38:1. Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying,

38:2. “Thus says the LORD: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.’

38:3. “Thus says the LORD: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’ “

38:4. Therefore the princes said to the king, “Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.”

38:5. Then Zedekiah the king said, “Look, he [is] in your hand. For the king can [do] nothing against you.”

38:6. So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which [was] in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon [there was] no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.

38:7. Now Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin,

38:8. Ebed-Melech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying:

38:9. “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For [there is] no more bread in the city.”

38:10. Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.”

38:11. So Ebed-Melech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

38:12. Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.” And Jeremiah did so.

38:13. So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

38:14. Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the LORD. And the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.”

THE MESSAGE:

When a man of God stands firm for the truth, he might find himself being threatened by haters of God’s Word. Such is the case of Jeremiah in today’s passage. in the days of Zedekiah the king of Judah (another son of Josiah who reigned after Jehoiakim), Jeremiah declared God’s mind that except the people of Judah surrendered themselves to the captivity of Babylon as declared by God, they would perish in their country. Because of this message, the people ganged up and requested for the king’s permission to silence Jeremiah which they did by putting him into a dry pit. No one would have expected that a foreigner living among the Israelites would have compassion on the Prophet. The actions Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, proved that, he believed in the God of Israel. Throughout biblical history, the Ethiopians have been a people who supported the spread of the Gospel. Probably, this is the mercy they enjoy such that in history, Ethiopia is the only Africa country that was not colonised. God knows the best way to repay good deeds.

God will never abandon His own to die in place of the wicked; He knows how to deliver the righteous. Christians faced with persecution should learn from Jeremiah:

(i) In confinement, he did not keep silent over God’s Word;

(ii) He was not discouraged when king Jehoiakim burnt the first message; he proclaimed another word;

(iii) Nobody can fight God. God will continue to fight for His own and His word will forever be relevant. Should we face trial and persecution for the Gospel’s sake, there will always be a way out; we just have to repose total confidence in God.

PRAYER: Father, at the hour of persecution, be my present help, and deliver me in Jesus’ Name