is because the Hebrews had a long history of yoked captivity and tyranny, so they viewed yokes as a symbol of that, plus oppression. Because of this experience it would be inconceivable, to suggest that people would willingly take a yoke upon themselves, that is, except in one instance. This instance was due to the fact that the rabbis taught that voluntarily accepting the yoke of Torah was an experience of freedom, not of slavery and servitude.
Adding this background to the Matthew scripture; we read Jesus/ Yeshua declares instructions for living with regard to His divinely given authority saying He is the only mediator of truth. Telling us to willingly accept His yoke, the yoke of His halacha.
So what is that yoke of His halacha?
הֲלָכָה
The term used to refer to Jewish law,
halacha, Halakhah (also spelled halachah)
means go or walk.
The root of the Hebrew word halakhah is usually translated as Jewish Law, although a more literal (and more appropriate) translation might be
the path that one walks.
Halacha, then, is the way a Jew is directed to behave in every aspect of life, encompassing civil, criminal and religious law.
The word is derived from the Hebrew root
Hei-Lamed-Kaf,
meaning to go, to walk or to travel.
The only positive reference found in His own cultural setting claims that the yoke is Torah, so Jesus/Yeshua takes the teaching of the rabbis and takes it one step further yet building on the popular and familiar.
He calls His followers once again to return to Torah, as did Jeremiah, this is the only teaching that releases us from the slavery of this worlds system.
It becomes clear just how powerful this verse is, but why did Jesus/ Yeshua use the yoke as a picture?
What He is saying repeatedly is
Return unto Me.
Come back to My direction and be freed from the cares of the world and this life.
Lose your life in this world and gain My Chaim.
From Messiahs teaching we understand that the entire goal of spiritual life is to express His compassion. The good news of the kingdom of the heavens is not merely the gospel in me but it also requires the gospel from me.
It combines a taking in and giving out and in learning from Jesus/Yeshua it will always mean that as His disciple our behavior will change. Believe and do – believe always means action in Hebrew thought.
The purpose of learning becomes clear as the Hebrew context is applied because
to this end, the purpose of learning is alignment with the heart of God which
means practicing/doing compassion.
Whoever seeks his own welfare ahead of others is considered uneducated and scripture warns that destruction is the end of that pathway.
Jesus/Yeshua is the example, He was the completely free man,
the paradox being that He was also bound!
This is because He was bound entirely to the will of the Father, and compassionately gave Himself up for others.
“Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29
Yeshua/Jesus establishes in this verse, that learning from Him is the most important activity anyone can do. Everything necessary to live as God intended can be found in His words and deeds/actions. So to know what life is about, go to Jesus/Yeshua.
Matthew 28:18
All power (ἐξιυσία) is given (ἐδόθη, was given) unto me in heaven and in earth.
Jesus/Yeshua here asserts that He, as Son of man, has received from the Father supreme authority in heaven and earth, over the whole kingdom of God in its fullest extent.
in Hebrew, the conceptual thought behind learning is very practical. It’s simply obedience to God with the deliberate and purposeful submission of ones will. It’s an attitude that desires to please the Lord in every action and in all we do.
In the Tanakh, this attitude is described in the most practical of terms: walking.
It’s a Walk – the WAY
הֲלָכָה
Halakhah
From the L of OL the lamed
More than anything else, lamad has the meaning of knowing what is right and doing it.
For the Hebrew, there is only simple obedience. Being as the simplicity of a child without any secret information or sophisticated knowledge.
While we are here on earth we must understand that the purpose of all learning is so we can become perfectly in sync. with the Fathers will.
To hear Him say, Well done, good and faithful servant, means we have graduated from God’s training school.
We need to understand that in Hebraic culture, all Jewish authority is based on past inheritance and birthright. Any educated man came with an ancestry of past masters. Jesus/Yeshua’s teaching caused shock, suspicion and skepticism..
When He invited others to follow Him, meaning to be taught by Him, they were infuriated.
