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Chapter 34:8-22 (ESV) - The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after 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. But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, ‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. 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.
“Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. Behold, I will command, declares the LORD, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”
Question to consider: Why did the people swear a covenant they had no intention of keeping?
There is no indication of when king Zedekiah made this covenant or of when the LORD spoke against the failure of Jerusalem to keep it. Maybe it was a last-ditch effort to try and appease the LORD to deliver Jerusalem from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar? Maybe it was a political move to release the servants to fight in the war?
One thing I’ve observed even in the church is that people are forever trying to twist the hand of God— even to the point of trying to bring about His prophetic word. About three hundred years before Zedekiah was born, Isaiah son of Amoz was given this prophetic word from the LORD, “The Spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.” (Isaiah 61:1-4)
You may remember that Jesus preached from this passage in His first sermon in Nazareth and proclaimed the fulfillment of the text up until “the year of the LORD’s favor.” This is just a personal opinion, but it’s possible that Zedekiah believed if they could do this good thing for their poor brethren, the LORD would bring His day of vengeance on the nations warring against them and bring comfort to those who mourn in Zion and allow them to repair their ruined cities.
They even made it “official” by cutting up a calf and making a formal covenant to that effect. The cleaving of animals in a covenant was a declaration before God that those who entered into the covenant would uphold their end of the promise or forfeit their own lives in a like manner. Given that the people could enter into such a covenant and yet have no intention of keeping it showed their lack of faith. Maybe the LORD had shown them mercy for breaking these sorts of covenants in the past, but their day of judgment had come, and He would now bring upon them the curse of their disobedience.
Dear heavenly Father, help us to be true to our word and to trust that You will bring about Your promises in due time. Amen.