Jeremiah 38:6-10: a reflection

6Then they took Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king was then sitting in Benjamin’s gate), 8Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying, 9“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. He is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.” 10Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies.”

When Jeremiah is thrown into a muddy cistern to die, left to sink in the mire with no one to help, one man dares to act. Ebed-melech, a foreigner and a servant in the king's house, hears of it, goes straight to the king, and speaks up: These men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah; he is likely to die where he is. And he persuades the king to let him rescue the prophet. When others stood by, an outsider had the courage to speak up for the wronged and to act to save him. Ebed-melech risked the king's displeasure and the officials' anger to do what was right, rescuing Jeremiah from the pit.

Notice the courage of Ebed-melech to speak up and act for the wronged. Jeremiah had been left to die, and no one else intervened; the officials had condemned him, and the crowd was silent. But Ebed-melech, an outsider, a foreigner in the king's service, saw the wrong and would not stay silent; he went to the king, spoke up plainly that evil had been done, and acted to rescue the prophet. It took courage: he risked displeasure and anger to do what was right for one who was wronged. He did not wait for others to act, or excuse himself because he was only a servant; he spoke up and acted. His courage saved Jeremiah's life when others would have let him die.

That is worth taking to heart, for we too may be called to speak up and act for the wronged, even when others will not. When we see someone wronged, treated unjustly, left to suffer, we can stay silent, tell ourselves it is not our place, wait for others to act; but Ebed-melech, an outsider, had the courage to speak up and act to rescue Jeremiah. There is a place for the courage to intervene for the wronged, even alone, even at some risk. Do not stay silent when you see someone wronged, telling yourself it is not your place; have the courage to speak up and act for them, as Ebed-melech did for Jeremiah. Have the courage to speak up and act for the wronged, even when others stay silent and even at some risk to yourself, as Ebed-melech went to the king and rescued Jeremiah from the pit; for the wronged need someone with the courage to intervene, and it is a good and godly thing to speak up and act for them when others will not.

Lord, when Jeremiah is thrown into a muddy cistern to die, left to sink in the mire with no one to help, one man dares to act. Ebed-melech, a foreigner and a servant in the king's house, hears of it, goes straight to the king, and speaks up: these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah; he is likely to die where he is. And he persuades the king to let him rescue the prophet. When others stood by, an outsider had the courage to speak up for the wronged and to act to save him. Show me the courage of Ebed-melech to speak up and act for the wronged. Jeremiah had been left to die, and no one else intervened; the officials had condemned him, and the crowd was silent. But Ebed-melech, an outsider, saw the wrong and would not stay silent; he went to the king, spoke up plainly that evil had been done, and acted to rescue the prophet. It took courage: he risked displeasure and anger to do what was right. He did not wait for others to act, or excuse himself because he was only a servant. His courage saved Jeremiah's life. Take that to my heart, for I too may be called to speak up and act for the wronged, even when others will not. When I see someone wronged, treated unjustly, left to suffer, I can stay silent, tell myself it is not my place, wait for others to act; but Ebed-melech had the courage to speak up and act to rescue Jeremiah. Keep me from staying silent when I see someone wronged, telling myself it is not my place; give me courage to speak up and act for them, Lord, as Ebed-melech did for Jeremiah, even alone and at some risk.