The religious leaders were enraged and it appeared to them that He was an implausible boaster, because only a fool would expect others to follow a man without a pedigree that they recognized.
Matthew’s words,
mathete ap’ emou, learn from me,
make it clear that Jesus/Yeshua claimed primary authority, an authority that did not depend on a prior history of teachers, an authority that came straight from God.
No wonder some Jews were beside themselves.
To learn from Jesus/Yeshua is simply to see what He does and do likewise. It’s observing the Ways of Jesus/Yeshua both in His actions and words, not just focusing on His inner motivation or intention and it makes sense.
We can’t see someone’s intentions or motivations, however we can certainly see behavior. So Jesus/Yeshua says,
Watch Me, and do as I do.
In other words, we don’t have to have Jesus/ Yeshua’s scriptual excellence or intelligent insight….
we simply have to copy Him.
This is the reference to being as a little child! Children emulate their parents and caregivers and learn to do by watching and copying what they see and hear. It would be too difficult if the only way that I could enter into rest was to have all the same mental, emotional and intentional capacity of Jesus/Yeshua. It would be hopeless for us to even try, as we can never become exactly like Him. However, if entering into His rest, simply means copying what He does, then we all have a chance.
We can do what Jesus/Yeshua does because He was/is fully human, just like we are. Because of this we can pray to the Father, minister to the sick, worship on the Sabbath, spend time mentoring and comforting, ask the Father for guidance, listen to instructions and carry out commands. We can do all these things, especially since Jesus/Yeshua promises to help pull the load as we are yoked with Him.
He is our living model for the lifestyle and behavior that will produce rest…His rest.
If we really believe that the only way to find this refreshing work is to emulate Jesus/ Yeshua, then the most important thing is for us to see His actions clearly and we have to sift through what we think we know in order to see how He really behaved.
Just like the circumstances that we face we have to understand how He responded to a wide variety of situations, for example, we have to know what He did when faced with accusation, betrayal, rejection, demands, loss, fear and temptation as well as the positive times of victory, validation, joy, comfort and friendship. If we don’t know what Jesus/Yeshua did, then we can’t know what is the rest He offers.
Most of us think we can find our own way to the Promised Land, but we end up slaves in Egypt.
If we want the rest He offers, we will have to do what He does.
It’s not impossible but it certainly demands change.
Nonetheless, yokes are used throughout the world for different things. Some for plowing fields, some for pulling carts, and
from looking at pictures, it is clear that when two animals are unequally yoked it creates a big problem.
The animals that are yoked together should be about the same size, shape, etc. to get the ultimate pulling effect because if one is smaller than the other, it defeats the whole purpose of yoking them together equally.
However, Yeshua HaMashiach/Jesus Christ promises us that His yoke is easy in Matthew 11:28-30. Surely it is preferable to be yoked to Him and have Him help us pull lifes’ daily burdens than do it on our own.
It is not easy doing it on our own. Yet sometimes His followers think that Jesus/Yeshua’s promise to, give rest to the weary, is like some quick fix that will remove hardship from life without any effort on the part of the individual.
The promise of rest or contentment that comes from Yeshua/Jesus brings a reminder with it, and that is, there’s work involved in finding the peace of mind which He promises.
To reach the place of rest, we’ve got to walk with Jesus/Yeshua at our side and let Him share the load, but at the same time, not expecting to be relieved of the necessity of work or of the sacrifice of the cross which we are to take up daily.
Remember, Jesus/Yeshua couples His promise of relief with the command, Take up my yoke and follow me. The promise of rest is coupled with the instruction to carry a yoke and be humble in accepting God’s way, not our way.
His yoke, the cross of this life’s suffering, the cross of sacrificing ourselves for the sake of those in need isn’t too heavy to carry because Jesus/Yeshua, already carried it for us. Jesus/Yeshua promises those who voluntarily yoke themselves to Him that, His strength will be there to get us through anything that comes our way. This is the rest, the peace of mind and heart He promises.
Fulfilling the Torah was the task of a first century rabbi.
