Title: Release of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 39:11-18)
Even under the circumstances of Jerusalem's destruction, Jeremiah's life was preserved with the favor of the king of Babylon.
1. Jeremiah's release (verses 1-14) While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem, he gave the commander of the guard to take Jeremiah, and he said, “Do good,” “Do not harm,” and “Do as Jeremiah asked.” King Nebuchadnezzar was so kind to Jeremiah because Jeremiah preached the word of God right away. Jeremiah told God to surrender before the king of Babylon. However, the truth is that Jeremiah did not do it for the purpose of helping Babylon, but just preached the word of God as it is. The king of Babylon liked this, and God moved the king's heart to do Jeremiah good. A place to keep faith, a place to obey the Word, a place to trust in God, a place to receive his guidance and claims, a place to take refuge and protection. Because Jeremiah was standing in this position, God moved and protected King Nebuchadnezzar.
(1) Nebuchadnezzar was an arrogant ruler, but he recognized Jeremiah, the man of the true God. Nebuchadnezzar did good to Jeremiah and made him stay with Gedaliah son of Shaphan's grandson Ahikam. After being rejected by King Zedekiah and imprisoned in a pit, Jeremiah was rescued by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. In fact, this deliverance had already been foretold (Jeremiah 1:8). By demanding surrender before Zedekiah, Jeremiah could no longer be protected from the power of the world or from the world, and had no expectations of the world. However, in the midst of these difficulties, he accomplished God's will by being faithful to God's Word. Nebuchadnezzar must have received information about the prophet from the spies. So, in view of all this, Nebuchadnezzar was especially favourable to Jeremiah. Let us remember that we must have a personality that can see even the service and suffering of the humblest.
(2) God rewarded Jeremiah for the hard work he had planted. God promised Jeremiah, “Truly, I will make your adversary supplicate you in times of calamity and trouble” (Jeremiah 15:11). Jeremiah was faithful to his mission as a prophet. Now God is showing his faithfulness to Jeremiah and to the promises he made to him. For Jeremiah, who only depended on God, God moved even the heart of the king of the Gentiles and protected him. God's calculations are made without any error.
(3) We were blessed by obeying the Word. Zedekiah met a disastrous end for disobeying God's word (Jeremiah 39:7), while Jeremiah, who obeyed God's word, was saved by God's grace. Although Jeremiah was in danger of life, he obeyed the word of God and was faithful to the word God gave him, and he was able to carry out his mission as a missionary, and now he received great comfort as much as he suffered.
2. The reward that Ebed-melech received These are the words spoken by Ebed-melech before Jerusalem was destroyed and after Ebed-melech rescued Jeremiah from prison. God promised that Ebedmelech would be saved on the day that Judea was devastated. The city of Jerusalem is burned with fire, and many people die and are taken into captivity, but Ebedmelech will be saved from the tribulation.
(1) What is the secret of Ebedmelech's salvation in the day of disaster? 1) Because he loved the prophet as his own life. When the Jewish princes threw Jeremiah into a pit to kill him, Ebedmelech went before King Zedekiah and begged him to save Jeremiah (38:7-13). The fact that he loved the prophet as if he was his own life and gave his life to save him is proof that he valued God and his words that much. 2) He trusted God (verse 8). Because Ebed-melech trusted God, he believed the word of God delivered by Jeremiah and valued Jeremiah as his own life. Therefore, God promised that he would bless Ebed-melech and protect him from death in the day of disaster. No matter how hard you are to die, if God protects you, you will not die.