Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Some Pharisees asked Jesus, “Are we blind also?” Jesus answered, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” (John 9:39-41) They were closeminded.
“There is none so blind as he who will not see.” [1]
In Revelation 3:17, Jesus said to the Laodiceans, “You say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.” Jesus urged them to, “Be zealous and repent.”
Dealing with religious pride is difficult, but the Lord says in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”
“Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: he who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live. Thus says the Lord: this city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’” Jeremiah 38:1-3
It was almost curtain time for Jerusalem. The Babylonian army was coming back to Jerusalem with a vengeance. In the minds of the Babylonians, Jerusalem belonged to them. They had conquered the city once already. But when the Egyptians came against the Babylonians, the people of Jerusalem cheered for the Egyptians not the Babylonians.
Ship Jerusalem was nose down. The rest of the ship was about to follow. Anyone with eyes could see that doomsday was at hand. She refused to repent. God was ready to save her, but she refused to let go of the things that were sinking her.
What did Jeremiah say as the curtain was closing? The same message as before! “He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.”
As the proud religious leaders of Jerusalem fought Jeremiah, so they fought Jesus and His apostles. Given the choice between Jesus or a rebel, they chose the rebel. Jesus they crucified. The rebel (Barabbas) they let go. When they caught the apostles teaching people, they arrested them and said to them, in Acts 5:28, “Did not we straitly command you that you should not teach in this Name? And behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine and intend to bring this Man’s blood upon us.”
God promised them, “sword, famine and pestilence.” These three words appear together in 26 different Bible verses. They are fruits that wrong beliefs about God yield.
For example, in Matthew 24:7-8, in the context of end times, Jesus spoke of nations at war and experiencing famines and pestilences. In Revelation 6:4-8, Jesus reveals to us four riders on horses who bring war, famine and plagues on the earth before He returns.
Proud princes who overheard Jeremiah prophesying such things were furious at him.
“Therefore the princes said to the king, ‘Please, let this man be put to death, for thus he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man does not seek the welfare of this people, but their harm.’” Jeremiah 38:4
Jeremiah was trying to strengthen them to face reality, and not to continue in denial.
“They [the princes] sought to silence the only true friend the people had by charging him with lack of patriotism dangerous speeches, and treasonable acts, and demand his death. Unbelief ever is fanatical in its intolerance of the truth and resorts to false charges and despicable lies in order to get rid of the prophets of God’s truth.” [2]
Jesus experienced a similar accusation of treason as Jeremiah did. In John 11:48, Jerusalem’s religious leaders said of Jesus, “If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”
In John 19:12, Pilate declared Jesus innocent, but religious leaders shouted at him, “If you let this Man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
In Acts 24:5, lying leaders said of Paul, “We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.”
Shephatiah, Gedaliah, and Jucal hated Jeremiah. They expected King Zedekiah to execute him.
“Then Zedekiah the king said, ‘Look, he is in your hand. For the king can do nothing against you.’” Jeremiah 38:5
As Pilate washed his hands of Jesus, Zedekiah metaphorically washed his hands of Jeremiah. He handed Jeremiah over to those who wanted him dead. “Silencing his conscience, Zedekiah betrays Jeremiah in order to keep the good will of these murderers.” [3]
“Nothing lasts long with Zedekiah. The man was a marshmallow. He received impressions from anyone who pushed hard enough. When the pressure was off, he gradually resumed his earlier state ready for the next impression. In contrast to Jeremiah, who was formed within by obedience to God and faith in God (an iron pillar), Zedekiah took on whatever shape the circumstances required.” [4]
“So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So, Jeremiah sank in the mire.” Jeremiah 38:6
The dungeon was not a subterranean prison like the last one Jeremiah experienced, but an empty well. This hole in the ground was like the tomb of Jesus. Praise God, neither Jeremiah nor Jesus were conquered by such circumstances! Both are resurrected. Both are alive today.
As frequently happens in hero movies, the villains opted to make our hero suffer a slow death. Thus, they allowed time for God to intervene. Jeremiah’s prison was horrible, but he survived.
“Now Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon. When the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin, Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying: ‘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 likely to die from hunger in the place where he is. For there is no more bread in the city.’” Jeremiah 38:7-9
The last time that Jeremiah was rescued, God used a man named Shaphan to intervene. This time it is an Ethiopian named Ebedmelech. Ebedmelech is Hebrew for “servant of the king.” Ebedmelech told King Zedekiah that HIS princes were evil. He envisioned Jeremiah starving to death because that location’s bread supply was gone.
“Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Take from here 30 men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.’”
Jeremiah had rebuked Jerusalem’s rich people for re-enslaving their slaves. Now, a captive was setting him free. After the Ethiopian courageously stood up for God’s prophet, King Zedekiah flipped his position. Perhaps, the 30 helpers were guards to protect them from assassins.
