We need better ways to avoid staying in conflict

War is a difficult time. Whether you are talking about the wars of the previous century or the ones previous to that. It makes people do desperate things. Bad things continuously escalate. People, communities and entire nations react with greater and greater intensity to each other's actions. Every verbal point made in the midst of such conflict is always viewed with high skepticism. Good gestures and offers are not trusted. You yourself may be in the midst of such situation, and you may be feeling like the "whole world" is against you like the people of Israel felt.

Jeremiah 34:1-2

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

The first verse of this chapter seems to indicate that the whole world was against the people of Israel and only a few cities were left. While they were faced with this situation they did a curious or desperate thing. They freed the slaves in their midst. That was unthinkable in their society. Why lose dominion over another person that is useful to you? Human nature will not allow this. God applauded this but they changed their mind and enslaved them again. They had sinned by holding a Hebrew person enslaved more than time of 7 years, and did right finally. Alas, only for a short time.

Jeremiah 34:14

“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.

Why did they do that? Maybe they sensed that the Babylonians were losing interest in them, or perhaps because the act of freeing the slaves caused God to show mercy to them by getting them to start winning. Whatever it is, they went against God's ways in the area of subjecting someone to a period of slave labor.

Daily, I need to check my ways. Are they God's ways? I need God to show me. Father, show me Your ways which lead to peace, instead of conflict.

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