1-3 Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: “Thus says the Lord: He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. He shall have his life as a prize of war, and live. Thus says the Lord: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and be taken.”

4 Then the officials said to the king, “Let this man be put to death, for he is weakening the hands of the soldiers who are left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man isn’t seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5-6 King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.” So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

7-9 When Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern -the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate - Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they did to Jeremiah the prophet by casting him into the cistern, and he will die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” 11-13 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to the house of the king, to a wardrobe in the storehouse, and took from there old rags and worn-out clothes, which he let down to Jeremiah in the cistern by ropes. Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Put the rags and clothes between your armpits and the ropes.” Jeremiah did so. Then they drew Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. Jeremiah 38:1-13 From the English Standard Version

From a dungeon to the bottom of a mud filled cistern – such was Jeremiah's lot for faithfully preaching God's word to the king and the nation! The officials of state were concerned that Jeremiah's words urging people to surrender to the Babylonian army besieging Jerusalem was bad for morale.(vs 4). How does King Zedekiah come across to you in vs 5-6, and again in vs 10.

To me he appears a weak man, easily influenced by others? What a contrast to Jeremiah's courage, and what a contrast even to the bravery of the Ethiopian eunuch Ebed-melech who set about to rescue Jeremiah. Once again we see the Bible's description of even the small details of how Ebed-melech got rags and old clothes to put under Jeremiah's armpits so as to haul him up from the cistern. The Bible is all about events that really happened.

It brought to my mind another Ethiopian eunuch the Bible tells us of. He was a servant of the Queen of Ethiopia. But, probably stemming back even to the days of Jeremiah, God's message had become known to the Ethiopians. So Acts Chapter 8 tells how, over 600 years later, a Jewish Ethiopian who'd visited the rebuilt city of Jerusalem to worship God at one of the Old Testament festivals, was on his way back to Ethiopia. God arranged for a disciple of Jesus named Philip to meet the Ethiopian - who was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah – to tell him the wonderful news of Jesus Christ and the salvation in His name.

In the next Chapter we'll read how God told Jeremiah to say to Ebed-melech: “I am the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel. I warned everyone I would bring disaster, not prosperity, to this city. Very soon I will do what I said, and you will see it happen. But because you trusted me, I will protect you from the officials of Judah. When Judah is struck by disaster, I will rescue you and keep you alive.” God is no-one's debtor. He repays those who honour Him.