Then 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.
Now 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), Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying, “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.”
Then 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.”
So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords.” Jeremiah did so.
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.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv6–13 HERE is narrated the extreme presumption as well as…
HERE is narrated the extreme presumption as well as cruelty of the princes; for they cast the holy Prophet into a pit, where he sank in the mire. It was a proof of hardened impiety not to spare so excellent a servant of God; and it was also a savage cruelty, when they had no cause of being so filled with rage, except that Jeremiah had obeyed God, and faithfully performed the office committed to him.
Let us at the same time learn from this example, whenever it pleases the Lord to try our patience, to bear with resignation what we see to have been borne by the holy Prophet. If, then, we shudder at any time at the horrors of the cross, so that it may seem hard to us to bear persecution, let us remember this example of the Prophet. In a word, there is here, on the one hand, shewn to us, as in a picture, the wickedness of the world; and on the other, the wonderful constancy and also the singular meekness of God’s servant shine forth gloriously.
Read full note →
Jeremiah then says, that he was taken by the princes and cast into a pit, which was in the court of the prison; and in that part, where one of the counselors dwelt, even Malchiah the son of Hamelech And at the same time he describes the state of the place, that it was a miry pit, so that he sank down in the mud. He does not mean that he was covered with mud, but that he was fixed in it, as the Hebrew word intimates; and we may thus rightly render the words, “He lay fixed in the mud.” It now follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 10, 13 Hebrew, Cushite, or Ethiopian.
Hebrew, Cushite, or Ethiopian.
To hear matters and give sentence.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–13 Jer 38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him…
Jer 38:6 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.
Ver. 6. Then took they Jeremiah.] Whom the king had now (against his conscience, as afterwards Pilate dealt by Jesus), either through fear or favour, betrayed unto his deadly enemies; and so he was in a pitiful plight, in a forlorn condition. But Jeremiah, de profundis, out of the deep called upon God (whom he found far more facile than these princes did Zedekiah), "Thou drewest near," saith he, "in the day when I called upon thee; thou saidst, Fear not." {Lam 3:57} I called upon thy name, O Lord, out of the low dungeon.
Read full note →
And they let down Jeremiah with cords.] With a murderous intent there to make an end of him privily, ut ibi praefocatus moreretur; ille vero usque ad collum mersus ibi manebat, said Josephus, that he might there pine and perish; but God graciously prevented it.
And in the dungeon there was no water but mire.] A typical hell it was, worse than Joseph’s pit, {Gen 37:24} or Heman’s lake, {Psa 88:6} or any prison that ever Brown the sect master ever came into, who used to boast that he had been committed to thirty-two prisons, and in some of them he could not see his hand at noonday. He died at length in Northampton jail, A.D. 1630, whereto he was sent for striking the constable requiring rudely the payment of a rate. {a}
So Jeremiah sunk in the mire.] Up to the neck, saith Josephus, and so became a type of Christ. {Psa 69:2}
{a} Fuller’s Church Hist., 168.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10, 13 Cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son…
Cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison; a place much of the same nature with that of which we read Jer 37:16, but in another prison. It should seem there was no passage into it by stairs, so as they were forced to let him down with cords. And in the bottom was nothing but mire, into which the prophet sank, in respect of which circumstances it was a much worse place than the dungeon in the prison in Jonathan’s house appeared to be, though Jeremiah feared that he should die there. It is probable these princes thrust him into this place, designing he should die in this hole a miserable death, but God otherwise provided for him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv6–13 Then took they Jeremiah,.... Having the king's leave, or…
Then took they Jeremiah,.... Having the king's leave, or at least no prohibition from him; they went with proper attendants to the court of the prison, and took the prophet from thence:
and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison; this was a dungeon that belonged to the prison which Malchiah had the care of, or which belonged to his house, which was contiguous to the court of the prison. The Targum renders it, Malchiah the son of the king; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions; but it is not likely that Zedekiah should have a son that was set over his dungeon, or to whom one belonged, or should be called by his name: here the princes cast the prophet, in order that he should perish, either with famine or suffocation, or the noisomeness of the place; not caring with their own hands to take away the life of a prophet, and for fear of the people; and this being a more slow and private way of dispatching him, they chose it; for they designed no doubt nothing less than death:
Read full note →
and they let down Jeremiah with cords; there being no steps or stairs to go down into it; so that nobody could come to him when in it, or relieve him:
and in the dungeon there was no water, but mire; so Jeremiah sunk in the mire; up to the neck, as Josephus (q) says. Some think that it was at this time, and in this place, that Jeremiah put up the petitions to the Lord, and which he heard, recorded in Lam 3:55; and that that whole chapter was composed by him in this time of his distress.
