Note: The word BEAR was a focus on January 12 for God bearing burdens. I must have needed to hear it again. Today, this time looking at my BURDENS compared to His!
The biblical history of human burdens began in the Garden of Eden even though that term was not used. After the first two people disobeyed God, He said to Eve she would experience pain in childbirth and conflict with her husband. He said to Adam:
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17–19)
Ever since then, humanity struggles with the weight of men distrusting and not wanting to listen to women, with the weight of earning a living, and with the weight of impending death. Add to this the weight of sin — defined as ‘like sheep who have gone astray, turning each to his own way’ instead of living as God intended. This is a burden, even for those who do not realize it or feel it without having the way of the Lord to compare it with.
The first use of BURDEN describes the people of God enslaved to hard labor in Egypt. There God said to Moses:
Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. (Exodus 6:6–7)
But the people did not listen “because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery” — and God sent plagues and all sorts of harshness until the people did listen and the Egyptian Pharaoh was willing to release them. Even though he changed his mind and went after them, God set them free.
This event depicts what God offers to all humanity: freedom from spiritual slavery to sin. Many will deny this is a problem, but the psalmist realized it. He said: “For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.” (Psalm 38:4)
These words show that the writer discovered God’s BURDENS are nothing compared to that heavy burden of sin and guilt. Here is what Jesus had to say:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)
I once read that the word for our burden is like a heavy load impossible to lift, but the burden that Jesus offers the word used for the invoice on the load! I cannot verify that in Greek but can verify it in experience and from this other declaration from God:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. (1 John 5:3–4)
Yesterday I slipped into trying to bear my own burdens. Loss of my nephew, Covid hitting family members with one cousin dying from it, the constant barrage of statistics about death and distressing political situations — and a sore hip and a general sense of depression. It was too heavy for me. Then along comes Jesus and lifts them off with His promises and truths about who He is and what He can do. Yoked with Him is easy, light, and nothing compared to trying to do things my own way.
It seems the human default mode is “do it my way.” We are born selfish, wanting what I want ‘right now’ as we cry for food and comfort. Some are pampered by doting parents who give into every demand. Some are told, “You can do whatever you want” supposedly to encourage ambition. Some of us learn the hard way that a independent and selfish attitude eventually leads to a big empty hole in our hearts. We try filling it with all sorts of stuff — and most of it turns out to be heavy and burdensome.
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Compare what He asks of me with what He does for me! His yoke is nothing compared to His promises and the wonder of what He does. “He keeps me in perfect peace as my mind is fixed on Him, because I am trusting in Him” (Isaiah 26:3) is a big part of it!
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