Are you minding your business?

Jeremiah 38:1-13

Jesus gave us all the information we need to live life to the full on planet earth.  He told us; “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”  (Matthew 16:33)  And never forget what Jesus said about the thief; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  Also never forget what is written in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”  He changes not, He was working in the life of Jeremiah, and He is working in your life.  When we look at the remainder of John10: 10 we see that Jesus has these words for us; “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” 

 Jeremiah is just minding his business, and his business is the same as yours and mine, to do the will of the Father.  When that old thief put into the heart of Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jucal, and Pashhur to ask the King to allow them to kill Jeremiah, his words were weakening the morale of the warriors and the people left in the city of Jerusalem.  They said Jeremiah is not looking out for the good of the people but for disaster.  So the King replies in verse five; “King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands, for the king can do nothing against you.”  I’m sure the King knew this to be a lie; it was acts of I do not want this on my hands, but go ahead if you wish and they did.  But he did what many in government, families, church, and business leadership do; they come across as weak and without moral character and give up control to others.

 Now it seems these four men were like many in our culture, they wanted to silence the voices of anyone who has moral integrity so they do as these four we do not have to kill our Jeremiah’s, we just drop them in the cistern and allow the mud and the lack of food and water do what is needed to hush their voice. 

What we need are more men like Ebed-melech, a Cushite court official, a principled man who reported to the King what these four had done to Jeremiah.  He was standing against the movers and shakers of his day, powerful men; but God put him in the Kings service for a moment like this.  So this weak King got some backbone and sent Ebed-melech with 30 men under his authority and pulled Jeremiah up out of the cistern before he died.  They rescued Jeremiah from the death of the cistern, but they did not have the authority to give him his freedom, he had to remain in the guard’s courtyard.

I believe the guard’s courtyard is where God’s people need to be, exposed to the world but not under its control.  The God, who put into the heart of a servant in the Kings court and the courage to stand against the powerful men of his time, is still in charge of the affairs of men today!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice