Thursday, July 23
Read Jeremiah 34
Think About It:
In spite of the long suffering in the faithful ministry of God’s prophets, the kingdom of Judah was about to die. What caused Judah’s slow decay and final collapse?
The year was 588 BC and Nebuchadnezzar’s army were successfully conquering the kingdom of Judah. Not only did Nebuchadnezzar bring his own invisible army, but he also demanded that the vessel countries he conquered send their share of recruits. In a sense, the entire Near East with attacking God’s chosen people.
- The destiny of the king (verses 1-7): God gave weak King Zedekiah another opportunity to repent and save the city and the temple from ruin, but he refused to listen. Jeremiah warned him that the royal family and the court officials would not escape judgment and that he would be taken captive to Babylon, where he would die in peace.
- That treachery of the people (verses 8-22): During the siege, King Zedekiah and the people made a covenant with the Lord in the temple to free all the Jewish slaves. A calf was slain and then cut in half, and the priests, officers, and people walk between the halves as a sign that they would obey the terms of the covenant (verses 18-19).
Jewish law requires the master free his Jewish slaves every seven years. The Jews hadn’t done this for years, and now they decided it was a good thing that they’d do. Instead of believing God’s Word and submitting to Babylon, the Jews tried to bargain with the Lord and “bribe” Him into helping their cause. Jeremiah took advantage of this event to preach a sermon about Judah’s treachery against the Lord (verses 12-22). God had set the Israelites free from Egyptian bondage and had made a covenant with them to be their God, but they broke the covenant and returned to idolatry. Now they broke the law by enslaving their own people unjustly. By what they did in the temple and the way they treated their fellow Jews, they profane the name of the Lord. They hadn’t really proclaimed freedom to their slaves, but God would proclaim “freedom” to the nation – freedom “to fall by the sword, plague, and famine” (verse 17). The prophet predicted a terrible death for all the treacherous people who had participated in the covenant, and his predictions came true (verses 19-20).
Family Time:
- Who was God going to give the city of Jerusalem to? (verse 2)
- Did the people obey God’s command about slaves? (verses 10-11)
- What did God do to the people? (verses 17-22)
- It kind of sounds like when you are asked to do something you don’t like. For example: wash dishes more carefully, sweep under the kitchen table not just around it, write more clearly on your schoolwork. At first you are willing to obey. It makes you seem obedient. After a while, you decide to do things however you want. Read the consequences in verses 17-22. What might your consequences be if you choose to only pretend to obey?
