Jeremiah 34
Dear RTB’ers,
Jeremiah speaks the word of the Lord and Zedekiah and his officials listen: …King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. (vv. 8b-10) Awesome! What a gracious act, the officials obeying Zedekiah’s proclamation and setting their slaves free! Well done, Zedekiah! Well done, official and people!
But wait…!! In the very next verse, But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. (v. 11) My Study Bible notes that Egypt had intervened on behalf of Jerusalem against Babylon and the Babylonians had temporarily lifted the siege. It seems that the slaves had been freed so that they could help defend the city. But now, with the siege lifted, the officials and people wanted their slaves back. What a turnabout!
So, an item for us…? Have we ever asked the Lord for this or that and seen our request granted, and thanked Him and served Him with all our hearts? And then, months or years later, we find ourselves back into our old ways of life. Not a good pattern!
Our God is a forever God. We need to be “forever people”!
Blessings.
Fred