Jeremiah 38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Jeremiah 38:8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying...
Once again, our prophet had to pay a heavy price for his calling. It was his preaching that instigated this sad time in Jeremiah’s life. He had gone about the streets warning the people that the city would soon fall to Babylon and that all who wanted to find mercy should surrender to them. This infuriated the princes of Israel, who were doing their best to rally the few remaining troops to fight. These princes easily influenced Zedekiah, the puppet king, to have Jeremiah put to death in the most cruel manner—not by sword or stoning, but by disease, dehydration, and starvation in the pit that was in the midst of the prison court. This pit was most likely an abandoned cistern for water. Being in the midst of the prison court, it is easy to imagine how such a pit became the natural place where all the dust and refuse from the court would be tossed, mingling with the water to become mire. How deep this mire was has been widely speculated, but it was at least deep enough to sink into. I encourage you to read Lamentations 3, which was most likely his prayer during this time in the pit (Lamentations 3:53-55: "They have cut off my life in the dungeon and cast a stone upon me. Waters flowed over my head; then I said, 'I am cut off.' I called upon your name, O LORD, out of the low dungeon.") and you’ll read how waters were running over him, threatening to drown him, gravel broke his teeth, and at some point, they even cast a stone on his head. This indicates that in this pit, they were adding insult to injury—sweeping dust on his head, casting stones on him, filling it with water to torture him with cold and fear, and stomping on him while he was down. Yet, it was from this pit that God’s strength was made perfect in weakness.
We have discussed the people and situations that brought Jeremiah into this pit, but what about those people and things that lifted him out? Who and what were they? It was royal men who put him into that pit, but it was an Ethiopian eunuch who pulled him out. His name could not be more fitting—Ebed-Melech, meaning "Servant of the King." It was royal ropes that lowered him to his inevitable death, but it was rotten rags lessend the blow of the ropes that would pull him out. It was the power and strength of men that worked to kill him, but namelessness and weakness that lifted him out. As interesting as this story is, I am concerned today with its application. Have you ever found yourself in a pit? Your pit may not have been as horrible as Jeremiah’s, but I doubt it. I suspect one reason God allowed the characters of the Bible to suffer such tremendous suffering is to set an example for all who would come after. If God can lift his people out of literal dungeons and pits, then He can undoubtedly lift us from our supposed pits and dungeons of circumstance we find ourselves in.
The verse that came to my heart as I read this account was Jesus’s words to Paul: "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness." When we are in the pit, we hope and pray for a golden rope to fall from heaven and a band of angels to lift us out with great speed. If royal men put us here, who but God can bring us out? We begin to inspect how tragic and terrible our situation is and realize this pit is too deep for anyone but God Himself. That is true, but notice what God uses to lift our prophet from the pit—a nameless eunuch, a gentile. This man, a slave to the very king who gave the orders to cast Jeremiah into the pit, is stirred to become an advocate and ambassador for God’s man. The only name we know is “Ebed-Melech”—the King’s Servant, which was his title, not his name. He had no royal pedigree nor an army to lead, but in his weakness, God’s strength was at work.
When I have sunk into my pits of despair, many times God has used some unnamed, unsuspecting person to advocate on my behalf, to pray for me. I’ve received a message from a brother saying, “Love you, praying for you today.” Little did they know that their prayers were just the advocacy I needed that day. We often find ourselves in the pits of necessity, lacking the sustenance to carry on. Out of nowhere, a poor, unsuspecting brother will drop down what he considers to be rotten rags of support. “It’s not much, brother,” or “I wish I could do more,” or some other apologetic message is sent with the help, but their rotten rags, compiled with another brother’s, all form sufficient padding to pull us from the depths of the pit we are in. Powerless, nameless, poor men used to accomplish the mission of God! What a testimony of His strength being made perfect in weakness. Just as the rope looked harsh and cutting but was made comfortable by these unsuspecting means, so are all the provisions of God. Sometimes, we may question the efficacy of His means, but every time we must testify that His “grace is sufficient.”
I’d like to leave those nameless, powerless “servants of the King” with a word of encouragement this morning. Look now to Jeremiah 39:15-18 (Jeremiah 39:15-16a: “Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying, ‘Go and speak to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying…’” Jeremiah 39:18: “For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.”) Ebed-Melech had believed the word that Jeremiah the prophet was preaching and trusted in the same God. These verses show us that his advocacy for the prophet and his support of him was not just benevolence but an act of faith. Dear reader, your advocacy and prayer for God’s people is an act of faith and will be rewarded accordingly. So was his gathering together a little here and there to make his ascent more bearable for the prophet an act of faith, and so is every salary given to pastors, missionaries, and servants of God. Many times, the people who are supporting missions or paying their pastor to feed the flock are doing so with the rotten rags that they have been able to scrounge up in the week, but God uses the weak and foolish things of this world. This is more than benevolence on your part; it is faith, and it will be rewarded. God sees, knows, and keeps records, so pray, give, and do what you can as “The King’s Servant.”
Comments