Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
12 16. See introd. summary to the subsection.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord,…. The word of Jehovah the Son, from Jehovah the Father, because of this transgression of the princes and people, and as soon as it was committed by them; for it is plain, from Jer 34:21, that it was before the Chaldean army returned to Jerusalem, after its departure from it:
saying; as follows:
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The threat of punishment. – Jer 34:12. “Then came the word of Jahveh to Jeremiah from Jahveh, saying: Jer 34:13. Thus saith Jahveh, the God of Israel, ‘I made a covenant with your fathers in the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from a house of bondmen, saying, Jer 34:14. At the end of seven years shall ye set free each man his brother, who is a Hebrew that sold himself to thee; and he shall serve thee six years, then shalt thou send him away from thee free: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear. Jer 34:15. But you had turned just now, and had done what is right in mine eyes, because each man proclaimed liberty to his neighbour, ad ye had made a covenant before me in the house on which my name is called. Jer 34:16. But ye turned again and profaned my name, and each one made his man-servant and his handmaid, whom he had sent away free, at their pleasure, to return, and ye brought them into subjection, to be men-and maid-servants to you. Jer 34:17. Therefore, thus saith Jahveh, Ye have not hearkened unto me in proclaiming liberty each man to his brother, and each man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith Jahveh, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to famine, and I will deliver you up for maltreatment to all the kingdoms of the earth. Jer 34:18. And I shall make the men who have transgressed my covenant, that have not kept the words of the covenant which they concluded before me, like the calf which they cut in two, and between whose pieces they passed. Jer 34:19. The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the courtiers, and the priests, and all he people of the land, who passed through between the pieces of the calf, Jer 34:20. Them will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, so that their corpses shall be for food to the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth. Jer 34:21. And Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, that has departed from against you. Jer 34:22. Behold, I will command, saith Jahveh, and will make them return to this city, and they shall fight against it, and shall take it, and shall burn it with fire; and the cities of Judah will I make a desolation, without an inhabitant.”
Jer 34:17-18 The announcement of punishment. Because ye have not hearkened, by proclaiming, every one, liberty to his bondman (this certainly had been done, but was again undone by annulling the decree), therefore I proclaim liberty for you; i.e., you, who have hitherto been my servants (Lev 25:55), I discharge from this relation, – deliver you up to your fate as regards the sword, etc., that the sword, famine, and pestilence may have power over you. For see Jer 15:4. – In Jer 34:18 the construction is disputed. Many, including Luther, take as the second object to : “I will make the men…the calf,” i.e., like the calf. But, though is frequently construed with a double accusative with the meaning of making some thing another thing (cf. e.g., Jer 34:22, Gen 17:5; Exo 7:1), yet in such a case the predicative-object does not readily take the article. Moreover, , in the sense required here, to make like = treat as, is joined with , as in Isa 41:2; Eze 28:2, Eze 28:6; Gen 42:30; 1Ki 10:27, etc. Finally, Rosenmller objects: continuata versu 19 personarum descriptio et repetitio verbi ytitanfw Jer 34:20 vix permittunt, propositionem hoc versu absolvi . For these reasons, L. de Dieu, Rosenmller, Ewald, and Graf have taken as being in apposition to , and the enumeration “princes of Judah,” etc., Jer 34:19, as a continuation or exposition of , Jer 34:18, and , Jer 34:20, as a resumption of the same words in Jer 34:18. According to this view, Jer 34:18-20 would form a series of appositions: “I will give the men…that have not kept the words of the covenant which they concluded before me…the princes of Judah who passed between the parts of the calf, – these will I give into the hands of their enemies.” But, apart from the consideration that the enumeration of the covenant-breakers (viz., the princes of Judah, etc.), which is added by way of apposition in Jer 34:19, ought not to come in till after the apposition to , which would be a harsh and complicated arrangement of the members of the