MONDAY, 13 MAY 2024
TEXT:
Jeremiah 38:1-13
1:
Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehukal son of Shelemiah,
and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah was telling all the people when
he said,
2:
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword,
famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live. They will
escape with their lives; they will live.’
3:
And this is what the Lord says: ‘This city will certainly be given into the hands
of the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”
4:
Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is
discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people,
by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these
people but their ruin.”
5:
“He is in your hands,” King Zedekiah answered. “The king can do nothing to
oppose you.”
6:
So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son,
which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into
the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the
mud.
7:
But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had
put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate,
8:
Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him,
9:
“My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to
Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve
to death when there is no longer any bread in the city.”
10:
Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with
you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”
11:
So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in
the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them
down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern.
12:
Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out
clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,
13:
and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And
Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
(New International Version Holy
Bible)
TOPIC: THE COST OF FAITHFULNESS
Jeremiah
never valued his life above his commitment to remaining faithful to the Lord
who commissioned and sent him. He insisted on presenting the message as it is
without compromise.
He
charged citizens, soldiers and anyone who cared to listen thus: "This is
what the LORD says: 'whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine
or plague, but whoever goes to the Babylonians will live." And this is
what the LORD says: "This city will, certainly be handed over to the army
of Babylon, who will capture it" (verses 2 and 3).
Jeremiah
could have easily been charged with treason or for conniving with Babylon to
take over the land. But his dogged commitment to speaking the truth to both
leaders and citizens demonstrated that when a man is completely sold out to
Christ, he is emboldened and empowered to stay faithful to his calling, no
matter the cost.
Africa
needs such leaders in the Church and the larger society.
QUESTION:
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were required to
compromise the truth for some personal gains?
PRAYER:
Pray in line with your response to the question above.
Remain
Blessed
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