The LORD had given the following message to Jeremiah while he was still in prison: “Say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the LORD, have spoken!’” [Jeremiah 39.15-18]
What did Ebed-melech the Ethiopian do? Here's the whole story:
Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ The LORD also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!” King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.” So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it. But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.” So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard—the palace prison—where he remained. [Jeremiah 38.1-13]
Ebed-melech believed Jeremiah was legitimate even though what Jeremiah was saying affected him too. It would have been much easier for Ebed-melech to have joined in with the rest, rejecting Jeremiah's message from God, but he chose not to.
Why? Because, Jeremiah 39.18 says Ebed-melech trusted God.
Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he recognized the truth of what Jeremiah prophesied. Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he was willing to go against popular opinion to preserve Jeremiah's life and message. Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he was spared from the very destruction he refused to disbelieve.
What the writer of Hebrews records about trusting God is true:
And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. [Hebrews 11.6]
To believe that God rewards those who sincerely seek Him is to also believe that God punishes those who do not believe Him. In fact, those who believe God can see the punishment coming upon those who do not believe God.
Jesus recognized the future of those who refused to believe:
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. [Matthew 16.24-25]
Follow this closely! Those who hang on to their life, do not believe God.
People today are more interested in saving their own lives than they are to preserve and promote the Word of God. Even though they would never confess to such, their actions prove it over and again day after day. And, just like God's people in Jeremiah's time, God's people of our day trust in themselves and their idols (worldly allies) instead of God. Consequently, when they hear the timelessly relevant Word of God presented by Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others that decries idolatry, they reject it. Oh, they enjoy the "stories" but completely fail to see that those stories are about them!
Ebed-melech put himself in a dangerous position to rescue Jeremiah. He effectively gave up his life to do the right thing - to save Jeremiah - to preserve the Word of the LORD against idolatry. I would like to do the same thing: Jeremiah did not deserve to be in that cistern! If Jeremiah's message of impending doom upon God's idolatrous people was relevant then, it is many times more relevant today. Rejection of God's Word against idolatry is rejection of God, and furthermore, it is rejection of Jesus.
It is hard to believe we can cry out "grace" as if Jesus is our rescuer, if that "grace" we cry out allows us to retain our idols. In hard Biblical fact, that is in every way unprecedented and unsubstantiated.
If we advance Jeremiah's message to our present day, the idols it speaks out against are not "Egypt" or "carved images." Present day idols are man's industries of finance, insurance, medicine and technology (to name the main offenders) that all promote hanging on to our life. They are idols by virtue of the fact that man depends on (trusts) them instead of, or in addition to, God. In light of this, Jeremiah's message is indeed more relevant today than it was the day it was written as idolatry is clearly more advanced and ingrained in society today than ever before. All who doubt this are effectively those who throw Jeremiah into the muddy cistern and, those who believe it (trust God) are those who bring Jeremiah and his message of warning out of the mud!
I believe God's Word (all of it) is relevant to us today. I believe Jeremiah. I trust God.
Father, I want to be a modern-day Ebed-melech. I want to bring Jeremiah back into society where he belongs so his message can be heard. Help me to do just that. So be it.
