Call to Commitment

 

 

God’s word to Zedekiah

      1.      The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, 

 2.      "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 

 3.      And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand; your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, he shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon.' " ' 

 4.      Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: 'You shall not die by the sword. 

 5.      You shall die in peace; as in the ceremonies of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they shall burn incense for you and lament for you, saying, "Alas, lord!" For I have pronounced the word, says the LORD.' " 

 6.      Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 

 7.      when the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and Azekah; for only these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

 In the ninth year of the reign of Zedekiah, the last king over Judah, Nebuchadnezzar came to besiege Jerusalem. Zedekiah reigned eleven years and his kingship ended with the Babylonian conquest. In this chapter, the narration advances rapidly towards the fatal fourth month of the 11^th year of the king, when the enemy army will penetrate the city. In chapter 32, Jeremiah was imprisoned, because he dared to speak, not only of the judgment coming to Judah, but he also declared that the king would not escape out of the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. At the beginning of this chapter, we have an amplification of the judgment of Zedekiah, given in chapter 32. However, God speaks with compassion and shows that mercy will accompany the judgment.

 The mighty emperor came, along with the armies of defeated nations, to conquer Jerusalem (1). The Lord sent Jeremiah to speak directly to his king that He was about to turn the city over to Babylon and the result would be that they would totally set it on fire (2). As in chapter 32, this word again pronounced the capture of Zedekiah, that he would come face to face with the emperor, and then be carried into Babylon (3).  

 Now, chapter 34 takes us forward to bring a word, which would provide some comfort to Judah’s king. In this passage, God reveals His character, which is clearly sought in Habakkuk 3:2: “Oh Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; oh Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk’s ministry partly ran parallel with Jeremiah’s and he also prophesied of the Babylonian invasion. The awesome fear of the Lord was a property of all the prophets and, in fact, all the true people of God. Habakkuk clearly discerns His word of judgment and fears it.

 “The midst of the years” refers to the fearsome consequences for sin, which Judah is now experiencing.  As it is being executed, I paraphrase Habakkuk’s prayer: “Let Your work in Your people continue and accomplish Your purpose, through this time of judgment.” Then he says, “Let your people understand that this is all connected to Your will and is for their ultimate wellbeing.” Then he puts his trust in the principle that expresses the nature of God: “In wrath remember mercy.” We see this principle working through Jeremiah’s word.

 Without telling Zedekiah of the murder of his sons before his eyes, or the fact that his eyes would then be plucked out, Jeremiah gives him all the comfort that this evil king could possibly experience. 1) He would survive the invasion (4). 2) He would have a peaceful death. 3) He would be honored by his people and they would mourn his death (5).  The Lord assures Him by His word and Jeremiah relays the word personally to the king (6). Meanwhile, Babylon is besieging Jerusalem and only two walled cities remain unconquered in Judah… Lachish and Azekah. Nebuchadnezzar is currently also about to bring those two to total defeat (7).

 

The slave question

 8.      This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them: 

 9.      that every man should set free his male and female slave—a Hebrew man or woman—that no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage. 

 10.  Now when all the princes and all the people, who had entered into the covenant, heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. 

 11.  But afterward they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves. 

 12.  Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 

 13.  "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 

 14.  "At the end of seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you." But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear. 

 15.  Then you recently turned and did what was right in My sight—every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor; and you made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 

 16.  Then you turned around and profaned My name, and every one of you brought back his male and female slaves, whom he had set at liberty, at their pleasure, and brought them back into subjection, to be your male and female slaves.' 

 17.  "Therefore thus says the LORD: 'You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you,' says the LORD 'to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine! And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. 

 18.  And I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it— 

 19.  the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 

 20.  I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. 

 21.  And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army which has gone back from you. 

 22.  Behold, I will command,' says the LORD, 'and cause them to return to this city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.' " 

 Probably, Jeremiah influenced Zedekiah to bring the Jerusalem populace to a covenant, in which they promised to free their Jewish slaves. From time to time, the king did pay attention to Jeremiah. Defeat was imminent and there was no advantage in holding slaves. The slaves, men and women, could then fend for themselves and do the best they could to escape death at the hand of the invading army (8). Jerusalem’s political elite and the citizens of the upper classes received the word of the king (9) and temporarily freed the slaves (10).

