The sad reality, however, is that throughout her existence in the land, Israel had never obeyed this covenant command to set her slaves free. But your fathers did not listen to me or incline their ears to me.
This was yet another example of the nation’s unfaithfulness. However, the covenant Zedekiah had made with the people of Jerusalem, and their positive response, seemed to break this pattern and they repented
and did what was right
in the Lord’s eyes by proclaiming freedom to their slaves. But that quickly changed, says the Lord, when they turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves.
There is a telling play on words in these verses. The Hebrew word sub is well-used in Jeremiah and is translated as turn
or repent.
In Jeremiah 34:15 the people repented
of past disobedience by setting their slaves free, but in Jeremiah 34:16 they turned around
and returned to the old pattern of disobedience.1
As soon as the siege was lifted, the people of Jerusalem revealed their true nature and essentially repented of their obedience and went back to their old ways of disobedience. Their initial obedience was nothing more than an act of desperate self-preservation and not a sign of faithfulness to the Lord or his covenant.
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.