Jeremiah 34:6-11: a reflection

6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7when the king of Babylon’s army was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities. 8The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them, 9that every man should let his male servant, and every man his female servant, who is a Hebrew or a Hebrewess, go free, that no one should make bondservants of them, of a Jew his brother. 10All the princes and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant, that everyone should let his male servant and everyone his female servant go free, that no one should make bondservants of them any more. They obeyed and let them go, 11but afterwards 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.

During the siege of Jerusalem, King Zedekiah and the people make a solemn covenant to free their Hebrew slaves, as God's law required; and they do it, letting the slaves go free. It is a good and right thing. But then, the passage tells us, they turned around and took the freed slaves back, forcing them into servitude again. They made a good commitment, kept it briefly, and then reversed it, going back on the very thing they had solemnly resolved to do.

Notice the sad reversal: a good commitment made, and then abandoned. The people had done right in freeing their slaves; they had made a solemn covenant, and kept it, for a time. But their obedience did not last; they went back on their commitment, reclaiming the slaves they had freed. The good resolution was not held to; it was made, and then reversed, when the immediate pressure that had prompted it eased. Their repentance was short-lived, their good commitment abandoned.

That reversal is a danger we share: making good commitments and then going back on them. We can resolve to do right, even solemnly commit to it, and keep it for a time; but then, when the pressure that prompted it eases, or when keeping it becomes costly, we go back on our commitment, reversing the good we had resolved to do. But to go back on a good commitment is a real wrong, grieving God, as the people's reversal grieved him. When you make a good commitment, hold to it; do not go back on it when the pressure eases or the cost rises. Do not be like these people, who freed their slaves and then reclaimed them, making a good commitment only to reverse it. Let your good resolutions be held to, not abandoned when it becomes convenient to abandon them; keep the good you have committed to, rather than going back on it, as the people went back on freeing their slaves.

Lord, during the siege of Jerusalem, the king and people made a solemn covenant to free their Hebrew slaves, and did it; but then they turned around and took the freed slaves back, going back on the very thing they had solemnly resolved to do. Show me the danger I share in that sad reversal: making good commitments and then going back on them. I can resolve to do right, even solemnly commit to it, and keep it for a time; but then, when the pressure that prompted it eases, or when keeping it becomes costly, I go back on my commitment, reversing the good I had resolved to do. But to go back on a good commitment is a real wrong, grieving you, as the people's reversal grieved you. When I make a good commitment, help me hold to it; keep me from going back on it when the pressure eases or the cost rises. Keep me from being like these people, who freed their slaves and then reclaimed them, making a good commitment only to reverse it. Let my good resolutions be held to, not abandoned when it becomes convenient; help me keep the good I have committed to, Lord, rather than going back on it. Help me hold to my good commitments.