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(1) "And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spake unto all the people saying, (2) Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live. (3) Thus saith Jehovah, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. (4) Then the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them; for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. (5) And Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do anything against you. (6) Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard, and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
(7) "Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin), (8) Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spake 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; and he is like to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city. (10) Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. (11) So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. (12) And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these rags and worn-out garments under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. (13) So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard."
Golden Text.—"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:10.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) What princes heard Jeremiah as he spoke to the people? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What word of Jehovah did the prophet utter? Verse 2. (3) What did he say concerning the city? Verse 3. Note 2. (4) On hearing the prophet's words, what appeal did the princes make to the king? What was the particular objection to the prophet's words? Verse 4. Note 3. (5) What concession did the king make to this appeal? Verse 5. Note 4. (6) What then was done with Jeremiah? What was the condition of the pit in which the prophet was placed? Verse 6. Note 5. (7) What house servant of the king is mentioned in this connection? Where was the king stationed at this time? Verse 7. (8) When Ebed-melech heard what had been done to Jeremiah, to whom did he speak about it? Verse 8. (9) What did he say of the act of the princes? What did he fear would be the result? Verse 9. Note 6. (10) Then what order did the king give? Verse 10. (11) What preparation did the servant make for relieving the prophet? Verse 11. (12) What did he say to Jeremiah as he let down the cords and rags? Verse 12. Note 7. (13) How, then, was Jeremiah taken out? Where was he then permitted to stay? Verse 13. Note 8.
NOTES.
1. Jeremiah had prophesied during the reigns of Josiah and Jehoiakim. Jer. 1:1-3. Through him many warnings and exhortations had been given to Judah by the Lord. Through him, also, all the nations around had been enjoined to submit themselves to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. See chapter 27. But King Zedekiah and his officers rejected Jeremiah's predictions that Jerusalem would fall into the hands of Babylon, and they were encouraged by other prophets who opposed Jeremiah. See chapter 28. Zedekiah depended upon help from the king of Egypt, but Jeremiah told him that this would fail. When he attempted to go to Anathoth, near Jerusalem, which was his home (chapter 32:6-15), he was arrested, charged with trying to join the Chaldeans, and cast into prison. Chapter 37:12-15. But he continued to utter his predictions against the city.
2. The certainty that Jerusalem and her people would fall into the hands of the Babylonians did not rest entirely upon Jeremiah's word. The prophecy of Isaiah (2 Kings 20:16-19; Isa. 39:5-8) foretold the event to Hezekiah a hundred years prior to the events mentioned in this lesson.
3. The appeal of the princes to the king to have Jeremiah put to death is evidence that he could not be silenced by any other means. It was no doubt true that his words had the effect upon many of the soldiers to weaken confidence in the cause for which they were fighting. The last resort of men opposing the truth is the death of those who persistently advocate it.
4. Zedekiah showed the weak, vacillating spirit manifested by Pontius Pilate. He would not order Jeremiah put to death, but he gave the princes power to do as they pleased.
5. The princes did not dare to kill Jeremiah directly, but they put him into a position where they expected he would soon expire. The dungeon is supposed to have been a filthy cistern, which had not been cleansed for a long time, and from which the water had all been drawn during the siege. In Palestine the cisterns were filled by rain-water from the roofs of the houses and from courtyards, by means of surface gutters, and thus a great amount of impurity would accumulate in time.
6. Ebed-melech, the foreigner, an Ethiopian servant, like the good Samaritan, manifested a humanitarian spirit that the professed Israel of God had lost. He recognized Jeremiah as a prophet, while the princes and the people were accusing him of falsehood and treason.
7. The great depth of the miry dungeon is indicated by the act of Ebed-melech's in sending rags down to the prophet to place under his arms, that he might not be sorely chafed by the rope while being pulled up. This thoughtfulness of the negro servant further shows his tenderness of heart in addition to the courage of conviction manifested in his protest to the king against the cruelty of the princes.
8. It is worthy of additional note, that Jeremiah still held to the message that God had given him. He did not falter nor retract. But the cowardly king did not dare to act upon God's Word, because he feared the Jews. This he privately admitted to the prophet. Read the remainder of the chapter. Notwithstanding Jeremiah's assurance that all who would yield to the king of Babylon should be spared, the king feared the people more than he believed God. And so prevalent has been this man-fearing spirit in all ages that Christ was constrained to make it a matter of special admonition: "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matt. 10:28. Zedekiah's sad fate (Jer. 39:1-8) illustrates the wisdom of heeding the Word of God.
