Ebed-Melech.
What does that name, Ebed-Melech, mean? It simply means “servant of the king.” As believers in King Jesus, that is who we are: servants of Jesus, the King! So, in that sense we are Ebed-Melech’s. But let’s look at what it means to be an Ebed-Melech according to the context of Jeremiah 38.
Jeremiah is a prophet of God, chosen from a very young age to be God’s spokesman to God’s people. The message Jeremiah was to bring to the people was not an easy one. God was seeking to share some harsh truths with the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem. God employed Jeremiah (and other prophets) to share that difficult message. Many times the message from God was not welcomed.
Here is an example of the message from Jeremiah chapter 2: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Instead of God’s living water (his Word, his promises, his Messiah) the nation of God had turned to man made solutions and gods fashioned by human hands.
As a believer, God’s harsh message of law is not always welcome. I don’t mind hearing when my enemies and those I don’t like are guilty of some sinful attitude. But when God’s Word points to my heart, I’m very reluctant to hear it. The same was true with the people to whom Jeremiah preached in that day. They were miffed. They were challenged to hear that God was not pleased with them.
Jeremiah chapter eight begins, “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: 2 ‘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. 3 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 is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm’” (Jeremiah 38:1-4).
As a result, they rose up against Jeremiah and went to the king. The king, weak-spined in his leadership, said that they could do whatever they wanted to do to Jeremiah. He wouldn’t interfere. So they took Jeremiah and had him lowered into a cistern as “punishment” for speaking God’s truth.
This cistern was empty of water but it had an abundance of mud. How long would Jeremiah sit in this mud? One hour, two hours, one day, many days? Jeremiah was not in hot water but he was in deep mud. He was in trouble.
And here is where Ebed-Melech steps in. Ebed-Melech was a foreigner but was operating as God’s instrument against the evil directed at Jeremiah. He put his own skin in the game, taking a chance by confronting the very same king who had allowed this malicious activity to take place.
“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— 8 Ebed-melech went from the king's house and said to the king, 9 “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” (Jeremiah 38:7-9).
Knowing the mob mentality of those who put Jeremiah in the pit, here is where I would expect swords to be drawn and Ebed-Melech’s head to roll. But that is a human tale told only with the limits of human strength and human wisdom. Who is writing this story of Jeremiah’s life? Who is it that commissioned Jeremiah to do this great task of speaking God’s truth to the people? Who is it that is sovereign over the thoughts and schemes of mankind?
One of my favorite passages comes from Psalm 2:
“Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the LORD and against his anointed, saying,
3 “Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.”
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the LORD scoffs at them” (Psalm 2:1-4).
God laughs! Why does God laugh? He laughs because when humanity devises evil schemes and plans to grab power and control or push down other nations, other ethnicities or even just one individual like Jeremiah, God is the one who has the final say. Not one hair will disappear from Jeremiah’s beard unless God allows it to happen. God is the one who sits on the throne that is above every throne, every presidential suite, every legislative and judicial branch of every nation. There is not one tribal chieftain who has the final say. God rules over all - and his rule is for the determined good of his people. This is why God laughs. Evil taunts and wags its tenacious claws. But in a moment God flicks evil out of the way like an bug that is about to be squashed.
How does God intervene in Jeremiah’s perdition? There is no Jesus riding in on a white horse with battle armor on! God chooses to do this in a more subtle fashion. He raises up an Ebed-Melech. Ebed-Melech desires greatly to serve the Real King. Heaven’s King has a servant who is now going to cautiously rescue Jeremiah.
Everyone of us was in Jeremiah’s position. The cistern we were sunk into was Hell’s pit. Evil was bent on keeping us there. Satan may have even felt successful, knowing that a holy God would have to banish unholy us from his presence forever. But evil NEVER has the final say. Whether it is evil in Afghanistan, evil at home in America or even the evil of my own heart. Evil was thrown down by Ebed-Melech and Jeremiah was rescued.
Who is our Ebed-Melech; who is our servant of the King? Jesus was properly spoken of by Isaiah the prophet as a servant. “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11). Isaiah 53 points to Jesus as the righteous servant of God. He is our most perfect Ebed-Melech.
I love that Ebed-Melech cared enough for Jeremiah to risk his own life. We have the righteous Ebed-Melech (Jesus) who not only risked his life for us but sacrificed his life so that we could be lifted out of the pit of hell. Our sin no longer confines us. Evil no longer takes dominion over our future. Our Ebed-Melech has stepped in and cautiously lifted us out of the jaws of Hell. May our Jesus, our righteous Ebed-Melech, be praised!