JEREMIAH 342009 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Jeremiah 34

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2009. Well, this evening we're in Jeremiah chapter 34. Let's start off with looking at verse 1 together. It says, The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army...

And we'll get on to what the Lord says in just a moment. But here as we start verse 1 of chapter 34...

It's always important I keep taking back the context of the book of Jeremiah because the chapters are not in sequential order. They're sometimes later or earlier in the ministry of Jeremiah. And so here as we start chapter 34, we're looking at Jeremiah as he's ministering under the reign of Zedekiah.

Zedekiah is the last king of Judah before Babylon conquers Judah completely and carries all the captives away into Babylon. Zedekiah, he reigns for 11 years and this particular event happens fairly early in his reign.

We've been looking at Zedekiah's reign for the past several weeks, but the things we've been looking at in chapters 32 and 33 happen late in Zedekiah's reign. This particular event happens early in Zedekiah's reign, and we know that from the historical accounts that we're going to get into as we head into chapter 34.

So here's Zedekiah. He is the king of Judah. It's a nation that has been in rebellion against God for several hundred years. They have little revivals every once in a while. But all in all, they've been going farther and farther away from God.

And the prophet Jeremiah is just one of many who has been sent to the nation to call them back to repentance and to call them to get right with God, to announce the impending doom. The nation of Babylon was going to conquer the nation of Judah, but God was giving them opportunities to repent and be saved from Babylon if they would turn back to him.

And Jeremiah was delivering that message as well as some of the other prophets earlier on. And so here's Jeremiah early in Zedekiah's reign. God gives him the word and here is what God says. Look at verse 2.

He says,

and you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be taken and delivered into his hand. Your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon. He shall speak with you face to face, and you shall go to Babylon. So the message that God gives Jeremiah to pass on to Zedekiah is not really a favorable message, but it's really a message that

Zedekiah, you are not going to escape this. What's happening here is Zedekiah is reigning there in Judah. The nation of Babylon has now attacked Jerusalem.

This is not the final attack that we'll see later on in Zedekiah's reign. But here we have Zedekiah under attack. And as you can imagine, he's wanting escape. He's thinking, how can I keep Babylon from conquering this city? How can I protect this city and fortify the walls? How can I escape from this situation that I'm in?

And what God says to Zedekiah through Jeremiah is, you will not be successful in your attempts to prevent Babylon from conquering this city. He tells Zedekiah, you will see the king of Babylon face to face. And this city is going to be given into the hand of Babylon and it's going to burn with fire.

And of course we know these things. We're later on in history from the time that Jeremiah was writing these things. And of course these things have come to pass just as God said that they would. God tells Zedekiah the city is going to be conquered and you are going to see the king of Babylon face death.

This was important and significant. He's telling Zedekiah, the city is going to be conquered and you're not going to escape, but you are going to stand before the king of Babylon face to face. You're not getting out of this, Zedekiah. You're not going to be able to sneak away, although he tries to. The word of God is fulfilled and he stands before the king of Babylon face to face later on in his life. Verse 4,

And so Jeremiah continues the message that God had given to him.

He also has a little bit of good news for Zedekiah in that he's not going to die in the battle. Again, he's going to stand before the king of Babylon face to face. He's not going to be put to death immediately immediately.

He's going to die in peace. And the way that this is fulfilled is Zedekiah is taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and carried off into Babylon and is there in captivity until the day of his death. But they're not in battle anymore and they're not being laid siege to in the city of Jerusalem. He's there established in Babylon, in the nation,

And it's there that he dies. He dies in a state of peace. And there's lamenting for him. Verse 6. Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah, king of Judah in Jerusalem. When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah that were left against Lachish and Ezekiah, for only these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah.

And so as we read this account, as we look at what's happening here in chapter 34, Jeremiah is explaining to us as he shares these things that Babylon is attacking the city of Jerusalem and Lachish and Ezekiel. These are the only three cities that are left at this time. Later on it will come to the point where it's only Jerusalem that's left. But at this time, there's these three cities that are left.

Picture for just a moment the nation that is led out of Egypt and crosses the Red Sea, goes through the wilderness and then finally into the Promised Land. This great nation has now been reduced to three cities because of their rebellion against God. It's been severe, their rebellion. It's been...

