Jeremiah 34:1

 Jeremiah 34:1 says, The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying,  God's word came to Jeremiah as Nebuchadnezzar was fighting against the city with all his army.  Verse two states, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:  God had a message for Jeremiah to carry to Zedekiah, king of Judah, and it wasn't one that he would want to hear.  God said that he was going to give Zedekiah over to Nebuchadnezzar and that Jerusalem would be burned.  The message we have for people today may not always be what they want to hear, but if it is God's message, we must proclaim it.  Verse three adds, And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.  God said that Zedekiah was not going to escape because of his turning away from God, in spite of what the other prophets had been saying.  Our message today is that people are not going to escape punishment for their sins if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse four declares, Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:  God also said that Zedekiah would not die by the sword.  Verse five adds, But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.  God said that Zedekiah would die in peace.  Verse six declares, Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,  Jeremiah proclaimed the word of God to Zedekiah, just as we must proclaim His word to the world today, even if they do not want to hear it.  Verse seven says, When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.  The army's of Nebuchadnezzar then came against Jerusalem, as God had said thy would.  Verse eight states, 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;  God's word once again came to Jeremiah, after Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people of Judah.  God said that liberty would come again.  Verse nine adds, 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.  God said that all the Hebrews should set their servants free, and that no Hebrew should serve his or her brother.  God's law had said that they should be set free after seven years, but the people of Judah were not obeying His law.  We as followers of Christ should never attempt to have any other Christian in servitude to us.  Verse ten declares, 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.  Jeremiah said that when the princes and all the people heard God's command, they let their servants go.  When we hear God's word, we need to obey it no matter what it may cost us in material terms.  Verse eleven adds, 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.  The obedience of the people did not last, as they once again brought the servants that they had freed back into servitude.  Temporarily doing what God commands but then rebelling against Him again is never enough.  We must obey God's word at all times.