Yahweh delivered Israel from the yoke of Egypt (Leviticus 26:13), and put her to work in His own field. He warned, though, that they would receive an iron yoke if they failed to plow faithfully (Deuteronomy 28:48).

That heavier yoke first takes the form of the yoke of Solomon. The word “yoke” appears eight times in 1 Kings 12, where Jeroboam asks for relief from Solomon’s yoke, heavy as a new Egyptian yoke. Eventually Yahweh breaks the yoke of the kings again, and places on Israel the easy yoke of His servant Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 27), warning yet again that they would receive an iron yoke if they resisted.

That, in the event, is what happened, until Jesus came to break the burden and offer His own easy yoke and light burden.