A long time that they've been refusing to hear from God. And it's brought them to this point. As God has been sending them messengers and speaking to them and giving them opportunity, and they say, no, we're not going to do it. It's too hard to walk with God. We're going to do things our way. It's brought them to this point where now there's three cities left.

The wages of sin is death. And rebelling against God always brings destruction in our life. It always causes death. The nation of Judah is finding this out firsthand as now they are just a remnant. There's only a few that are left. These three cities and now those three cities are under attack by the nation of Babylon.

Now, have you ever been in a situation similar to that of Zedekiah? Not necessarily, you know, under attack and being in war, but having circumstances where the odds are just, well, you're outnumbered and rescue and escape seems impossible. It doesn't appear that you can get out of the situation that you're facing.

Have you ever been in that kind of situation? I think that we all have and we can all somewhat relate to what Zedekiah is going through here. And I think that we often do in those situations the same thing that Zedekiah does at this time. Because here we find that Zedekiah...

Well, he makes a covenant with the people to get right with God in a particular area. Here he is in this situation. It's overwhelming. The outlook is bleak. Babylon is attacking. There's only three cities left. He's got this message that they're going to be successful in conquering the city. And so, Zedekiah makes a covenant with the people. Look at verse 8.

He says,

like we often do when we're in a situation that we just, we can't figure out how to get out of it. We've exhausted our resources. Then we say, okay, God, I need your help. But we feel that that's too weak, you know, just to call on God and ask Him for help. That's kind of weak. And so what we do is we make a promise to God. God, if you get me out of this situation,

Boy, I promise, I'm going to be the most faithful church attender you ever saw, Lord. And I'm going to be there every week and all the time that the doors are open. And not only that, God, but I'll serve. I'll even vacuum the church or I'll set the chairs up or we'll make promises. God, if you do this, I'll never...

I'll never sin like this again. I'll never practice that again. God, if you get me out of this, Lord, I promise I'll tell everybody about how good you are and how wonderful you are. And we make these promises to God when we're in the midst of these difficult situations.

We see that not only in Zedekiah. We see that all throughout the scriptures. It's very common for us to do these things. And this is what Zedekiah does. He says, man, we're in a really tough spot. Well, okay, here's my plan. Let's make a covenant. Let's make a covenant together to obey God. Now,

It's an effort. I mean, he doesn't make a covenant to obey God completely. He's dealing with a specific issue. And what is that issue? Well, it's the issue of slavery. Slavery.

He says, hey guys, here's what we should do. We need to earn God's favor. In essence, his attitude here. And so he says, in earning God's favor and helping us against Babylon, let's set free all of our male and female slaves. Let's set them free. Let's not keep them in bondage any longer. Now what's interesting about this is God had made it very clear that

in his word, in the writings of Moses and the commands of Moses, that they were not to keep Hebrews as slaves, but only as servants. If you would turn with me please to Leviticus chapter 25 for a moment. We'll jump back to Jeremiah in a few moments. But in Leviticus chapter 25, we have God's

Yeah, chapter 25. I scared myself for a second. We have God's laws, God's instruction regarding slavery and the Jewish people. Leviticus chapter 25 verse 39. He says, "...and if one of your brethren who dwells with you becomes poor and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him to serve as a slave."

Verse 1.

And then he shall depart from you, he and his children with him, and shall return to his own family. He shall return to the possession of his fathers. Verse 42, For they are my servants, God says, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. They shall not be sold as slaves. You shall not rule over him with rigor, but you shall fear your God.

And so here in Leviticus, God lays down the law. He makes it clear. Here is the way that you are to treat your fellow Hebrews, your fellow Jews.

If they are in a situation where they've been broke, they're in debt, they owe you, they cannot repay it, the custom of the time was then you would become that person's slave. I owe you $20,000, I can't repay it, and so I work it off. It's like when you go to the restaurant and you realize you forgot your wallet and you do the dishes to pay for your meal. I don't think that ever actually happens, but we always talk about it as if it does.

It's that type of thought. So in order to pay you back, I do this work for you. And that was the common custom of the day. And what God is saying is, listen, when your fellow brother or sister is in that situation, you're not to...

It's not to beat slavery, but you're to treat them as a servant. And they're to be like a hired servant. And so they're paying back what they owe you through their service, but you're to treat them well. And you're to deal with them well because God says, those are my people. They're my servants and you need to fear me and therefore take care of those that are indebted to you. So that was the command of God. But God,

the nation of Judah had not been obedient to that command. And so what does Zedekiah do? Going back to chapter 34 of Jeremiah, Zedekiah says, "Okay, well let's start being obedient to God in this area. Let's deal with this issue.

We have these slaves that are Hebrews and they're not supposed to be our slaves. We need to set them free. And so that's what he says. He makes a covenant there with all the people to proclaim liberty to them. It's a proclamation of liberty to the slaves. Everyone should set free his male and female slave, the Hebrew men and women, and no one should keep a Jewish brother in bondage.

And so now they've determined, they've agreed together, alright, we're going to start being obedient to God in this area. Going on in verse 10. Now when all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant heard that everyone should set free his male and female slaves, that no one should keep them in bondage anymore, they obeyed and let them go. Pretty exciting, right? But look at verse 11.

But afterward, they changed their minds and made the male and female slaves return, whom they had set free and brought them into subjection as male and female slaves.

As I was reading this in preparation for this evening, I really felt sorry for those servants and those slaves that is being referenced to here. Can you imagine? They're being set free. They're excited. Woo! Finally, freedom! And then afterwards, they change their mind. Oh, never mind. Come on back. You're my slaves still. And get back to work. The princes and the people, they hear about

this command, this covenant that Zedekiah makes. And they say, okay, alright, this is going to get us out of this jam. This is going to help our situation where Babylon will not be successful. And they're thinking, great, we'll do this too. We'll set free our servants. We'll start obeying God in this area. But afterward, they change their mind. So they set them free. Off they go.

But then they change their mind. And why do they change their mind? Why do they all of a sudden call them back and say, wait, never mind, we were just kidding. Forget about that. Come back and now you're my slave again. What would make them change their mind, do you suppose? Think about it in this way. What makes you break a covenant that you made with God? What makes you...

Go back on a promise that you made to God. The people changed their mind because Babylon backed off from the city. We don't see this right here in this verse, but we do see it in verse 21. Look at verse 21 with me for just a moment. Here in chapter 34.

It says, "And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which has gone back from you." So here's the situation. God sends Jeremiah, tells Zedekiah, "Zedekiah, Babylon's attacking, they're going to be successful, the city's going to be conquered, and you're going to be meeting with him face to face." And so Zedekiah says,

Well, that's not good. I don't like that. What can I do? Okay, well, let me see. What I'll do is I'll make this promise. I'll make this covenant. God, we're going to start obeying you in this way. We're going to start obeying you in this area. The people say, that sounds great. We'll join with you. We'll obey God in this area. We'll make this covenant.

And it's a very serious covenant and promise that they're making, as we'll see in just a few moments. But they make this covenant, and then, what do you know? Babylon backs off. Hey, hey, it worked. We made this covenant. We started being obedient to God in this area. They backed off. Oh, man, this is awesome. Things are going good again. Things are being blessed. Oh, how wonderful. So now...

not feeling the threat of the Babylonian army, they say, well, hey, I need my servants back. It worked. Ha ha, we conned God, basically, is the thought and mentality here. We were successful. All right, now come on back. We tricked God. He got Babylon off our backs. And now we're going to continue on as normal.

Have you ever made a vow to the Lord and then reversed it after things got better? Made a promise, oh God, if you get me out of this situation. And then you get out of the situation, but you never go on to fulfill the promise that you made to God? Of course. Of course. Of course.

We see it time and time again in the scriptures and in our own lives. We make these radical proclamations with no real intention of following through and fulfilling the things that we're saying. The people here demonstrate that as they change their mind, they bring back their slaves after Babylon backs off from the city. Verse 12 says,

Therefore, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,

I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, at the end of seven years, let every man set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to him. And when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you. But your fathers did not obey me nor incline their ear. So in response to their covenant,

covenant making and covenant breaking, God sends Jeremiah again and says, listen guys, when my people came out of Egypt, when your ancestors, he tells them, came out of Egypt, I made a covenant with them. And I gave them the instruction. You are not to have in subjection a Hebrew slave for more than six years. Six years is the limit.

Earlier he had said you're not to have them as a slave but as like a hired servant. But now he's taking it a step further. Even he's saying, look...

Even as a hired servant, you're not to have them for more than six years, paying that debt back to you. The seventh year, you're to let them go free. You're to set them free. They're to go free. And even, God says, you can read about it in Deuteronomy chapter 15, God says, you're to send them out with possessions. You're to send them out with blessing. You're to send them out with provision so that they can survive as they go from you.

And so God says, look, from the very beginning, as they came out of Egypt, I made this covenant. But, he says at the end, your fathers did not obey me nor incline their ear. So this is not something that they've been practicing, God explains. He goes on, verse 15.

Then you recently turned around and profaned, I'm sorry, no, verse 15. Then you recently turned and did what was right in my sight, every man proclaiming liberty to his neighbor, and you made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name.

Then you turned around and profaned my name. And every one of you brought back his male and female slaves whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure and brought them back into subjection to be your male and female slaves.

So here God is explaining to them, listen, from the very beginning, I set this in place, I set this in order, six years maximum, seventh year set them free. They haven't followed this, your fathers haven't followed this, but then you recently turned around and started following this. You recently put this into practice and you were obedient to me. You made a covenant in my house, in my name.

They were swearing to God. They were promising to God. In his house, they were making a very serious vow and promise to God. But then they turn around and he says, you profaned my name. This is a different kind of profanity than what we might normally think of when we think of profanity. But God is saying, look, profanity is not always verbal profanity.

You made this covenant. You swore by My name. You, in My name, took these actions. But by now denying these actions and doing the opposite of what you promised to do in My name, He says, you profane My name. You profane My character and who I am. He says, every one of you brought back your slaves and you put them back under subjection.

You turn back from what you said. Verse 17, Therefore, thus says the Lord, You have not obeyed me in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim liberty to you, says the Lord, to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine. And I will deliver you to trouble among all the kingdoms of the earth. So God says, Therefore,

You have not obeyed Me. That's his analysis of their actions. You have not obeyed Me. I think this is important to consider. Sometimes we follow similar activities of the nation of Judah in that we feel really proud of ourselves at this great effort that we made

Even though we turned around and undid what we promised or undid what we had previously done. But we hold on to that one time that we did that thing that we're so proud of. But God's summary of the situation or analysis of the situation is, you have not obeyed me. The end result was, they had disobeyed God. He had laid out...

In His Word, the clear instruction for how they were to handle servanthood and slavery, they just disregarded it. They acknowledged that it was there by making a covenant, by saying, yeah, we're going to keep this, God, and then turning around and saying, never mind, we're not going to do that after all. God says, you have not obeyed me in proclaiming liberty. You haven't been obedient. You haven't been obedient.

Jesus told a similar story, a similar parable about a father who had two sons. He told one son, hey, go work in the field. The son says, no, I'm not going to do that. But then later on, repented and went and worked in the field. He told the other son, hey, go work in my field. He said, okay, yeah, I'll go. But then he never actually went and worked in the field. This is the idea of what is happening here with the nation of Judah.

They're saying, they're proclaiming, they're taking these actions, but they're not for real. And they're turning back. They're pretending to worship God. They're pretending to walk with God. God says, you have not obeyed me. You've not been obedient in this. Verse 18.

And I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it, the princes of Judah, the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf.

I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life. Their dead bodies shall be for meat for the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth. So God continues on now to say, those who made this covenant, I'm going to deal with them. They are going to be judged because they did not do it in sincerity.

He makes reference to the covenant that they made. He says, They have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts of it. Now, you can also read an account of this in Genesis chapter 15, when God makes a covenant with Abraham. This for...

Reasons which probably we really don't get very well or very clearly. This was a normal practice for making covenants of the day.

So you and I, if we were going to make a covenant, we would actually use the title contract and we would have something drawn up and we would sign it. Perhaps you could have it notarized for the official identification of those who are signing the contract or covenant.

In those days, they didn't do that. They didn't have a notary. Instead, what they did was when they wanted to make a serious covenant, they would cut an animal or several animals in two and then they would meet in the middle or they would pass through it depending on what type of covenant that they were making and it would be...

a sign or a showing of how serious this covenant was that they were making. It was in blood as they were walking between these animals that were cut in two. It was something that was serious. It was something that was severe. And it was essentially like them saying, look, may I be cut into like this animal if I break this covenant, if I break this promise that I'm making.

And so it was a solemn vow that they were making. They were saying, look, I deserve to be judged if I do not keep this covenant and I do not hold up my end of what I am proclaiming here. And so God is saying, look,

Those of you who passed through when you cut the calf in two and made this covenant, it was serious. You knew what you were doing. This wasn't something you were tricked into. It wasn't done in ignorance. But you made this serious vow.

You broke this vow and so I'm going to keep this vow and uphold it and those who walked through, I'm going to give them into the hands of their enemies and they're going to be dealt with like this calf that they walked between. They are going to receive the judgment according to this vow and this promise that they have made. Going back to verse 17, he says, look, you have not obeyed me in proclaiming liberty and so I proclaim liberty to you.

Liberty to what? Liberty to the sword. God says, I proclaim that you're free to die. You are going to be judged as a result of breaking my word, breaking my commands, and this covenant that you have made before me. Verse 21 says,

And I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which has gone back from you. Behold, I will command, says the Lord, and cause them to return to the city. They will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire. And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.

And so God tells them now, Babylon has backed off from the city. The reason why they backed off from the city, we'll get to when we get to chapter 37 of Jeremiah. The nation of Egypt was attacking Babylon in a different place. And so Babylon retreats from Judah in order to deal with and focus on the nation of Egypt. But God says, Egypt is not going to be successful in their attack against Babylon.

And Babylon is going to come back and is going to attack this city, conquer it, and the nation is going to be left without inhabitant. It's going to be desolate. It's going to be completely emptied of people. And we find this in history to take place in the ninth year of Zedekiah.

Babylon returns, lays siege to the city of Jerusalem, conquers it, takes all the captives. He leaves a few behind. The poor are left behind. Jeremiah is left behind. But they don't last very long and they flee to Egypt and there's no one left in the land just as God promised, just as God prophesied. And that brings us to the end of chapter 34. An interesting chapter.

Now, as we consider these things, there's basically two things that I want to close with as we prepare to continue to worship the Lord and minister to one another. First of all, is this whole issue of covenants and promises that we make to God. We, of course, are living in the new covenant. There's grace, there's mercy. Jesus Christ has paid the price upon the cross for us and for our sin.

And so we live in a different era than the nation of Judah was living in at that time. And yet we find ourselves in similar activities, in similar situations, where we call upon God when things are rough, when things are tough. We make promises and vows. We don't really take them that seriously, and we prove that by not fulfilling those vows,

Not fulfilling those promises when God does deliver us or when our situation does change. This evening, I want to remind you that God takes covenants and vows and commitments that we make to Him seriously. And if we make those commitments, we need to be serious about them. Because God takes them seriously. We make different kinds of covenants and vows before the Lord at different times in our life. Sometimes,

Well, not sometimes, but when we are born again, we often refer to that as, you know, we committed our life to the Lord. And I want to encourage you this evening to re-examine that thought, re-examine that statement. You committed your life to the Lord. Have you taken it back? Have you turned around and pulled your life back to yourself and insist on having control of your life and

performing your will in life. There's some who, you know, they say the sinner's prayer, but then they go back to the sinful life. They make the commitment, they make the promise, they make the vow, but then they go back to the same circumstances and situations and activities that they were in before. Again, God takes covenants and vows and commitments seriously. How about our wedding vows? Many of you

Have you made those wedding vows? Those commitments before the Lord? Perhaps at the Lord's house in His name, you made those vows. Similar to the covenant and vows that the nation of Judah made in this time. Those are vows. God takes them seriously. Have you taken them seriously? Have you been faithful? Do you need to, well, maybe turn around again? Have you turned from those vows?