(q) Antiqu. l. 10. c. 7. sect. 5.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v10 Thirty men - Probably the king commanded Ebed-melech to…
Thirty men - Probably the king commanded Ebed-melech to take thirty men to guard him against any opposition.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10, 11 Verse 6. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire.] Their…
Verse 6. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire.] Their obvious design was, that he might be stifled in that place.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 10 Jer 38:6. Then they took Jeremiah and cast him…
Jer 38:6. Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah — A place of much the same nature with that mentioned Jer 37:16, but in another prison. And they let down Jeremiah with cords — It seems there was no passage into this dungeon by stairs, and, as it was deep, they were obliged to let him down in this manner. So Jeremiah sunk in the mire — Which was in the bottom of this pit. Josephus asserts that he sunk up to his neck in it, and adds, that their intention in putting him into so foul a place was, that he might perish in it, Antiq, lib. 9. cap. 10. It has been thought by some, that during his abode in this loathsome place he composed the melancholy meditations contained in the third chapter of his Lamentations; but this seems highly improbable.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 10, 11 The dungeon - The cistern. Every house in Jerusalem…
The dungeon - The cistern. Every house in Jerusalem was supplied with a subterranean cistern, so well constructed that the city never suffered in a siege from want of water. So large were they that when dry they seem to have been used for prisons Zec 9:11.
Hammelech - See Jer 36:26 note.
Read full note →
The prison - The guard. They threw Jeremiah into the nearest cistern, intending that he should die of starvation. Some have thought that Ps. 69 was composed by Jeremiah when in this cistern.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 12 Mire, up to the neck; so that he would…
Mire, up to the neck; so that he would soon have been smothered. (Josephus, Antiquities x. 10.)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 dungeon--literally, the "cistern." It was not a subterranean prison…
dungeon--literally, the "cistern." It was not a subterranean prison as that in Jonathan's house (Jer 37:15), but a pit or cistern, which had been full of water, but was emptied of it during the siege, so that only "mire" remained. Such empty cisterns were often used as prisons (Zac 9:11); the depth forbade hope of escape.
Hammelech-- (Jer 36:26). His son followed in the father's steps, a ready tool for evil.
Read full note →
sunk in the mire--Jeremiah herein was a type of Messiah (Psa 69:2, Psa 69:14). "I sink in deep mire," &c.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 JEREMIAH’S CLOSER CONFINEMENT AND RELEASE, Jer_38:6-13.
JEREMIAH’S CLOSER CONFINEMENT AND RELEASE, Jer_38:6-13.
6. Dungeon — Literally, as above, cistern. As every house was supplied with these they easily served as ready-made prisons. In a cistern like to these, in the field or pasture, Joseph was placed by his brethren at Dothan. This explains the allusion in Zec_9:11, “prisoners out of the pit in which is no water.” Hence also the use of cords to let down Jeremiah into the prison.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 6. the dungeon of Malchijah] mg. pit; a cistern…
6. the dungeon of Malchijah] mg. pit; a cistern for storage of water; see on Jer_6:7. The depth and wretchedness of this place of confinement are shewn by the means employed to place Jeremiah in it.
