Jeremiah 38

“So they took Jeremiah and dropped him into the cistern of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the guard’s courtyard, lowering Jeremiah with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” Jeremiah 38:6 (HCSB)

If the Lord asked today, “Do you want to be used by Me?” most of us would answer, “Yes, Lord!” We generally think of “blessings” when we think of people the Lord uses. But what if the Lord wanted to use your suffering to send a poignant message to non-believers? Well, our answers may be different in that light. This is precisely Jeremiah’s situation in today’s chapter.  

It is hard to be faithful when we are called to suffer. In such times, we must strongly rely on God’s promise of deliverance. Surely, down in that pit, Jeremiah was comforted by the words of David’s Psalm 40.

“I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help. He brought me up from a desolate pit, out of the muddy clay, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.”  Psalm 40:1-3 (HCSB)

Perhaps Jeremiah remembered the story of Joseph and how his similar circumstances led to his brothers’ deliverance.

“When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the robe of many colors that he had on. They took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.” Genesis 37:23-24(HCSB)

The point is we need the truth of the Bible for strength through difficult circumstances: “Faith comes by hearing and hearing from the word of God.” (Romans 10:7). Jeremiah trusted the Lord, spoke the truth boldly, and the Lord eventually delivered him.

“Ebed-Melech the Cushite cried out to Jeremiah, ‘Place these old rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.’ Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, but he continued to stay in the guard’s courtyard.” Jeremiah 38:12-13 (HCSB)

Later, we find that the Lord allowed Jeremiah’s whole episode of faithful suffering to contrast with Zedekiah’s lack of faith. Jeremiah was saved, but Zedekiah wouldn’t be.

“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”’” Jeremiah 38:21-22 (NKJV)

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