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Sinking in the Mud (Jeremiah 38)

I was reminded just a week ago that Scripture contains "golden nuggets" if we would spend the time to look into the details.

Here is one discovered just today - Jeremiah being thrown into the cistern.

Background: Jerusalem on the verge of being invaded by Babylon. Jeremiah preaches to King Zedekiah to surrender to Babylon. The King did not take this message well and decides to throw Jeremiah into a waterless cistern filled only with mud.

"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." (Jer. 38:6)

Jeremiah is then saved by the unlikeliest of sources - Ebed-melech the Ethiopian. Scripture would go on to describe his faithfulness (Jer. 39:15-18)

After Jeremiah is out of the cistern, the King meets with him secretly at the temple (Scripture is oddly specific that this was done at the third entrance). Jeremiah preached the same message that he ought to surrender. Jeremiah then used a very interesting phrase when telling the King about the vision he saw if the King refuses to repent:

"Behold, all the women left in the house of the king of Judah were being led out to the officials of the king of Babylon and were saying,

“‘Your trusted friends have deceived you
    and prevailed against you;
now that your feet are sunk in the mud,
    they turn away from you.’ (Jer. 38:22)

There is more. Jeremiah's message that those who have surrendered will have their "life as a prize of war, and live." (Jer. 38:2)

We see then, these words in Jer. 39 regarding Ebed-melect the Ethiopian who saved Jeremiah.

"For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have put your trust in me, declares the Lord.’” (Jer. 39:18)

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I am not sure how to apply these yet. The idea for example that Zedekiah suffers his own punishment is definitely possible - but may be too simplistic as an application (Christians vs their enemies, i.e. the devil).

An even more farfetched one, considering how we like Zedekiah are sinful beyond measure, should we also anticipate an unlikely Saviour out of the mud if we turn and repent?

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