the king’s son] better than mg. the son of Hammelech. See on Jer_36:26.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10, 11 (6) The dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech.—Literally,…
(6) The dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech.—Literally, the pit, or cistern. The LXX. agrees with the marginal reading in describing him as “a son of the king.” The same phrase is so translated in 1Ki_22:26; 2Ch_28:7, and would seem to have been an official or court title, applied to one of the royal house, as distinguished from. others. (See Note on Jerahmeel in Jer_36:26.) We have no data for judging whether this Malchiah is identical with the lather of Pashur in Jer_38:1; but it is not unlikely. In Lam_3:53-55 we have probably a reminiscence of these days of horrible suffering. The cistern had been partly dried up (possibly through the supply of water having been cut off during the protracted siege), but there remained a thick deposit, three or four feet deep, of black foetid mud,, and there, it is obvious from Jer_38:9 of this chapter, his enemies meant to leave him to die of hunger. They probably shrank from the odium of a public execution, or thought, with the strange superstition of the Eastern mind, that in this way they could escape the guilt of shedding the prophet’s blood. The death by starva-tion might easily be represented, even to themselves, as a death by disease.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10, 11 The dungeon; more literally, the cistern. "Every house in…
The dungeon; more literally, the cistern. "Every house in Jerusalem was supplied with a subterranean cistern, so well constructed that we never read of the city suffering in a siege from want of water" (Dr. Payne Smith). A grotto bearing the name of Jeremiah has been shown at Jerusalem since the fifteenth century. Under its floor are vast cisterns, the deepest of which professes to be the prison into which the prophet was thrown. The objection is that the sacred narrative proves that the prison was in the city, whereas "the present grotto was not included within the walls until the time of Herod Agrippa" (Thomson, "The Land and the Book," 1881, p. 555). The son of Hammelech; rather, a royal prince. (as Jer_36:26)
The apparent misanthropy of revelation.
Read full note →
The political aspect of these words is evident; let us now consider their moral bearings: The inspired prophet of God is taken for an enemy of his neighbours. The experience of Jeremiah is not without parallel, nor is it wanting in certain reasonable grounds of justification.
I THERE ARE THINGS IN REVELATION WHICH APPEAR TO INDICATE MISANTHROPY. When God utters his voice he does not always speak in dulcet notes. We may hear harsh, grating thunders of Sinai. The message is not always pleasant. It makes us feel uncomfortable, exposes our worst characteristics, and has no pity on our little contrivances for putting the best face on our conduct. It stays our hand in many a favorite occupation. It cries "vanity of vanities" to our pet schemes. It puts a veto on our proud ambition. It frowns at much of our pleasure. For the future it threatens judgment and hitter penalties. When we fancy we have found some neat plan of escape, it exposes the rottenness of our hope and plunges us for the moment into blank despair. Such is the work of certain parts of revelation, and being so, it is not unnaturally regarded by some as misanthropic. Bearing this fact in mind, we must not be surprised at the aversion that the irreligious feel to religion. Judging from this standpoint, they may regard their best friend as their enemy, and imagine that the angry voice of God indicates nothing but his settled wrath against them.
II THIS MISANTHROPY IS ONLY APPARENT. Jeremiah was the best friend of Jerusalem, and the fanatical leaders of resistance her most fatal foes. His advice was really wise and patriotic. The Bible, which to some is a gloomy Book, darkening the aspect of human life, contains the secret of its true blessedness. The religion of the Bible may be sombre in the eyes of some when compared with the sunny religion of Greece. But the Hellenic faith could not save its followers from utter moral corruption and ruin. Through the sterner faith of the Jew and the Christian we are led to that one satisfying brightness of life which comes from the rising upon us of the Sun of righteousness. We must judge of words by their aim, not by their sound. The Bible contains threats of terrible doom, hut as we discover the purpose of them we see that they are not curses but warnings. God often opposes us, stays our course, puts up the red signal, only to save us from rushing to some fatal calamity. Elijah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Savonarola, and John Knox were regarded by their contemporaries as misanthropic. Now we see that they were the salt of the earth, true saviours of society. Even Christ uttered words which might seem to indicate misanthropy, but all with the intention of leading men to escape from the evils he deplored and find salvation in his grace.
Vers. 6-13. "Cast down, but not forsaken.
As we look on the prophet as here portrayed, these words of St. Paul are brought to our mind. We have here, as there
I A SERVANT OF GOD CAST DOWN. See the prophet"s allusions to his sad condition in Lam_3:52-57; and Psalm 69. can hardly be other than descriptive of Jeremiah at this time. And such seasons of depression and distress seem to be the appointed lot of all God"s servants. Not one, from our Lord downwards, has been exempted. Manifold are the reasons for such appointment. In this particular case of Jeremiah
II THE CAUSES OF HIS DISTRESS were:
