Jeremiah 34: Judah obeys the Lord under pressure, mas not in normal conditions.

 In Jeremiah 34, Judah obeys the Lord under pressure, mas not in normal conditions. According to the law, Hebrews should set free after 6 years of work; however, as they were not obeying the law:


8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to proclaim [c]release to them: 9 that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage.

It seems that the army of Babylon was near Jerusalem (v22).

10 And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free.

This covenant was established in odd way. They cut a calf in two. The people passed through the two halves of the calf saying that they will fulfill it; otherwise, they will pay with their lives. However, they didn't fulfill:

18 I will give the people who have violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf—

Why did they violate this covenant? Because they feared more the army of Babylon than the Lord:

22 Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

They abandoned the covenant as soon as the army of Babylon withdraw.

Thus, the Lord says:

20 I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. 21 Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you.