The technical term for interpreting the Scripture so it would be obeyed correctly was, fulfill.
To interpret Scripture incorrectly so it would not be obeyed as God intended was to destroy the Torah.
Yeshua/Jesus uses these terms to describe His task as well (Matt. 5:17-19).
To recap: the original pictograph for this letter is a picture of an ox head – representing strength and power from the work performed by the animal. This pictograph also represents a chief or other leader. When two oxen are yoked together for pulling a wagon or plow, one is the older and more experienced one who leads the other. Within the clan, tribe or family the chief or father is seen as the elder who is yoked to the others as the leader and teacher.
The Way of the cross is the WAY of His blood
and the WAY of mercies.
Why?
Because the blood of Messiah cries mercy for us from the Mercy seat of the ark in heaven, where His blood is alive and will be for eternity. It is not human blood but God’s blood so it has supernatural eternal properties.
Let us make sure we never have to see the writing on the wall that when weighed in the balance we are not found empty.
If the day of reckoning has come to us today let’s be sure that we are filled with His spirit and unable to withhold the Shavuot/ Pentecostal fire in our bones.
That is the fire of God coursing through our veins and just as potent today as when they were emboldened with that fire they were baptized and immersed in. They could not contain themselves and could not keep the fire within.
Our God is a consuming fire, cleaning up and burning away all that impeded them from fulfilling His will and call on their lives.
The life is in the blood, when we have His fire in our bones, think on where blood is made… in the marrow of our bones.
The fire of God was shut up in Jeremiah’s bones, possibly a reference to the place and origin of new blood being formed?
The life in the blood, the fire and life of God imbued in Jeremiah is now available to everyone. We are without excuse, our bones can be filled with His fire and life too.
Holy fire, holy life in our bones will ensure we never see the writing on the wall.
For by being fire filled we will not be found empty/ wanting.
This is truly being on fire for God and the scales of balance can also refer to the yoke.
The yoke with which we are yoked to Him. His yoke is easy and light because He carries the burden of the weight of our sin.
Be yoked to His mercies, where the blood is eternally crying for us. The seat of mercy the kapporet on top of the ark of His covenant/presence in heaven.
And how are we to be filled with Him?
The answer is simply total surrender. That is accepting Jesus/Yeshua’s yoke.
He said it was easy because… let’s remind ourselves again just how a yoke works:
There has to be two of the same animal to be together in one yoke.
One is older, and more mature with a lot of experience and a natural leader.
The second simply follows the first and the yoke does not press or chaff because as they flow together the folder taking the strain and bearing the greater burden, leaving the second one with an easier workload. This is the relationship He desires to have with us.
the Book of Amos is also a picture of Messiah as the burden bearer. The Wilderness Mishkan began the plan from the Betrothal Covenant given through Moses and at the cross it was…
Jeremiah was not able to withhold the word of the Lord because
the fire of God externally consumes the flesh in judgment and internally cleanses within.
Jeremiah declares the fire was in his bones; at the point of life, the life is in the blood and the blood is made in the marrow of the bones.
Just as the fire of the burning bush and the fire that led them in the wilderness, and the fire that was present on the Mercy seat, did not consume or destroy that which is around it. But it cleanses that which it touches, making it holy, this is holy fire.
The finger that wrote on the wall was an agent of judgment. He was empty, devoid of any holiness, he was without the lifes/chaim of God. He showed no respect and on that day all he thought he was and had, was taken away in a moment of time.
How can we find the peace of mind and heart, His true shalom, that we seek in the here and now?…
by cooperating with the work Jesus/Yeshua has already done, allow Him to help us by carry our burdens and trusting in His ability to both challenge and change us as we walk in the path of self-sacrifice; yoked together with Jesus/Yeshua and finding that God’s mercies have truly made us a new creature, one that will last for eternity!
The season of Passover and Spring Appointed Times is the season of true freedom where Jesus/Yeshua broke the yoke once and for all.
Shalom, shalom, mishpachah!
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