1. The cruelty of his treatment acting on a nature such as his.
2. Its coming upon him after he had been led to hope that now he was secure from all such treatment.
3. His knowledge that he desired to be, and was, his foes" best friend, and yet they dealt with him thus.
4. The hopelessness of his condition. Such were the immediate causes of his being cast down.
III WHEREFORE DOES GOD SUFFER HIS SERVANTS TO BE SUBJECTED TO SUCH DISTRESS? To deepen their hold upon God, as the storms cause the trees to take deeper root in the earth. To make them realize more than ever the help they have in God. To cultivate and foster those fruits of the Spirit, such as patience, humility, trust, etc., which will hardly grow in any other soil or by any other process. To make them mighty witnesses before men of the salvation of God and of the present help he is in trouble. To qualify them to sympathize with and succour others in their distress. How such thoughts are calculated to sustain the soul in distress! And they do, for
IV GOD"S SERVANTS ARE, THOUGH CAST DOWN, NOT FORSAKEN. Here was a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel and from the covenants of promise, one who least of all might have been expected to care for the prophet of God, and this stranger proves to be God"s good angel of mercy. God raised up this helper in the hour of his servant"s need. See what was done in connection with and by this noble-hearted Ethiopian.
1. God caused intelligence of the prophet"s sufferings to reach him (ver. 7).
2. He touched his heart with compassion (vers. 7, 9, 11).
3. He led him to resolve to attempt the prophet"s deliverance.
4. He gave him clearly to see the wickedness of the prophet"s enemies, and the truth of the prophet himself.
5. He filled his heart with courage. For courage was needed. He was alone. The consequences of his interference might have been fatal to himself. He had to reprove and condemn both the king and the king"s counsellors.
6. He gave him good success. The king at once yielded, went right over to his side (contrast ver. 5), took all precaution that the deliverance should not be hindered. And he did all this at once. Further, he took oath that Jeremiah should not be so dealt with in the future. Now, all this proves the blessed truth for God"s servants that, though they may be cast down, yet they shall not be forsaken.
V WHAT ARE WE TO LEARN FROM SUCH S RECORD? Much every way.
1. Concerning God. He is never at a loss for messengers of mercy and help to his servants.
2. Concerning his tried and troubled servants. Patiently wait. Trust at all times. Hope continually, till your eyes see his salvation, as they assuredly shall.
3. Concerning the enemies of the Lord. Their designs and purposes must fail, however certain of success they seem to be; for God is against them. C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v7 Ebed-melech the Ethiopian.
Jer_38:7-13
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian.
Read full note →
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian
A slave from the Soudan, an eunuch in the household of Zedekiah, King of Judah, is by the side of the great Jeremiah, a humble servant yet an efficient protector. The slave and the prophet in our thought abide together.
I. the circumstances which brought the two together and caused the strange conjunction. The prophet is cast into a dungeon, deep and loathsome. Into the slime of its unfloored depths he sinks, and there he lies. Left to die and rot in the dungeons mud! No. One mans voice is raised, one mans hand works. But no son of Israel is he; only a slave of the royal household, a heathen from a far-off land, with a black skin but a pure heart.
II. The deliverer. What his own name was we know not, for among the royal servants he was known only as Ebed-melech, the kings slave. Whether he was of the original Hamitic or of the invading Semitic stock we cannot conjecture, save that, from his position, there is an inherent probability that he was of the former. We are at liberty, then, to conceive of him as a black, though probably not a negro, torn from his home, either as a boy or youth, to meet the demands of the market at Meroe; and then, in the way of traffic, passed on through Egypt, till at last he passed into the palace of the King of Judah. We can next conceive of him, by the exercise of the qualities of intelligence, fidelity, and prudence, promoted to the important post of superintendent of the royal harem. He would thus come into contact with Jeremiah, who, as the last of the prophet statesmen of Judah (as he has been called), had for many years compelled for himself a place in the councils of the nation The simple nature of the Ethiopian, uncorrupted by the vices of palace life, would recognise the moral and spiritual elevation of the prophet, and would yield a homage and a love of which the heartless courtiers Who despised him were incapable. His position brought him into frequent intercourse with the king; perhaps gave him a free access to his presence. None could know better than he his weaknesses and his vices; hut he would also know, as most could not, that in his debased mind were certain possibilities of justice and generosity to which an appeal might be made. Hopeful or hopeless, the brave heathen resolves that appeal there shall he. And after a right honest and straightforward fashion he sets him to his task. Well done, slave! Bravely spoken, Soudanee! Was there another man in all Jerusalem man enough to have done thy work! I trow not. But it is an ill turn thou hast done for thyself! Where is thy prudence, man? Who is this Jeremiah for whom thou art pleading? The lost and almost the last advocate of a lost cause. Who are these men whom thou art arraigning? The magnates of the realm, in whose hands the king is but a feeble, though it may be a well-meaning puppet. What supports canst thou expect to secure? None, unless it be the secret friendship of a few frightened men, whose favour is nought. What enemies canst thou not fail to make? The princes of Judah, whose frown may be death. But fear not, thou kings slave! Chariots and horsemen are upon the hills round about thee. There is an unseen Friend whose favour is life; and there is an immortal Church to call thee blessed. The kings better nature is roused by the appeal. Rising for the moment above the unkingly fear of his nobles, he exercises his royal prerogative, and commissions Ebed-melech, to take a sufficient force and release the prophet from the dungeon. Speedily, tenderly, and joyfully it is done. The forethought displayed, the various precautions to secure the exhausted victim from further danger or discomfort, are minutely and gratefully detailed.
