"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the
government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called, Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God,
The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9: 6
The promise of a Savior given long ago was fulfilled when Christ was
born of a Virgin in Bethlehem. We see many wonderful promises in
this Scripture. He would be the 'Mighty God' and Wonderful
Counselor. Jesus would be the Everlasting Father and Prince of
Peace. One of the other promises given was, "the Government
shall be upon his shoulder". The 'shoulders' in Hebrew
meaning in our Bible signifies responsibility and also rule or
authority. It also means "to bear", as to carry the
weight or burden, also to clothe. Burdens were carried and borne
upon the shoulders of those responsible to carry them. When we
look at the History and background of the early Israelites, we see
also the shoulders represented, "strength", as to carry
burdens and stand strong under their weight. There are both
physical burdens carried and spiritual burdens. A study reveals many
details
to us to help us understand when all is said and done, Jesus is the
one who carries our burdens when we give them to Him. We do not have
to carry them, he will take them.
Examples
When the Ark of the Covenant passed over before them into Jordon, they
had one leader from each of the twelve tribes. The Priests who
carried the Ark were to hear and understand the words of the
Lord. They were to believe when the soles of the feet of those
carrying the Ark stepped into the waters of Jordan, the waters would
be divided. They would stand firm on dry ground in the midst of
Jordon and pass over on dry ground until all the people had crossed
over the River. Joshua was commanded stones were to be
gathered and carried on the shoulders of the leaders
of the 12 Tribes of the Children of Israel. These stones were to
be taken from the river bed where they had crossed. They
were to be laid in the place where they lodged as a sign. When
the Children of Israel would later ask about the meaning of the
stones, they would be told the stones were for a 'sign and a memorial'
forever. The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the
Ark of the Covenant of the Lord when it passed over Jordan. {Joshua 3: 13} The crossing of the Jordan would
be remembered by the twelve tribes forever. A Stone is
also symbolic of our Lord as the "tried and true Stone" and
"Rock of our salvation".
The High Priest of the tribe of the Levites also had the names of the
twelve tribes of Israel engraved on two stones or jewels. These
two stones were set in ouches, (ornaments), of gold and placed on the
shoulders of the Ephod, (garment of the Priest), for stones of
memorial unto the children of Israel. Aaron, the High Priest,
was to bear their names before the Lord upon his shoulders for a
memorial. He never forgot His purpose and position before God in
behalf of the Children of Israel. He was responsible to
intercede and offer sacrifice first for his sins, then for all of the
Children of Israel unto the Lord. This was commanded under the
Old Covenant when the High Priest went before the Lord in behalf of
the people.
The Children of the Levites also bare the ark of God upon their
shoulders with the staves as Moses had commanded according to the Word
of God. The covering or lid of the Ark carried was the mercy
seat upon which the blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement.
God's presence was said to dwell upon the "mercy seat" and
God met with them at the mercy seat. This golden lid covered the box
which contained the golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod of authority
which budded, and the tablets of God's Laws. The Children of
Israel had rebelled or complained about each of these three things or
what they represented, and this was before them also as a reminder
Type and Shadow
This is a wonderful type and shadow in the Old Testament for us to
study as to responsibility and the Scriptures about our Lord who came to take our burdens as revealed in
the New Testament. We can be thankful today we have a Great High
Priest who is touched by the feelings of our infirmities. He
intercedes for us and we can bring our burdens on him.
When Christ came to the Earth as God in the flesh, He was the one who would carry our burden and He will be the one to
restore the Government to Righteous rule. His laws are
just and holy and He shall rule in right - eousness and power. The
governments will be upon his shoulder, as foretold in
Isaiah. We are also carried by the Lord. We
are invited to come unto Him and exchange our burden for his. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.
He will carry our
heavy burden upon "his shoulders" if we will carry his
burden of "light for the lost", which is light of God, to
"enlighten hearts". His burden is light. He is
our Mercy Seat and is seated at the right hand, (power and authority),
of the Father.
We can come boldly to Him and seek help in time of trouble. He
carried the weight of the world's sins upon his shoulders to
Calvary's Cross. He paid the price we should have paid and
took our place to become the Great High Priest and Intercessor. He alone was willing to stand in the gap and take the curse and weight
of the sins of the world upon His shoulders. He bore the cross
of Calvary and the curse of sin was upon His sacred head as He
was crowned with a crown of thorns. Thorns represent a curse
upon the earth because of man's sin. He was the Rose among the
thorns. The final sting of the thorns will be removed when the grave
gives up the dead and death shall be no more. Our Lord bore the
sin upon his shoulders but the sting of death could not hold him in
the grave. The "Rose of Sharon" still blooms today in lives and hearts of all who will receive Him.
He is the Prince of Peace and Righteous Judge of all. The Kingdoms of this world will crumble and fall as the Stone which
the builders rejected fills the whole earth. He will crush the
enemy and restore the rule of government to a theocracy. This will be "one World under God with peace, liberty and justice
for all."
So many unnecessary burdens are laid upon the shoulders of people as
in Matt. 23: 4. This Scripture tells us, "For they
bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on
men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of
their fingers." This is in reference to the Pharisees and
their works which placed burdens upon others that should not be their
responsibility or worry. There are many burdens which are un -
necessarily placed upon people, even God's Children. These
should be placed on the shoulders of Jesus. He not only
will carry them, but he will remove them and give rest and peace if
only we give them to Him.
The invitation given by Jesus is still open to all today. "Come
unto me" is the call of Jesus to every person who is weary and
heavy laden with their burden of sin or struggles of life. Jesus
alone can give rest and peace unto those who are heavy laden. As
he removes the load of sin and guilt, He replaces it with peace and
joy. Do you want to be truly blessed? Seek God's heart
today and his Word. His hand always blesses and moves for his
children. He wants us to worship Him by seeking his heart,
his true burden and his yoke. God still rolls away the stones
and brings life out of spiritual death or discouragement. Why
would we want anything less? How can we be a part of what God
wants to do? Pray without ceasing, expect God to work in our
midst, and always have an open, humble and contrite heart of worship
to receive. Do not despise God's Words. They must be our
number one focus. They are spirit and life unto us. We
must understand the true meaning of freedom in worship and the devotion to God as a result.
Let the shoulders of Jesus carry you today. He will bare you up.
He not only will restore the Governments and rule in the future, but
he will carry us today and our heavy burdens. Let our words be
as the song, "He is here, Hallelujah! He is here,
amen". Recognizing He is always with us is the right key to receiving from
God that our joy might be full. He is an ever present help in
time of trouble. He is a comfort in time of sorrow. He is
joy and strength, he is peace and love. He is beauty to all who
behold his holiness. God is all this and so much more. "Let go and let God" is his word for us in all Seasons.
Remember, it really is no secret what God can do. What He has done for others, He will do for you.
He is the gift of life that "keeps on giving".
Blessings in Christ,
Jo Ann
J. P.'s Inspirations (c) 2001 |
"I bare you on eagles wings, and brought you unto
myself".
Exodus 19: 5.
