Jeremiah 39:15-18
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard: “Go, and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will fulfill my words against this city for harm and not for good, and they shall be accomplished before you on that day. But I will deliver you on that day, declares the Lord, and you shall not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 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.’”
Tag: Reward for Service
Up to this point in the prophecy of Jeremiah he has done his job. Jeremiah has prophesied to the people of Israel that God was going to punish them and that God was going to take the nation into captivity and destroy the City of Jerusalem. This indeed happened and God's Word was delivered and came to fruition. Is it possible that Jeremiah would have felt like he was done with his job? He had delivered the message and now he was in captivity. God must be done with him, right? Apparently not!! Our work as ministers of God's Word is never really "done." A new word came to Jeremiah but this time it was a word of hope and reward. When Jeremiah was being tormented by the leaders of the day they had tossed him into a cistern full of mud (38:7). Suffering from starvation and all that comes with being in a cistern full of mud, God sent Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian to rescue Jeremiah. As a result of that service to God, God rewards Ebed-melech. God sees our service to His plan. He does not simply ignore it. God honored this man for taking care of God messenger. There is a lesson for us who are not in the business of proclaiming God's message. We, too, are rewarded by God for how we assist those who are called to deliver the message.
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