Isaiah 14
Break the Yoke of Slavery!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, January 1, 2024.
Happy New Year! As you begin the new year, I invite you to renew your commitment to Jesus so that you may walk in covenant faithfulness to God and His Word – this is where you will find rest for your soul, in the easy yoke of Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30).
In Isaiah 14:3, God promised rest to His oppressed people, “And it will be in the day when the Lord gives you rest from your pain and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved.” This promise was followed by the oxen yoke imagery, described in verse 25, “to break Assyrian in my land, … Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder.’”
The yoke imagery of the Old Testament symbolizes slavery and oppression by evil. Israel often found themselves oppressed in the yoke of slavery because they did not rest in covenant faithfulness to God and His Word. In three other passages, God references the oxen yoke through the prophet Isaiah:
- The promise of the Messiah in Isaiah 9:4, “For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.”
- The promise of rescue in Isaiah 10:27, “So it will be in that day, that his burden will be removed from your shoulders and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be broken because of fatness.”
- The judgment of Babylon in Isaiah 47:6, “You did not show mercy to them, on the aged you made your yoke very heavy.”
Seize the moment and take on the easy yoke of Jesus! Rest can only be found in covenant faithfulness to God and His Word – “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
Happy New Year!
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.