What was the covenant about freeing Hebrew servants in this passage?

The covenant was an agreement, led by King Zedekiah, that every man in Jerusalem would free his Hebrew male and female servants. This followed God’s law that a Hebrew who sold himself into service was to be released after a set period, remembering how God had brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt. The people made this promise before God in His temple, treating it as very serious. At first they obeyed and let their servants go, which God says was doing right in His sight.

Why did God say the people had polluted His name in this passage?

God says they polluted His name because they used His name to seal a covenant they did not intend to keep. They stood in the house called by His name and promised to free their Hebrew servants, then later forced those same people back into bondage. That was not just breaking a human promise, it was dragging God’s holy name into their lie. Calling on God as a witness while going back on their word treated His name as something empty and made their false oath a kind of sacrilege.

What does it mean when God says, “I proclaim a liberty for you to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine”?

The people had “proclaimed liberty” to their servants, then took that liberty back. In response, God turns their own words back on them. He says He now proclaims a different kind of liberty for them: liberty to the sword, disease, and hunger. In other words, He is letting judgment loose on them. Instead of safety and rest, they will face war, plague, and famine, and be scattered among other nations. Their false freedom for others leads to a very real and painful “freedom” to be harmed by the troubles they had hoped to escape.

Why did the people take back their freed servants after first obeying God?

The passage hints that their obedience was shallow and driven by fear, not by real repentance. When the Babylonian army threatened the city, they became serious and did what God had commanded, freeing their Hebrew servants. But when the danger seemed to lessen, they quickly went back to their old ways and forced the freed people into service again. This shows they wanted God’s help in a crisis but did not truly want to live by His commands. Their change of heart was temporary and self-serving, not a lasting turning to God.

What is the meaning of cutting a calf in two and passing between the pieces?

The passage mentions that they cut a calf in two and passed between the parts when they made their covenant. This was an old way of making a very serious promise. By walking between the pieces of the animal, they were saying, in effect, “May this happen to us if we break this covenant.” It pictured the curse they called on themselves if they were unfaithful. God reminds them of this act to show how serious their sin is: they broke a covenant that they had sealed with a sign of death and judgment on the one who fails to keep it.

What does this passage teach about God’s view of justice and mercy?

This passage shows that God cares deeply about how His people treat each other, especially the weak and dependent. He had built into Israel’s life a pattern of release for Hebrew servants, so that no Israelite would be kept in bondage without hope. When the people finally did this, He calls it doing right in His sight. But when they took back their servants, He calls it a pollution of His name and responds with judgment. Justice and mercy toward others are not optional extras; they are at the heart of living under God’s covenant.

How does this passage warn against hypocrisy in repentance?

The people in this passage looked very serious for a while. Under threat from Babylon, they made a covenant in God’s house, used strong symbols, and obeyed a clear command by freeing their servants. God even says they had turned and done right. But then they turned back again and undid it all. This shows that outward reform and religious acts can be fake if the heart is not changed. It warns us that saying the right words or making bold promises to God means nothing if we do not continue in obedience when the pressure lifts.

What does this passage show about the responsibility of leaders like Zedekiah?

King Zedekiah and the princes are named among those who broke the covenant. They led the people in making the promise to free the servants, and they share in the guilt when that promise is broken. God singles them out for judgment along with the priests, officials, and people. This shows that leaders are not above God’s law and carry heavy responsibility when they lead the community into sin or into empty promises. Their choices brought harm not only on themselves but on the whole nation, showing how serious leadership is before God.

How can someone today apply the message of this passage about broken promises?

This passage calls us to be honest and steady in the promises we make before God and to other people, especially when it affects those who are weaker or depend on us. It warns against using religious language, prayer, or public commitments as a show, while planning to go back to old habits when life feels safer. In practice, this could mean keeping our word in relationships, work, and church life, and not using God’s name to cover selfish choices. Real repentance keeps going even when the crisis is over and obedience is costly.

What does this passage teach about God’s faithfulness compared to the people’s unfaithfulness?

God reminds them that He made a covenant when He brought their fathers out of Egypt, setting up laws that protected Hebrew servants. He had been faithful to free them from bondage and to show them compassion. In contrast, they ignored His law for years, briefly obeyed under pressure, then broke their own solemn covenant. The passage shows a sharp contrast: God keeps His word and expects His people to reflect His character, but they have twisted His name and promises. Their judgment comes not because God changed, but because they would not stay faithful.

Jer.34.8

Jeremiah 34:8

KJV

¶ 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;

Freedom for Hebrew Slaves

¶ 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;

That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother.

Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go.

But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

¶ Therefore the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.

And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.

Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.

And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof,

The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf;

I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth.

And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you.

Behold, I will command, saith the Lord, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.