וַתְּהִ֥י הַמִּשְׂרָ֖ה עַל־שִׁכְמ֑וֹ
And the government shall be upon His shoulder… Isaiah 9.6
Commenting on this passage, Ambrose of Milan (333-397) wrote, “Therefore he bowed his shoulder, applying himself to the plow…” (On the Patriarchs 6.31).
Here “government” is likened to an oxen’s yoke, connected to a plow for breaking up ground and preparing it for sowing. The yoke here envisioned is the Kingdom of God. The work of the Kingdom is thus to break up the hard ground:
“For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
‘Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.’” Jeremiah 4.3
No seed will take root on hard , weed-ridden ground (Mk. 4.14-19). Seed sown on unbroken ground may germinate, but it can achieve no root, and it will not therefore bear any fruit for the Kingdom. There will be no Kingdom righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit apart from the hard work of breaking up the fallow ground of the soul–ground that has been repeatedly plowed and harrowed but needs to be further broken up to allow the good seed of the Kingdom to penetrate deep.
Jesus calls us into this difficult work, beginning in our own soul: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me…” (Matt. 11.29).
The work of the Kingdom is not only sowing and cultivating. Also necessary is the continuous work of removing stones and weeds and preparing the soil of the soul to receive the Word of the Kingdom. The stoney hearts of men must be uncovered and cleared. The deep roots of worldly weeds must be plowed under and broken, lest they return to obstruct Kingdom growth.
This is hard work. Patient work. Work that requires confrontation and struggle against entrenched views, aspirations, and ways to clear the soil of the soul for new views, aspirations, and ways.
Without this work, the Kingdom will not flourish. At best, only a semblance of it will appear, and that only for a time.
