Dictionary of Bible Themes The wooden collar which joins two animals, usually oxen, to enable them to pull together. Used metaphorically the term may denote the partnership of those who share a yoke or, more usually, the subjection of those under a yoke. As his covenant partners God's people are yoked to him and he will break the oppressive yoke of their enemies. 1 Samuel 6:7Literal references to yokes 1 Kings 19:19See also Job 1:3; 42:12Luke 14:19 Numbers 19:2 Deuteronomy 21:3 Cows that have never been yoked are offered as sacrifices: 2 Samuel 24:221 Kings 19:21 Ox yokes are used to burn slaughtered animals: Jeremiah 2:20God's yoke See also Jeremiah 5:5Matthew 11:29-30 Philippians 4:3 The yoke as a symbol of partnership Partnership in Jesus Christ's service 2 Corinthians 6:14-16Unsuitable partnerships Genesis 24:3-41 Kings 11:4 Marriage to unbelievers: 1 Corinthians 7:39Numbers 25:2-3 Psalms 106:28 Involvement with pagan gods: 1 Corinthians 10:18-211 Corinthians 5:9-10 too close association with the immoral Acts 15:10The yoke as a symbol of subjection See also The yoke of the law Matthew 23:4Galatians 5:1 Deuteronomy 28:47-48 Jeremiah 27:2 Israel under the yoke of enemies See also Isaiah 47:6Jeremiah symbolically portrays the coming Babylonian exile. Jeremiah 27:8,11-13Jeremiah 28:2-4,10-14 Lamentations 1:14; 3:27 Hananiah's prophecy of an early end to Babylonian oppression will be proved false: Hosea 10:11Genesis 27:40 The yoke of other masters 1 Kings 12:4Esau will throw off the yoke of Jacob. The people's complaint about harsh servitude under Solomon is ignored by Rehoboam: 1 Kings 12:9-11pp 2Ch 10:4 1 Kings 12:14pp 2Ch 10:9-11 Isaiah 58:6,9pp 2Ch 10:14 1 Timothy 6:1God's people are urged to lift the yoke of injustice and oppression from their fellows: Ezekiel 34:27Slaves are to respect their masters. Hosea 11:4God breaks the yoke of oppression Exodus 6:6-7Leviticus 26:13 Egypt's yoke broken: Ezekiel 30:18Isaiah 9:4; 10:27; 14:25 Nahum 1:13 Assyria's yoke broken: Jeremiah 30:8See also Babylon's yoke broken 4406 agriculture4504 roots 4603 animals 4627 creatures 5205 alliance 5246 captivity 5347 injustice 6634 deliverance 6658 freedom 7140 people of God 7446 slavery 8790 oppression |
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