Ecclesiastes 11:1 says, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” Often after we help others, God pays us back in some form as though we did it for Him.
“So Ebedmelech took the men with him and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there old clothes and old rags, and let them down by ropes into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Then Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, ‘Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.’ And Jeremiah did so. So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.” Jeremiah 38:11-13
God transformed old clothes and rags into a rescue rope to save Jeremiah’s life.
Praise God! Jeremiah was saved from a miry pit! Psalm 69:2 also speaks of a man in mire. In Psalm 69:14, he asks for deliverance from the mire. In verse 21 of Psalm 69, the Man is given gall and vinegar to drink. “They also gave Me gall for My food, and for My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink.” This passage is quoted in all four Gospel as being fulfilled in Jesus. In this sense, both the Psalmist and Jeremiah prefigure Jesus Christ in His self-denial for our sakes.
Sometimes Jesus allows circumstances to come about so that His life shines through ours.
Praise God! By God’s grace, Jeremiah was transferred to the courtyard prison. This prison was no five-star hotel but it was better than the previous prison.
“Then Zedekiah the king sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance of the house of the Lord. And the king said to Jeremiah, ‘I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.’” Jeremiah 38:14
Time was ticking away. Zedekiah’s end was near. The Babylonian army would soon be back. What did King Zedekiah want? He wanted to see Jeremiah. Did Zedekiah suppose that Jeremiah would flip flop his prophetic position now?
“Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, ‘If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.’” Jeremiah 38:15
At this point, there was no good reason for Jeremiah to restrain his tongue from speaking what was in his heart. He knew that Zedekiah had closed his mind to the truth.
“So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, ‘As the Lord lives, who made our very souls, I will not put you to death, nor will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.’” Jeremiah 38:16
~ Okay, speak ~
“Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: if you surely surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul shall live; this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live.’ But if you do not surrender to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans; they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand. And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, ‘I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.’” Jeremiah 38:17-19
Jeremiah stood strong, but Zedekiah broke. He confessed to Jeremiah that he was afraid of the Jews in Babylon. He assumed that the Jews in Babylon hated him and would torture him.
Someone who stands for God amidst detractors is a rare jewel. Remember Nicodemus? He was a religious leader. He was afraid to come to Jesus openly so he came to Jesus by night. John 12:42 says that “among the chief rulers many believed Jesus; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.”
How many of us have remained silent amidst “friends” for fear of being ostracized? Does our acceptance by those who disregard Jesus mean more to us than He does?
“Jeremiah said, ‘They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So, it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live.’ But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me: now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say: ‘Your close friends have set upon you and prevailed against you; your feet have sunk in the mire, and they have turned away again.’ So, they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.” Jeremiah 38:20-23
The prophet speaks of surrender to the will of God. The only way up is down!
Jeremiah addressed Zedekiah’s anxieties about being tortured by the Jews. It would not happen if he obeyed the Lord. Surrender to the will of the Lord yields wellness and soul-salvation.
If Zedekiah refused to obey God’s voice, his wives and children would be given to Babylonian princes. His wives would remark how his close friends caused him to sink in mire. They would abandon him. He would be imprisoned. He would reap what he did to Jeremiah plus more.
“Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, ‘Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die.’ But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king, and also what the king said to you; do not hide it from us, and we will not put you to death,’ then you shall say to them, ‘I presented my request before the king, that he would not make me return to Jonathan’s house to die there.’” Jeremiah 38:24-26
Zedekiah did not obey God, but DID keep his promise to save Jeremiah from death.
“Then all the princes came to Jeremiah and asked him. And he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So, they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been heard.” Jeremiah 38:27
Jeremiah obeyed his king. He told the princes what the king told him to say. They left alone. This time, God used King Zedekiah to save Jermiah’s life.
“Now Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And he was there when Jerusalem was taken.” Jeremiah 38:28
Dear friends, let us pray for ears to hear and eyes to see.
“Dear Lord Jesus, as You opened the eyes of that man who was born blind, please open our eyes and help us to see what we need to see. Please open our ears as You opened the ears of Jeremiah to hear as he heard from You. This I pray, in Your Name, Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
[1] This proverbs first appeared in 1546, John Heywood’s collection of proverbs. It has its roots in Jeremiah 5:21, which says, “Hear this now, O foolish people without understanding, who have eyes and see not, and who have ears and hear not.”
[2] Dr. Theo Laetsch, Bible Commentary Jeremiah, Concordia Paperback Edition, 1965, ©, pages 294-296
[3] Dr. Theo Laetsch, Bible Commentary Jeremiah, Concordia Paperback Edition, 1965, ©, pages 294-296
[4] Dr. Phillip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations from Sorrow to Hope, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, © 2001, p. 583
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