III. Thoughts which such an incident arouses in the mind. It would be easy to descant upon the moral lessons which the incident teaches, to make Ebed-melech the peg on which to hang edifying reflections. He might easily be made into a lay figure to do duty for the showing off of such thoughts as these: that God uses instruments selected from among the lowly as well as the lofty; that the faithful discharge of the offices of commonest humanity is noted, approved of, and will finally be owned by the God of providence; that in most unlikely places, among most unlikely classes, Gods servants, His because servants of righteousness and humanity, are to be found; that He has His hidden ones where the eye of man suspects not; and that the faith that God desires to see in men is that trust in Him and that supreme homage to the claims of charity and truth which will cause them to do right, and leave the issues to work themselves out as they may in subjection to His will. But I do not desire the man to he lost in the meditations. I want us to see men under the influence of motives that may he ours, to enter into the human feeling, to sympathise with the human surrender, and to behold in these that which God loves to behold in His creature-children. Jehovah says, Thy life shall be for a prey unto thee, because thou hast put thy trust in Me. A thought of comfort, quickening, and strength is here suggested; those who do right, follow charity, work humanely--not because these things will pay, but because they are what they are, leaving consequences to come as come they may--these are trusting God, these are His worshippers, even though they have never learned His name. (G. M. Grant, B. D.)
Deliverance from an unwonted quarter
Strange, too, was the quarter from which deliverance came to the prophet. Not from the company of priests to which he belonged; not from that of the prophets of which he was the greatest member of that age; not even from his brethren according to the flesh, but from an alien to the commonwealth of Israel--an Ethiopian, a son of the despised Ham. It is very curious and beautiful to find these Scriptures--Jewish though they be--studded over with bright examples of goodness from the nations around. One of its noblest prophecies is from the mouth of Balaam the Midianite. Deliverance came to its greatest prophet (so far as action goes) from Zarephath, which belongeth to Sidon, from a woman that was a widow. What Thomas Carlyle called the grandest thing in all literature is from Job, who probably was not of the seed of Abraham. And when we come to the New Testament, in a Roman soldier Christ found faith nobler than that of any in Israel, and in a Samaritan woman He found His first missionary. The Jew might stand aloof in proud isolation, but the Book he reverenced called nothing common or unclean. (The Quiver.)
Ebed-melech, the model of kindness
I. It is easy to show kindness. Some things are very hard to do. We know for how many years the Government of England, of our own country, and of other nations, have been trying to find the way to the North Pole. How much money has been spent, and how many valuable lives have been test in these attempts! And vet they have never succeeded. Getting to the North Pole is a very hard thing to do. Some things can only be done by those who have plenty of money. But it is very different with the work of showing kindness. There is nothing hard about this. We do not need much money to do it. The poor can show kindness, as well as the rich. Ebed-melech was a poor coloured man--the slave of King Zedekiah; yet he managed to show real kindness to the prophet Jeremiah. He wag the means of saving his life.
