But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

Jeremiah 34:11

In the thirty-fourth chapter of Jeremiah we find the tragic story of how many among the Israelites went back on their word and re-enslaved their fellow Israelites who they had set free from bondage. This entirely selfish action on the part of so many grieved the heart of God so much that he proclaimed the ruin of the guilty parties.

I will deliver [the leaders of the Israelites] into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.

Jeremiah 34:20

Now how does this apply to us today, surely Christians are not doing this, are they? Well, firstly we have to understand the place of the basic virtues being emphasised in this story. There are quite a few of these, but today I want to focus on three.

The first is the concept of freedom. Before the Israelites repented of their actions they were enslaving their own people, something which Moses, as God’s spokesperson, had allowed them to do on a sort of revolving temporary basis as indeed it states in this same chapter:

‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me.

Jeremiah 34:14

Now, we know from Jesus statement in Matthew 19:8 regarding divorce that simply because Moses allowed something does not mean it was God’s original intention. We won’t get sidetracked on that now though, because what this passage makes clear is that God was not happy that the Israelites were not releasing their own brethren who were their slaves when each seventh year rolled around.

Now this is important, because God’s intention here was not to reinstate the seven year cycle of temporary servitude that the law of Moses allowed, no, now he had had enough.

The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves.

Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage.

Jeremiah 34:8-9

His instruction then was for all Israelites to be released from this burden. He wanted his people to be set completely free. He had freed them from Pharaoh years before, now he wanted to free them from themselves. If we look closely though God was bringing not just freedom but also another important state back to his people… he was in fact moving them towards equality.

The Israelites were immediately convicted of the wrong they had done and so they set their fellow Israelites free (Jeremiah 34:10), but for some reason, later on, they changed their minds. Maybe this freeing of their slaves had made life hard for them, because they now had a lack of labour to carry out the jobs they needed, or even just wanted, done. There may have even been other reasons, maybe the sudden system of equality made people feel threatened regarding their status and maybe they didn’t like not being able to tell their brothers and sisters what to do? For whatever reason though they went back and got their fellow Israelites and forced them back into slavery – what a terrible thing to do!

This teaches us that it is possible to repent of good and turn back to evil, but doing this not only wounds the ones who are hurt by this, it enslaves our own soul, as we find ourselves in enslavement to sin and to the wiles of the devil. Just like Cain, who gave into sin we find ourselves under a curse (Genesis 4:11) and this is what happened to the slave-keepers in Israel.

God had convicted these slave-keepers of the wrong they had done, he had convinced them that they should use what they had to bring freedom, equality and… here is another related concept God is passionate about… relief from suffering to their brothers and sisters. In the process families were reunited and human dignity had been restored, but now the faithless many had turned and despised both God and their fellow Israelites. They had re-elevated themselves and in the process turned a blind eye to the suffering of others. They put their own desires above that of fellow humans.

afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

Jeremiah 34:11

So how does this relate to today? Well, do you really want to know? Because the truth is not always easy to hear. It wasn’t for the Israelites who took up their slave owners’ rods again, to them he said:

You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the LORD—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Jeremiah 34:17

Sadly, sometimes we do not realise the destruction that is allowed to come against us and what is ours simply because we have unjustly allowed destruction to come on others and what is theirs. The truth is we as Christians are tasked with bearing each others burdens, we as followers of Christ are joined in unity, not just with God, but with our brethren who also believe and follow Christ. The Apostle Paul places this at the centre of our duty to our Lord Jesus Christ when he says,

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

Just as God expected the Israelites to bring freedom, equality and relief from suffering to their fellow Israelites so he expects that of us. The many suffering and persecuted Christians around the world need to receive these things from those of us that are blessed by God with the potential to give, the potential to intervene, and the potential to compassionately serve our brethren in the ways we are able to, no matter how small that assistance may be.

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

when it is in your power to act.

Proverbs 3:27

In practical terms this means praying, but it also means going further, it means putting our money where our mouth is, it means walking the talk. We might have faith that God can help our suffering brethren, but we must take the Elder James advice and couple that faith with action because,

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:14-17

Much of the world suffers today because of inequality, much of the world is held captive to economic systems that exclude them. Today the world dumps perfectly good food by the truckload and countries and corporations refuse to redistribute wealth in a practical way, in order to protect lucrative trade agreements, which continue to decimate the poor’s chance of a bright future. The gap between rich and poor is getting bigger and it is increasingly being left to the super rich to live out everyone else dreams. WE… THE CHURCH… YES… US… the followers of Jesus Christ have the opportunity to change everything by our collective intervention. If only we would take the time as individuals and families to look for those small, but overwhelmingly significant opportunities to bring freedom, equality and relief from suffering to our brothers and sisters around the world. Because the Apostle Paul was right when he said,

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:9-10

Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God our Father and Creator, lay down his own life, position and inheritance and took up death, suffering and pain for the sake of his earthly family. He did this so that people of all nations, ethnicities, genders, and languages could come home to the Father.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-17

Its time for us to start being the compassionate and practical hand of Christ on earth, and that sometimes means giving up something, even something little, so that others can have a little more.

All scripture references taken from the New International Version (NIV), unless otherwise stated.