“And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.”
The description of Ephraim as a heifer who loves to thresh and the promise that the LORD will put a yoke upon her neck indicates that Israel, accustomed to the freedom of threshing (enjoying the fruits of prosperity without productive labor), will be compelled to bear the heavy burden of the yoke (exile and servitude). The shift from freedom to servitude parallels the shift from covenant blessing to covenant judgment. This verse uses the image of the yoke to suggest the imposition of foreign rule as a consequence of covenant violation.
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