I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 33-35.

    Once again as I read this I am struck by how close the modern state of Israel is to fulfilling this prophecy. And yet, it does not do so completely. While those who actually pay attention to such things marvel at the prosperity of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel, no one would claim that it experiences peace. Israel today is as prosperous as it ever was, but peace will continue to elude it. That peace will only come when its people truly turn to God.
    Jeremiah says two other things about the future of Israel in this prophecy. He says that David will have a descendant sitting on the throne and that there will be numerous Levitical priests. As a Christian, I believe that Jesus is the descendant of David who sits upon Israel’s throne. Additionally, many of the most common Jewish surnames indicate that the bearer is a descendant of priests. My conclusion is that God will fulfill this prophecy which He gave to Jeremiah. Of course, even without the evidence given above I would believe that to be true.
    This prophecy tells us one more important thing for those who consider themselves followers of Christ must remember. God declares that He will no more reject the Jewish people, the descendants of Jacob, then we could change things so that day does not follow night and night does not follow day. Anyone who thinks that the Jewish people are not blessed by God does not follow Jesus, the descendant of David whom God placed on David’s throne for all eternity.

    In this passage we read a description of an incident which highlights an all too common human behavior. King Zedekiah issued a proclamation calling for the people to free all Hebrew slaves. As a side note: this is one of several passages which suggest that King Zedekiah, at least partly, wanted to be a godly king, but was afraid to stand up to the special interests which he would have had to cross to do so. Publicly, everyone agreed with King Zedekiah’s proclamation and did as it ordered. However, as soon as public attention moved on to other things, those with power went about re-enslaving those they had freed. You see this in politics a lot. A call for some action arouses the public attention and the masses call for political change. The politicians quickly pass a law or regulation to make the change and the public moves on to other things. Then the politicians quietly either stop enforcing/implementing the new law/regulation or, if they think no one will notice, actually repeal through indirect means the law/regulation. We see the same thing in religious organizations as well. An issue comes up and the congregants demand that it be addressed. The leaders make speeches, maybe even enact new policies for the organization, and convince their congregants that they are addressing the issue in line with what the congregants believe. Then a few years later, it is discovered that as soon as people stopped watching their actions were directly contrary to what they said they would do. Jeremiah called out the leaders here, reminding us that, while the people might not be watching, God knows whether or not we have done His will.