Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Not Placing Trust in Fickle People”
Jeremiah 34:8-11 (NIV)
The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. 9 Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. 10 So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.
One experienced pastor once told me, “I love my church members. I just don’t trust them.” That idea stayed with me. Now, I need to be careful so that today’s QT does not inadvertently lead you to more cynicism towards others. I believe the pastor was encouraging me to always love the people around me, while guarding myself from mistakenly placing my trust in them.
Today’s passage takes place during a momentary lifting of the Babylonian siege (cf. 34:21; 37:5, 11); but during the siege, slave owners had actually freed their slaves. Assuming that the danger was past, however, they decided to take back the slaves, which was contrary to the promise they had made to the Lord. If an Israelite could not pay his debts, he sometimes sold himself, his family, or his children to serve the creditor for a period of years. However, the Mosaic law provided for the freeing of Israelite slaves after six years of servitude (see Exod 21:2–11). Further reading of chapter 34 will reveal how much this infuriated the Lord.
Yesterday, in chapter 33, we looked at the faithfulness of God. Today, we see the fickleness of the human heart. In fact, the reason for the release of the slaves during the time of the siege may have been driven by selfish motives (though the reason is not explicitly stated). It was not economically practical for the owners to feed and care for the slaves, so they released them to fend for themselves (New American Commentary).
Unfortunately, this picture of people’s sinfulness reminds us all that we cannot and should not place trust in man or even ourselves. Ultimately, all of us have sinned and have fallen deeply short of God’s glory. Not only are we fickle and greedy, but Jeremiah had earlier reminded us: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (Jer 17:9, NTL). Certainly, we must love one another, but as for placing our trust, let’s place that in our faithful God.
Prayer: Lord, perhaps my disappointments come because I had placed unrealistic expectation on others. Help me to place my trust only in You. And help me to love and serve others, and when necessary forgive others when I’m wronged. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: Job 11
Lunch Break Study
Read Matthew 13:21-35 (NIV): Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. 28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”
Questions to Consider
- What does Peter’s question to Jesus reveal about our human condition?
- What is the master’s expectation from the servant whose debt was cancelled?
- According to this parable, what is it like to live in God’s Kingdom?
Notes
- The question reveals that in our sinfulness, we have a very limited capacity to show mercy and extend forgiveness.
- To practice mercy towards others.
- Living in God’s Kingdom allows us to show mercy and forgiveness, even if we have been hurt by others.
Evening Reflection
Are there people in your own life in whom you might be placing too much trust (parents, spouse, friend, co-worker) for your personal well-being? If so, shift your focus on trusting in God as your father, bridegroom, friend, and co-laborer.
I recently engaged in an interesting conversation with a seasoned missionary who had served in several Asian nations. He noted that one of the most difficult challenges he faced was creating and nurturing a united community among the local pastors and leaders. I asked for his explanation of why a united cohort was so difficult to achieve, and his answer was not only informative but quite insightful.
Survey: If an expectant mother listens to Mozart, will her child actually be smarter when he/she is born? (If you are curious, feel free to search for “Mozart Effect” later for all kinds of responses.)
In the widely used Experiencing God booklet, the author reminds us of the first spiritual principle in order to live a God-centered life as opposed to a self-centered one: God is always at work around you. And as God works around us, He then invites us to join Him in His work. Naturally, the question rises, “If God is always at work, just where around us is He working right now?” This section of Jeremiah provides us with a clue in how to discover God’s work—one of His best work.
The AMI QT Devotionals from August 27 to September 2 is provided by Pastor Peter Yoon of Kairos Christian Church in San Diego. Peter is a graduate of U.C. Riverside and Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.). He and his wife Jessica have three very active children: Nathan, Abigail, and Jason.
Question: If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, name three items that you’d take with you? 
According to statistics, there are 153 million orphans in the world. It has been recorded that if we were to gather all the orphans and rank the population as a nation, it would be the ninth largest country in the world. This is a heartbreaking statistic. Although this is the number of actual orphans, let us consider the number of persons in the world who live as if they are orphaned. What is meant by this? This means the number of people who believe that no one will care for them, and as a result, they live life as if they must fend for themselves. This is a lonely and stressful way for a person to live. This, however, should not be for us believers.
In basic literature, it is understood that in every story there is a protagonist and an antagonist. The protagonist, who is the main character and is generally the “good guy,” is provoked by the antagonist, the “bad guy.” The protagonist is the hero usually abhorring evil and preserving good.
The average lifespan of a person is said to be about 79 years. In comparison to the infinitude of time, a human life is very brief. Perhaps this is why we tend to think in the scope of finiteness. We tend to get caught up in our current situations and gauge our lives in the context of what is happening in the now. It is unnatural for us to think in the scope of eternity. We may even wonder if this is possible to do.
In these two verses, the Lord speaks of a new covenant that would be made between God and His people. The old covenant, which was written on stone tablets and the people were unable to keep, would be void as God makes a new covenant that would be written on the heart (flesh) of His people. The route to making this covenant possible would happen through the initiative of God and would also require a tremendous cost on His part. This route was forgiveness. Because of God’s love for His people and desire for a relationship with them, He says, “…I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (v.34).
We see here an image of Rachel, wife of Jacob and mother of Joseph and Benjamin, weeping for her children who are no more (v.15). In the picture portrayed, Rachel, who represents the mother of Israel, grieves over the captivity of her descendants who have been taken into Babylonian exile. In the midst of such denoted grief and remorse, the voice of the Lord breaks through yet again with hope: “Thus says the Lord: ‘refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded,’ says the Lord; ‘and they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future,’ says the Lord, ‘that your children shall come back to their own border’” (v.16). The Lord promises renewal and restoration.