Inspiration In Time Of Crisis

Ebed-Melech:
Inspiration In Time Of Crisis

The setting is Jerusalem, about 2,600 years ago. The Chaldean army is stationed outside the city walls. The prophet Jeremiah is walking within the city predicting its imminent fall and encouraging King Zedekiah, the officials and people to surrender. There were signs of starvation, fear and sickness. The end was near, but the ruling class had not yet come to terms with this new reality. They were still more concerned about feeling in control than submitting to God’s voice through Jeremiah. “Then the officials said to the king, ‘This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in the 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’” (Jer. 38:4). In those tense days leading up to the fall of Jerusalem, an African slave named Ebed-Melech served in the city’s royal palace. Shortly before these Chaldeans invaded, the Lord Almighty sent a special message to this working-class Gentile: “I will save you; you will not fall by the sword but will escape with your life” (Jer. 39:18). What made Ebed-Melech different from the others in Jerusalem?

A Compassionate Man With Broad Vision
The Hebrew word ebed means “servant,” and melech means “king.” This Ethiopian eunuch is mentioned six times in Scripture; all we know about him is found in Jeremiah 38-39. When first mentioned, we’re told that he had just heard that the king’s officials “had put Jeremiah into the cistern” (38:7). Given Jeremiah’s unpopular message and the crisis in Jerusalem, it’s quite reasonable that the leadership wished to silence him. Why would Ebed-Melech want to get involved? Surely what happened to Jeremiah wasn’t his responsibility.

When we don’t really want to do something, many good reasons come to mind to justify our passivity. Isn’t it the Lord’s job to defend His servants? Maybe the Lord is polishing Jeremiah’s character through suffering. He must die someday, why not this week? After all, no one is indispensable in the Lord’s work. But Ebed-Melech had cultivated a compassionate heart that would not allow him to remain indifferent.

How easy it is to be absorbed in the endless busyness of our own small world: my study, my family, my home, my job, my local church, my comfort, my future. If we are to be useful to the Lord in a wider sphere, we also need to cultivate a compassionate heart, a heart that will urge us to hear, to see and to feel beyond our usual responsibilities.

A Moral Man In Tune With God
The cistern was deep. Jeremiah found it difficult to move and find rest stuck in the slippery mud. He was damp, tired and hungry. What should prophets do in such circumstances? Have you ever felt desperately helpless? In Lamentations, Jeremiah described in poetic language this or a very similar critical situation: “I called on your name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit ... You came near when I called you, and you said, ‘Do not fear’” (3:55,57). After such gentle closeness, the Lord set Himself to deliver His servant.

If He allowed Peter to walk on water, He could have allowed Jeremiah to walk on soft mud. If Elijah was raised into the air, the Lord could raise Jeremiah out of the pit. But as is fairly common, the Lord preferred to act through willing human agents. Who in Jerusalem was still sensitive to His voice? Who could the Lord use?

Zedekiah, king of Judah, could have been God’s ideal vessel. He was 32 years old and had been a king for 12 years. He was in the privileged position where he could get things done. But he was morally weak. His sense of good and bad had been blurred by years of political compromise. It was to his advantage to keep his officials happy (38:4-5).

In Christian leadership, we may become better at discerning the mood of our friends and congregation than at discerning the mind of Christ. Was there no one in tune with God, no one trying to listen? Ebed-Melech had listened to Jeremiah and had clear moral convictions. He judged as “wicked” what had been done to Jeremiah, and prepared his heart to do something about it.

What do we do when we sense something is wrong? We can easily turn our eyes away. We are prone to complain, “Someone should do something about this.” Then we begin to think, “Perhaps it’s not so wrong.” Moral maturity is the fruit of regular exercise (Heb. 5:14). Even today, the Lord looks for godly men and women to correct wrongs. Can the Lord use us?

A Bold Man Who Broke The Silence
Ebed-Melech left the palace, found the king and said, “My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet” (38:8-9). These are bold words from a servant to his master. Kings usually don’t like to be corrected, especially not on moral matters, and especially by a servant. Yet deep inside, Zedekiah knew Ebed-Melech was right. He promptly provided Ebed-Melech with 30 men to “lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies” (38:10).

