Wednesday, May 12 2010
Jeremiah 34
Verse of the Week: V17 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”
1. The Defeat (V1-7)
V2 “Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:”
God told prophet Jeremiah to speak to Zedekiah, King of Judah, that Judah shall be completely defeated, burnt and destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army because they had pretended to obey God when they had actually disobeyed Him.
2. The Disobedience (V8-16)
V11 “But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.”
Do you know that partial obedience is disobedience? The people pretended to obey God by freeing their Hebrew servants and handmaids after 6 years of service. However, once they freed them, they actually forced them back to be their servants and handmaids.
V14 “At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.”
3. The Destruction (V17-22)
V17 “Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.”
Our secret sins are known of God. We can never hide anything from God. God sees and knows everything. The people in Judah thought they could hide from God but they were mistaken as God completely destroyed them.
V22 “... I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.”
Prayer of the Week
Dearest God, help me to completely obey You.
