The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Prey” it comes from the Hebrew Word “shalal” which means “prey, spoil.”
Jeremiah is thrown into a muddy pit before an unexpected rescuer intervenes on his behalf. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Jeremiah 38.
Jeremiah records how certain princes heard the words that he spoke to all the people, urging them that he who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live, since his life shall be to him for a “prey,” “shalal” in Hebrew, and he shall live, the princes urging the king to put Jeremiah to death, since he weakens the hands of the men of war, and the hands of all the people, seeking not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. Jeremiah is cast into the dungeon of Malchiah, in the court of the prison, letting him down with cords, and in the dungeon there is no water, but mire, so Jeremiah sinks in the mire, but Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, an eunuch in the king’s house, hears that they have put Jeremiah in the dungeon, and goes to the king, telling him these men have done evil in all 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, so the king commands Ebedmelech to take thirty men, and take Jeremiah out of the dungeon before he dies, which he does, using old cast clouts and rotten rags under his armholes, and drawing him up with cords. Jeremiah records how King Zedekiah sends and takes him to speak with him secretly, asking if there is any word from the Lord, Jeremiah warning that if he tells him, will he not surely put him to death, but the king swears secretly that he will not, so Jeremiah urges him to go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and his soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire, but if he will not go forth, this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and he shall not escape out of their hand, Zedekiah, fearful of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, ultimately choosing not to heed this counsel, urging Jeremiah to tell no man of this conversation, lest he die.
Ebedmelech’s courageous intervention, an Ethiopian eunuch risking his own standing to rescue Jeremiah from certain death in the muddy dungeon, demonstrates that genuine compassion and courage can arise from entirely unexpected sources, someone with far less social standing acting more righteously than the powerful princes themselves. Zedekiah’s tragic pattern, seeking Jeremiah’s counsel yet lacking the courage to actually follow it, illustrates how genuine access to wisdom means little without the will to act upon it.
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