8 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim [b]release to them: 9 that each 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. 10 And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage; they obeyed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants.
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 13 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘I made a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14 “At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who [c]has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15 Although recently you had turned and done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming [d]release to his neighbor, and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 16 Yet you turned and profaned My name, and each man [e]took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants.”’
We see now another message to the people who were left in Jerusalem, which occurs after they did a seemingly noble thing. It was common practice in that day, if you owed money and couldn’t pay a debt, that you would enter bondage to someone who could pay it for you. Or you might have to sell a son or daughter for your family to survive and receive provision from another. We see this in stories like the the widow and her son of 2 Kings 4. Ultimately, God provided miraculously and saved the sons from a being sold into servitude.
Yet, this wasn’t some new and grand idea that Zedekiah had, it was what God had commanded in His law. Whether they had ever followed this law or not is questionable, since the seventy year captivity they were about to endure was in part to allow the land to rest finally (another part of the Sabbath year cycle). All that said, the real focus here, is on what they did next. They were completely fickle and false in their covenant and took back all their servants.
There’s nothing good to say about this situation, or what they did, and God was going to judge them for it. Really, it was not shocking that these wicked people should continue being wicked, and this was definitely not the worst of their sins. But it provides a stark contrast and a reminder of our own fallen state. For each of us owes a debt we cannot pay, and is enslaved to our sin as well.
However, God fulfilled both sides to the equation of solving our “debt problem”. First, He pays our debt when we choose to serve Him. And secondly, He forgives our debt completely and makes us more than mere slaves, but sons and daughters, part of the family. God is not fickle like the men of Jerusalem, but is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
So, if you’re still “in debt” to sin, God’s offer still stands for you. Jesus paid the ultimate price so you could be free from the bonds of slavery. Commit your life to Him and live in true freedom. And if you’ve already (or just) done that, thank God for His great faithfulness, that while we were still sinners, He paid the debt that demanded our lives. Eternal life is not our just reward, but the gift of God, and for that we should thank Him with every breath we breathe.