Jeremiah 34:8

This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; THIS IS THE WORD THAT CAME UNTO JEREMIAH. By the law a Hebrew, after having been held a bond-servant for six years, on the seventh was to be let go free (; ). AFTER THAT ... ZEDEKIAH HAD MADE A COVENANT - with solemn ceremonial in the temple (; Jeremiah 34:18). TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY UNTO THEM - bond-servants ()....

8-22 A Jew should not be held in servitude above seven years. This law they and their fathers had broken. And when there was some hope that the siege was raised, they forced the servants they had released into their services again. Those who think to cheat God by dissembled repentance and partial reformation, put the greatest cheat upon their own souls. This shows that liberty to sin, is really only liberty to have the sorest judgments. It is just with God to disappoint expectations of mercy, when we disappoint the expectations of duty. And when reformation springs only from terror, it is seldom lasting. Solemn vows thus entered into, profane the ordinances of God; and the most forward to bind themselves by appeals to God, are commonly most ready to break them. Let us look to our hearts, that our repentance may be real, and take care that the law of God regulates our conduct....

Verse Jeremiah 34:8. _THE WORD THAT CAME UNTO JEREMIAH_] Here the _second_ discourse begins, which was delivered probably a short time, even a few days, after the former. _ZEDEKIAH HAD MADE A COVENANT_] We find no account elsewhere of this covenant: "Every man should let his man-servant and his maid-servant go free;" i.e., as we learn from Jeremiah 34:14, on the _sabbatical year_; for the _seventh_ year was the _year of release_. See Deuteronomy 15:12....

It is usual with commentators to say that, the laws dealing with the emancipation of the Hebrew slaves, as also that of the land resting during the sabbatical year, were not observed. The narrative teaches us the exact contrary. The manumission of the slaves on the present occasion was the spontaneous act of Zedekiah and the people. They knew of the law, and acknowledged its obligation. The observance of it was, no doubt, lax: the majority let their own selfish interests prevail; but the minority made might give way to right, and Zedekiah supported their efforts though only in a weak way. Early in January, in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the Chaldaean army approached Jerusalem. The people made a covenant with the king, who appears as the abettor of the measure, to let their slaves go free. Possibly patriotism had its share in this: and as Jerusalem was strongly fortified, all classes poss...

EXPOSITION This chapter must be taken in connection with Jeremiah 35:1. The whole section consists of three passages, introduced with a superscription in the same form, but otherwise unrelated. It serves to finish off the earlier prophetic portion of the book, Jeremiah 36:1. opening a series of narratives. The first passage (Jeremiah 34:1) is virtually a postscript to Jeremiah 32:1; Jeremiah 33:1.; it apparently contains the prophecy referred to in...

[THIS IS] THE WORD THAT CAME TO JEREMIAH FROM THE LORD,.... Here begins a new prophecy, which was delivered some time after the former; that was given out while the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem; this after he had quitted the siege for a while, and was gone to meet the king of Egypt, who was coming to the relief of the city, as appears from Jeremiah 34:21; though the Jews k say this was delivered in the seventh year of Zedekiah, in the first month, and tenth day of the month; at the same time that the elders of Israel came to Ezekiel, to inquire of the Lord by him, Ezekiel 20:1; which was two years before the king of Babylon came against Jerusalem; but this seems not likely. It is said to be after that the King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people that [were] at Jerusale

CHAPTER 34:8-22 The Message of Condemnation The king had made a covenant that all Hebrew slaves should be released Exodus 21:1; Deuteronomy 15:12. The princes and people agreed, but afterwards broke the covenant. The message of condemnation tells them, since they had done this, that the Lord will set them free to fall a prey to the sword, the pestilence and famine. The text explains itself....

THE CANCELLED LIBERATION OF SLAVES. In the interval during which the besiegers had withdrawn (Jeremiah 34:21; _cf._ Jeremiah 21:2; Jeremiah 37:5), Jeremiah is commissioned to condemn the breach of the promises made by king and people during the earlier straits. They had agreed to emancipate all Hebrew slaves, and had solemnly covenanted to this effect. They broke this agreement (when the Babylonian peril seemed to be removed), and in so doing they profaned (Jeremiah 34:16) Yahweh's name, by disregard of His original covenant (Jeremiah 34:1

THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH (see book comments for Jeremiah). a covenant. Note the illustration of the two covenants, (verses: Jeremiah 34:8) and (verses: Jeremiah 34:12), and compare with the other illustration in (Jeremiah 35:1). TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY, &C. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 21:2.Leviticus 25:10; Leviticus 25:39. Outside the Pent, the word occurs only in...

_had made a covenant_ According to Exodus 21:2 [E] a Hebrew male slave was to be set free after six years" service, and by Deuteronomy 15:12 this was extended to female slaves. The conscience-quickening power of impending danger, in meeting which the slaves, if enfranchised, would be more ready to co-operate with their former masters, seems to have induced Zedekiah, naturally too weak-minded a man to have displayed much vigour in urging any such conduct upon his subjects, to make the agreement with them here spoken of. This view of the motive is to be preferred to Du."s theory that the slaves were turned out of the city during the siege because of the burden of feeding persons whose normal occupation of tillage, etc. was necessarily in abeyance. The narrative on the contrary implies that the action was t