Jeremiah 34 – Bondage

In Jeremiah 34 we see many of the prophesies of Jeremiah coming to fruition. The Babylonians were now invading Jerusalem. Jeremiah had warned King Zedekiah many times to submit to the Babylonians but he refused to do so. He made an alliance with Egypt which angered King Nebuchadnezzar. This disobedience incurred the wrath of the Almighty God.

Many years earlier, God had proclaimed to the Israelites that every Hebrew slave needed to be released after the sixth year of their servitude. This was a solemn command of the Lord. In fear for his life and as a hollow token of obedience, Zedekiah ordered all of the people still remaining in Jerusalem to free their Hebrew slaves, both men and women.

When the siege was temporarily lifted, the people once again became bold in their own strength and the wicked people changed their minds and took back the people they had freed and placed them back into bondage.

King Zedekiah and the people of Judah had enslaved other Hebrews who God demanded they set free, but the true men and women in bondage were the wicked people of Judah. They were in bondage to their own sins. The bondage to their sins led them to bondage to the enemy. They destroyed themselves through their bondage to sin.

We too have a decision to make. We can be like the people of Judah. We can repent when times are tough and turn from our wicked ways and then when things get better, when God has lifted the siege, go back to our ungodly ways. Or we can truly repent and seek the face of God in all that we do.

If we do not break the shackles, the bondage of sin, we too will destroy ourselves. God will still be our God, He will still love us, just as he constantly loved His Hebrew children, but He will allow our bondage to sin to destroy us. If we are truly His sons and daughters we can be assured of redemption, just as God returned the Hebrews to their homeland, but not until they had endured many years of hardship.

We can either turn from our wicked ways and live in peace or we can be enslaved to sin and allow it to destroy us. God will still love us, but bondage to sin has serious consequences.

Soon we will enter into the Christmas season, when we celebrate the birth of our Redeemer. So let’s show our gratitude for His sacrifice by throwing off the shackles of sin that enslave us and rely on our Lord for guidance and strength.

Never forget the promise in John 8:31-32 – So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”