II. Kindness is useful. Ebed-melechs kindness was useful to Jeremiah, because it saved his life. He lived for years after this, and was the means of doing a great deal of good to the people of Israel who were living then. Jeremiah has been useful to the Church of God, ever since that day, by the prophecies which he wrote. And a large portion of those prophecies was written after the day in which Ebed-melech saved his life. And this shows us how great the usefulness was of Ebed-melechs kindness. And in learning to show kindness to others, there is no telling how much good we may do.
III. Kindness is profitable. God sent word to Ebed-melech, by Jeremiah, that when Jerusalem should be taken by the Assyrians, He would put it into their hearts to show kindness to him by sparing his life. And so it came to pass. (R. Newton, D. D.)
Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine arm-holes under the cords.
Gentleness in doing good
I. The example of Ebed-melech should be followed by those who wish to show real kindness to the poor. When poverty cometh as an armed man (Pro_6:11), blighting hope, and bringing wretchedness in his train, a heart must be harder than stone, which is not moved with compassion. To show kindness to the needy, at the right time, and in the best way, should be the study of those who would be followers of Jesus. Experience has shown that it is generally far better to put people in the way of getting employment, than to make them feel their dependence by directly relieving their wants.
II. A lesson for those who are anxious to rescue perishing sinners from going down to the pit. Harsh words are quite out of place, even to the most depraved; and we can hardly claim to be disciples of Him who will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax (Isa_42:3), if we venture to speak them. It is far better to lower the silken cords of Divine love, and the soft cushions of the promises, and to address words of encouragement to those who are groping in darkness. He that winneth souls is wise (Pro_11:30). The word winneth is the important one. It suggests something besides labour and painstaking. Winning implies gentleness, and a sincere interest in the souls of others. No one will be made better by scolding, or sarcasm; but he who will imitate Ebed-melech, in his thoughtful tenderness, will be successful in his work.
III. The example of Ebed-melech deserves to be remembered by those who would bring others into the fold of Christs Church. Very little is ever accomplished for the Master by harsh and uncharitable controversy. (J. N. Norton, D. D.)
The captive rescued
Here we see tenderness and compassion. There is much in doing a kind action in a kind way. A charity may be so given as to wound the recipient; and a good deed, accompanied by kind words, is like a gem set in pure gold. Let us ever be careful that when we try to help others, we do our task with tenderness to the feelings and prejudices of those we would aid. But the events of old times were full of foreshadowings of the great central fact of the worlds redemption.
1. In Ebed-melech, therefore, we may behold a type of One who comes forth from the palace of the Great King to loose the captives chains. Our Saviour stoops down to help us. The cords of His love and compassion lift us up, and restore us to that service which is perfect liberty.
2. But again, in this narrative there is a very good illustration of the too often forgotten truth that in mans redemption he has his own part to do. If it was Ebed-melech who let down the cords, yet Jeremiah had to fix them under his arms to such a position that he might safely be drawn up. Work out your own salvation is the plain direction of the apostle.
3. Again, there seems to be a lesson of instruction in this point--that the rags and castaway fragments of garments were made useful in the way of making easier the deliverance of Jeremiah, things which were worthless in themselves used for a good and excellent purpose. So many things, at which men scoff, saying, How can they save souls? are, by Gods blessing, made of use.
4. Lastly, let us take Ebed-melech for an example. Can we not strive to rescue some soul! Cannot we, like the thirty servants of the king, aid in letting down the cords, or protect those who are doing so? We may at least lower down the cords of prayer and entreaty. (W. Hardman, LL. D.)
Ropes and rags
The story is an illustration of the way God saves men. Jeremiahs danger and deliverance were very real. In that dungeon he is, indeed, in an horrible pit. No hope of escape. No light, no firm standing, every prospect of death, and in no long time either. Would to God that we preachers could see the real danger to which sinners are exposed! Jeremiah was delivered, brought up out of the miry clay. But the prophets salvation was only a feeble picture of what Gods grace does for those who take hold on Jesus. He remained in the courts of the prison. Whom the Son makes free are free indeed. We who rest in Jesus may walk about the courts of the Kings palace.
I. Mark you, help always comes from above. Jeremiah found it so. It was useless to try to climb out of the dungeon, it was only to fall deeper into the mire. Salvation is of the Lord. You cannot save yourself. The effort will only exhaust you. Cry unto the Lord. Say, O Lord, deliver my soul. He is sure to hear your cry. Ebed-melech is only a very poor picture of Jesus. The Saviour does more than send down a rope. He comes Himself and lifts us up. Although Ebed-melech may be a very poor type of Jesus Christ, he is a very good picture of the style in which one man may help another.
