Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 34

Because the Jews were so obstinate, since they were neither frightened by severity nor moved by kindness, he rightly presents his threat and consolation, and, for the third time, the opposition of his listeners:

1. By the transgression of the judgment.
2. By the destruction of the writing: and it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah (Jeremiah 36:1).
3. In the persecution of the prophet: and king Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned in the stead of Jekoniah, the son of Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 37:1).

Regarding the first point, there are two aspects.

1. They are convicted of their transgression by the facts.
2. And second, by example: the word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD (Jeremiah 35:1).

He shows that they are transgressors because they failed to keep the covenant they had made with God about freeing their slaves according to the Law.

This, in turn, is divided into two parts.

1. First, a certain alleviation of their troubles is given after the ratification of the covenant.
2. Second, the threat is given after they transgressed the covenant they had entered into, at the point where it says, the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD (Jeremiah 34:8).

Regarding the first part, there are two points.

1. First, he gives the title of the prophecy, describing the time: when Nebuchadnezzar.... This relates to the earlier passage: behold, I will call together all the families of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD, and they shall come, and each one shall place his throne in the entry of the gates of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 1:15).
2. Second, he gives the prophetic word, which begins, thus says the LORD. Here, he makes three points.
   1. First, he gives the threat for past faults regarding the destruction of the city: behold, I will deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn her with fire. As the psalmist says, They have burned your sanctuary with fire, they have defiled the dwelling place of your name on earth (Psalms 73:7). He also speaks of the king's captivity: and you shall not escape. This echoes Lamentations: In the day of the Lord’s wrath there was no one who escaped, and was left (Lamentations 2:22).
   2. Second, he speaks of the reward for the covenant that was made: yet hear . . . you shall not die. This, however, was not fulfilled, because the king did not remain faithful to the covenant. In fact, he died shamefully after taking a laxative at a feast. As it is written, Woe to him who gives drink to his friend, mixing his gall, and making him drunk that he may look upon his nakedness (Habakkuk 2:15). Nevertheless, this promise can be said to have been fulfilled in the sense that he was not killed by the enemy's sword. This relates to the earlier prophecy: they shall not mourn him, ‘Alas, brother!’ and, ‘Alas sister!’ They shall not lament for him, ‘Alas, lord,’ and, ‘Alas, glorious one!’ (Jeremiah 22:18).
   3. Third, he mentions the imminent tribulation, making the promise all the more welcome: for I have spoken the word. As Habakkuk says, He shall laugh at every defense, and will cast up his mound, and take it (Habakkuk 1:10).

1. Here, the threat is given after the transgression of the covenant.

The author first speaks of the transgression of the covenant, and second, he gives the threat against those who transgressed, beginning with and the word came to Jeremiah from the Lord (Jeremiah 34:12).

Concerning the transgression, three points are made.

1. The making of the covenant is described: after king Zedekiah had made a covenant (Jeremiah 34:8)—and also after he broke it—that every man should go free, according to the Law. If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve you for six years; in the seventh he shall go free without cost (Exodus 21:2).

   And in Leviticus 25 they are forbidden to take any of their brothers as slaves or to oppress them with forced servitude; instead, they are to be as hired workers and temporary residents.

2. He speaks of the fact that they observed the covenant for a time: the princes and all the people heard therefore, and let go free. They did it quickly, they forgot his work, and did not keep his counsel (Psalms 105:13).
3. The transgression of the covenant is described: and afterwards they turned. They turned back that they might be without yoke; they became like a treacherous bow (Hosea 7:16).

1. Here, he threatens those who transgressed.

   1. First, he speaks of the guilt of their fathers when he speaks of the covenant: I made a covenant. This refers to the previous passage: not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand, that I might lead them from the land of Egypt, a covenant which they have made void (Jeremiah 31:32).

      He then speaks of the transgression: and they did not hearken to me. This also refers to a previous passage: they did not listen, nor did they incline their ear, but turned away, each one in the depravity of his own evil heart (Jeremiah 11:8).

      Then he addresses the guilt of the children when he speaks of the making of the covenant: and you turned, from the transgression of their fathers, in the house, that is, in the temple. As Isaiah says, The house of our sanctification, and of our glory, where our fathers praised you (Isaiah 64:11).

      But you have turned back and have polluted my name, by transgressing. This is why the law says, Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Exodus 20:7). And as Ezekiel records, Not because of you shall I act, O house of Israel, but because of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations unto whom you have gone (Ezekiel 36:22).

   2. Second, he threatens punishment: therefore, thus says the LORD. Concerning this, there are two points.

      1. First, he gives the punishment communally with regard to everyone when he predicts slaughter: behold, I proclaim freedom, meaning, so that you may be freely killed. This refers to the earlier prophecy: those who are for the sword, to the sword, and those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity (Jeremiah 15:2).

         He also speaks of the bondage of those who remain: and I shall give the men . . . the calf. This refers to the covenant they established by the division of a calf offered in sacrifice to God.Reminiscent of Abraham’s covenant of the parts; cf. Genesis 15:1–15. This manner of speaking, “to strike a covenant” (percutere foedus or ferire foedus), arose from this custom.Percutere or ferire by themselves can mean “to strike,” “to cut,” “to slay,” etc., but when they take foedus, “covenant,” as an object, they signify making a pact or treaty, for an animal was often slain to ratify such an event. The idiom is the same in Hebrew as well. As Lamentations says, The Lord gave me into a hand from which I shall not be able to escape (Lamentations 1:14).

         He also predicts that their dead bodies will be devoured: and their dead bodies shall be for meat to the birds of the air. As the psalmist says, They made the bodies of your servants food for the birds of the sky, and meat for the beasts of the earth (Psalms 79:2).

         He speaks particularly with regard to the princes: and Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his princes. As Deuteronomy warns, The Lord shall bring you and your king, whom you shall establish over you, into a people which you and your fathers knew not (Deuteronomy 28:36). The phrase who have withdrawn from you refers to those who were viewed as foreigners. See chapter 37 below (Jeremiah 37:4).

      2. Second, he speaks of the order in which this will be fulfilled: behold, I command. This refers to the earlier passage: they have made my pleasant field an empty wilderness. They have made it a desolation, and it has mourned for me (Jeremiah 12:10–11).