sentence, this construction seems untenable for the following reasons: ( a) “The calf that they cut,” etc., which forms the explanatory apposition to “the covenant,” is separated from it by the intervening clause, “which they made before me.” And ( b), even though we might modify this harshness by repeating before , yet the mode of expression, “they have not performed the words of the calf which they cut in two, and between whose parts they passed,” would be a very stiff and unnatural one for “they have not performed what they vowed or sware in presence of the parts of the calf which they had halved, and when they passed through between these pieces.” With Maurer and Hitzig, therefore, we abide by the older view, which takes as the second object to : “I will make the men…the calf,” or, better, “like the calf which they cut in two,” etc. The article is used with because this predicate is more exactly determined by relative clauses, and stands for , since, as often happens, the of likeness is dropped to give more point to the idea. We make Jer 34:19 begin a new sentence, and take the names of this verse as objects absolute, which, by following , are subordinated to the verb: “As for the princes of Judah…them shall I give….” – From Jer 34:18 we see that, when alliances were entered into, the contracting parties slaughtered an , “calf,” i.e., a young bullock, cut it in two halves, and went through between the pieces that were placed opposite one another. See on Gen 15:10 for details regarding this most ancient custom and its meaning: according to the account of Ephraem Syrus, it is of Chaldean origin. Thus are explained the phrases used to signify the making of a covenant. , to cut a covenant, , faedus ferire , i.e., ferienda hostia faedus facere . We cannot with certainty infer, from the threatening pronounced in this passage, that this rite originally signified nothing more than that he who broke his promise would be treated like the animal that had been slaughtered. For the threatening is merely a conclusion drawn from the sacred act; but this does not exclude a deeper meaning of the rite.
Jer 34:19-22 Jer 34:19-22 give the real explanation of the threatening attached to the ritual of the covenant. Princes, officers of the court, priests and people, who have transgressed the covenant, shall die by the hand of the enemy, and perish ignominiously. On Jer 34:20, cf. Jer 7:33; Jer 16:4, etc. On see on Gen 37:36. King Zedekiah also, with his princes, his retinue, shall fall into the hand of his enemies, ay, into the hands of the Chaldeans, who have now withdrawn from Jerusalem (on see on Jer 21:2). See also Gen 37:5-8.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Vs. 12-16: THE SERIOUSNESS OF PROFANING GOD’S NAME
1. God is highly displeased with the unfair treatment of these bondmen whose liberty has been revoked
a. He reminds the nation of the covenant made with their fathers when He had liberated them from the house of bondsmen in Egypt, (vs. 13; Jer 31:32; Exo 20:2; Exo 24:3; Exodus 7-8; Deu 5:3; Deu 5:27).
b. According to that covenant, a Hebrew who (having fallen on hard times) contracted himself out to the service of another was to be released from that contract when he had served six years (vs. 14a; Exo 21:2-11; Deu 15:1; Deu 15:12-18; Lev 25:39-46; 1Ki 9:22).
c. But the nation has constantly refused to hear and obey the word of the covenant in this matter, (vs. 14b; comp. 1Sa 8:7-8; 2Ki 17:13-14).
2. God had been pleased with the covenant they had made before Him in the temple, in the midst of the siege – to release the slaves, (vs. 15).
3. But, when these brethren were again forced into servitude (contrary to that covenant) the Lord regarded the action as
a PROFANING of His own Holy Name! (vs. 16, 11; comp. Eze 18:24; Exo 20:7).
a. The “name” of God is a term symbolizing His character, honor and authority; it suggests His respect for man, as man, and His care for the creature made in His own image.
b. To “profane” that name is “to bore, to pierce” and, by implication, “to wound, or wrong” – as the defacing of an image or superscription on a coin.
c. Thus, the action of the nation has libeled (falsified) the name of Jehovah – robbing Him of His honor, and challenging His sovereign authority! And there is a threefold sense in which they had done this.
1) In the long, persistent disobedience of the nation in their treatment of the slave – while the name of God stood for their CARE, and the law of God required their release after six years of service.
2) In the selfish motive of Judah’s leaders that brought about this release in the midst of the siege – thinking that God could, somehow, be bribed into favoring them, while they were thinking only of their own physical welfare.
