WHY I WANT TO BE A SLAVE

Central Truth

True freedom is not found in independence from my Creator, but rather in subjection to Him as a slave.

[E]ach man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman; so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage. (Jeremiah 34:9)

Editor's Note: The word servant is translated as slave in many English Bibles.

Zedekiah to Die in Babylon

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all of its cities: 2 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 You shall not escape from his hand but shall surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You shall see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face. And you shall go to Babylon.’ 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you: ‘You shall not die by the sword. 5 You shall die in peace. And as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so people shall burn spices for you and lament for you, saying, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word, declares the LORD.”

6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, Lachish and Azekah, for these were the only fortified cities of Judah that remained.

8 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to make a proclamation of liberty to them, 9 that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And they obeyed, all the officials and all the people who had entered into the covenant that everyone would set free his slave, male or female, so that they would not be enslaved again. They obeyed and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male and female slaves they had set free, and brought them into subjection as slaves. 12 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 13 “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I myself made a covenant with your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, saying, 14 ‘At the end of seven years each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew who has been sold to you and has served you six years; you must set him free from your service.’ But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me. 15 You recently repented and did what was right in my eyes by proclaiming liberty, each to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house that is called by my name, 16 but then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.

17 Therefore, thus says the LORD: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and to his neighbor; behold, I proclaim to you liberty to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, declares the LORD. I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant that they made before me, I will make them like^{1

34:18
Hebrew lacks them like} the calf that they cut in two and passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf. 20 And I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has withdrawn from you. 22 Behold, I will command, declares the LORD, and will bring them back to this city. And they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.”

Footnotes

[1] 34:18 Hebrew lacks them like

Today, we find Jerusalem under siege and its people facing slavery in Babylon. In Jeremiah 34:8 King Zedekiah made a covenant to free the slaves in Jerusalem. All the people and their leaders initially agreed, but then they changed their mind. Bad decision.

I usually cringe when I see passages like Jeremiah 34:8-22 that talk about God's chosen people having slaves. But I've learned that slavery in the Bible was much different from what we know about slavery in today's world. For example, Hebrew slaves:

Often sold themselves into slavery to pay off debts;
Were able to attain high levels of education and socioeconomic status;
Could own property, including slaves of their own;
Could not be identified by appearance or clothing; and
Were to be offered freedom after six years of work.

The Bible says that now I have placed my faith in Jesus Christ, I have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), am a slave of Christ (1 Corinthians 7:22), and belong to the Lord (Romans 14:8). Even Paul, James, Peter, and Jude all begin New Testament letters by saying they are slaves of Christ.  

So what does my position as a slave of Christ mean for my life? Dictionary.com defines a slave as "a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant." I sum it up by saying that I don't get to make decisions for myself. A few decisions I have submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ are:

What I choose as a vocation;
Where I live and the cost of my house;
What I eat;
How much of the Lord's money I keep or spend on myself; and
How I treat or view people with different political views or sexual orientations.

The more decisions I submit to the Lord, the freer and more alive I feel because I have a perfect Master. I have learned that true freedom is not found in independence from my Creator, but rather in my subjection to His sovereignty.

1. Have you ever viewed yourself as a slave?

2. What decisions or aspects of your life have you overlooked that need to be submitted to the Lordship of your Master, Jesus Christ?

3. Consider memorizing Jeremiah 10:23, "I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself, nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps."

For a more thorough explanation, please see http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/articles/CulturalIssues/SlaveryInTheScriptures.pdf

WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY

JEREMIAH 30-34 (MAY 16-20)

Read Jeremiah 32:16-25.

Here, Jeremiah is praying to God after God has told him to buy a field. What does Jeremiah do first in his prayer? What miracles did God perform to free the Israelites from Egypt? When you pray to God, what great things has He done in your life that you can remember and thank Him for?

What does Jeremiah say in verse 25? He does not understand why God told him to buy the field, but why did he buy it anyway? When you don't understand all that God is doing in your life, do you go to Him and talk about it with Him? Do you come away from your time with Him remembering who He is and that He will take care of you?

Activity: What things are going on in your life that you don't understand? Talk about them as a family. Then, take time to remember how God has been faithful in the past and how He has provided and taken care of you. Pray together as a family, thanking Him for His miracles in the past and telling Him that you trust Him with your future.