Legalism places the burden of responsibility upon the shoulders of men. God never intended that we carry this heavy weight around. The government of God is to be placed upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ. This was beautifully typified in the Old Testament picture of Aaron, the high priest, who bore the names of Israel upon his two shoulders. Aaron typifies our precious Jesus, “the Apostle and High Priest of our confession”.

Mankind is very weak and inept so God desires to dwell “between (our) shoulders” (i.e., in our midst) and grant us safety and protection. That verse – Deuteronomy 33:12 – is also translated, “And he shall dwell between His shoulders”, the idea being that safety and protection come from being centered in God. Either way you read it, God is our Source of security!

You see, the gospel of Jesus Christ lifts burdens. He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. He has secured peace for us. Just as Samson bore the doors of the gates of the city (the site where business and government transactions took place) upon his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the hill before Hebron (Judges 16:3), Jesus Christ was taken away to bear the sin of the world.

Whenever we attempt to mix man’s effort with God’s grace through Jesus, we get carried away from the truth of the gospel. Our justification, or rightness before God, is only by faith in Christ, not ritual or works. Just as God delivered Israel from the shackles of hard bondage in Egypt, Jesus has come to set captives free.

Pictured in Isaiah 10:27 is the beautiful truth of how God’s anointing upon and within the believer destroys the yoke of bondage. Jesus alone has the key of the house of David; He alone opens the door of salvation that can no one can shut. The nails that fastened Him at Calvary depict the surety of our salvation.

God’s grace is personified in Jesus. He shouldered your sin, that you would experience His glorious rest.