Divine Yoke !

When most of us are so much centered around the burdens of our own life, let us realize that our Lord has expressed His burdens through His prophets, through His Word. And when we shift our focus from our burden to His burdens, He faithfully takes away our burdens. It does not mean that our challenges vanishes into thin air all of a sudden. But instead, His presence dawns into our hearts and minds in a powerful way, which gives us grace to handle our challenges in the most fruitful way. At the same time He gives us grace to have a renewed mind towards our Lord and life.

Let’s learn few of the divine burdens from the book of Malachi. Malachi 1:1, “The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.”

1. Malachi 1:2,“I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved;..” Imagine a person doubting the love of his or own parents who struggled all their lives and who made many sacrifices to bring up their son or daughter. The hurt and grief caused is deep. Challenges & deprivations of one’s lives can make one doubt Gods’ love for them. But the truth is that more than the earthly blessings, it is the presence of Holy Spirit Himself who assures us that we are loved by God. We are confident that He loves us. Here He points out saying that He loved Jacob. Verse 2 says that He hated Esau. Can God hate? He expresses His love to all in this world without any partiality. But being a just God at the same time, He forgives those who receive Him as their Lord and saviour . When they repent, they receive forgiveness which assures them of God’s love. Jacob was clever and used crafty ways several times. Yet he repented and came back to God. On the other hand, Esau did not repent. Only a repentant heart is assured of God’s love time and again. His love is best expressed in forgiving us, whenever we repent. Our assurance of His love for us pleases Him.
2. “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ Creation honoring the Creator is a natural outflow of reverence from a right mind. Today, it’s a common scene to see aged parents being abandoned by children. They feel that their use is no more there and that they are burden. The world is loosing its ‘right mind’. How much more is the Lord’s burden who continues to love and sustain us in His grace, who left His glory, took the form of man , offered Himself as a sacrifice to redeem us and yet He has not yet been honored in the way it should have been. How does one dishonor Him ? Malachi 1:8, “And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. Anything which is not ‘the best’ is considered blind, lame and sick. God Gave His only begotten Son for our redemption. He deserves our best offerings…our complete submission, best time, best of talents, 1^st portion of resources etc. These expresses our priority for the Lord in our lives and this honors Him. Abel offered firstlings of the flock for offering sacrifice to the Lord and honored Him. While Cain brought fruit of the ground instead of ‘first fruits’. Anything anytime anyway attitude dishonors Him.  We honor Him when we give Him priority in every area of our lives.
3. Malachi 2:7-8, “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have departed from the way; You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”Says the Lord of hosts.’ We are the priests of the New Testament. 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people…….” Being priests, we ought to learn, meditate and keep His Word on a daily basis. Besides we ought to share His Word in its purity with others around. Unless we dwell in His Word and He in us on a continuous basis, its not possible to bear fruits of the Spirit. The Lord’s burden is about His people departing from His way and corrupting His Word. Today, His Word is  not preached in its purity in many places. Instead, its twisted to suit ones convenience, causing many to stumble. Priority is on blessings of this world instead of repentance & sanctification. Preachers preach for the applause of the audience, ignoring the guidance of His Spirit and thus,  missing the marks of conviction of sinfulness and repentance. One is easily enticed by attractive words, not realizing whether it’s the truth or not. Hosea 4:6 says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”  Let us pray that we have a seeking heart, seeking for truth and His counsel. He is faithful to satisfy a seeking heart. May His people know the truth and be saved.
4. Malachi 2:17, “You have wearied the Lord with your words; Yet you say,“In what way have we wearied Him?”In that you say, “Everyone who does evil Is good in the sight of the Lord, And He delights in them,”Or, “Where is the God of justice?” In Psalm 73, we see a clear picture of how comparison with others can cause one to fall easily. The psalmist was envious of the prosperity of the ungodly people till he went to the sanctuary, where he realized that they stand in slippery places (Ps.73:17-18). Knowingly or unknowingly, such thoughts can creep into any of our mindsets, especially while facing a trial. But the truth is that each of us have a way to go, predestined by the Lord Himself. Instead of comparing ourselves with others, let us be mindful to humble ourselves before the Lord and seek to identify our sins and shortcomings. When chastised, let us pray for grace to go through it and to learn from Him. For all things happen for good for those who love the Lord (Rom.8:28). His justice and mercy cannot be measured with human wisdom. For His ways and thoughts are above ours.
5. Malachi 3:8, “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” In the Old Testament, the Levites did not work as others did, for they were assigned the duties of service in the temple of God. But the other tribes of Israel brought their tithes and offerings to the temple of God, which sustained the tribe of Levi, which in turn made them available for the duties in the temple. In New Testament, the Lord has commanded us to give cheerfully, whatever we can for the Kingdom purpose. Its not just the money & resources, but also the time, talents, skills and all we have. Church is the body of Christ. All need to get involved actively as per grace given to each for the growth of the church. Its not a one persons responsibility. Just as each organ of our body has an important role to play, we all have been assigned a calling, for which we need to submit. We rob Him, knowingly or unknowingly when we refuse or ignore our calling, and invest our time and talents in other areas. Malachi 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house,- His Word is the food in His Church, which needs to be delivered again and again to His people, not just in the form of preachings, but in the form of services, talents etc. And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts,“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” God has promised to shower the blessing of His presence on such lives, a blessing which no room is enough to contain.
6. Malachi 3:13-14,”Your words have been harsh against Me,”Says the Lord,“Yet you say,‘What have we spoken against You?’ You have said,‘It is useless to serve God; What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, And that we have walked as mourners Before the Lord of hosts?” For many, serving God is a profit making business. They set out with such attitude and hence sooner or later, the ministries they start close down, causing chaos in the hearts of many. The 12 apostles of Christ left all they had and followed Christ. They did not gain any worldly profits. Instead, most of them sacrificed their very lives for the sake of Kingdom of God. Today, if many have joined the body of Christ, including you and me, its because of the unending list of sacrifices of many anointed faithful servants of God who served Him unconditionally. The love of Christ caused them to serve and love for Christ caused them to be faithful. Serving God is an expression of gratitude for what He did for us. 116:12-14,”What shall I render to the Lord? For all His benefits toward me? I will take up the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord, Now in the presence of all His people.”

Let us remember what the Lord said. Mt.11:28-30, “Come to Me, all you 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.” His yoke is easy as He Himself enables us to carry His yoke with His strength. May our focus shift from our heavy burdens to His yoke and thus seek His Kingdom first.

GOD bless us all.

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