Jeremiah 38:7-13

D. Rescued by Ebed-melech Jeremiah 38:7-13

TRANSLATION

(7) And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian. one of the eunuchs attached to the household if the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. Now the king was sitting in the Benjamin gate; (8) and Ebed-melech went out from the house of the king and spoke unto the king, saying, (9) O my lord the king, these men have done evil in regard to all which they have done to Jeremiah the prophet in that they have cast him into the dungeon. He is as good as dead because there is no more bread any longer in the city. (10) And the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take with you from here thirty men and bring up Jeremiah from the dungeon before he dies. (11) And Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, the part under the storeroom, and took from there some worn-out and tattered garments and let them down to Jeremiah in the dungeon by ropes. (12) And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put please these worn-out and tattered garments under your armpits beneath the ropes. And Jeremiah did so. (13) Then they pulled Jeremiah up by the ropes and got him out of the dungeon. Thereafter Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

COMMENTS

God had not forgotten His faithful prophet. He still had a service to render to his King. That dungeon would not become a death chamber for Jeremiah. God stirred up the heart of a negro eunuch who was attached to the court of Zedekiah to take pity upon the prophet and to intercede on his behalf. When Ebed-melech heard of the imprisonment of Jeremiah he was filled with righteous indignation against the princes and courageous compassion with regard to the prophet. Ebed-melechwhose name means servant of the kingmust have been a friend and follower of Jeremiah. He was an Ethiopian eunuch doubtlessly in charge of Zedekiah's harem. Ebed-melech was putting his position if not his life on the line when he rushed to the gate of Benjamin to plead for the life of Jeremiah. What amazing courage this humble man was able to muster in the face of a gross injustice to a friend.

As he stands before the judgment seat of the king the Ethiopian slave humbly (My lord, the king) and yet forcefully made his case. He accused the princes of absolute wickedness in their plot against the man of God. He pleaded that he might be permitted to rescue Jeremiah before he died of hunger and exposure (Jeremiah 38:9). Knowing the age and infirmity of the prophet Ebed-melech is confident that Jeremiah is already at death's door in that dismal dungeon. There must have been a note of urgency in the appeal of this noble servant as he pleaded for the life of his friend. Ebed-melech has been charged with exaggeration when he said there is no more bread in the city. He probably meant no more than that the public stores of grain were exhausted. As a royal servant he probably would have some knowledge of this. His point is that Jeremiah should be released since there would be small chance that any of the scanty provisions left in the city would reach Jeremiah in the place where he was confined.

Zedekiah may have been shocked to learn what the ruthless princes had done with Jeremiah, While he had relinquished all authority in the case and had turned the man of God over to his adversaries the king had probably assumed that the princes would at least be humane in their treatment of Jeremiah. His own guilty conscience no doubt had been bothering him ever since he had told those princes Behold he is in your hand. Now he attempts to right the wrong which he had committed. He pants permission for Ebed-melech to rescue Jeremiah from his place of imprisonment. Lest the princes try to forcibly prevent the rescue operation, Ebedmelech is instructed to take thirty men to assist him. Zedekiah knew enough of his princes to realize that a show of force would be necessary under the circumstances.

Armed with royal permission to rescue the prophet, Ebed-melech hastened to the task. On his way to the court of the guard he stopped at the royal house (not necessarily the king's residence) which was under the national treasure house. There he gathered some old rags and then hastened on to the cistern where Jeremiah was confined. At the mouth of the cistern he let these rags down to Jeremiah by ropes telling the prophet to pad his armpits with them before securing the ropes around his chest. How thoughtful and gentle this deliverer! The suction of the mud and the weight of Jeremiah's body would serve to put tremendous strain under the arms. The rough ropes would have cut deeply into the flesh of the old man. But Ebed-melech had taken all this into consideration and now instructs the prophet to protect himself against it. Slowly, ever so gently, Ebed-melech and his men hoisted the helpless prophet to light, fresh air, solid earth and a measure of freedom (Jeremiah 38:13). Jeremiah remained a prisoner in the court of the guard until Jerusalem fell to the Chaldeans (Jeremiah 38:28).