3) In the violation of the oaths they had taken, and their return to willful disobedience, as soon as outward circumstances temporarily removed the fear in which their oaths were rooted.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
C. A Stern Denunciation Jer. 34:12-22
TRANSLATION
(12) And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, (13) Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, (14) At the end of seven years you shall set free each man his Hebrew brother who has sold himself to you. When he has served you six years you shall set him free from serving you. But your fathers did not obey Me nor did they listen. (15) But as for you, you had turned and done that which is right in My eyes, to proclaim liberty each man to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before Me in the house that bears My name. But then you turned and profaned My name, and you caused each man his slave and handmaid, whom you had set free, to return, forcing them to be your slaves and handmaids. (17) Therefore thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed Me to proclaim liberty one to another. Behold, I am about to proclaim to you liberty (oracle of the LORD) unto the sword, pestilence and famine; and I will make you an object of terror to all kingdoms of the earth. (18) I will also make the men who transgressed My covenant, who did not perform the words of the covenant which they made before Me, like the calf which they cut in two when they passed between the partsthe princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the officers, the priests and all the people of the land who had passed between the parts of the calf(20) and I will give them into the hand of their enemies who seek their life. And their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth. (21) And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies who seek their life, even into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has gone up from you. (22) Behold, I am about to issue a command (oracle of the LORD), and I will bring them back unto this city; and they shall fight against it and capture it and burn it; and the cities of Judah I will make a desolation without inhabitant.
COMMENTS
God had something to say about the hypocritical actions of the Jerusalem nobles and Jeremiah was the instrument by which His word was spoken. In his message Jeremiah condemns the act of treachery which has just been committed (Jer. 34:12-16) and spells out the consequences of that act (Jer. 34:17-22).
Jeremiah begins his condemnation of the act of treachery by reminding his hearers of the stipulations of the Sinai covenant with regard to servitude. A Hebrew who served six years was to be released in the seventh year (Jer. 34:13-14). Apparently this law had been generally ignored because Jeremiah says the fathers of his hearers refused to hearken to this commandment of God (Jer. 34:14). God had actually been pleased that finally the nobles, whatever their ulterior motives, had compiled with His law and had released their slaves (Jer. 34:15). But the wrath of God was kindled when these nobles went back on their word. Since the nobles had pledged in the name of God and in the house of God to release their slaves, Jeremiah charges that they had profaned the name of God.[301]
[301] The idea that Gods name suffers profanation because of His people has two different meanings in the Old Testament. (a) God is defamed by the shameful conduct of his people (Lev. 18:21; Lev. 19:12; Lev. 20:3; Lev. 21:6; Lev. 22:2; Lev. 22:32; Amo. 2:7; Jer. 34:16; Eze. 20:39; Mal. 1:12). (b) God is also disgraced because of the shameful condition of his people (Isa. 48:11; Eze. 36:16 ff; Ezekiel 23 Eze. 20:8-10; Eze. 20:14; Eze. 20:22; Eze. 39:7). Sheldon Blank has a helpful discussion of the whole concept though written from an extremely liberal standpoint. See Prophetic Faith in Isaiah (New York: Harper, 1958), pp. 117126.
Such an act of betrayal and treachery as committed by the nobles of the land will have serious consequences. The paragraph begins with a rather sarcastic word. Since the nobles had failed to proclaim liberty to their slaves in accordance with both the ancient and the recent covenant, God will proclaim liberty to them. They will be free from those obligations which they regard as unbearable; they will be free from the gracious protection of the Lord. God will deliver them over to that fourfold alliance of evils: sword, pestilence, famine and captivity (Jer. 34:17). Freedom from God, from divine obligations and restraint, is not true freedom at all. The cruel taskmaster of sin will take an awful toll in the life of that individual who declares his independence from God.
The punishment of the hypocritical covenanters will be appropriate to the crime that was committed. They had piously passed between the halves of the calf they had cut in two and in so doing had pronounced upon themselves a self-malediction if they should be unfaithful to the terms of the covenant. Just as that calf had been slain, so they would be given over into the hands of the Chaldeans who would slay them. Like the carcasses of animals, their bodies would be left unburied, exposed to the ravaging appetite of scavenger birds and beasts (Jer. 34:20).
This paragraph closes with a specific word for Zedekiah the king and a specific word about the Babylonian armies which have withdrawn from the siege of Jerusalem. King Zedekiah would be handed over to the Chaldeans along with his princes (Jer. 34:21). The Chaldeans will return; Jerusalem will fall. The city will be burned and left desolate (Jer. 34:22). The word of God spoken by his prophet some forty years earlier will be fulfilled.
