Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits"
Text: Jeremiah 38:12
AN OUTSTANDING SERVANT
The tenderness of Ebed-Melech stood out amidst the moral morass that had engulfed the nation of Judah! And this man was an Ethiopian eunuch!
“Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah,
‘Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.’
And Jeremiah did so.
So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon.
And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.”
Jeremiah 38:12-13
1. “Then Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah,
‘Please put these old clothes and rags under your armpits, under the ropes.’
And Jeremiah did so.”
a) Ebed-Melech’s speech to Jeremiah:
i) Polite
ii) Humble
iii) He even used the word “Please”.
b) Advice given to Jeremiah
i) The Ethiopian eunuch was concerned that Jeremiah was a much older man.
ii) He had not been given good nourishment for some time
and would most likely be quite thin and frail.
iii) The old clothes and rags would provide some level of comfort for the soldiers to pull him out of the dungeon.
iv) Gratefully, Jeremiah complied to this thoughtful suggestion.
2. “So they pulled Jeremiah up with ropes and lifted him out of the dungeon.”
a) The soldiers then pulled Jeremiah out of the dungeon.
b) These were soldiers and would not have problems to lift him out.
3. “And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.”
a) Jeremiah remained a prisoner.
b) He was incarcerated in the court of the prison.
c) Anywhere else would be a welcome change from being in the dungeon.