Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: 21 Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. Jeremiah 17:19-22 KJV

God spoke to the Prophet Jeremiah about the people of Judah carrying their burdens (heavy loads) on the Sabbath day. This prophecy serves as a good object lesson for every believer in Christ to know that God never intended that we bear burdens in His Sabbath rest. People who are always burdened down, obviously, have not learned to take His yoke upon them (Matt. 11:28-30). The Lord gives us rest, free from anxieties. He pleads with us to allow Him to be one of the two to share the heavy loads of life. He doesn’t want us bearing our burdens alone, but He wants to gently and humbly guide us as the stronger partner. God is clearly saying that we are to bear no burdens in our Sabbath rest. “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Heb. 4:3-4, 9-10).

Without question, God wants His people free from the yokes of heavy burdens and oppression (Isa. 10:27). So, where do yokes come from?  A yoke is any heavy burden imposed upon one as a result of:  excessive demands of legalism (Acts 15:10, 19-20, 28-29), an unshakable sin (Rom. 6:14), weariness in one’s search for God (John 5:39), perhaps, a false burden due to a lack of understanding (Prov. 13:15), satanic oppression or persecution (Rev. 2:20-24), etc.

But Jesus said, “come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest . . . for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light Matt. 11:28, 30).  The Lord’s yoke is not burdensome but light, custom-made and always properly fitted to our life and life’s situations. You can’t take on a burden by yourself. If you do, you’ll soon find out that you can’t bear it alone. You must pray, trust God, and, release the heavy lifting to Him (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). Jesus Christ is a burden bearer and heavy load sharer!