 

 However, revealing the typical shallowness of these people, the power of the royal decree soon disintegrated in their consciences, they broke their word and reclaimed the men and women slaves (11). This lack of deep resolve, is also a sign of the times that we live in, when weak wills, even in Christians, bend and break, as pressure is applied. Encouraging resolutions are easily abandoned, discouraging the hearts of the faithful.   

 The broken promises prompt another word from the Lord (12), which illustrates the value of history. The story of the nation of Israel generally begins at the time, when they were freed from Egypt’s bondage. Those 430 years of slavery should remain fixed in their memories and should be passed down to the following generations. The prophets and apostles certainly did their part in relating their miserable condition and the merciful and powerful works of God that freed them (13).  

 It should have provided the background for His commandment, when He delivered the law to them, that their Israelite brothers should only serve in slavery for six years. When you study the law, you can see a life-saving quality in it for a person, who had fallen into poverty and had no means to make a living. When he was set free, he was to be generously helped and rewarded for his years of service (14, Lv.25:39-41): “When you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress… You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt…” (Dt.15:12-15).

 Even in the time when the people had firsthand knowledge of Israel’s slavery, their fathers had a short memory and refused to keep the law concerning slavery (14). A very dear German friend of ours, who had survived World War II, visited us when we lived in Germany. She escaped from Eastern Germany, when the Russians claimed it and went to live with relatives in Wisconsin. She was with us on the day, which we called “junk day”, when the people would throw out their used furniture that they replaced with newly boughten goods. She was amazed at the very usable things in the street and remarked, “People forget so fast, what we suffered during the war.”

 The Lord was quick to notice the people, who had made a covenant to do what was right, as this chapter tells us, and to which we related a few paragraphs back. Can we assume that He will take into consideration every step taken in the right direction? (15). He will, but the action is annulled, in His mind, when people go back on their word. He calls the broken covenant a profanation of His name. They not only had broken the law, but they took their covenant lightly, which they had made in the house of the Lord. They despised the good nature of the God of liberty.

 

We can imagine that the delight of the poor people set at liberty, turned into severe disappointment, when they were forced to return to a life of slavery (16). The One Who is the Husband of the widow and the Father of the orphan, is acutely sensitive to this kind of suffering. His anger increases, when He considers that these higher-class Israelites are treating their fellow citizens so poorly, not taking into account that they are their brothers and neighbors. They disobeyed the One, Who always cares for the unfortunate, and Whose laws are designed for the wellbeing of all His people. There will be less restraint than ever upon their conquerors, and to the power of the sword, disease and starvation.  Other nations will look upon their destruction with horror (17).

 The solemn covenant that the people made, was similar to the extremely important covenant between Abraham and the Lord in Genesis 15, which concerned the entire future of his descendants to the end of time. Abraham cut sacrificial animals into two halves and the God, Who answers by fire, passed between them as a smoking oven and a burning torch. In the sacrifice of the covenant to free the slaves, the slaveholders passed between the equal halves of the calf, obligating themselves to keep the covenant. Should they fail to do so, the calf, meant to be a substitute for the covenanters, as is the case in all sacrifices, would cease to be such, and his fate would fall upon those that offered him (18).

 Giving the offices, named in verse 19, modern terms, we would say that they were national leaders, city officials and their attendants, the religious leaders, and others ranked among the elite in Judah. They had taken lightly the consequences of breaking their promise and now they would fall before the fierce, cruel soldiers of Babylon. These dignified individuals would not have a decent burial, but their bodies would lie under the sun, to be devoured by the carnivorous birds and beasts (20).

 The word of God now turns anew to King Zedekiah and his cabinet, informing him, that the Babylonian army, which had been temporarily distracted by a threat from the Egyptians, is renewing its focus on Jerusalem (21). They are under God’s command in doing so, and they will successfully carry out a final attack. They will have a complete victory and burn the city. The land of Judah would become totally desolate (22).