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Old 06-15-2009, 03:41 PM
custer custer is offline
 
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Columbia KY
Posts: 74
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George,

THIS IS NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK ON YOU! There is no need to get riled up and take it that way!

Your idea that two oxen being yoked together "must be EQUALS" so (according to you) they can't be a picture of a "genuine Biblical marriage" IS NOT FACTUAL! We cut hay a couple of weeks ago and did some of the raking with a friend's draft horses; they are joined with a harness, not a yoke, but the idea is the same. THERE WAS A LEAD HORSE...THE LEADER...THE HEAD HONCHO! One of the two knew better what to do and how to do it; he LED the other, and they both pulled the rake together! (Same thing goes for sled dogs.) Also, I have read about oxen and only ever found that they are to be matched, not according to leadership ability, but according to temperament and willingness to work! And, do you raise cattle? We do and have for years!!! And in any group of cows/steers (whether it's a pair or a hundred,) THEIR IS ALWAYS A DOMINANT ANIMAL!!! So, the picture of being "yoked together" is perfectly compatible with the man being the head of the woman.

As for YOUR definition of "yoked" - "paired together for work" - that is completely inconsistent with your stated desire to use the Bible to define itself! In your enthusiasm to avoid the word "joined" and substitute YOUR OWN "pair" or "paired," did you check out how the Bible uses "pair?" Yes, a yoke of oxen is a pair, but so is the "pair of turtledoves" in Luke 2:24, which are NOT connected to each other in any way; and the "pair of balances" in Revelation 6:5, which is ONE instrument referred to as a pair only because it has two pans. (If the "pair" of pans was actually "paired together" [per YOUR definition,] the tool could not perform its intended task! Instead, the "pair" of pans is JOINED TOGETHER by a center beam!) This is a PERFECT example of why it DOES make such a difference whether a word is a noun or a verb! (Can you imagine trying to communicate with someone who spoke using only nouns?) Along the same lines, I can have a yoke ("pair") of oxen in my pasture that are NOT "paired together;" if the "pair" is 200 yards apart, they are still considered a "yoke" of oxen, even though they are not "yoked together" at the time! In order for the "pair" to be "yoked together," I must put them together (join them, if you will) with a physical piece of wood or iron - the "yoke." I apologize if this sounds scattered or repetitive - it is the most basic element of language...that words can and do have very different meanings; this is the way that we talk and the way the Bible is written.

And, George, I agree with you that comprehending these truths DOES NOT require a college education; I DON'T HAVE A COLLEGE EDUCATION! You jumped to conclusions when I told you that I kept a 4.0 in my college English courses; the ONLY reason I mentioned it was because YOU called into question my ability to "read English!" Almost twenty years ago, I started nursing school, but I quit before I even finished my "core courses" when I learned that my place was at home with my family. I wouldn't advise ANYONE to go to college - PERIOD - apprenticeship and on-the-job training are much more practical, "real-life," not to mention inexpensive ways to learn and are, therefore, infinitely preferable!

On top of having a very limited education, I AM BLONDE!!! But am I the only one who noticed that you (George) incorrectly assigned the definition of YOUR OWN CHOOSING to "yoke" in Num. 19:2, Deut. 21:3, I Sam. 6:7, Jer. 28:10, Jer. 28:12, Jer. 28:13, and Jer. 31:18? The "yoke" in these verses is CLEARLY an actual piece of wood or iron used to join two oxen together - not a figurative or representative "burden" or "servitude." (READ THE VERSES...George has them in the original post above.) While there are many places in scripture where a "yoke" IS figurative for such, a physical yoke IS NOT THE BURDEN OF THE OX!!! It is an instrument that connects the animals to each other and, by extension, to their "burden." The burden is the load that they pull; the burden is NOT the yoke itself! [Again, figuratively, "yoke" IS used to mean "burden," because the purpose of putting on the yoke is to work.] In addition, there are eight times in your study, George, where YOU assign either "burden," "servitude," or "paired together for work" as the definition of "yoke" when it is painfully obvious in the verses that "yoke" simply means "pair." (Again, George has these verses above for us to check out: Jer. 51:23, I Sam. 11:7, I Sam. 14:14, I Kings 19:19, I Kings 19:21, Job 1:3, Job 42:12, and Luke 14:19.) Please look at them all, but (for example) notice Luke 14:19 - "...I have bought five yoke of oxen..." George, you say that's "a burden or servitude;" the Bible is simply specifying a number. Or, how about I Sam. 11:7 - "...he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces..." You say that those oxen are "paired together for work;" the Bible says it was two oxen chopped up in pieces!

If you (George) feel the need to point out YET AGAIN that "Pam just can't let go," (Love and Race post #92) notice that the reason I am still here commenting is that you conducted a biased one-sided study supported with FALSE INFORMATION! So, like I've said before, a response (although welcome) is not necessary - it WAS necessary to put out the TRUTH to be weighed against your study! Is it possible that you honestly don't see that this has nothing to do with me being "determined to be right" (Love and Race post #92) and everything to do with SOMEONE posting the TRUTH? (If it helps, you could pretend someone else wrote it!)

Pam
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