II. AN ILLUSTRATION FROM AN EARLIER PERIOD CHAPTER 35
At this point Jeremiah or the final editor of the book introduces an incident from an earlier period of the prophets ministry to illustrate the disobedience of the people. Chapter 35 is unconnected chronologically with the preceding and following chapters. The event here narrated dates back to the reign of Jehoiakim (Jer. 34:1; Jer. 34:11) who ruled from 609 to 598 B.C. It is difficult to place the episode more precisely with the reign of that king. Jehoiakim started his reign as an Egyptian vassal (2Ki. 23:35). After the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. he swore allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar and remained faithful to him for three years, from 604 to 601 B.C. (2Ki. 24:1). Encouraged by an Egyptian defeat of Nebuchadnezzar late in 601 B.C. Jehoiakim rebelled against his overlord. Nebuchadnezzar, having returned to Babylon to lick the wounds of defeat, was unable to return to Jerusalem to deal with his rebellious vassal. In the meantime he sent local garrisons of Chaldean troops along with Syrian, Ammonite and Moabite mercenaries to raid Judah and harass Jehoiakim (2Ki. 24:2). It was probably to this period of Jehoiakims reign (599 or 598 B.C.) that the present episode is to be assigned.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Jer 34:12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Ver. 12. Therefore the word of the Lord. ] Of God the Son. a
Came to Jeremiah from the Lord.
a Junius.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 34:12-16
12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘I made a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15Although recently you had turned and done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming release to his neighbor, and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 16Yet you turned and profaned My name, and each man took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants.’
Jer 34:14 end of seven years The LXX has six years. The meaning is at the beginning of the seventh year. This reflects the ancient law (cf. Exo 21:2-11; Lev 25:39-46; Deu 15:1; Deu 15:12-18).
did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me This same reluctance to hear and obey is seen in Jer 7:24-26; Jer 17:23; Jer 19:15. It was not an issue of ignorance of God’s will but willful, recurrent disobedience.
1. obey – BDB 1033, KB 1570, Qal PERFECT, lit. hear (Shema, cf. Deu 6:4)
2. incline – BDB 639, KB 692, Hiphil PERFECT, cf. Jos 24:23; Psa 119:36
Jer 34:15 in the house which is called by My name This Deuteronomic language refers to the temple, which will eventually be in Jerusalem (cf. Jer 7:10-11; Jer 7:14; Jer 7:30; Jer 32:34).
The concept of the temple as house is the word play of 2Sa 7:2; 2Sa 7:13; 2Sa 7:16.
Jer 34:16 profaned My name This root (BDB 320 III, KB 319, Piel IMPERFECT) means to pollute, to defile, or to profane (cf. Lev 18:21; Lev 19:12; Lev 20:3; Lev 21:6; Lev 22:2; Lev 22:32; Eze 20:39; Eze 36:20-23; Amo 2:7; Mal 1:12; Mal 2:10).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Jer 34:12-22
Jer 34:12-16
Therefore the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee, and hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned, and had done that which is right in mine eyes, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: but ye turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had let go free at their pleasure, to return; and ye brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
Proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor
(Jer 34:15). The words here are particularly those used in Leviticus, stressing the existence of all the other books of the Pentateuch in addition to Deuteronomy.
It would be impossible to overestimate the extent of Judah’s crime in the event here recorded: (1) It was a violation of God’s specific commandment. (2) They had mocked God Himself by that hypocritical “covenant” they cut in the very house that was called by God’s name. (3) They profaned the name of God by invoking his holy name upon an action which they had no intention of honoring. (4) It was an inhuman, unfeeling crime against innocent and defenseless people. (5) It was a violation and repudiation of the promises they themselves had made under oath; it was a perfidious perjury. (6) It was a crime against both God and mankind. (7) It was a crime against their wicked state which suffered the punishment their conduct so richly deserved.
Jer 34:17
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: ye have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim unto you a liberty, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed to and fro among all the kingdoms of the earth.
