Jeremiah 38:1 says, Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, We are told Shephatiah heard the word of Jeremiah. Then verse two tells us what that word was, stating. Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Jeremiah continued to preach that those who remained in the city would die, and those that went out to the Chaldeans would live. Verse three adds, Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it. Jeremiah told them that God said that Jerusalem would be given to the king Babylon. No matter how many supposed priests of God said otherwise, this was still God's word. Even if it is unpopular in the religious community, we must always proclaim God's truth. Verse four says, Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. The princes told the king that Jeremiah was not looking for the welfare of the people of Judah, but for their hurt. It was not what Jeremiah had wanted that he was proclaiming, but what God had said was the only way the people could avoid death and destruction. Many people who profess to believe in God today are upset with those who proclaim the gospel, that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, even though that s God's word. Verse five states, Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. Zedekiah told the princes that Jeremiah was in their hands. The king basically tried to renounce his responsibility for making the decision about Jeremiah. People today may attempt to deny a personal responsibility for making a decision about Jesus Christ, but it will always be each individual's decision to make. Verse six declares, 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. The princes put Jeremiah in a dungeon that was full of mire. He had to be let down on ropes to get there. Matthew Henry says that Jeremiah was basically put there so that he would die a miserable death. Verse seven states, Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Verse eight adds, Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and spake to the king, saying, Then verse nine continues, 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 like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. When Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian eunuch in the kings service, heard what had happened, he went to the king. I believe this took a lot of courage on his part, since he would be reporting on what the princes had done, and he was but a foreign servant. He told the king that the princes had placed Jeremiah in a place where he would die of hunger and said that it was an evil thing that they did. Verse ten declares,Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. The king told Ebedmelech to take thirty men and bring Jeremiah the prophet out of he dungeon. The king may have been willing to allow Jeremiah to die unless he had been told specifically what was being done to him, but he was afraid to allow someone who said he was a prophet to die such a death. There are people who may not truly believe in God and His authority today, but they are still unwilling to directly harm those who represent Him. Verse eleven adds, So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Verse twelve continues, And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. Ebedimelech and those with him let down old cast clouts and rotten rags to Jeremiah and told him to put them under his arms. Jeremiah did what they told him to do. Matthew Henry says that the rescue was done with compassion for Jeremiah, and we should have compassion for those who need rescuing from sin today, and we should especially have compassion for and do everything we can for those who are suffering for proclaiming the gospel. Verse thirteen concludes, So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. Jeremiah was freed from the dungeon, but he was still kept in the court of the prison. When God frees us from sin through faith in Jessus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are freed from the power of all sin.
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