By Eugene Garner

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 38

COUNSELLING JUDAH TO SURRENDER

    Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth 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; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. 4 Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus 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 Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.

    1. As this chapter opens four of Zedekiah's princes listen attentively as Jeremiah speaks to the people, (evidently from the palace stockade); Shephatiah, a prince who is otherwise unknown; Gedaliah the son of Pashur - though not of the governor by that name; Jehucal (37:3); and Pashur (21:1).
    2. Faithfully and fearlessly Jeremiah delivered the word of the Lord to the people of Judah, (vs. 2-3).
      a. Those who remain in the city of Jerusalem will perish by: sword, famine and pestilence - the same message that he has persistently proclaimed, (21:9; 34:17; 42:17).
      b. If, however, they will surrender to the Chaldeans, their lives will be spared, (39:18; 45:5).
      c. Jerusalem will be given into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar and his army!
    3. The princes went directly to king Zedekiah (comp. 18:23; 26:11, 21) to demand the death of this man who, they claimed, was betraying his people - weakening their morale and causing the hands of the defenders of Jerusalem to droop, (vs. 4; comp. I Kings 18:17-18; 21:20; Ezra 4:12-13; Amos 7:10).
    4. Like Pilate, when he washed his hands in the condemnation of the Messiah (Matt. 27:24), the answer of Zedekiah was what is today referred to as a scandalous "cop-out"! In essence, he answered: "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king cannot contradict the united counsel of his advisors!" (vs. 5; but comp. 2 Sam. 3:39).
    5. Thus was Jeremiah cast into the cistern of Malchiah the son of Hammelech that was located in the court of the guard, (vs.6).
      a. The water from this cistern had, long ago, been exhausted so that the only thing left was a filthy mire, (comp. Psa 40:2, 69:2, 14-15; Zech. 9:11).
      b. Jeremiah was lowered into this mire by means of a rope; it was clearly the intention of his tormenters to leave him there, without food and water, until he died.

    7 Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which 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 for hunger in the place where he is: 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 old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

    1. Hearing what had happened to Jeremiah, Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian official who was in the king's service, sought out Zedekiah - accusing his princes of gross wickedness in what they had done to the faithful prophet of Jehovah, (vs. 7-9).
      a. He told Zedekiah what evil they had done to the prophet.
      b. He also declared the man of God to be "as good as dead" if he remained in the dungeon.
    2. Thus was the conscience of the king so smitten that he countermanded his previous order and authorized Ebed-melech to use 30 men to assure Jeremiah's safe rescue, (vs. 10).
    3. With a sympathetic gentleness, Ebed-melech took the men and rescued Jeremiah from the slimy pit, (vs. 11-13).
    a. In a storage room he found old rags and clothes which he asked Jeremiah to place under his arms so that the rope would not bruise him.
    b. Then, with tender carefulness, he lifted him from the cistern and, though still a prisoner, restored him to the court of the prison.

    14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16 So Zedekiah the king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life. 17 Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. 19 And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me. 20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. 21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: 22 And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. 23 So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.

    1. Secretly summoning Jeremiah to the third (royal) entrance of the temple, Zedekiah sought the prophets counsel - telling him that he wanted nothing hidden from him, (vs. 14; comp. 21:1-2; 37:17; 42:2-5, 20).
    2. Not trusting the king, Jeremiah asked if Zedekiah would not both kill him and refuse his counsel if he answered freely, (vs. 15).
    3. But Zedekiah solemnly, though secretly, vowed that he would not kill him, or deliver him again into the hands of his enemies, (vs. 16).
    4. Reassured, Jeremiah sets before Zedekiah the frightening alternatives that he faces, (vs. 17-18).
      a. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and both his life and house will be spared; nor will Jerusalem be burned.
      b. If, however, he refuses to go out to the princes of Nebuchadnezzar, the city will fall to the Chaldeans and they will burn it with fire; nor will Zedekiah escape out of their hands, (vs. 18, 2; 21:8-10; 27:12, 17; 32:4; 34:3).
      c. It would be foolish for the king to sacrifice his people, and the Holy City itself, for his own vanity and selfish ambition! (comp. 27:8; 24:8-10; 2 Kings 25:4-10).
    5. Zedekiah expressed fear of being delivered unto, and abused by, those Jews who had already deserted to the Chaldeans, (vs. 19; comp. Isa. 51:12-13; 57:11; Jn. 19:12-13; 2 Chron. 30:10); but Jeremiah assures him that such will not be the case: if he will obey the counsel of the Lord his SOUL WILL LIVE! (vs. 20; comp. 7:23; 11:4-8; 26:13; 2 Chron. 20:20; Isa. 55:3).
    6. But, if Zedekiah will NOT obey, he will surely be mocked by the women of his own palace who will desert him for the princes of Babylon, when they see the king's feet sunk in the mire! (vs. 21-22; comp. vs. 6; 6:11-12; 8:10).
    7. Upon the king's decision hangs the destiny of his wives and children, the city of Jerusalem and his own life: HE MUST CHOOSE! (vs. 23; comp. 39:6; 41:10).

    24 Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: 26 Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there. 27 Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. 28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.

    1. Fearful for both his own life and that of Jeremiah, king Zedekiah asked the prophet not to reveal the full content of their exchange; if he did Zedekiah could not assure his safety, (vs. 24).
    2. If the princes made inquiry concerning their conversations (comp. vs. 4-6), Jeremiah was to tell them that he had presented his plea that the king not send him back to the dungeon where he had almost died, (vs. 25-26; comp. 37:15, 20).
    3. Those commentators who hasten to charge Jeremiah with cowardice, in granting the king's request, may be manifesting their own unworthiness of such confidence as is reposed in spiritual counselor! furthermore, if the king was not pleased to fully reveal his own personal business to the princes of Judah, then Jeremiah certainly had no RIGHT to become a court gossip! (vs. 27; comp. I Sam. 10:15-16; 16:2-5).
    4. Jeremiah was not returned to the dungeon, but remained in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem fell to the Chaldean army, (vs. 28; comp. 15:20-21, 37:13-14; Psa. 23:4).