What a proclamation is this! God says, “Very well, I make a proclamation for you, freeing you from my love and protection, and giving you your liberty to be destroyed by the ravages of war, disease, and starvation.”
Jer 34:18
And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, that have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in twain and passed between the parts thereof;
For more on the nature of the covenant here, see under Jer 34:8; Jer 34:10 above. It was the kind of covenant that God made with Abraham in Gen 15:10 ff, in which birds and/or animals were divided, and the parties of the covenant passed between the divided portions of the creatures that had been slain. The implication was that any violator would deserve to suffer the same fate of the animals or birds used in the ceremony. Here it was a calf that had been cut in twain.
The prophet here enumerated the men who had thus violated the solemn covenant. The list given in the next verses included practically all the leaders of the nation, even that of the king himself and his princes.
Jer 34:19-20
the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food unto the birds of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.
In a word, this was a death sentence for the violators of the covenant. Note the opening words in the next line, “And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes.” Thus there is no way to exempt the king and his advisers from association with the crimes enumerated here.
Jer 34:21-22
And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, that are gone away from you. Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.
These two verses fix the date of the events in this chapter. They occurred in that brief period during the appearance of Pharaoh-Hophra with his Egyptian army that caused Nebuchadnezzar to lift the siege momentarily. In that interval, the Jews enslaved the servants they had freed, and the whole nation violated its solemn promises.
God at once pronounced the sentence of death upon them; and within a year’s time, it was fully executed.
A Stern Denunciation Jer 34:12-22
God had something to say about the hypocritical actions of the Jerusalem nobles and Jeremiah was the instrument by which His word was spoken. In his message Jeremiah condemns the act of treachery which has just been committed (Jer 34:12-16) and spells out the consequences of that act (Jer 34:17-22).
Jeremiah begins his condemnation of the act of treachery by reminding his hearers of the stipulations of the Sinai covenant with regard to servitude. A Hebrew who served six years was to be released in the seventh year (Jer 34:13-14). Apparently this law had been generally ignored because Jeremiah says the fathers of his hearers refused to hearken to this commandment of God (Jer 34:14). God had actually been pleased that finally the nobles, whatever their ulterior motives, had compiled with His law and had released their slaves (Jer 34:15). But the wrath of God was kindled when these nobles went back on their word. Since the nobles had pledged in the name of God and in the house of God to release their slaves, Jeremiah charges that they had profaned the name of God. The idea that Gods name suffers profanation because of His people has two different meanings in the Old Testament. (a) God is defamed by the shameful conduct of his people (Lev 18:21; Lev 19:12; Lev 20:3; Lev 21:6; Lev 22:2; Lev 22:32; Amo 2:7; Jer 34:16; Eze 20:39; Mal 1:12). (b) God is also disgraced because of the shameful condition of his people (Isa 48:11; Eze 36:16 ff; Ezekiel 23 Eze 20:8-10; Eze 20:14; Eze 20:22; Eze 39:7). Sheldon Blank has a helpful discussion of the whole concept though written from an extremely liberal standpoint.
Such an act of betrayal and treachery as committed by the nobles of the land will have serious consequences. The paragraph begins with a rather sarcastic word. Since the nobles had failed to proclaim liberty to their slaves in accordance with both the ancient and the recent covenant, God will proclaim liberty to them. They will be free from those obligations which they regard as unbearable; they will be free from the gracious protection of the Lord. God will deliver them over to that fourfold alliance of evils: sword, pestilence, famine and captivity (Jer 34:17). Freedom from God, from divine obligations and restraint, is not true freedom at all. The cruel taskmaster of sin will take an awful toll in the life of that individual who declares his independence from God.
The punishment of the hypocritical covenanters will be appropriate to the crime that was committed. They had piously passed between the halves of the calf they had cut in two and in so doing had pronounced upon themselves a self-malediction if they should be unfaithful to the terms of the covenant. Just as that calf had been slain, so they would be given over into the hands of the Chaldeans who would slay them. Like the carcasses of animals, their bodies would be left unburied, exposed to the ravaging appetite of scavenger birds and beasts (Jer 34:20).
