“And the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing.” This prophecy in Isaiah 10:27 is fulfilled historically in the defeat of the Assyrians, yet it foreshadowed the power of God’s anointing upon His people — a power so strong it would prevent them from accepting any yoke of bondage. The word “anointing” in this verse is better translated “fatness” (as the NIV does). The word “fatness” presents a picture of a nation, group or individual so blessed they can never be bound!
This verse could well be translated: “The bondage shall be broken because of the blessing.” In my dairy-farming days we attached short sticks to leather collars on necks of cows that had the habit of getting through wire fences. The sticks hung down and blocked them from getting through the wire.
The yoke of spiritual or cultural bondage on humans works in much the same way. We can learn to live with inhibiting restrictions, seeing them as a problem only when they prevent us from breaking through into greater freedom. Or we can grow strong enough in the anointed to break them off and go wherever the Lord leads.
Imagine a young heifer which is so strong that it can break through any fence. During years of ministry the Lord has used me to break off various bondages from people in the name of Jesus by the power of God; all well and good. But if the spiritual strength of the believer who had worn the yoke did not improve, the old bondage returned or was replaced by one even stronger. The answer is not to break off ever-returning bondages but to grow too strong in the blessings of God for any yoke of bondage to ever be attached!
How to become that strong? Love God completely. Read the Bible devotionally. Pray fervently! Follow the Lord Jesus fully. Be led by the Spirit of God daily. An interesting thing about Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is that only after informing them of how God sees them in heavenly places in the person of His Son, does he address their down-to-earth problems. Freedom has come down to us in Christ, who has freed us to be free – and to remain free forever!
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty with wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1) Breaking off old yokes of bondage is one thing, but being too strong, spiritually, for any further bondage to attach itself is ever better!