Jeremiah's Rescue

November 2, 2025 Background Scripture: Jeremiah 20:1 – 6: 37:1 - 38:28; 43: I - 7 Lesson Passage: Jeremiah 38:7 - 13 Our Background Scripture covers many difficult situations that occurred in Jeremiah's life prior to the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian empire. Jeremiah was physically abused and unfairly restrained because he steadfastly proclaimed what the Lord told him to proclaim. Some of the Jewish leaders wanted Jeremiah to prophesy good things to them that was contrary to what the Lord was telling him to say. Jeremiah refused to prophesy anything except what the Lord told him to prophesy. Jeremiah's fidelity in doing the will of God became the reason for his mistreatment. He was physically abused on several occasions by those who did not like what he prophesied, They believed Jeremiah was speaking evil against them, and they were experiencing it as a result. They reasoned that if Jeremiah spoke well of them, then they would experience good. They did not consider that Jeremiah was God's mouthpiece. Jeremiah proclaimed what the Lord told him to say. To do otherwise would make Jeremiah a false prophet, and his prophecies would not come to pass. Eventually, Jerusalem was besieged by the Babylonian army, and many Jews were taken captive to Babylon. A very small remnant of Jews was left in Judah. They continued to live contrary to God's word and to mistreat Jeremiah. On one occasion, Jeremiah was put in prison, and from there he was placed in a dungeon. The dungeon was a deep pit with mud in the bottom. When Jeremiah was placed in the dungeon, he sank down in the mud. There was no water to drink in the pit; just mud. When an Ethiopian eunuch heard what had happened to Jeremiah, he complained to the king about the unfair treatment of Jeremiah. He told the king that Jeremiah would die of hunger if he was not removed from the pit. The king ordered the Ethiopian to take thirty men and remove Jeremiah from the dungeon. They lifted Jeremiah out of the dungeon with care, so as not to injure him, and placed him in prison. He was not given freedom; he was placed in better living conditions in a prison. They kept restraining the prophet, but the prophecy God sent through him could not be restrained. Finally, the Jewish remnant in Judah asked Jeremiah to petition the Lord on their behalf and whatever God said they would obey. Jeremiah petitioned the Lord for them, and ten days later the Lord sent them a reply through Jeremiah, The Lord rebuked them because of their hypocrisy that He knew about beforehand. They were already plotting something that was against God's will. They were planning to go to Egypt to avoid further judgment from God. God warned them to not do what they were planning and remain as a remnant in Judah. God promised to protect them in Judah and cause them to grow again. On the other hand, if they go to Egypt, they would be destroyed there. God would send the Babylonian army to crush Egypt and destroy them as well. (God used the Babylonian empire to do His will. The Babylonian army became God's sword of justice.) The remnant of Jews refused to accept Jeremiah's prophecy and denounced Jeremiah as a false prophet. They went to Egypt and carried Jeremiah with them. Throughout the series of mistreatments Jeremiah endured, God always provided someone to rescue him. Note that Jeremiah was not spared from going through those situations, but God protected him and delivered him. Sometimes we must go through the valley of the shadow of death. Our faith is that the Lord will rescue us as He did Jeremiah. Robert C. Hudson October 24, 2025