This paragraph closes with a specific word for Zedekiah the king and a specific word about the Babylonian armies which have withdrawn from the siege of Jerusalem. King Zedekiah would be handed over to the Chaldeans along with his princes (Jer 34:21). The Chaldeans will return; Jerusalem will fall. The city will be burned and left desolate (Jer 34:22). The word of God spoken by his prophet some forty years earlier will be fulfilled.
Judgment Arrives – Jer 34:1 to Jer 35:19
Open It
1. Whom do you admire for his or her faithfulness and integrity, and how does this person demonstrate those qualities?
2. What do you think motivates people to go back on their word?
Explore It
3. What good news and bad news did Jeremiah have for king Zedekiah during the siege of Jerusalem? (Jer 34:1-5)
4. At the time of this prophecy, what cities had not yet fallen to the king of Babylon? (Jer 34:6-7)
5. What agreement did king Zedekiah make with the people of Jerusalem? (Jer 34:8-9)
6. How did the people respond to Zedekiahs suggestion about abolishing the slavery of fellow Jews? (Jer 34:10)
7. After they had agreed to free the slaves, what did the people do? (Jer 34:11)
8. What was Gods plan for dealing with the issues of Israelites as slaves? (Jer 34:12-14)
9. What solemn agreement was initiated by Jeremiahs countrymen? (Jer 34:15)
10. What action by the leadership of Judah profaned Gods name? (Jer 34:16)
11. What was Gods sarcastic expression for the punishment He decreed? (Jer 34:17)
12. How did God turn the ceremony used for solemnizing an agreement into a picture of the punishment due those who broke the agreement? (Jer 34:18-20)
13. What specific prophecy destroyed the hope that Nebuchadnezzar had withdrawn from Jerusalem for good? (Jer 34:21-22)
14. What invitation did God tell Jeremiah to issue to the Recabite family? (Jer 35:1-2)
15. Where did Jeremiah meet with the Recabites? (Jer 35:3-5)
16. How did the Recabites respond to Jeremiahs invitation? (Jer 35:6)
17. What instruction of their ancestor had the Recabites been obeying to the letter? (Jer 35:7-10)
18. Why had the Recabites come to Jerusalem? (Jer 35:11)
19. How did Jeremiah use the example of the Recabites obedience to call the people of Jerusalem to account? (Jer 35:12-16)
20. How did the peoples response to Gods call through His prophets seal their doom? (Jer 35:17)
21. What was Gods promise to the Recabites because of their integrity and wholehearted obedience? (Jer 35:18-19)
Get It
22. What might Zedekiah have hoped would happen if the people repented of making slaves?
23. In what sense did it profane the name of God when His people broke their agreement with Him?
24. Why were the people of Jerusalem unwise to break a covenant they had made with God?
25. Why did God honor the obedience of the Recabites?
26. How are the examples in these chapters insightful lessons about the value of keeping your word?
27. What promises do contemporary people tend to take lightly?
28. What sorts of consequences follow in the wake of a broken promise?
29. What is gained by fulfilling the terms of a promise even if it hurts or requires sacrifice?
Apply It
30. What promise do you need to keep, even if it is costly to you?
31. How could you advise a fellow Christian before he or she enters into a binding promise or agreement?.
Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Thirty-Four
By Brent Kercheville
1 What is Gods message to Zedekiah about him and the city (Jer 34:1-7)?
2 What had God commanded the people to do regarding the slaves (Jer 34:8-16)?
3 Had the people been obeying this command?
4 What proclamation of freedom does God declare because they refused to free their slaves (Jer 34:17-22)?
5 What else will happen?
TRANSFORMATION:
How does this relationship change your relationship with God? What did you learn about him? What will
you do differently in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Jer 34:12-13. It was at this point the Lord gave Jeremiah the message referred to in the first part of verse 8. Word of the Lord . . . from, the Lord is not an empty repetition. Many of the speeches were offered to the people in ancient times that were claimed to be the word of the Lord. Those speeches, however, were not from, the Lord and therefore were not His word. For comments on the day see eh. 31: 32.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
The Lord then sent Jeremiah to remind the people that He had made a covenant with their forefathers to set them at liberty from their bondage in Egypt (Exo 19:4-6). They of all people should have shown mercy to others in bondage. The Passover commemorated their emancipation from Egyptian slavery.