Jeremiah 34
-God’s promised judgment arrives
now in this chapter as the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, are
fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah. God tells Jeremiah to
go and proclaim His word to King Zedekiah that he will be taken alive and face
Nebuchadnezzar eye to eye and speak to him personally. The prophet predicts the
king’s dying in peace in a foreign land under captivity with some honor and
dignity from his own countrymen (Jeremiah 34:1-5). Jeremiah spoke all these
words to the king in Jerusalem as the army of Babylon was attacking the last
two fortified cities of Lachish and Azekah in Judah (Jeremiah 34:6-7).
-The LORD then instructed
Jeremiah to speak after Zedekiah had made a covenant with the people to let
their male and female servants go free, which the people accepted but then
rescinded that covenant. God related it to His bondage breaking act of release
from Egypt, and His command to let servants go at the end of seven years of
service. The rebellion in not letting servants go free is in the LORD’s eyes a
turning from Him and it profanes His Name. Their disobedience causes the LORD
to release the sword of the enemy, pestilence, and famine upon them making them
a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. God promises to give the men who
have transgressed His covenant and not fulfilled the words of it into the hand
of the enemy and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies
will feed the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. The cities of Judah
will be attacked ruthlessly, taken, and burned with fire leaving it a
desolation without inhabitant (Jeremiah 34:8-22). *Application* We in the same
way cannot rescind our covenant with the LORD without disastrous consequences
(Hebrews 10). The security of the believer is the perseverance of the believer.
Stay devoted to the LORD and don’t forsake any of the promises you make unto
Him. He is always faithful, and God expects our faith to be true too. Keep your
promises. In the end, you really can’t fool God. Don’t trample on His grace.
Verse to Memorize: Jeremiah 34:3
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