EBED-MELECH...ONE OF MY FAVORITE BIBLE PEOPLE!

Jeremiah was a prophet during the reign of Josiah, the king who began his reign at eight years old. He entered the story of Israel after two wicked kings, Manasseh and Amon. He was Amon's son. He was the great grandson of Hezekiah, a godly king--for the most part. During Josiah's reign, the book of the law was found, read, and put into effect. He was extemely sensitive to Almighty God. God told him that because his heart was tender and he had humbled himself before Him, He would not bring the deserved judgment upon Judah until Josiah had died.

That's a little background. Jeremiah was the prophet during Josiah's lifetime and after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. The people were worshipping idols and nature. They would not respond to God's repeated calls to them. What Jeremiah had to say...messages from the Lord...was not warm and fuzzy. Jeremiah was not a well-liked prophet. The people decided that he did not know what he was talking about and took matters into their owns hands.

Certain men told the king that Jeremiah was weakening the soldiers and the people by his doomsday speeches. The king, a weakling, gave them permission to do what they wanted. They cast him into a cistern. The Bible says that Jeremiah "sank into the mud." That's all it says in Jeremiah 38, but in Lamentations 3, Jeremiah tells the story in stirring detail.

Now, here is where Ebed-melech comes in. He was an Ethiopian eunuch who was in the king's house in some capacity. With great character, and probably some personal risk, he went to the king and said, "My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city." I want to jump up and shout, "Hurrah for Ebed!"

The wishy washy king changed his mind and commanded three men to go along with the eunuch to lift the prophet from the pit. You probably know the rest of the story, how they took old rags and worn out clothes and made a rope which they let down to Jeremiah. He put the "rope" under his armpits and they pulled him up. Jeremiah was then allowed to live in the court of the guard.

I was SO touched by this story when I noticed it for the first time. It spoke to me about keeping an eye out for people in the "pits" and alone. My heart was strangely moved to stand behind those who were getting beat up, oh, not for just any reason, but for trying to walk with the Lord. This story moved both Ken and me to be supportive of our pastors through the years. I can't tell you how many times we found ourselves letting the ropes down to help them out.

I remember kind of thinking that was the end of the story and I got my lesson from it. But God nails the point home in the next chapter, Jeremiah 39. The last four verses go like this:

"The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard. 'Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. BUT I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.'"

God honored his faith in taking a risk for Jeremiah's sake. God honored him for being the only one to care enough to do something. Jeremiah was in real trouble. Do you stick up for anybody at all? I love Ebed-melech!