Jeremiah 38 Berean Bible
…5“Here he is,” replied King Zedekiah. “He is in your hands, since the king can do nothing to stop you.” 6So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
Each time I read the book of Jeremiah I stand in awe of this prophet’s tenacity. He was a man on a mission and much like the apostle Paul he is totally sold out to fulfilling his God given task. You see most of Jeremiah’s messages were not flowery and sprinkled with sweet nothings. His messages to Israel were most always about the sin and debauchery of a people intent on rejecting God’s authority and following false idols. Idols made with man’s hands of stone and wood. Combined with the message of many false prophets who served to insight the people into deeper sin. The nation was spiraling out of control towards God’s judgment.
Babylon was to be the hand that God used to bring about His judgment on Israel. Certainly this could not happen, they thought. They declared we have for so long followed this pattern of living. Certainly it will continue on. It does not matter how long you may have done something, it still does not make it right and soon the invoice for your actions will come due. Jeremiah was the tick behind the dog’s ear so to speak. He was a bother, he was a nuisance, he was the conscience that they had locked behind the doors of their rebellion. They looked for ways to block his voice. Their false accusations could have filled a small town library. King Zedikiah finally turned him over to the rebellious mobs to do with him what they wished. It was to the cistern of Malchiah that he would go. This cistern was so deep in the earth they needed ropes to lower him down. In this cistern there was no water, only muddy clay into which he sank.
It was in this terrible place that Jeremiah called out to God. There he was alone in this dark horrible place and for what reason? Jeremiah had only been following God’s direction. It would have been so easy to have followed the model of Jonah and ran in the other direction and taken a cruise to a much more friendly climate. Jeremiah’s life shows us that God’s will may at times bring us to places we would not choose to go on our own. Does that mean that God does not care about our circumstances, does it mean that he is unaware of our condition? Not in the least. We see in Jeremiah’s case God made provision for his removal from this pit by moving upon the heart of a Cushite named Ebed-melech
Jeremiah 38 Berean Bible
So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah with ropes into the cistern, which had no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud.
7Now Ebed-melech the Cushite,c a court officiald in the royal palace, heard that Jeremiah had been put into the cistern. While the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, 8Ebed-melech went out from the king’s palace and said to the king, 9“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will starve to death, for there is no more bread in the city.”
10So the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11Then Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the king’s palace, to a place below the storehouse. From there he took old rags and worn-out clothes and lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
12Ebed-melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, “Put these worn-out rags and clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, 13and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
God can move upon open hearts to intercede for His people as was the case with Jeremiah. He opens prison doors as he did for Paul and Silas, He can move on nature and send birds to feed his prophet as he did with Elisha. The pit was for a season, it was not a final destination. I cannot think of another prophet that had such intimate communication with God other than Ezekiel. Those moments of visitation gave him strength in the pits of despair and weariness. He had no great following, very few if any ever really responded to his preaching. However Jeremiah was successful in doing what God commanded and warning his people of impending judgment. Things in your life today may not seem to be going in the direction that you want. You may find yourself in a pit up to your knees in muck and It may seem the faucet of blessing is broken. However do not become discouraged. Keep on fulfilling the call and purpose that God has given you in life. For the deeper the pits in your life today the higher the mountain tops will be in your future.
It seems the harder the struggle the closer and more dependent we become in our relationship with God. Things in life do not always work out in the way we want them to. Jeremiah may have envisioned the masses repenting and turning back to God. Maybe like the people of Nineveh did at the preaching of Jonah. Instead they cast him aside and abused him.
My wife and I started our ministry in Home Missions. We moved to a little town in central Wisconsin where there was a need for the gospel message. It was a difficult time with some highs but many more lows. For every one that came there were many more who turned us down. We continued to preach and hold on to the mission God assigned us. Now these many years later a church stands proud and strong still sharing the message of hope. Remember before a plant can grow a seed must be placed in the soil. It’s there in the dark and damp soil that life springs forth and reaches towards the light of day. In its season it brings forth leaves and fruit which in turn brings forth more plants and more fruit. Just remember that orchard may have started with one seed, a seed all alone with none to offer support. If it could speak maybe it would tell you that it was taken from the light of day and just dropped in this hole and left to die. However its time came to rise above the earth and enjoy the warming sunshine and the refreshing rain and your time will come as well if you hold tight and remember God has entrusted you with a plan and if you follow it there will always be a light at the end of your tunnel.
Just remember every time you see a butterfly that its life started as a worm that was later locked up in a dark cocoon for a season. When the time was right it came out and no longer crawled on the earth but soared above it riding on the waves of the wind.
Galatians 6:8 King James Version
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.