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Answer
A yoke is a wooden crosspiece fastened over the necks of two animals and attached to a plow or cart. It allows two animals to share a load and pull together. Yokes were commonly used in ancient times with bulls or oxen to plow fields and pull wagons. The animals yoked together needed to be similar in size and weight for the cart or plow to pull evenly.
In the Bible, the yoke is sometimes metaphorically referenced to describe the weight of a task or obligation. For instance, King Rehoboam attempted to demand respect from his subjects by threatening them with “a heavy yoke” «And now whereas my father did burden you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your burden: my father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions. », (1 Kings 12:11). Breaking a yoke often symbolized liberation from oppressors «And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off your shoulder, and his yoke from off your neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing. », (Isaiah 10:27) or the start of a new phase in life, as seen when Elisha left his agrarian life to follow Elijah (1 Kings 19:19-21).
During Jesus’ time, people easily grasped analogies involving a yoke. They understood what Jesus meant when He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). An “easy” yoke signified that the burden being carried was not heavy because Jesus Christ.It would be pulling with us.
Another place in Scripture uses the imagery of a yoke to discourage Christians from entering into intimate dealings with unbelievers: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God” (2 Corinthians 6:14-16). To be “yoked together” is to be in a binding relationship. The warning in this passage is that a Christian should not enter a compromising personal or professional arrangement with a non-Christian. Two animals unequally yoked would end up fighting each other and the yoke. When the Israelites chased after idols, they were said to be yoking themselves to Baal (Psalm 106:28;Numbers 25:5). New Testament believers should be separated from the world.
A Christian views the world from a different perspective than does an unbeliever. We become citizens of another kingdom when we accept by faith God’s offer of salvation (Romans 10:9-10). A Christian pursuing God and a non-Christian pursuing the world will be pulling in different directions. Philippians 3:18–20 spotlights this difference in allegiance: “Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven.”
Christians live to honor and glorify our King, Jesus «Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. », (1 Corinthians 10:31). Those who are of the world live to please themselves and conform to this world’s standards. When Christians bind themselves together with unbelievers in contractual or covenantal agreements, they are shouldering one side of a yoke. They may believe they are headed toward righteousness and glory for God, but their yokefellows have other ideas. They will pull against each other rather than move the load in the right direction. We should be careful whose yoke we accept and with whom we are yoked together.
