The Broken Yoke

Jacob had stolen Esau’s blessing.  It was the blessing reserved for the firstborn (Esau).  But Rebekah, their mother, had come up with a deceptive plan and Jacob implemented it.  His father, Isaac, felt something was “off” when Jacob came to him; he asked questions seven times to make sure he was blessing the firstborn.  

When Esau then came in for his blessing, Isaac began trembling.  He knew he’d been duped.  He told Esau his blessing had already been given to Jacob.  When Esau began weeping, Isaac blessed him with this:  

“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.

40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

The deceitful plan and Jacob getting the BEST blessing had become a yoke around Esau’s neck.  Isaac used “yoke” as an analogy for slavery.  Esau would be a slave to Jacob.  Now Esau was never literally a slave of Jacob’s…but because of the pain of this situation, Esau was an emotional slave to Jacob.  He spent the better part of the next twenty years yoked to Jacob in his anger.  

Are you yoked to someone because of an injustice, abuse, mistreatment, dominion, painful words, or any other foul treatment?   There’s good news for you in this story!

Isaac told Esau he could break free from this yoke.  The Hebrew definition says “you can break free when you trample about, become restless, become lord (master), ruler, have dominion.”  How do you break that yoke?   You trample about until you have dominion over it.  That may look like you examining what happened in your life from every angle. It may involve counseling. It will definitely take time wrestling with this issue in your life.  You’re not trampling it just to wallow in it—you want to rule over it.  You want to break away from it!   You want SPIRITUAL FREEDOM!!!

Esau found that freedom.  I believe he had that freedom when he went to meet his brother as Jacob was coming home.  God tells us that Jacob bowed before his brother seven times—the number of completion. It was over.  Esau was no longer a slave to his brother.  The yoke was broken.  

You can be free, too. Break that yoke!!