“You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name, but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.”
Jeremiah 34:15-16
Jeremiah lived in a very reprobate time. The nation of Israel, God’s chosen people, had turned their back on Him and turned to idols. God used the prophet Jeremiah to warn His people of the coming judgment on them unless they repented. For a short time when the Babylonians laid siege on Jerusalem it looked like the nation listened to and heeded God’s call to return to Him. In chapter 34 we read that King Zedekiah proclaimed emancipation for the Hebrew slaves in Judah consistent with God’s command. (Exodus 21) The nation of Israel seemed to respond to Zedekiah’s leadership. Possibly because they were fearful they decided to obey God and give Hebrew slaves their liberty. Some suggest the motive behind letting the slaves go free was because the worsening conditions of the siege made it difficult for their masters to bear the cost of feeding the slaves especially since there was no work in the fields for them to do. We don’t know their motives but God does.
At some point news reached Jerusalem that the Egyptian army was marching toward Jerusalem. When the Babylonians heard this, they lifted their siege of Jerusalem to fight the Egyptians. When that happened we are told the people “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”. It was no longer expedient or profitable to obey God’s command.
When that happened, God, again through Jeremiah, confronted the people for their insincere hearts. “You turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into
subjection to be your slaves.”
What can we learn? God sends punishment on His children. When they do wrong He corrects them. Sometimes that correction achieves its goal. The person or people listen, repent and turn to God to follow Him. Sometimes the people are sorry for the consequences they have
to experience. They show remorse over their loss and pain but not over their sin. This is false revival. We saw it in the USA when leaders of our government united to pray to God after 9/11. Subsequent behavior shows us there was no repentance for sin against God. We also see that we cannot depend on a leader to change the hearts of the people. Israel complied with Zedekiah’s command but they did not commit to it (or God). God is merciful and long suffering, always ready to forgive but He is not fooled. He knows people’s hearts, even if they don’t. God tells Jeremiah that those who made a vow to obey Him and let their slaves go free and then turned back would suffer a
special punishment – they would suffer the wrath of the Babylonians. Revival starts when we acknowledge and address our sin against God. Revival begins with repentance in our hearts, not with a leader or a vow we do not intend to keep once the danger we face goes away.