Releasing for Freedom

Jeremiah 34 is an interesting chapter. We learn that the kingdom of Judah is in trouble. Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and all the kingdoms of the earth were fighting against Jerusalem and all of Judah to destroy it, (verse 1).

God sends Jeremiah to Zedekiah, King of Judah. He tells him that that even though judgment is coming He will show compassion on him in the midst of the judgment. This kindness of God leads Zedekiah to repentance. He knew that he and the people of Judah had been sinning by keeping their brothers and sisters in bondage, so they all agreed to make a covenant with God to release their brothers and sisters, (verse 5). When the Lord saw what they did, He put a stop to the army that was coming to destroy them.

Even though they did agree to release their brothers and sisters, we can tell that they still didn’t get it. Unfortunately, their willingness to free their brothers and sisters was simply a token effort to ‘appease’ God. As soon as it looked like the problem was taken care of, (the army left), they quickly placed their brothers and sisters back into bondage of slavery again.

So, what are the dynamics of the events that are taking place here? Why were the kingdoms of the earth able to make such headway against the people of God? Why didn’t God rise up and protect them?

He couldn’t. What they didn’t realize was that by keeping their brothers and sisters in bondage they were inadvertently locking up God’s ability to work in their behalf. They were in direct violation of God’s word, (verses' 13&14). The final result was devastating. God told them since they were unwilling to proclaim freedom to their brothers and sisters, then He would proclaim freedom to them…freedom from His protection from the sword, pestilence, and famine.

So, how does that apply to us today? Even though literal slavery is not legal in this country, we put our brothers and sisters in bondage whenever we refuse to forgive, let go of offenses or hold on to grudges against others. And, according to Jeremiah 34, when we keep our brothers and sisters in bondage, we are in bondage ourselves.

Jesus tells us that the amount of forgiveness we experience in our lives is directly related to the amount of forgiveness we extend to others. (Matt. 6:14 & Luke 6:36). I heard it said once that every time I forgive, I set a prisoner free…that prisoner is me.

When we are willing to forgive, something happens in the spiritual realm that we cannot see. What we can see, however, are the effects of that action. The same thing is true when we flip on a light switch. We don’t actually see current race over to the lamp to make the connection, but we do see the lamp light up. In Jeremiah 34:21, we learn that the army of Babylon left due to their willingness to release their brothers and sisters. But since they reneged on their part of the deal, they could expect the army to be returning.

The problem that most people have with forgiveness is that we don’t understand what forgiveness is and what it is not. Forgiveness is not a feeling, it’s a choice. If we wait till we feel like forgiving before we forgive, we may as well move to Babylon - it’s never going to happen. We must choose to forgive.

What if the hurt is too deep? In that case, we can at least choose to be made willing to choose to forgive. That is the long way around, but God is able to help us no matter where we are.

God is for us, His word gives us the clues to victory, lets not make the same mistake the Children of Israel did, lets learn from them!

Senia Owensby

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