June 27

But (in chapter 34) Zedekiah seems to have at least wondered if there was maybe some truth to what Jeremiah had been saying. The entire city was surrounded by Babylonians, after all.

So Zedekiah comes up with a plan to negotiate with God; a strategy to convince God to make the Babylonians go away. Transactional. I'll do this, so you'll do that.

If it worked, Jeremiah being proven wrong would be a nice side benefit.

Zedekiah calls for his own "emancipation proclamation." He tells everybody to release their Hebrew slaves. And they do so.

They even go through the old school covenant-making ceremony. (Cut a calf in half lengthwise, and everybody walk between the two halves.) Very serious.

Why this?

First of all, they were NOT supposed to have Hebrew slaves. At all. They were not to enslave their own countrymen. They knew that part of God's covenant. They had just blown it off. (Like most of God's covenant for that matter.)

But then the circumstances changed. Sometime after the people had freed their Hebrew slaves, the Babylonians left their siege of Jerusalem to go fight the Egyptians.

So (and this is so like us) the people then immediately took back the slaves they had just released. Turns out, the slaves hadn't been freed, just furloughed.

The point?

We make lots of promises to God, hoping to alter our circumstances. (Think increased church attendance, giving, etc.)

Then (if) the circumstances favorably change, we quickly revert back to whatever we wanted to be and do previously. Back to ignoring God.

We don't really free ourselves from ignoring God. We just take a short furlough.

Back to the story. How did God respond?

The people would end up like the calf cut in half lengthwise.

He had Jeremiah tell the people the Babylonians would be back; that Zedekiah the king would see the king of Babylon face to face, in Babylon, and not be in the power position. A lot of people hearing Jeremiah's words would die. And it all happened. Just like that.

God doesn't do false covenants. Both parties of a covenant are expected to fulfill their covenant obligations. (Or end up like two halves of a calf.)

What chance do any of us have?

None, really.

But in our place, Jesus fulfilled that covenant, and established a new covenant with us. His righteousness was assigned to us. Terms of covenant met. By Him. For us.

Jesus took the place of the two halves of the calf, so those who believe could walk 'through Him' to a restored, covenantal relationship with the Father.

Forever. No furlough.

-Mike Rydman, Lead Pastor, Radiant Church | Juneau