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 was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. 3 Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.” 4 Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
Jeremiah Rescued from the Cistern
7 When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern—the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate— 8 Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 “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.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. 12 Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. 13 Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah Again
14 King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him at the third entrance of the temple of the Lord. The king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you a question; hide nothing from me.” 15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I tell you, will you not surely put me to death? And if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah, “As the Lord lives, who made our souls, I will not put you to death or deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life.”
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then your life shall be spared, and this city shall not be burned with fire, and you and your house shall live. 18 But if you do not surrender to the officials of the king of Babylon, then this city shall be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hand.” 19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Judeans who have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest I be handed over to them and they deal cruelly with me.” 20 Jeremiah said, “You shall not be given to them. Obey now the voice of the Lord in what I say to you, and it shall be well with you, and your life shall be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is the vision which the Lord has shown to me: 22 Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,
“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
they turn away from you.’
23 All your wives and your sons shall be led out to the Chaldeans, and you yourself shall not escape from their hand, but shall be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city shall be burned with fire.”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know of these words, and you shall not die. 25 If the officials hear that I have spoken with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you shall say to them, ‘I made a humble plea to the king that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and asked him, and he answered them as the king had instructed him. So they stopped speaking with him, for the conversation had not been overheard. 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. Jeremiah 38 ESV
Jeremiah 38 Jeremiah Thrown Into a Cistern
1-6. Jucal...Pashur -
In 2005 and 2008, Dr. Eilat Mazar discovered in the City of David area of Jerusalem two seal impressions in clay (bulla) with the names Gedaliah the son of Pashur and Jeucal the son of Shelemiah – two of the names as recorded here and in Jeremiah 37:3. These are some of the most recent of the 52 specific people of the Hebrew Bible to be confirmed by archaeology. (Biblical Archaeology Review, 41.5, page 18 – September/October 2015) - E W
He who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live - We always think how they should have listened or how I would have done it differently, but to be honest I have been the enemy of God, and I have built up walls against His warning. Come, He calls me to Calvary, but it does not look so glamorous as stoically defending my little city. The rocks in my city are about to burst forth as I try to make the mortar hold them in place. They know that I am not the one who made them, but it is Him, Who I defy. This is a call against my very nature, to admit my defeat, deficiency, my error. To ask for forgiveness would be to admit that I was wrong, when all the while I have declared my right and autonomy, yet I could not speak these rocks into being or my own life.
Let this man be put to death - Of course, even though he has proven right, and your prosperity teachers have proven wrong, let's kill him since he is interfering with our study on positive thinking. It is amazing, they will ask Jeremiah to pray at times, but they won't do as God has prescribed. Like faith healers they are going to blame the loss on someone else, "you didn't hold on to your healing, you have to believe even though God is saying repent, and listening to Jeremiah's prophecies is making the men weak."
For the king can do nothing against you - Wow! That is some king, and he seems to have no spine at all in certain matters, the ones of importance. These men seem to have a lot of sway, and they do not accept that God is going to punish Judah, even though it was prophesied and the Babylonians have already taken captives. Zedekiah is a puppet, and look, he is being lead by whoever is in his face at the moment.
Cast him into the cistern - Jeremiah is treated much like Joseph's brothers treated him.
…23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— 24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it. 25And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.… Genesis 37: 23-25
Jeremiah sank in the mud - A horrible treatment of an honorable man, who's speech has not changed even in distress, when most would talk their way towards convenience. I don't know, there is something cold and gross about the mud, but it is nothing compared to the feeling I have had being in the presence of certain men. There are rooms that I have felt suffocated in, speeches that I thought I would need soap and a brain sponge to rid me of later, but where can Jeremiah go to have peace?
1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David. Save me, O God, for the waters are up to my neck. 2I have sunk into the miry depths, where there is no footing; I have drifted into deep waters, where the flood engulfs me. 3I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.… Psalm 69: 1-3
…11Be not far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. 12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. 13They open their jaws against me like lions that roar and maul.… Psalm 22: 11-13
7-13. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian - He is referred to as a eunuch, which often officers of kings, those who tended their harems or other, were castrated like geldings to prevent them from chasing the concubines and to keep them singular in their focus of service. Many of the young men taken from Judah were put into such service in Babylon.
…6The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 7And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”… Isaiah 39: 6-8
These men have done evil - Now the king could not find the courage to speak against these men or prevent them. He was worse than Pontius Pilate, but yet this eunuch, of foreign blood, a servant, speaks up on behalf of the man of God. He is like the good Samaritan, who could have kept his mouth shut and gone his way, for all else would be a great bother and expense, but he did not remain silent. With all the power and influence of a king, yet was Zedekiah a mouse next to this eunuch. Who is truly the gelding? Who is truly circumcised of heart?
Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes - Speak up!
14-28. Hide nothing from me - The king wishes to hear what Jeremiah has to say, and yet Jeremiah finds this confusing because the king doesn't ever follow God's counsel. He is also afraid for his life, but he is faithful in his delivery.
If you surrender - He gives the same message.
I am afraid of the Judeans - The king has his own fears, but he is prioritizing them wrong.
…28“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us responsible for this man’s blood.” 29But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men. 30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree.… Acts 5: 28-30
…27What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.… Matthew 10: 27-29
Your trusted friends have deceived you - Those men that hated Jeremiah had their own reasons for not wanting to surrender. First they saw a chance of losing authority which they used to their own end, abusing power and people. Second, they had already gone back on their own word in releasing slaves. So they really hoped that Egypt would weaken Babylon, they could maintain their excessive lifestyles that remained unchecked by this weak king, and never repent. They had hope in their the prophets of their preference, those that said what they wanted to hear, and they bullied this king into a hopeless spot. The song the women are singing in Jeremiah's vision is a reprimand against his lack of leadership and discernment. These would be the women of the palace, those close to him.
I made a humble plea to the king - This is true, for Jeremiah had asked this before. It is a difficult matter, and I would assume not answer these men at all, but certainly, as hard as it is, we must tell the truth. The man who stays silent in such matters is wise, but when he promises to speak then the truth reveals that he answers to God. They would love to capture God's messenger in a lie, just once even would make them feel more secure in their delusion, but for the glory and honor of God, stay quiet or tell the truth, and say little to wicked men.
…19Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, claiming, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you or this land’? 20But now please listen, O my lord the king. May my petition come before you. Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I will die there.” 21So King Zedekiah gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread daily from the street of the bakers, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.… Jeremiah 37: 19-21
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