II. He had sympathy. Now, sympathy is the mother of help.
III. Ebed-melech did not allow difficulty to deter him. Some men can work hard so long as there are no difficulties; opposition to them is like a hill on a jibbing horse; they must stop now: they did not look for this sort of thing, you know. Just so, the eunuch found it was not easy--it never is--to undo wrong. A stout heart to a stiff brae, is common sense as well as right. If you mean to help others, you will have to pull hard against the stream.
IV. Ebed-melech teaches us to spare the feelings of those we help. He lowered down the old rags and clouts he had gathered, and bade the prophet put them under his armpits, so as not to have them cut by the ropes. The rope of deliverance should not cut the flesh of those we save. This is not always thought of. We may wound men in helping them, and they may like the remedy less than the disease. We should think of the feelings, as well as the wants of those we help. Shall we not imitate Him of whom it is said, He will not break the bruised reed? When we take the rope, let us not forget the old rags as well.
V. Among the practical lessons of this story, there is the great truth that one man may set others going. Ebed-melech went to the king for help, and he gave him thirty helpers. In the thirteenth verse, we read, So they drew up Jeremiah. How many times this happen! Robert Raikes had no idea how many wheels his would set in motion. Muller of Bristol has many imitators, and thousands of orphans are fed and clothed that he will never know of. If you will only begin, others will follow you. Do not wait for others to start with you; be content to go alone. It was David Livingstone that set Stanley and Cameron to work, and the end of that lonely travellers work will be seen when a highway shall be there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, and sorrow and sighing shall nee away; but if Livingstone had waited for others, he would have died, in comfort, it may be, but could not have had a grave in Westminster Abbey, nor have set in motion the plans which are sure to issue in Africas deliverance.
VI. Let, us learn the value of despised and cast-off things. The prudent chamberlain had seen under the treasury the old cast clouts, and old rotten rags. No one else saw any value in them, but he put them to a good use. What a number of things are cast aside, like these old rags! Do you see yonder woman in such dismay? She has been upstairs looking at some old dresses, and finds that the moth has been there before her, and they are useless. Would it not have been better to have given them to her poor relations, or to that widow who has such difficulty to find clothes for her little ones? Have you not old magazines that would gladden the heart of some of those intelligent paupers who never get any lively reading, or save from ennui some convalescent in the hospital? Look and see what you have under the treasury. (T. Champness.)
The tenderness of Ebed-melech
Negro though he was, Ebed-melech was a gentleman. He is not so bent on delivering the prophet that he cares not how it is done. He will not bruise the prophets skin in saving the prophets life. These old cast clouts and rotten rags do not present a very savoury picture; but the feeling that prompted their use is both pleasant and thoughtful. Many a good deed is spoilt by the manner of its doing. Some people pride themselves upon their roughness; they think it a sign of manliness. Their idea of manliness wants revision. Do such ever think of the meaning of the very name they claim--gentleman? Do such realise that it is not only manlike, but Godlike, to be gentle! Did not one of the psalmists exclaim, Thy gentleness hath made me great? Ebed-melechs deliverance of the prophet from the mire was a great deed, but the tenderness with which it was done makes it many times greater. (The Quiver.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v6 then took they
then took they
(See Scofield "Jer 37:11").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 7, 10, 12 they ... threw him into the cistern
they ... threw him into the cistern
They literally "lowered Jeremiah down on ropes," but the word "threw" is an exaggeration to say that they treated him roughly. Your language may have another way of saying this. AT: "they ... roughly pushed him into the cistern" (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)
Read full note →
cistern
a deep hole in the ground where people collect and store rain water
the courtyard of the guard
This was an open area attached to the king's palace that was surrounded by buildings and in which they kept prisoners. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 32:2.
They lowered Jeremiah down on ropes
This tells how "they threw him into the cistern."
translationWords
court
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv6, 7, 10, 11 38:6 In the presence of everyone in the palace…
38:6 In the presence of everyone in the palace courtyard, Jeremiah was thrown into an empty cistern. At the bottom was a thick layer of mud that slowly enveloped Jeremiah’s body.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.