Been unfaithful in this area or that area? Do you need to turn around and now get right and come back to that commitment that you made to God, before God? Jesus said in Luke chapter 9 verse 62, knowing no one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. God desires for us to draw near to him and to have a relationship with him.

But He's not looking for a one-night stand. And He's not looking for a flaky relationship where we, you know, on again, off again type of thing. He's looking for us to fully commit ourselves to Him. To deny ourself, take up the cross and follow Him. He's looking for us to be sold out for Him. That's what we said. That's what we committed to. But is that the way our actions have followed? Or do we need to turn back again?

and pursue God, as we've been talking about on Sunday mornings, giving all diligence to know God. That's what He desires. That's what He requires. Is that the way that our life is lived? So that's one thing, as we consider chapter 34. God takes covenants, vows, and commitments seriously. The second thing, that I think is worth considering as we look at chapter 34, is this issue of bondage. In the nation of Judah...

in their custom, in their culture, this slavery would come about because, well, people owed them these debts. They'd borrow, they'd, you know, whatever had happened, these circumstances, and so they owe this person money, and so they enlist themselves as their servants or as their slaves. There is this debt that is owed, and so...

The people who had servants who set them free but then turned around and brought them back into bondage, released them from this debt, but then turned around and then held them responsible for the debt once again. And it reminds me of the parable that Jesus told in Matthew chapter 18. In fact, would you turn there with me please? Matthew chapter 18.

In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus tells the parable of a servant. And it's in response to a question that Peter asks. Peter asks the Lord, God, how many times should I forgive my brother? Maybe up to seven times, Lord? Do you think that's enough that I can forgive my brother seven times, but then after that, I don't have to forgive them any longer?

And of course you remember Jesus' answer, not seven times, but 70 times seven. And then pick it up in verse 23. He says, Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents. But as he was not able to pay...

Verse 2.

But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. And he laid hands on him, took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe.

So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. And he would not, but went and threw him into the prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servant saw what had been done, they were very grieved and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

Verse 35, Here, Jesus drives home this very powerful point.

This master has a servant that owes him an amount that this servant is not capable of repaying. He begs the master. The master forgives the debt. Just like in Judah, they forgave the debt. They set those slaves free. Well, this servant now, he's been forgiven this enormous debt. He goes out and another servant comes by him and says, Hey, you owe me $5.00.

And you better pay me right now or I'm going to take everything and have you thrown in prison. And the guy begs just as that servant had begged before his master. This other servant begs and says, Oh, please have patience with me. I'll pay you back. I'll take care of it. But he would not have anything to do. He was not hearing that. He said, No, you pay me right now or else. And so he brings judgment upon him. And the other servants hear about it.

They tell the master and so then the master now judges that first servant. Jesus tells this story to make this point. It's not a long point. It's one verse. This is how my heavenly father will do to you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespass. He says, your brother has debts against you. They've sinned against you. Peter asks, how many times should I forgive them? Jesus is saying, no.

Look, God has forgiven you a far greater debt than anyone else owes you. And so you have no right to hold them accountable for that debt. You must forgive them just as God has forgiven you. In Judah, there were those who had these debts. They were set free. But then the rulers, the authorities, the princes, they changed their minds and said, no, never mind. I think it's important for us to consider this evening that

Are there those that you are holding responsible for a debt that they owe you because of some offense, some sin? And maybe you released it at one time but have taken it back up again like the nation of Judah did with their slaves. I think God would want you to take the opportunity this evening to turn around and be obedient and to set the captives free. No longer hold them responsible for that debt. Forgive.

those who have sinned against you. So this evening, the worship team is going to come up and we're going to continue to worship the Lord together. And as they do, I would challenge you, I exhort you, let's take this time and go before the Lord. Consider our lives. Have I made covenants and vows and commitments that I've not kept, that I've turned back on, that I need to correct in my life, that I need to get back right where God wants me to be?

And are there those in my life that, well, I've not forgiven them. Or I forgave them, but then I took it back. And I need to forgive them and release them from that debt. Because God has forgiven me a far greater debt. So let's take this time and just allow God to work in our hearts in those areas this evening. Let's worship the Lord together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.