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Ring of Truth provides 366 daily ‘proofs’ that the Bible is consistent throughout from Genesis to Revelation, and relevant for our lives today!
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Jeremiah 38:12-13
Ebed-Melech the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Being a servant of God doesn’t ensure popularity.
Whilst most of the Book of Jeremiah records the prophetic words God gave him concerning Israel, Judah and the surrounding lands, all through are snippets of his life’s experiences.
He was an unpopular prophet because he prophesied things people didn’t want to hear. He warned of impending disaster, of war, captivity and devastation – not unlike Jonah – but the big difference was that for Jeremiah, the people refused to listen, repent, change or turn back to God and so the prophecies of Jeremiah were fulfilled.
All through the Old and New Testaments, we have examples of those who thought they ‘knew’ and ‘belonged to God’ refusing to listen, and those who knew they were ‘miles off’ receiving the Word joyfully and coming into all the blessings it provides.
It is not that much different today. The most difficult people to reach are those who know ‘a little’ and think they ‘know it all’. Those who have never heard usually become so excited they are contagious. Those who know ‘a little’ become sceptical and unyielding.
Jeremiah was stuck with the latter. He suffered verbal abuse, mental abuse, had his work burnt, was thrown in prison and here, put in a cistern. These mid-eastern cisterns were very deep holes cut out of the rock. Usually about 12-15 feet deep and up to 20 feet wide. They could be used for catching water or storing grain. Joseph had been thrown into one by his brothers before being sold to the Ishmaelites on their way to Egypt (see Genesis 37:19-30).
Here, King Zedekiah had given in to 4 of his officials and allowed them to put Jeremiah into a water cistern. The cistern was empty of water but as they lowered Jeremiah into it, he sank down into the thick sticky mud.
He would surely have died had it not been for (God’s man) Ebed- Melech who went and told the king and petitioned on Jeremiah’s behalf. The king told him to take 30 men and rescue Jeremiah, which he did, but they had to get the padding secured under arms first, otherwise he would have stuck fast or had his arms torn off.
Christian leadership doesn’t bring the glamour that many think it does. Ask Paul, ask James, and ask Stephen. Ask any true leader of followers of Jesus. Don’t seek it unless God calls you. If He doesn’t call you, pray hard for those He does. They need all the prayer they can get.
And if they get ‘thrown’ in a pit, don’t gloat – get some rags and a rope and help pull them out.
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