by Katrina
LINK: Jeremiah 34
BACKGROUND
Chapters 34-45 are a narrative about the fall of Jerusalem. Chapter 34 occurred during the siege of the city of Jerusalem. At that time, only two fortified cities in Judah had not fallen yet. Lachish was 30 miles southwest of Jerusalem, and Azekah was halfway in between Lachish and Jerusalem. God sent a message by Jeremiah to King Zedekiah telling him that Jerusalem would fall to Babylon and be destroyed. Zedekiah himself would be captured and would die peacefully in Babylon.
At some point during the siege, Zedekiah and the people had made a covenant with the Lord in the temple to free all the Jewish slaves. According to Jewish law, slaves should have been freed every seven years, but the nation had long ignored that command of God. Now they decided they should free the slaves. Why? We don't know for certain, but probably this was an attempt to manipulate God by doing something He commanded in order to try to get God to do something they wanted, namely to stop the siege.
A calf was slain at the temple and cut in half. The priests and the people walked between the halves as a sign they would obey the terms of the covenant. This symbolized that if they didn't keep the covenant, they would be willing to suffer what the calf had suffered.
The slaves were freed. There was a bit of a let-up in the siege when the Egyptian army got involved. Nebuchadnezzar turned his attention temporarily toward Egypt's army. Then the men in Jerusalem forced all the slaves back into service. They thought they had gotten what they wanted from God, so went back to business as usual.
REFLECTION/APPLICATION
Sometimes people today do similar things. During an illness or after a serious injury or accident, or in other difficult circumstances, it's not unusual for people to "bargain" with God. "God, if you'll just get me out of this, I'll do xyz for you the rest of my life." Then after the crisis is over, they forget about their promise and go back to living however they lived before.
On the other hand, some of the greatest conversion stories I've heard are when a person was backed in a corner and cried out to God for help. These people have truly changed through the crisis and never go back to the life they lived before.
So, what's the difference? It's all a matter of the heart. The first case is someone trying to manipulate God, while the second is a person who is humbled before God. God is never impressed by our efforts to "do things for Him," but He is "impressed" by our humility. He does not want us to look religious, but wants us to submit and live in obedience to Him.
PRAYER
Lord, you know our hearts even better than we do. Let us see the true condition of our hearts today and seek to be humbled before you and truly love and obey you with our lives. Teach us to follow your ways and live a life that is truly pleasing to you. In the name of Jesus, who makes it possible, amen.
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