Perhaps there were others in Jerusalem who were uncomfortable with what had been done to Jeremiah, but they chose to remain silent. When we express concern, we get involved in the problem. Maybe we’ll be given the same treatment as the one we defend. Our loyalty to the popular cause may be questioned. It takes boldness to break a silence. It takes conviction to stand up against the current. Perhaps we’ve noticed something that needs correcting: worldliness creeping into our home; a morally incorrect procedure becoming normal in our business; a practice which conflicts with Scripture being accepted in our Christian fellowship. Note that Ebed-Melech did not start a moral revolution to remove the king or his officials. He used proper channels. He was instrumental in changing the king’s mind on the issue. He calmly explained before he acted. Many good, moral and noble causes have been severely damaged by bad procedures. We are called to do God’s work, but in God’s way.

A Consequent Man Who Pulled His Weight
We need open eyes and attentive ears to spot a problem, a compassionate heart to identify with it, and boldness to highlight it. Yet Ebed-Melech was not satisfied with only ideas, words and agreements. He took some men, rags and rope, “and they pulled him up ... and lifted him out of the cistern” (38:11-13). He got his hands dirty and he pulled his weight.

When the Lord puts a burning concern in our heart, He wants us to act in some way. To think and talk is not enough. If the Lord gives us a concern for the spiritual condition of a friend or relative, the burden will only increase as we begin to act. Pray. Send an e-mail or card. Send a CD or book. Invite him/her to a Christian event. Actively look for opportunities.

The Lord allowed His disciples to see the needs in the harvest field, and then asked them to pray: “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.” A while later, Jesus sent the twelve to do something in that harvest field (Mt. 9:35-10:16). In Ebed-Melech we see a happy concordance between heart and hands, between concern and practical involvement, between words and action.

A Calm Man Who Chose To Trust God
Once Jeremiah was out of the cistern, the attention focused again on the crisis – the imminent invasion. King Zedekiah and Ebed-Melech were both afraid of the brutal army camping around the city walls. Perhaps Ebed-Melech was also afraid of what the king’s officials might do to him in retaliation for helping Jeremiah. King Zedekiah called Jeremiah privately and asked for a message from the Lord. Jeremiah’s message had not changed: “If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down” (38:17). As Zedekiah considered the possibility of obeying, he was paralyzed by fear.

Whom did he fear? “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Babylonians” (38:19). Why did he fear them? Because Zedekiah and his officials treated badly those who tried to surrender. They called them deserters and traitors. They arrested and beat them (37:13-15). Zedekiah knew he was in a difficult position: to surrender to the Babylonians, he would have to do what he had previously condemned. Have we ever found ourselves in a similar situation? Were we able to recognize and admit to having acted wrongly? Public mistakes require public confession.

Jerusalem fell. The Babylonians set the city on fire. Zedekiah’s children were killed. He was chained, his eyes pulled out, he died slowly in exile. Zedekiah paid a high price for resisting the Lord’s guidance. We can see here a vivid picture of the sad effects of lack of humility in leadership, be it at home or in the church.

Without a disposition to listen to His voice and adjust our behavior, we shall lose our “eyes” – our ability to perceive future guidance. We shall remain chained – limited by unhealthy patterns and traditions. We shall cease to inspire our children – we shall lose the next generation. We shall cause pain in others. Eventually we shall die – but a long way from where the Lord intended us to be.

And what about Ebed-Melech? He was at peace. “I will rescue you on that day, declares the LORD; you will not be handed over to those you fear. I will save you ... because you trust in me” (39:17-18). Free, and blessed with the joy and lightness of heart that comes through obedience, Ebed-Melech calmly returned to obscurity.

What About You?
You may not be in a position of leadership. Neither was Ebed-Melech. Perhaps you have chosen to settle for a passive Christian life because of your nationality, your race, your lack of physical virility, your age or your social position. Ebed-Melech was disadvantaged in many ways, but today, more than two and a half millennia after his death, his actions still inspire us! In the hands of Almighty God, you and I can also make a difference.

By Philip Nunn