After a few chapters of future hope we return to the grim reality of the present.
Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and the outcome was obvious to all. God sends Jeremiah to Zedekiah to make it plain to him that defeat was inevitable. There was going to be no sudden intervention from the Lord. (In fact it was the Lord who was instigating the attack.) Yet while Zedekiah would go into exile, he would still die peacefully.
The Law said that Hebrew slaves should be freed every seventh year, yet this requirement had often be overlooked. Zedekiah seems to be making a desperate attempt to get right with God. So Hebrew slaves were all to be freed. One has to wonder what the freedom would be worth now given the terrible situation. However, even in these circumstances the heart of man is corrupt beyond measure. So while they set the free slaves free for a time, they then enslaved them again.
The Lord gave His word to Jeremiah to rebuke them. The people had brought even more judgement upon themselves.
Critics often site the Bible's "attitude" on slavery as evidence that the Bible is evil or even that God Himself is evil. This shows a complete misunderstanding of the situation. The Bible laws on slavery were remarkably liberal. The truth of the matter is, as illustrated here, that the heart of man is evil.
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