Burdens

DEVOTION

GENESIS

BURDENS

Gen 49:14-15

14 "Issachar is a rawboned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.   15 When he sees how good is his resting place and how pleasant is his land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and submit to forced labor.

NIV

Here we see a son compared to a strong donkey lying down between two loads of burden. It is said a donkey will in fact do just that. If it is tired it will simply lay down even with its burden on its back. But what has this to do with Issachar, or for that matter any man? Looking forward we see the portion of land his descendants were allotted, it was a furtle portion of land. They were most likely to became agricultural people. Here our scholars have varied opinions as to what the rest of this blessing meant. But we can be certain, they were people of patience, as most are who till the ground and plant. It takes time to wait for the crop and to harvest. But at the same time this is a hard task to work the ground. History also records this tribe had a great number of fighting men and joined the battle when their assistance was needed. We see this in the song of Deborah

Judg 5:15

15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley.

NIV

From the rest of the known history of this tribe we can conclude they were a laborious, hardy, valiant tribe. They were patient in labor and invincible in war. They bore both these burdens with great constancy whenever it was necessary. We also see that during the period of the judges a man named Tola, who was from this tribe gave Israel twenty-three years of rest. So how does this relate to our lives? What can we glean from this son’s blessing for our days? Life certainly can afford us with a varied amount of burdens. Each of us might have to carry several burdens at once. There are also many different types of burdens and each of us may have different burdens than another. But the point is we should learn from this blessing it would be good to carry them well, being patient, being laborious and hardy as well as valiant. We should not buckle under our burdens and become down trodden. We should be ready to offer assistance to others even in the midst of our own burdens. Yet, we could also learn to find a period of rest in our lives. Sometimes the burdens of life can bear so heavy, we cannot find that rest. We become so over burdened with the cares of this life, we worry, we become anxious, we fret to the point we even toss to and fro in our attempt to sleep. If we learn anything from this blessing on Issachar, we should learn to be patient. God has everything under control. That is not to say we should do nothing, we should work and work diligently at our tasks in life. We have heard the Lord tell us to work as onto him. We cannot sit idle and do nothing. But we also need to see the value in patience. There is no need to worry, to be anxious or to get down because of any burden we bear in life. Jesus told us to take his yoke upon us, for his burden is light.

Matt 11:28-30

28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

NIV

When we partner with Jesus in the burdens of life, he is our strength.